In the morning was almost normal. My voice was back and I could move my arms and my left leg - the right is broken. That didn't mean that I'm completely healed. I was still in a ton of pain. Sleep was something that didn't come easy. The doctors reduced the amount of painkillers, which was bittersweet. Four visitors came during the day and each one of them made me feel a little bit better.

Around noon, someone knocks on my door. Meliah walks in with balloons, a Slurpee, and a smile. I smile back, which surprises her a bit.

"Hey," she sings happily and scoots her way towards me.

I put my arms around her and kiss her cheek, "Hello there."

She giggles and hands me the Slurpee, "It's good to hear your voice. Have this. It's cold and it will feel good with your throat."

I chuckle, "Thanks. How is the outside world?"

"Boring," she contorts the line of her lips and sits on the bed next to me, "You're not in it."

"Aw," I throw my arm around her, "I'm still in the world, aren't I?"

"I could've questioned that the other day..." her smile fades.

I hold her close to me, which is such a good feeling. Knowing I could've died and left her alone here was the worst thing to think about. I can't even imagine how she felt.

"I know, I know, but I'm okay. I'm getting better," I reassure her and pat her shoulder.

"You'd better get better. People are starting to talk about homecoming," she smirks and blushes.

"The dance that we are going to as soon as I get out of this place," I remind her.

She smiles a little again, "Good."

"You know, I'm really sorry about the other day."

"Caleb, you weren't the one driving the car," Meliah looks confused.

"No, I mean before that. At school. I was such a jerk, but here you are, still sweet and caring," I look away.

She pulls my chin towards her and pecks my lips, "It's okay. I love you."

I blink my eyes to make sure I wasn't mistaken, "I love you too."

We sit and gossip about nurses, school, food, and people. We talk for an hour until she has to get back to school.

I whine, "Why?"

"Caleb," Meliah whines back, "The school doesn't even know I'm gone!" she pokes my belly button and looks down at me with an apologetic smile.

I pout my lip and blink my eyes.

"That's not fair!" she turns away and got up to leave, "You know I can't resist the puppy face!"

"I know, that's why I'm using it!" I push. Maybe if I look cute, she'll stay. However, I can't be selfish. I just got her back.

"Goodbye Caleb," Meliah opens the door and says before she leaves.

"Bye," I smile and watch her leave.

***

The second visitor comes over the phone a couple hours after school.

"Please!" I beg Evan.

"Dude! You're still recovering! I can't get you out yet," he argues.

"Evan, I'm fine. I'll play you a game of hoops if you convince them to let me out," I offer a reward to him.

"Caleb, you are pushing it. Wait a couple more days, when you're more than just fine. Then we can play. I'll see what I can do."

"So that's a yes?" I ask.

"No. It's a maybe," he warns.

"It's a soft yes," I conclude and smile to myself, "See you," I say and hang up.

After a big sigh, I fall back onto my bed. I actually do feel better. The aching soreness is the only thing still left to leave. Maybe I'm not quite ready for basketball. My leg's in a cast. I humor myself into thinking I can do more. I guess what I feel is a need for something new. I live in a strict, routine day in the hospital. Every day, I sit in the same room on the same bed. The same boring TV channels play at the same time every day.

The third and fourth visitors run in with a "Surprise!"

Anna runs in squealing with her arms up. I envelope her and smile, "Hey! How's my little mouse?" I ask and fluff her hair.

"Good," she rocks on her feet, "Are you coming home soon?"

"I really hope so, but I'm not sure yet," I answer.

"Oh," the excitement in her face fades a little.

"How was school?" I clear my throat and ask, eager to change the topic.

"Can we go outside?" she ignores my question and asked.

I look at Joey by the door and wait for him to agree or disagree. He leans on the wall for a while, contemplating. Then he sighs, "Alright, but hurry back. We don't want the doctors to think they've got a runner."

Anna squeals and unfolds the wheelchair in the corner. It has taunted me ever since I got here and became aware of my surroundings. I tried my hardest to avoid it until this point.

Joey helps me into the chair, which really made me feel helpless. I grief over the abilities I once had.

Anna drives me outside into the courtyard. There was a pool - probably for therapy - a play set, and an ice cream stand. A trail let out from the courtyard, stretching farther than my eyes could see. This catches Anna's eyes as well. She rolls my wheels over the concrete to the trail.

From there we slow down and talk. Occasionally, I glance back at Joey, who sits on a bench. He's always watching, keeping a careful eye on us. Although, he smiles; he's happy to see us having fun.

"Did Mr. Parker hit the pole on purpose?" Anna asks out of the blue.

I sure wasn't expecting that one. My mind is at a loss for words. I don't even know the answer.

"Um I don't know. He- well..." I sigh and put my hand on the back of my neck.

"He's mean, isn't he?" Anna continues.

I watch the car crash again. Cracks spread through the windshield glass. I can almost feel the same pain again.

"Okay, Anna, time to go eat dinner," Joey jogs over and saves me.

"Aww, can Caleb come too?" she begs.

Joey chuckles, "No, sweetie, Caleb still needs to heal a little more. Maybe later this week."

"Aww," she whines and pouts her lip.

I lift her chin with my finger, "Hey, he said later this week, didn't he?"

She nods.

"Good, I'll see you soon then, okay? Then we can play for as long as you want," I promise.

Anna smiles and hugs me around my waist, "I love you."

I smile back, "I love you too."

I insist on rolling myself back to my room. It's time I can do something for myself. When I get there, Mr. Wood is sitting on the bench. He stands up quickly when he sees me.

"Hey," he says in a deep voice. He clears his throat and balances himself on his feet.

"Hey," I repeat, sitting under the door frame.

"I uh...I came to visit but you were gone so I figured I would wait here until you came back," Mr. Wood explains himself.

"Yeah, my step-dad and step-sister came. I was outside with them," I nod and look away. It stays silent for a while – too long. The awkwardness makes me cringe. I have to do something. I have to thank him. He saved my life, "Mr. Wood I-"

"I've never been afraid of doing my job," he interrupts, "I've been through all different kinds of fires, rescues, accidents, and what have you. But for some reason, I was terrified. I haven't been in an incident where my family is in danger of dying. I raced like a jet as soon as I heard," he stops for a while to let it sink in. He gulps and closes his eyes tightly.

He called me his family.

"I really like that you're dating my daughter. You're a good guy for her, and you deserve a better life, a better family. I-I'm sorry," Mr. Wood softens

I turn my head to the grown and smile. Tears well up in my eyes, past the point of being able to hide them. I look back up to him and nod, "It's okay. I'm okay. Thank you."

Mr. Wood smiles back and bends down to my level in front of me. He puts his hand on my shoulder, "You did good, kid."

Meliah walks in the door, she stops quickly before running into him, "Dad," she says.

He keeps his smile and gives me a quick look before exiting.

Meliah and I lay in my bed, laughing and talking as normal. I don't tell her what her dad told me. I don't think she's ready to hear that yet. The good feeling still sits stubbornly in my stomach.

"I'm going to take this to my grave," I state, staring up at the ceiling.

She lifts her head from my chest and looks up at me, "What?"

"It's times like these that I remember my place in the world. I remember the people that care about me and the people I care about. I'm happy. I can be happy, even if there are times in my life where it's tough to keep going. God put me in this world for a reason. I might not know the reason just yet, but I do know that he's holding on for me. He's not ready for me to let go and neither am I. I still have to find my purpose and chase my dreams. I still have a life to live, and I'm prepared to live it as long as possible."

I glance over at her with a smile. She looks pleasantly surprised.

She nods and lies back down, "Well, you shouldn't focus so much on finding your purpose in life. You won't enjoy it so much like that. Let your life play out the way God wants it to, then you'll see your purpose."

Something about a hospital makes me tired. All I do here is eat, sleep, and sometimes talk to people. I'm ready to get out. I shut off the light in the room and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.