I was petrified. Even getting into Paul's car sent shocking waves of pain flying through me. I couldn't imagine what walking or even standing up would feel like, and I was not looking forward to finding out.

In spite of it all, I slept well, not even waking at midnight like usual.

~~~

I woke up to Paul knocking on the bedroom door. "Love, are you awake?" He asked. He always helped me out of bed in the morning.

"You can come in" I answered. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better," I replied, holding back a groan.

"Are you ready to get up?" he didn't even try to mask the concern in his voice and on his face.

"I...I don't know," I really wasn't. He helped me sit up and move my legs over the side of the bed at a snail's pace. He sat down beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist, accidentally touching a scar of a cut that had been about an inch and a half deep. I gasped and he recoiled, his face reddening.

"I'm sorry," 

"No, no it's alright," 

"Are you sure?"

"I can't get up without your support,"

"Okay," he wrapped his arm around me again, avoiding any scars. "Ready?" I mimicked his movements as he laid a hand on the bed and pushed off. Colours flashed through my sight as the pain hit me. I bent down, clutching my stomach and nearly fell forward, but Paul caught me. I was shaking, my knees threatening to buckle. He righted me and looked into my eyes. "How do you feel?"

"D-dizzy" I stuttered, leaning heavily on him. I wrapped my arm around his waist. It felt like someone stuck firecrackers inside me. 

"You need to sit down,"

"No. No more sitting. I've been sitting for a month," I whispered, catching my breath. Even as I said that I knew he was right.

"Look at you, you're pale and you can't breathe right. You need to sit down," he spoke sternly and sat me down on the bed, rubbing my back. "Don't overdo it, you could end up hurting yourself further," He whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm never going to be able to walk, will I?" I let out a soft sob.

"Shh, Linda it's okay," He soothed. "We'll get you up and walking, you just have to be patient...It's okay...It's okay..."