Point of Retreat(78)

I smile at her. “Don’t thank me yet. We just got started.” I dip the washcloth in the water and kneel down beside the bathtub. The steps come out pretty far, so it’s hard to reach her without hovering over her. She takes the washcloth out of my hand and begins washing her arm.

“It’s weird how much energy everything takes. It feels like my arms weigh a hundred pounds.”



I open the bar of soap and hand it to her, but it slips out of her grasp. She feels around in the water until she finds it, then she rubs it in the washcloth.

“Do you know how long before they let me go home?” she asks.

“Hopefully by Wednesday. He said recovery can take anywhere from a few days to two weeks depending on how the injury heals. You seem to be doing pretty well.”



She frowns. “I don’t feel like I’m doing well.”



“You’re doing great,” I say.

She smiles and sets the washcloth back on the side of the tub and wraps her arms around her knees again. “I have to rest,” she says. “I’ll get to the other arm in a minute.”



She closes her eyes. She looks so tired. I reach over and turn the water off, then stand up and take off my shoes and my shirt, but leave my pants on. “Scoot up,” I say to her.

She scoots up and I step into the bathtub and slide down into the water behind her. I put my legs on either side of her and gently lay her back onto my chest. I grab the washcloth and run it up the arm she was too tired to get to.

“You’re crazy,” she says quietly.

I kiss her on top of the head. “So are you.”



We’re both silent as I wash her. She rests against my chest until I tell her to lean forward so I can get her back. When she leans forward, I put more soap on the washcloth and gently touch it to her skin. It’s bruised up so bad I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.

“You really got banged up. Does your back hurt?”



“Everything hurts.”



I wash her skin as softly as I can. I don’t want to make it worse. When I’ve covered every inch, I lean forward and kiss her on the back, right on top of her bruise. I kiss her other bruise, and her other bruise, and her other bruise. I kiss every spot of her back that’s hurt. When she leans back against my chest, I lift her arm and kiss the bruises on her arm, too. Then I do the same to the other arm. When I’ve kissed all the bruises I can find, I lay her arm back down in the water. “There. Good as new,” I say. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her cheek. She closes her eyes and we just sit there for a while.

“This isn’t how I pictured our first bath together,” she says.

I laugh. “Really? ‘Cause this is exactly how I pictured it. Pants and all.”



She takes a deep breath and exhales, then leans her head back against my chest and looks me in the eyes. “I love you, Will.”



I kiss her on the forehead. “Say it again.”



“I love you, Will.”



“One more time.”



“I love you.”

***

Lake is finally discharged today after five days in the hospital. Luckily since yesterday was a Monday I was able to finalize reports with the insurance companies. Lake’s Jeep was totaled. The damage to my car wasn’t as bad so I was given a rental until it’s repaired.

Dr. Bradshaw is really pleased with Lake's progress. She has to go back to see him again in two weeks. In the meantime, he's put her on bed rest. She’s excited because she knows that means she gets to sleep in my comfortable bed every night. I’m excited because that means I get to spend two solid weeks with her at my house.

I end up withdrawing her from all of her classes for the semester. She was upset, but she doesn’t need the added stress of school right now. I told her she just needs to focus on getting well. I’m taking the rest of the week off but plan on going back to school Monday depending on how she’s feeling. For now, though…we’ve got almost a whole week of nothing to do but watch movies and eat junk food.

***

Kel and Caulder bring their plates to the coffee table in the living room and set them down next to mine. Lake’s lying down on the couch so we eat in the living room rather than at the table.

“Suck and sweet time,” Caulder says. He crosses his legs and scoots around to the opposite side of the coffee table so we’re all sitting in a somewhat circle that includes Lake. “My suck is that I have to go back to school tomorrow,” he says. “My sweet is that Layken’s finally home.”