A Fighting Chance

Chapter 8

Demi

During my last couple of sessions with Nick, I noticed how distant he was becoming. He really was limiting his flirtatious comments towards me, and was more focused on his workouts. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little Nick has really even paid attention to me. I could feel myself beginning to get sad, the more I thought about it. I know that I was not really engaging much in conversation either, and I was never free to hang out when he offered, but I had a lot on my mind. Not to mention, I was slammed at work, so I truly was never free. I tried to brush it out of my thoughts, and focus on the piles of paperwork I had before my next client. I feel like I am already behind in my work. The week is going by so slow, it is only Tuesday. I let out a deep sigh, and continued to fill out these documents .

After working on some paperwork, I walked out to the main lobby, since I had a new client coming in today. I figured it was time I should go out and see what I am working with here. I walked over to my assistant and grabbed the patients folder from her. I opened it, and looked over the name. Once I read the first word, I felt my heart beat faster.

"It can't be..." I said quietly under my breathe and then looked up at my assistant.

"What's that Demi?" She asked me.

"Where is my next client?" I asked her, curious to see if it was who I thought.

I watched as my assistant moved from her seat and pointed towards the far back corner. "Right over there," She said as she pointed and looked over at me with a smile.

I followed her gaze, and caught my breath when I saw who it was. "Carter?" I said aloud, causing his head to glance up from the magazine that he was holding. As soon as Carter saw me, he immediately broke out into a smile. He stood up, with his arm in a sling, and then started making his way over towards me. I held my breath. Why was he here in California? Why was he back? How long had he been here? I had all of these questions running through my head, and I didn't even know where to begin.

The last time I saw Carter, he was driving away, and leaving for his new Residency Program over at one of the top Med Schools in New York. Remembering that day, made me incredibly sad. That was the day that Carter and I decided to call off our engagement. Even though we had such a great relationship, we realized that we were both not wanting to deal with the distance. Carter had no interest in coming back to California, and I was not wanting to leave. We always said we would keep in touch, but like all things, life happened. We grew apart, and slowly stopped talking. I couldn't remember the last time I had even talked to Carter. I shook my head from my thoughts and noticed him standing right in front of me.

"Demi," He said as he leaned in and gave me a one armed hug. I hugged him back, but was at a loss of words. I continued to just stare at him. Probably because I was in disbelief right now. "So... are you going to take me back there?" He asked with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Right this way," I said as I led him back towards my physical therapy room. "Go ahead and have a seat right here, and we can talk about what happened... with your arm," I said as I pointed over to the therapy table.

"My shoulder," He corrected me.

"Oh, right," I said with a smile as I continued to just stare at him. I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"You're nervous, aren't you, Dem?" He asked me, catching me off guard.

"N-no, why would you think that?" I asked him as I giggled.

"Because you keep tucking your hair behind your ear, and that is what you do whenever you get nervous," He said as he watched me. I really had no idea what to say. I just laughed, and then looked down at the patient file that was in front of me.