Total Heartthrob || Chris McLean

Season 1: Prepare For More

Over the course of two weeks, my wounds had healed enough to not hurt every time I moved. I was able to roll over in bed and stand out of bed by myself, Chris was able to lay close to me. I still needed my crutches and, of course, my inhaler, but I honestly didn't mind. The crutches were sort of growing on me; they were my second set of legs. On my legs and arms, the bruising had settled down to a light yellow and my skin was slowly becoming whole again, though there were obvious scars. I was learning to accept them, knowing I needed to. They were now apart of me, no amount of fading would make them disappear completely, and I just had to accept them. I couldn't spend the rest of my life hating my body because then I would just be miserable.

Chris had went back to finishing the season after giving the campers a bit of a break. He told them it was due to legal issues with my injuries because that made more sense than the truth of him refusing to leave my side. I was off the show so it wouldn't of mattered if everyone found out, but announcing it so soon after my elimination would expose the fact that we were together throughout nearly the entirety of the season. That wouldn't be good for our image or the shows. Duncan, and apparently Chef, were the only people who knew and that's how I wanted to keep it.

The show was down to the last episode, with only Gwen, Heather and Owen remaining. It wasn't the three I was expecting to be in the finale but it was going to make the ending a whole better. But with the end nearing, Chris was going to be gone most of the day. I prepared myself for boredom. 

I was currently hobbling around on my crutches in the kitchen, trying to make myself something to eat. The crutches weren't really needed in this situation, but I couldn't stand for long periods of times without my legs burning and with the lack of food in the kitchen, I was definitely going to be standing there for a while. With the finale coming up, we hadn't gotten groceries in a while and the food was dwindling. I was lucky to find a bag of chips and settled on eating those, letting my crutches sit against the counter as I waddled toward the couch.

I sat down slowly, my thighs bandaged up to hold the ointment in place and to prevent it from getting on anything. Chris said he didn't care if it got in anything but I did, and I didn't want him cleaning up my mess. Grabbing the remote, I turned Netflix on and picked a random animated movie. I had been on a kick of animated movies recently.

I helped lift my legs up onto the couch and laid on my side, pulling my inhaler out of my pocket to not crush it. That stupid piece of plastic was now my best friend, in the same way by glasses were. When Chris said I needed an inhaler, I didn't believe I needed it every single fucking day. Damn near, at least. My lungs were yet to heal and, honestly, I don't think they ever will. They just constantly felt on the verge of collapsing and it sucked.

I'm sure the medical team was in awe that I survived the literal tortuous hell I put my body through. And quite frankly, I was too.

I let my eyes close as I listened to the movie. Then another, and another, and another. I had finished my bag of chips, as well as three packages of poptarts that I'm pretty sure we're stale, by the time Chris has returned. The sun was also down and darkness poured in through the windows, something I'm surprised I hadn't realized sooner. I must've been really into the movies. Tiredly, I tilted my head back as he walked in. "Hey, how was the finale?" He looked tired but happy as I looked at him upside down.

He smiled while walking around the couch, my head following him and now viewing him normally. He lifted me up so he could sit where my head, letting his head rest against the back of the couch. "I did not think Owen had it in him, but somehow he won." I hummed in surprise, not really expecting that either. Nothing against Owen by any means, especially considering how he was competitive, I just didn't expect it. My bet was on Gwen; the girl had drive.