By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN

Chapter 5: Therapy and soccer

Two weeks later...

Camila walked into Dr. Grande's office and took her place on the sofa. Dr. Grande was at her desk hurriedly signing documents. She finished and handed them to her assistant then walked over and sat down on the chair nearest Camila.

"Sorry, I've been crazy busy," Ariana said, smiling kindly.

"No problem at all," Camila answered, her voice light.

"So how are things going?" Ariana asked, "How's the new job?"

"It's been really good for me, I think," Camila said, "Working from home is a good transition back into the workplace. I do video conferencing regularly so there is some human interaction, and in two weeks I'll drive into the city and go to Whitmore Labs for a big meeting."

"How do you feel about that?" Ariana asked.

"I'm not really excited or happy about it, but it's fine," Camila answered honestly.

"It's okay to feel neutral about certain things," Ariana answered, "In life, most things don't affect us greatly one way or another."

"Mostly when it comes to work I feel good because I'm challenging myself again," Camila said, "At least mentally I am."

"And physically, how is PT going?" Ariana asked.

"It's fine, I'm sore a lot but Ally insists that's a good thing," Camila said, "Apparently stopping was not very good for all the scar tissue- and every now and then my hip or my knee will kind of catch. It's irritating. I'm dealing with it."

"Are you?" Ariana asked.

"I'm going to PT and doing everything Ally tells me to do," Camila answered, her voice becoming a little defensive.

"But are you dealing with the emotional effects of your physical injuries?" Ariana asked, keeping her voice calm and neutral.

"I'm here with you," Camila sighed.

"You are, and you're always ready to talk about your job and your PT but you never want to explore how you feel about your physical limitations," Ariana said.

"I feel shitty about them," Camila said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I can't do what I want to do with my life because my body won't let me. I don't know what else to say."

"So how do you change those feelings, Camila?" Ariana asked.

"I can't change how I feel," Camila answered, growing more irritated, "I worked my ass off to get where I was and it all ended in an instant. I can't just get past that. I don't know why anyone expects me to."

"Do you think anyone expects you to be perfectly fine after what you've been through, Camila?" Dinah asked.

Camila sat in thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," Camila finally said, quietly, "I just want to put it all behind me."

"You can't put it behind you as long as you feel like it's holding you back from having a full life, Camila," Ariana said gently.

"I'm trying," Camila huffed out.

"I know you are," Ariana answered, her voice comforting.

"I met someone," Camila said suddenly, looking up at the doctor.

"You're changing the subject," Ariana said, raising an eyebrow.

"I am, but I want to tell you about her," Camila said, "Because being around her makes me kind of forget about everything."