By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN

Chapter 11: Camila's injury rears its head

Camila woke up and immediately felt the pain in her leg and hip. She tried to roll out of her bed but her body seized against the aches. She took a deep breath and laid back.

"Fuck!" she said, her breath deep. She called out to her sister, "DJ? DJ?"

There was no answer. Camila couldn't help but feel a little happy that Dinah wasn't home. It had been a long time since Dinah had looked at anyone the way she was looking at Normani at the festival. Camila wanted her to be with someone who made her feel good again and Normani seemed like a great person.

Camila resigned herself to the fact that she was alone and slowly managed to get into a sitting position. She looked over to see her crutches leaning a few feet away in the corner of her bedroom. She hadn't used them in months but she knew she had no other choice. She managed to limp over to the corner, wincing with every step.  She placed the crutches under her arms and took a deep breath, trying to will away the pain.

She used the crutches to make her way into the bathroom.  She reached into the medicine cabinet and poured two Ibuprofen pills into her hand. She turned on the water in the sink and took the pills. She made her way into the kitchen and pulled a Gatorade from the refrigerator. She opened the freezer and pulled out two gel ice wraps and threw them over her shoulder. She managed to make her way to the reclining chair in the den and tossed the crutches aside. She sat down and reclined the chair then arranged the gel packs on her hip and leg. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she finally got into a position that was somewhat comfortable. She looked over to see the remote just barely out of her reach on the coffee table.

"For fucks sake," she breathed out. She leaned forward and lunged and just managed to grab the remote, but the pain shot through her leg and her whole body tingled. She could feel herself sweating. She remembered Ally's voice from her first physical therapy sessions after the accident. She concentrated on her own breathing until she was able to physically relax her muscles. She laid back again and opened the Gatorade and took a sip.

She realized her phone was in her room but there was no getting up to get that right now. She needed to stay still for a little while. She turned on the tv and saw that it was nearly 10:00. She scrolled through Netflix and settled on watching a documentary series about chefs. She hoped to be distracted but after the first episode ended and the pain hadn't subsided at all she feared it was hopeless. She was trying to decide what to do when she heard the door to the apartment open. She looked up to see Dinah walk in, wearing her clothes from the day before.

Dinah looked at Camila with a big grin at first, but her expression changed almost immediately.

"Mila, are you okay?" Dinah asked, her voice rising with concern as she neared the chair.

"I think I pushed too hard yesterday," Camila said, her voice cracking.

"Here, let me help you get in a better position," Dinah said.

She hurried to the closet and pulled out a couple of therapeutic pillows. She had helped Camila through so much of her recovery that she knew what to do to alleviate some of her pain. She walked back to the chair and gently lifted Camila's leg and placed one pillow under her knee. She walked to the other side and looked at Camila.

"I know it's not going to feel good but you need to lift up just a little and let me slide this under," Dinah said.

Camila nodded and raised her hip. She couldn't help the small moan of anguish that came out as Dinah slipped the pillow in place. Dinah rearranged the cold wraps then went and grabbed one more pillow for under Camila's head.

"Blanket?" Dinah asked, and Camila nodded. Dinah grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and gently draped it over her sister.

"Have you taken anything?" Dinah asked.