Numb (Alliance Trilogy)

Stanley's Shop

~Chapter Three~

The line went dead and Jenny felt her heart hammer with anticipation as she leaned back in her wheel chair and took a small breath. It had been done and in a few hours there would be a truck and a man to take a look at some of her things. She stirred a bit in her chair feeling her back ache from sitting down and shifted into a more comfortable position.

The doctor had mentioned that from time to time she try to stand but she was not risking it for a second. It had only been a month and her wounds had just begun to heal. She feared moving a single muscle from her waist down. Jenny was glad that there had been no signs of infection even with the tiny pellet lodged in her spine. The doctor had called it a miracle. Most gunshot patients had to have amputation or worse, face death.

At times she wished she'd have gotten the easy way out, and then she would remind herself that such actions would only take her to a place where her mother wasn't in. And she longed to see her mother. Shaking away her sad thought Jenny began to gather whatever she could near the front door.

She considered calling for a police man just in case the man tried to rob her blind without paying her. What if they did more than just steal from her? Jenny hurried to pick up the phone and dialed the police station making sure an officer would be here just to keep her safe. As soon as the arrangement was made she felt more at ease as she sat in front of her television watching boring soap operas.

Every channel she flipped to seem to be have people running, walking, crossing their legs, talking about their legs. She tossed the remote away as the TV came to a blank and pushed out of the living room feeling so glum. There was this deep need to cuddle into her mother's bed, to hold an old dress of hers and feel just for a moment as if it was her whom held her.

As her need for human contact overpowered her senses she came to find herself facing the stairs. She glanced at the clock and looked at the stairs. Just how long would it take her to get up the flight of fifty two steps? The pawn broker and the police man wouldn't be here until noon so she had three hours.

Her fingers itched as she stared at the railing. Could she try standing? Taking a deep breath Jenny locked her wheels in place and gently moved her body so that it sat near the edge of her chair. She felt her throat shut as she pushed up on her palm and felt the awful burning pain fill her back.

A scream of pain escaped her as she collapsed back into a sitting position. There was no hope, she'd never walk again.

She eyed the railing once again to the stairs and reach a hand to grasp it. No amount of pain would keep her from going up the stairs. Her fingers touched the glossy brown wood and with just a little more effort she managed to grab a handful of it.

She pushed off the chair her legs giving out as she tumbled down to the first step. A small yelp escaped her as she sat down on the first step, her legs crooked dead stems in front of her.

"I can do this." She whispered.

Positioning her hands over the step behind her, Jenny pushed her body up so that her bottom landed on the second step and away she went, slowly and ever so carefully. When at last her behind came in contact with the last step she laughed truly happy that for once something had changed. Now she would be able to go upstairs.

She turned over her shoulder and stared at her mother's bedroom door to the far end of the hall. Her brow beaded with sweat as she placed her hands firmly at each side of her hips and pushed backwards again. It was almost like rowing a boat as she dragged her dead bottom half towards the door and managed to turn the knob. She collapsed at the entrance and laid her head on the cream colored carpet floor to her mother's room. A heavy breath escaped her as she looked up and saw the large queen bed just a few feet away.