You Always Have Me

Part 13

Jeremy was released from the hospital after a few more days. Trying to put on a brave face, once he saw the wheelchair, Stevie instantly knew that inside he was breaking apart. Asking for a moment, she talked to him, reassuring him, reminding him of Dr. Phillips' words, that there was a chance he could learn to walk again. He just smiled slightly, giving her a small nod, saying he loved her, before saying goodbye, when Stevie couldn't ignore Evelyn tapping her foot impatiently anymore. The more she thought about it, the more she believed Beth; something was definitely going on.

Evelyn had arranged for Thomas, the oldest of the three siblings, to come on the day of Jeremy's discharge from hospital, so he could be taken to San Diego, to their mother's house. Martha hadn't been feeling that well lately, so worried about her health, Evelyn insisted on keeping Jeremy's condition a secret until they came home.

Once there, Thomas got out of the car, going to the back to take the wheelchair out of the trunk, then bringing it to the side, where Jeremy sat waiting. Opening the backdoor, Thomas showed at the wheelchair, saying. "Do you need any help?"

"What do you recon?" Jeremy gave his brother a look. He was completely different from Thomas and Evelyn, him being naïve and oblivious to a lot of things and her, rather vicious at times. Jeremy could hardly believe the three of them were actually related.

After being helped to get out of the car and in the chair, Jeremy wheeled himself to the front door, silently appreciating at least the effort of making it possible for him to get into the house. They thought of something after all...

"Where's Mom?" Jeremy asked, looking around, always used to seeing his mother in the kitchen or in the garden, tending to her precious flowers.

"She's probably in her room, resting."

"Oh, so she's not doing any better?"

"Not really, but she's alright." Evelyn shrugged it off, gripping onto Jeremy's wheelchair. "Well, brother, let's show you to your room now. Thomas and I set it up for you downstairs, so it's easier for you."

"You do understand I'll need a lot of care anyway, right?" He asked, letting to be pushed. "I can't do shit for myself right now."

"Of course we understand that. No worries though. We've thought this whole thing through." Stopping by the room, she showed to Thomas. "Open the door." Wheeling Jeremy inside, Evelyn continued. "We found you a rehabilitation center, you'll go there quite frequently during the week and once you're back here, you'll have a caregiver to look after you, around the clock if needed be."

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that."

"You don't really have another choice, do you? You'll get to, uh... meet her soon."

Sighing, Jeremy chose to shut up, again being assisted by his brother to get into bed. He thanked Evelyn and Thomas, saying he wanted to be alone for a while, maybe sleep, while in all honesty, he just wanted them to be gone.

Later, Martha was told about her youngest son at last and she about jumped out of her bed, rushing down the stairs to see him. Evelyn trailed behind her mother, wanting to know every single thing that would be said.

"Oh, my dear..." Martha entered Jeremy's room, approaching his bed slowly, as he smiled at her, trying to cheer her up, so she wouldn't think things were that grim.

"I'm okay, Mom. I'm just... well, I can't feel half of my body, but I'm fine."

"Don't talk like that, Jeremy." Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Martha brought her hand up to her son's face, brushing his hair out of his eyes, shielding some cuts that were still visible. "I can't believe this happened to you."

"Well, it did Mom. It's been over a month now, I'd like to move on from that and focus on getting stronger."

"Of course, absolutely." Nodding her head, Martha agreed wholeheartedly. "Where's Stevie?"

"She's back at home, I didn't want her to be around me like this. I want to get better for her."

Smiling, Martha could see that that was truly all Jeremy cared about. "Can I make you something to eat to start off your recovery process?"

Laughing lightly, Jeremy nodded. "If you're not too tired, I'd like any kind of soup."

"Sure thing, honey." Kissing him on the forehead, Martha left, going to the kitchen with Evelyn following her.

"I don't get why Jeremy is defending her." Evelyn took a seat at the kitchen table. "I could see relief written all over her face, when I said we were taking Jeremy with us to help him get better."

Frowning, Martha asked. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Come on, Mom. Why does she need a husband who is incapable of basically everything? I'm sure she doesn't want to just say it to his face, so this worked out perfectly for her."

"Well..." Leaning against the kitchen counter, Martha shrugged. "They haven't been together for that long and I've only got to see Stevie a few times, but I thought she was lovely. Besides, Jeremy loves her."

"I'm not saying he doesn't, I'm just not sure she loves him."

"Evelyn, stop. You don't know what you're saying." Martha scolded, not wanting to listen to her daughter anymore.

In the evening, like promised, the woman who was going to help Jeremy out arrived. Thomas had already left and Martha was in bed for the night, Evelyn being the one in charge.

"Just keep calm, okay?" She said, showing the way to where Jeremy was. "He's not exactly jumping from joy about this whole thing, but I'm sure he'll get used to it in time. He might throw a fit, but bear with him." Twisting the doorknob, Evelyn pushed the door open letting the woman through, whose eyes settled on Jeremy, while his did on her.

"Nicole?" He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or this was really happening.