Masked//Roman Reigns Love Story

26. Day One

Tuesday, December 2, 2013
11:28a.m.

I hobbled from my security guard's truck to inside the place I'd be spending most of my time for the next month or so. Physical therapy. Not only was I feeling refreshed from the new change in setting, but getting back to wrestling was at the top of my to do list and healing my foot was going to get me there. Or halfway there. The other part was finding out who snuck up on me on my birthday so that me traveling wouldn't be considered dangerous for myself and those around me.

About ten paces from the door sat a receptionist that guided me to the correct floor. I limped straight ahead to the elevator, took it up to the fifth floor, then made a left until I couldn't go any further. Opening the door, I was met with a nearly empty, but large seating area. It reminded me of a doctor's office. I got myself signed in and waited anxiously to be called back. I'd been to rehab once before, but that was for a back injury I suffered during my dance phase. 

After a ten minute wait, my name was called from the back of the room. I turned and saw a skinny, ginger haired woman with freckles scattered across her cheeks. Her eyes were a grass green and she looked far from intimidating.

"Maria? Hi, I'm Robin, and my intern and I will be working with you on your foot for the next few months," she smiled, gesturing for me to follow her.

"Hi."

She quickly led me past a room filled with yoga mats, balls, and weights. We walked a little further before she pulled me into a small, square room. There was a cabinet with a sink and and a tan bench calling my name. My entire mood dropped when I realized Noah was waiting in the room. The same Noah that just recently popped back up in my life. I let out an uneasy sigh. He was one of the last people I was expecting or wanting to see.

"Maria, this is Noah, the new intern that will be assisting me," Robin said. 

"You followed me to rehab?"

"You two know each other?"

"We do," I gave a crooked smile.

"So you know that Noah is one of the best we have at this facility? He's working with me because he's not qualified by the state to work on his own yet, but he's learning and is incredibly passionate about what us physical therapists do."

"We actually haven't talked about his job much, but good to know you support him."

Noah was stuck in the corner, desperately trying to read my mood. The look on his face told me that he knew how wrong this was. Did he know I was coming to this facility? Was he stalking me? I felt ambushed and confused, but I had to keep my composure. I didn't want to freak out in front of Robin, or Noah for the matter. I didn't want him knowing that he had that kind of power over me. Despite my discomfort, my recovery was more important than having to be around him again. If he was going to be able to get me back in the ring then nothing else really mattered. This was business. 

"Robin supports me like we're both here to support you, Maria. We want to get you back to what you love as soon as possible and I hope that me working with you won't be a problem," Noah explained.

"It's fine. I'd like to get to work."

Things officially started when Robin removed my brace to take a closer look at my foot. I wasn't going to be able to tell if I would need surgery until a few weeks into physical therapy. Noah assured me that I'd be able to heal me without going under the knife. I didn't know if I could trust him, but I wanted to believe it.

Noah squatted down to my foot to get a closer look after Robin had examined me. I refused to look down at him and the close contact brought a wave of awkwardness over me. I wasn't sure if Noah felt it, too. His warm hands traced along my ankle and foot, feeling around. The tops of his fingers brushed along the tops of my toes and he asked me if I felt any pain when he applied pressure. It hurt a little, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. 

"I don't want you to go into too much detail, but what happened with your foot?" Noah asked, slightly bending each toe before I flinched away from pain.

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it much. I guess I was just being flung around a lot and I was trying to get my balance, and maybe along the way, my foot bent out of the norm. I don't remember one specific thing that set off the pain."

"That's understandable," Robin frowned, jotting down what I was saying on her clipboard.

Once Noah had carefully maneuvered around my toes, shifting and bending them, he told me that I was going to have to stand up. It was important for them to know how functional I was without a brace on me. He offered me his hands but I ignored him and pushed myself off the bench. Slowly, I came to a stand with my right foot slightly off the ground. Once I balanced on my one good foot, I exhaled and cautiously lowered my right foot onto the cold, tiled floor. Being on my own two feet without crutches or a brace had felt so foreign to me, despite only being injured for a month. It hurt. 

"Do you think you could take a few steps for us?" Noah wondered, distancing himself from me.

I said that I would try and I took a few deep breaths before extending my weakened foot ahead of me. I transferred my weight so that it was all being balanced on my right foot and I nearly cried out. After more deep breaths, I moved my left foot to match up with the right. I was able to repeat the process about five more times before coming face to face with Noah again.

"That's good, really good," Robin smiled, taking note of my process on that same piece of paper.

They asked me if I could jump and although fearful of trying, I did. However, when I tried to jump, I tottered over to the left of me. I probably would've fell if Noah didn't reach out to grab me. I stiffly backed away from him, limping on my foot.

"Well, I think we can get you back in training by the first or second week of January. If you're willing to work hard, you could be one hundred percent for WrestleMania, without a shadow of a doubt," Noah grinned.

That was the best news I'd heard all week. WrestleMania was the biggest pay-per-view in all of WWE. It's the event people fought just to be on a poster. It's a week long event, saturated with interviews, charity work, legend inductee ceremony, the actual show itself, and then Raw and SmackDown are the craziest episodes of wrestling you'd ever see. Full of returns, departures, new champions, and so much more. It was hectic and tiring, but I could not miss it. 

"I hope so. WrestleMania is a must. I'm getting on that card one way or another," I said confidently, hoping that if I truly believed it, it'd come true.

"You're in good hands for that, Miss Rodriguez," Robin nodded, reaching out to shake my hand. "Your real first session starts this Friday at eleven and it probably won't be easy, but it's all in your best interest. Your muscles are stiff, so we'll work on loosening them up."

"Thank you," I smiled, sliding on my brace and securing it.

Robin left the room to tend to another patient and she left Noah to walk me out. I texted my driver, alerting him that I'd be out in a few minutes, and I sent a separate text to Michelle that I was on my way back to her house. 

"You have my number, Maria. If you ever need anything outside of this facility, please just call me."

"I won't make any promises," I frowned before leaving down the hall and onto the elevator.