Rehabilitation

Chapter 3: Separation

It's now been about 2 month since I first injured myself and it's been a grueling process. I've been released from the hospital, but the recovery is much more difficult than I was expecting. I heard from my parents that the team started a crowdfund for my medical bills and it's been extremely successful. Even colleges and MLB teams that have been scouting me sent some big donations. I've had a lot of visitors stop by and just knowing all the people that are rooting for me to recover makes me want to get better even faster. Sophie has been over everyday since I first got injured and Maya is working hard on sending out more of her applications. I am glad that Maya doesn't have to worry so much, but I can tell that she is still mad at this whole situation. I still see her a lot and she always seems happy. I'm still devastated about baseball, but with everyone showing their support, I can't dwell on what happened

The door creaks open and I hear Sophie's voice, "How are you feeling today?"

    "I'm feeling alright. The doctor said that I should be able to start walking on crutches now!"

    "That's great Thomas! You still shouldn't overdo it."

    "I won't I'm just glad I can finally go outside and get some fresh air."

Sophie walked out of the room and back to help my parents clean the dishes of the food they brought me. She's been giving herself a hard time, but recently she seemed happier. I remember being so mad at her before, but she's been so supportive that it's hard to see her as a bad person. The last month she has gone above and beyond to help me and my family. My family even began to forgive her and treat her like she's part of the family. It's crazy to think how in just 2 month everyones opinion on this girl has changed. Well almost everyone... Maya is still very uncomfortable with this whole situation. She came over last week and looked extremely upset. She said that she did want Sophie to come over anymore because she feels like we are getting too close. It's not like her to get mad at stuff like this, but I do understand that she wishes she could come over more and help out also. I heard Maya walk into my house and greet my family and Sophie.

    "Hey Thomas, Can I come in?" I heard Maya ask from outside the door.

    "Yeah come on in." I answered back to her.

    "Can I ask you something?"

    "Yeah, what's up?"

    "I should have told you this sooner, but I got accepted to Stanford University in California." She said reluctantly.

Maya was always an extremely smart girl. She always had amazing grades, but I never really knew how good her grades were I guess. Grades never really mattered to me because I was completely invested in sports. I always heard stories about schools she was applying to, but she always played them off as long shots that she wouldn't get into. I'm extremely happy, but living in Chicago, California feels a world away.

    "Oh... Thats awesome!" I said hesitantly. "That was your top choice. I'm happy for yo-." She cut me off before I could finish.

    "I don't want to go." She whispered under her breath. "I don't want to be that far away from you. I can just go to University of Chicago. It's a good school and I got in there also!"

    "You can't turn down your number 1 choice just for me. We've talked about this before. We said that our relationship wouldn't deter us from our futures. What changed?"

    "Your injury!" She grumbled. "I've known that I was accepted for the past couple weeks. I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid that if I told you, you would just leave me and with Sophie being here everyday taking care of you, I was afraid of what would happen if I leave."

I understood her worries, but what would I do if she were to leave? Of course I'd want to stay with her, but I wonder if it would work.

    Before the conversation finished I heard Sophie from behind the door. "Ar... Are you really worried about that?" Sophie asked.

    "How much of that did you hear?" Maya asked quietly with her head down.

    "Enough. I know that you might be worried about me, but I'm not the kind of person you are making me out to be. I promise you that I would never do anything with someone in a relationship. I came here to help him recover from his injuries and not have him go through this alone."

    "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm acting like this. I don't know why I'm jealous or why I feel the need to speak out. I just do. I don't like feeling this way, and knowing that in a few months that I could be living thousands of miles away. I don't want to worry, so I think I just need time to think." Maya said walking out of the room and through the front door.

    "I'm sorry Thomas. I should have never got in the way of you and your girlfriend."

    "It's okay. I should really go talk to Maya." I said while standing up with my crutches.

My arms had healed extremely well, but the ligaments in my knees were still very unstable. I guess I understand why he said I will never be able to walk normal again. My left knee was better, but extremely fatigued. I tried to stand up on my crutches, but the instant I tried to put pressure on my left knee it gave out causing me to fall.

    "THOMAS! Are you okay?" Sophie yelled after using herself to brace my fall.

    "Sorry about that. Guess my legs don't really work like they used to."

While we both were on the floor after my tumble, I looked up to see Maya at the door.

    "It's not what it looks like!" We both yelled.

    "It's okay... I saw you fall." Maya replied. "I just don't want this conversation to end open ended. I just wanted to say, I think we should break up." Maya stated confidently.

    "If it's because of me-" Sophie was cut off.

    "It's not. It's just being reasonable. I love Thomas more than anything. That is why I am doing this. He has so much going on in his life right now and I have only been a negative aspect for him. I've had this thought in my head for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't until I heard what you had to say, Sophie. I never even had a conversation with, yet I felt the need to judge you. I never stopped loving you Thomas. It's me that I stopped loving. I'm sorry Thomas. I'll see you around." Maya runs out again before anyone else can say a word.

    "Can I have some time alone?" I asked Sophie.

    "Yeah, I'm sorry." She says while leaving the room.

I couldn't really comprehend what was happening. I felt the distance between us, but never imagined this. Maybe this was for the better. She needs to be able to focus in school and not have me hold her back. This is what has to be done. This had to happen, but why does it hurt so much? I notice tears start falling from my eyes. I need to get past this. She's going to be working really hard in college, so I have to work hard on recovering.