FALL (DIMENSION Series #1)

CHAPTER 18

I got up earlier than usual, knowing I'd need extra time because of my slowed-down body.

      I made it into the bathroom and looked at my shoulder in the mirror. A blueish bruise stretched over it, but I didn't feel any pain. I thought it was because Derek had placed his hand on my shoulder the day before. His touch had seemed to extract all the pain from it. But of course I knew my rendering sounded crazy. It wasn't something I could ever say to anyone.

      I'd have to internalize things, even if I could prove to my parents and my doctors that my shoulder had been healed and that a full range of motion was possible once again. I already knew they would blame my supposed concussion for my perceptions. But I knew what I felt. It couldn't be denied. Something had happened and something had changed. I was on the mend.

      The rest of my body felt better too. The limping and stumbling of the day before had gone almost completely. I made my way down the stairs to the breakfast table and tried to convince my parents that I was well enough to go to school.

     "Are you sure about this?" my mother asked as she nervously eyed my dad.

     "Absolutely sure," I replied and took a sip of orange juice.

     "I can drop you off at school," my dad said. It seemed clear that I still wasn't in a condition to walk to school.

     I smiled as I shook my head at him. I was glad that my dad was always supportive. I'd become even more aware of his involvement in my life when I'd found out about Derek living with his alcoholic uncle. The uncle that he had failed to tell me about made me think again about his text that never came.

     But I felt no anger towards Derek. I felt only warmness and a sense of acceptance. And of course, I felt love. A stronger love than I'd ever felt before.

     "I can drive there myself," I said. And watched as my parents looked at each other as they considered this information.

     I finished my yogurt and the egg and toast my mother had made for me. I knew it was important to come across as totally restored, and that included eating well.

      My mother finally agreed to let me drive myself to school. I hugged Estella goodbye and I walked out the kitchen to where my car was parked outside our house. I stood in the yard for a while. Finding a sliver of morning sun among the trees. Surrendering to it as I soaked in the colors of the fall leaves all around me. The same feeling of earlier was with me. Everything seemed more intense, more in focus, and brighter than before. Almost supernatural. This must be a consequence of love, I thought as I unlocked my car.

      And then, before I could fully register it, I was driving to school. It felt different to enter the parking lot in a car, but some of my rituals remained the same. I scanned the parking lot for Derek's car as I did every school day. I spotted it right away, and happiness flooded me.

     But even before seeing his car, I'd already known that he'd be at school today. He ditched so often that his presence really wasn't a given at all. But I somehow just knew. I could feel it in my bones.

      The moment I entered the main school building, I seemed to be the center of attention. Kids I didn't really know walked over to me. They said my name and touched my elbow and my wrist as they talked to me. Repeatedly I heard the words your fall.

      "I'm sorry about your fall, Ellie" Veronica McCall said, and she looked at me with big blue eyes that were brimming with sympathy. "But I'm really glad you're all right."