Broken Wings

Chapter 23: The Aftermath

It's been a week since I came home. I was still sore, but not as bad. All my bruises are starting to turn that ugly yellow/green color that they do when they're healing. Hunter went back to work this morning. He rode with Ryder since he basically lives with us now. My dad wasn't going in until later, he was taking me to my Doctors appointment. I grabbed my shoes. It hurt to bend over. I winced and groaned in pain. "Are you okay?" My Dad asked. "Yeah, I will be. It's hard to move after I first wake up." I sighed. "Did you take your pills yet?" "I can't until 10:30am. I took them at 4:30 this morning." "Okay, are you ready to see your truck? I don't want to rush you, but we have to make a decision." He asked with a concerned look on his face. "As ready as I'll ever be." I nodded.
I had to have a bunch of x-rays and a MRI. We were sitting in a room when the doctor came in. "Miss Paislee! You're making remarkable progress. As of right now, we can take the stitches out of your arm. The MRI didn't show any brain swelling and there is no bleeding in the brain either. Your arm, still needs to be in a sling for at least another week. I'll have you come back next week. How's your pain been for the most part?" "Last week was excruciating, but the last few days it's been bearable. It doesn't really bother me until I move after I've been laying down or sitting for a while." I explained. "That's normal. You shouldn't be in pain for too much longer. Do you have any weakness walking or anything?" "No, none at all." "Okay good. I'm going to refill your pills, the nurse is going to come in and take your stitches out, and I'll see you next week." He finished and walked out.
After we left the doctors, we went to the garage to figure out what we're going to do with my truck. We walked in and the boys were just finishing up a customers car. "Hey!" Hunter came over and kissed me when he was finished. "Hi to you too." I giggled and smiled. "How'd it go?" "He said my brain is good. No swelling or bleeding. They took the stitches in my arm out, they said I'm healing up nicely, and I have to wear the sling for at least another week. But I don't have any weakness anywhere and he says I shouldn't be in pain for too much longer." I smiled and told him everything. "Good! Babe, that's great news!" He hugged me.
After almost losing me, and losing his uncle, I'm glad I could give him some good news. "How are you feeling today?" "I'm good right now. I was in a little pain when I first got up but when I told the doctor he said it was normal especially after not moving for a while." "Good! I'm so glad you're feeling better! Ryder is going to take you out back to your truck. I have to do a couple things, and then I'll be out." "Okay. Sounds good." I smiled and kissed him. He walked away and Ryder came over. "You two are sickening." Ry laughed. "Don't pick on your sister! I like him! He can stay!" Dad laughed. "Are you ready for this?" Ryder turned serious and asked me. "As ready as I'll ever be." I sighed. Dad nodded to him and he led the way outback.
It was awful. The sides and top torn apart from where they had to cut me out. The whole driver side was smashed in, as well as the front. I froze. There was dried blood all over the interior, my blood. The bed was completely caved in. My front tires were facing completely opposite ways,the passenger back tire was coming off the rims, and the driver side back tire was completely gone.
"This truck looks worse than Zee's..." I said softly staring at the wreck of my truck. "Yeah, that's why we were glad that we saw you, before we saw the truck." Dad put his hand on my shoulder. "Did they total it?" I asked. "Yes. It's completely unsalvageable. They already came and took pictures. You could buy a whole new one with the insurance money they're giving you." Ryder sighed. "So, what can we do?" I looked at my dad and then back to Ryder. "Scrap it. Take the money and use it. We can't even use it for spare parts, and there is no we can fix it." Dad shrugged. "Scraping it would be our best option." Ryder agreed with Dad.
"Okay. Let's scrap it. I'll take the money from the scrap for a down payment on a new truck and buy it with the insurance money. I just finished paying it off a few months ago." I made a decision. "Okay, I'll go call the scrap yard and hopefully we can get it over there before the end of the week." Ryder hugged me and went back inside. "Hunters coming, so I'm going to head back in and call your mom. I'll let her know about how your appointment went. Hunter will take you home, so you can rest. He can stay there with you for the rest of the day. I already spoke to him this morning." Dad turned to me. "Okay, and thank you for taking me today. I really appreciate it." I hugged him. "Anytime. I love you, go get some rest." He smiled and turned around. "I love you too, Dad." I hadn't said that to him in years and it felt good to finally have my father back after all these years.
"You okay?" Hunter came over. "Yeah, I will be." I smiled and hugged him. "Good. Let's get you home." He kissed me. "Good idea." I agreed.
When I got home I took a hot shower. I watched the water run down my stomach, and my arms. I closed my eyes for a seconds and opened them. There was blood running down my arms, and my stomach. I screamed and scrambled to shut the water off. I was in full panic mode. "Paislee! Paislee!" Hunter caught me in a towel and held me. I was sobbing uncontrollably. "Tell me what happened." He whispered in my ear. "There was blood everywhere. It wasn't there and then one second it was all over my arms and my stomach." I tried to catch my breath. "It wasn't real. Look, there isn't any blood in the tub or on you." He showed me. He was right, it was clear. "It's all in your head, Pais. It's probably from seeing your truck today for the first time since." He dried me off and handed me my clothes. "Probably. This would happen sometimes after Zee's accident. It'll go away." I agreed. "I know it will. It's still all the fear inside of you. Come on let's get you in bed." He grabbed my hand and walked with me.
He braided my wet hair and laid with me too.
"It's going to be okay Paislee-Jay. I promise." He said stroking my head, calming me down. "I trust you with my life. I love you Hunter." I yawned and closed my eyes. "I love you too."