Hunters

twleve

The cast fell to the floor and I sighed with relief, flexing my foot and rolling my ankle around. Daddy chuckled at my actions and I grinned happily up at him. The past two weeks hadn’t been any different in school for me, and I was so happy to be getting rid of the hunk of plaster casing my leg. Mom was shaking her head and smiling back at me, rolling her eyes.

“Well, it seems that you’re as good as new Miss Bentley.”

I’d taken on Daddy’s and Mom’s last name and just the week before we had made it official with the court. I was still getting used to it and each time it surprised me when someone called me by it. Nick found it amusing how I wouldn’t realize the person was talking to me when they addressed me as ‘Miss Bentley’, so he started randomly calling it out when he wasn’t near me. Just that day in the hall he’d called it out while trying to get to me, but it hadn’t registered that he was talking to me so I’d kept walking.

“That thing got so itchy after a while. I’m so glad it’s off.”

“Just don’t break any more bones, and you won’t ever have to deal with one again.”

“Deal. No more broken bones.”

“Would you like to keep it as a souvenir?”

“No thanks.”

“Very well. Goodbye Miss Bentley.”

“Bye, Doctor.”

I jumped off the table and put on the flat Mom was holding. My legs were different sizes and I knew that I’d have to work out to get my muscles back in that leg. Daddy led us back out to the car and I scrambled into the backseat. Mom turned on the radio for the drive back from UMass hospital in Worcester. I itched at my leg and knew that I’d have to put lotion on it when we got home.

Once we were parked in the driveway, I got out and thanked my parents for taking me to get it off, then walked back to my room. I took a shower and scrubbed hard at my leg to get rid of any dirt that had gotten inside the cast, and when I was back in my room, I rubbed lotion onto my body. Dressing in sweats and a tank top, I braided my hair, then went into the living room, sinking into the couch and turning on the TV.

“So it’s off?”

I looked up as Nick walked into the room and threw himself over my lap, turning his head to look at the screen. I laughed, pushing at his body as I answered him. “Yes, thank god. I couldn’t wait.”

“I know, you wouldn’t stop complaining about it.”

“You just don’t understand the feeling of having to lug around plaster on your leg for two weeks after a coma because they’d had to reset your leg when it broke again during a seizure that you weren’t conscious for.”

“No, but I know what it’s like to feel a weak bone break when it hits you.”

“It was you that I kicked? Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“I wasn’t hurt. You were the only one that got hurt again.”

I shrugged and he sat up, pulling me against his chest. I relaxed into him and closed my eyes, my hands resting in my lap. He sat me in his lap and swung my braid over my shoulder before rubbing his hand along my spine.

“What are you watching?”

“I’m not sure. I just turned to channel that didn’t have paid programming or kid shows.”

He chuckled and grabbed the remote to start flipping through the channels. “You’re an amazing television watcher.”

“I know.” I turned on his lap so that I sat facing forward. I had my feet resting on the edge of the couch on the outside of his legs and my knees were leaning against each other in front of me. “You just interrupted me from finding out what I was going to watch.”