Breathe (Bondi rescue fanfic)

Chapter 30

I took two more steps in that session. Then my leg buckled, but I didn't care, because I knew all my hard work was really paying off. And the proud grin on Chappo's face showed me he felt the same. I took a deep breath and thought about this acomplishment. I started to think about other simple things that I could soon do, like go for a stroll along the prom with Chappo, play some ball on the beach, just do some fun activities with the guys really. 

Chappo and I headed back to Bondi afterwards and met some of the guys (including Nicola) for coffee. Maxi, Jesse, Deano, Hoppo and Whippet were all there. As I laughed myself to the point of crying I made a mental note to spend more quality time with them all. I wanted to make good friends here, and they were some  of the most inspirational people I'd ever met.

I went up to the counter to get another coffee and Azza followed me up. "Still on for tonight?" He asked. "You bet your ass I am!" I giggled. He chuckled, handing over the money for his coffee to the guy at the counter. "See you at about 8 then!" He cheered, heading off back to the tower, where he was picking up his surfboard and heading out into the waves for the rest of the day. I wheeled myself back over to the table, just as I heard Maxi begin another one of his far-fetched but hilarious tales.

We spent a good 2 hours in the coffee shop, which I was pretty relieved at, as there still was a slight tension between Chappo and I. I knew that the fact I was running off with Azza again tonight was probably going to add to the tension more, but the tension would be worth it in the end, when I would be able to swim and do watersports with Chappo. I wanted to be able to try anything Chappo loved and make an effort to enjoy the things he does. 

It was about 6:30pm before we got home, so Chappo headed back down the street to the shop and just got us some ready-made salads for our dinner. We weren't that hungry anyway. We sat in the kitchen together but I watched as Chappo pushed around his salad with his fork, not eating much at all. "Chappo," I said quietly, "Are you alright?" He shook his head as though waking from a daze before looking at me. "Oh, yeah darlin' don't worry about me I'm alright" He coughed, "Uh shouldn't you be headin down to meet Azza now?" I looked at my watch and realised, yet again, I was going to be late. "Oh man! I gotta rush off!!" I said, sliding from the kitchen chair back into my wheelchair. "Love you babe" I said, as I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Have fun!" He exclaimed, still a hint of sadness or annoynance or something in his voice. He was a hard guy to read, I'll tell you that.

I met Azza in the Pool area, and he helped me in, this time to the deep end, where I couldn't touch the floor. He held me up by my arms until I gave him the nod letting him know it was ok to let go. I began moving my arms to keep myself afloat whilst I prepared myself to begin moving my legs. I kicked my good leg, then my bad, then my good and so on. I started using my arms too and was soon doing the front crawl. Azza swam alongside me the whole time, matching my pace, there to support me when I needed a rest. I knew we were getting close to my goal with surprising Chappo. I knew how to swim now, it was a matter of strengthening my legs a bit more so they'd hold out. I knew that it seemed like my legs were a long way from being back to how they were, but in reality they weren't really. Sarah explained that once you started putting weight on the weakened  legs that the strength built back up fairly quickly. It's like when you join a sport or start going to the gym to tone your leg muscles, your legs become much stronger in a realtiviely short period of time. My legs weren't going to be super strong anytime soon, but they would be back to basically how they were before the accident in a matter off weeks all going to plan. I was hoping to be wheelchair free on a day to day basis within 2 weeks. Then it would just be occasions where I would be standing for a long time or walking a considerable distance that I would need the chair for. And within 2 months I'd be hoping to be crutch free too. 

I finished up with Azza after about an hour of swimming, and I could feel my legs getting that little bit stronger with each length I swam. When I got out of the pool I washed my hair twice with strong scented shampoo so Chappo wouldn't smell the chlorine. I dried my hair aswell and packed up my stuff. Chappo thought I was going to the movies with Azza so I quickly googled the plot of a moive that was currently running in the cinema, so I would be able to back up the story if Chappo asked. I stopped at a shop on the way home and bought Chappo some of his favourites sweets. I wanted him to know that even when I wasn't with him that I was thinking about him. I got home around 10pm and when I let myself in I found Chappo asleep on the couch, the tv still on. I grabbed a blanket and draped it over him and switched off the tv. I left the sweets on the table beside where he was sleeping and headed off to bed myself. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out and I slept like a baby that night.

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Hi guys! Sorry again about the long wait for the update!

I hope you're all still enjoying the story!!

And thank you all so much for 29.7k reads! That is amazing! Thanks so much!

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-Niamhxoxo