Page 5 of Shielding Aubree

Aubree shrank back a little and took a step back from the wall. "I've never been a swimmer. It kind of drove my dad a little crazy."

Ruben shrugged. "You don't have to be a good swimmer to get in the pool." He grinned and leaned against the wall separating them. "If that was the case, no one would ever get in."

"Yeah?" Aubree's voice was soft, but clear. "That makes sense, but I've tried it, and I can barely dog paddle. And that was before..." She gestured at the walker she'd been using, and Ruben reacted in a way that said he hadn't noticed the device.

Ruben leaned further over the wall and looked at Aubree from her toes up to her head and back again. "Back injury?"

Aubree lifted her chin, and her shoulders pushed back, a defensive gesture that Henley knew well. "Compression of my spine. I was trapped in my cruiser, upside down for hours. They tell me it's a miracle that I'm walking again."

Ruben stood up and took a step back, nodding. "Hard work and determination if you ask me. I bet you fought for it every step of the way."

"I've always fought for what I wanted. I never let anyone hold me back."

An odd look touched his face as he thought about her words.

Henley wasn't sure exactly what was in his head, but she knew enough to trust him. He'd been through his share of hell and built himself back up again. If anyone knew what to say, he did.

"What about you?"

Aubree leaned back; her brow pinched over her nose. "What... What do you mean?"

Ruben picked up one end of his towel and lifted it to dry off his hair. "You said you weren't going to let anyone hold you back, but I bet you've put all kinds of a obstacles in your own way."

Henley heard the soft intake of breath beside her and cast a quick look at Aubree.

There wasn't a single bit of pretense left in Aubree's expression.

Oh, she wasn't trying to say that she thought that Aubree was hiding anything or trying to give her a false impression.

People did that naturally all the time.

People lied to themselves more than they misled others.

A lot of it was unintentional.

A defense.

An instinct.

Fight or Flight with a whole lot of extraneous words inside your head.

It wasn't pretty.

It wasn't meant to be.

It was a bandage slapped over an open vein.

It might hold for a little bit, but it wouldn't fix anything.

And if you didn't get to the heart of the matter and fix it, you could bleed out.

That would be a mess.

Aubree lowered her chin and managed a long, slow breath before she looked back up.

"Can't argue with the truth."

Henley couldn't help but feel that Ruben had been holding his breath before Aubree spoke.

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