Page 28 of Revive Me

By five, my leg is quivering.

By six, I’m sweating, my stare locked onto my foot.

By seven, I can’t tell if the fire in my leg is pain or something else.

By the eighth rep, my chest is heaving, my whole leg is shaking, and I swear it takes forever for my foot to push the band all the way out. With every inch, the resistance makes the movement harder. I don’t think I’ll make it.

But then…my knee locks out. My leg is straight. I did eight reps.

With a gasp, I let go of the band, watching it go flying across the mat.Jesus.

When I look up, Lily’s expression is downrightgiddy.I mean, she’s completely lit up.

“Shut up,” I say, out of breath.

She grins. “Itoldyou so.”

I aim a glare at her. “Whatever. A bet’s a bet.”

Her wary gaze drops to my hand as I reach into the pockets of my shorts and pull out a pack of cigarettes.

I can’t help grinning as I pull out my lighter and a cigarette. “Regretting your therapy strategy, doc?”

Her eyes snap up to lock with mine. “Gimme that,” she grumbles.

It’s amusing, watching her fumble with the lighter. But as she lifts the cigarette to her lips, I can’t help asking, “Why are you doing this?”

There’s nothing but honesty in her eyes as she says, “Because, apparently, it’s the only way to get you to do your PT.”

And then she lights the cigarette, inhales, and promptly coughs up a lung.

I snatch the cigarette from her. “Alright, just put it out. Jesus. I can’t watch this.”

As she sputters some more, I look for a place to put it out, since this isn’t exactly a place loaded with ashtrays. In the end, I scratch it against the sole of my shoe before throwing it in the bag on my wheelchair that I use as a trash bin.

Leaning back on my hands, I watch Lily chug some of her water. When she has her breath back and collapses against the wall across from me, I still haven’t figured out why she just did that.

“I really didn’t think you would do it,” I admit.

“I know,” she says simply.

I study her for another moment. In the end, I just ask her outright.

“Why do you care if I do my PT?”

And again, there’s nothing but honesty in her eyes as she says, “Because someone should.”

My chest tightens as I drop my gaze to my hands in my lap. “I wasn’t always like this, you know,” I say roughly.

“An asshole?”

My head whips up in surprise. She’s rolling her lips to keep from laughing.

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” she says innocently.

Even as my eyes narrow, my lips twitch in amusement. “Bitch,” I bite back playfully.

Somehow, her grin widens. “I love that title.”

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