Page 39 of Stand: Part One
Darren then took my hands and held them in front of him, offering me support and standing directly in my path to the other side of the pool. I almost rolled my eyes, but remembering what happened last time, I decided against it and gripped his hands instead.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said gently.
On a nod, I took a deep breath and slowly lifted my foot. When I felt no pain, I leaned forward, set my foot down a few inches farther, and let my back foot follow.
Nothing. I felt nothing. No pain.
I took another tentative step, my legs feeling wobbly and unstable as I slowly moved them through the water.
My hips were so tight, each movement feeling like I was pulling against the strongest rubber band in the world. My stride was pathetically short, barely a foot, but it was still another step closer to gaining back my independence.
My hands clung tightly onto Darren’s much larger ones, finding trust in his strength to hold me up. He walked backward with every step I took, his watchful eyes studying every tick of my facial features as he helped me through the water, and I was careful not to give away a single sign of trouble.
By the time we reached the other side of the pool, my chest was heaving with excitement. When I looked up at Darren, he wore a somber smile, not exactly infectious but encouraging nonetheless.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Fucking amazing.”
His gaze immediately hardened. “Watch your mouth,” he warned.
“Okay, Mrs. Davis, walk back to the other side now,” Sid called.
Darren then turned around and guided me back the way we came, only stepping back when I moved forward.
“Stop looking down,” he scolded. “Keep your eyes on me.”
I hadn’t even realized I had been watching my feet the whole time, fearful I would miss something and trip over it—in a fucking pool, no less. But I glanced up and focused my eyes on his as I took one heavy, wobbly step after another. Only once did I lose my footing and start to tip over, but Darren kept me upright with ease.
“I’ve got you,” he reassured, his tone soft yet strong. “Keep going.”
And I did. For the next thirty-five minutes, we walked back and forth, hand in hand, until I found myself growing tired enough to stumble. Fighting to keep my eyelids open, my hips were becoming so damn stiff, and I could feel them actually start to ache.
“I think that’s probably enough for today,” Sid suggested as he turned away to suddenly cough obnoxiously into his sleeve.
“No, I can keep going,” I replied quickly. I didn’t care if I was tired. I was finally moving, and I wasn’t ready to go back to my helpless state yet.
But Darren shook his head. “No, Jaden. You did really well today. You don’t need to overexert yourself. You’re already tired as it is.”
“No, I’m not,” I retorted, which earned me a sharp warning glare in return.
A breath of disappointment left me as I fought the urge to yawn and failed.
“We can pick this up again tomorrow,” Sid offered with a pained groan as he tried to recover from his little coughing fit.
My eyes darted back to Darren’s, pleading with him to let me stay.
“Can we just float for a little while?” I asked sweetly, keeping my tone as innocent as possible. “I’m not ready to go back to bed yet. And it’s such a nice day out.”
Attempting to avoid a repeat of our last altercation, I had to employ a different tactic. Being an artist of persuasion, I utilized my best offense against my stern opposition and reached back for the big guns—my bedroom kitten eyes.
Darren sighed in annoyance as he looked down at me, his eyes narrowing in suspicion because he knew exactly what I was doing. His grip on my hands tightened as he considered my request.
I decided to make it even easier for him and bit my lower lip, a whispered “please” under my breath—the final nail in the coffin.
“Goddammit,” he cursed under his breath. “Sid, bring Jaden something to float on,” he ordered.
I positively beamed up at him, his features slightly softening in response to my gratitude.
