page7 (1/2)

Gavin looks at me There is confusion and a bit of aood at this, at ss over I make a note of that

“How are you feeling?” he asks again He’s still holding ers are warm I like it I may not know him, but I like his hand “Have they let you outdoors yet for a walk?”

“Not yet,” I tell hih”

“Then you shall go,” he tells me valiantly He picks up the call button and a moment later a nurse appears

“Yes?” she asks pleasantly Gavin srin

“Miss Giannis would love to go for a walk in the sunshine,” he says “Would that be possible? I’ll ith her”

My gazeIt’s no wonder he and I were good friends He’s very likeable

The nurse smiles at him No one is impervious to his charms, apparently

“She has already been cleared for a walk outside,” the nurse tells hio”

Gavin turns tooutside”

I stare at him “I sort of don’t want to”

“And why not?” he looks at me “Because you’d rather lay in here and feel sorry for yourself?”

“No”

Yes

Gavin raises an eyebrow “No? That’s not what I’ve been told”

I look to uilty

“You’ve been talking aboutreally hard this week—to do what everyone has asked ofabout me?

“No Yes I mean, I have, but only because I’m concerned about you,” she stammers “Gavin has always been able to cheer you up, so I called him”

I stare at her, but Gavin interrupts

“I’et your clothes on We’re getting some fresh air”

“Have you always been this bossy?” I ask hirins

“Why, yes Yes, I have And you like it” He saunters out, not worried in the slightest that I itated with him

Myjust beneath the surface But I taht?

Whatever

I swing s over the side of the bed and sit for a second Obviously, I’ve been out of bed here in the room to shower and use the bathroo outside, out into the hospital and into the world and the sunshine, has made me terrified

I don’t want to admit that to anyone because I feel silly

But it’s the truth

I don’t know if it’s the accident, or if I’ve always been that way

Who’s to say?

Certainly not me

I can’t re

I pull on so A khaki skirt and a cream-colored blouse A pair of tan ballet flats These clothes feel foreign I can’t believe I would choose clothing so bland And so…beige But apparently, I did

Apparently, I was a bland person

And I use the word apparently a lot

I pull a brush through my hair and stare in the mirror

Dark brown hair, green eyes I’m sort of small Not suess I’ indoors I probably should get soht improve my attitude, too

For soitated My mother tells me that it’s very unusual for me, that I’m usually a very cheerful person, but that a certain level of agitation is noriven the circumstances

I don’t know about that

But then, I don’t know about anything right now

And I’h

I poketo each other against the wall

I fight back the feeling of annoyance that rises in me, the bad taste that is in my mouth

What the eff?

If he’s my friend, why is he in cahoots with my mother?

And where the heck did I get a word like cahoots?

Can’t my friend talk to my mother? I’m clearly a lunatic I wonder if I was before this accident, too, or if it’s a new thing

I’ my head when they notice me

Gavin smiles

“Are you ready?”

His s hypersensitive, I’iven the circumstances

Gavin holds his arm out and they both smile at me

And once again, I am uneasy, but don’t knohy

“I’m ready,” I confirm, as I slip my arms around his forearm My mother falls back into my room as Gavin and I make our way down the hall and out of the hospital

The sun hits me squarely in the face and I blink my eyes