“You can,” Justin assured Ryan. “But it’s up to you. It has to be your choice. You need to forgive yourself for the things you regret. The past can’t change. What’s done is done. And now...it’s up to you.” He knew it was hard. He knew from his own experiences.
“There’s only so much I can do for you, Ryan. I can walk you through it, I can tell you it’s going to be okay, and I can give you ways to work through your grief. But only you can decide to let it go. Only you can decide to start living your life again. And you can. You just have to choose that path and do it.” He shook his head. “It hurts. And you can stay in this same spot if you want to. But if you do, you’re not gonna feel any better. You’re gonna feel worse. And life...won’t be a life at all.”
He put his notepad back into his backpack and folded his hands on the table. “Do you want to feel better? Do you want to get your life back?”
Aaron smirked and took another bite of salad. “I’d rather not know how to cook.” His childhood was a sore spot, and he’d sacrifice his cooking ability if it meant he would have had a mother who actually took care of him. He couldn’t go back though, and there was no point in dwelling on it.
He fell silent as he finished up his lunch, then remained quiet, and dozed off a couple times before Rick showed up to tell him it was time...
...”It went as well as could be expected.” Rick spoke to Sam out in the hall later that afternoon. “I wasn’t so sure about how well he’d heal in the first place, let alone with this setback. There’s just some damage that can’t be repaired. I tell you this because when he hears that, he may be even more miserable than normal, if that’s even possible.”
In the infirmary, Aaron pried open his eyes, drowsy after the procedure. He stared up at the dim ceiling, and moved his wrists to find them both restrained, cuffed to the sides of the bed. “Precaution” Rick had said before putting him under. Sure. As if he could go anywhere anyway. He tried to look down and see his leg. It was all pretty numb right now. He dared to move just slightly, but the pain it caused was so great that he had a hard time not screaming. Okay. Wrong move. He sighed. This really was his lot now, wasn’t it?
“There’s only so much I can do for you, Ryan. I can walk you through it, I can tell you it’s going to be okay, and I can give you ways to work through your grief. But only you can decide to let it go. Only you can decide to start living your life again. And you can. You just have to choose that path and do it.” He shook his head. “It hurts. And you can stay in this same spot if you want to. But if you do, you’re not gonna feel any better. You’re gonna feel worse. And life...won’t be a life at all.”
He put his notepad back into his backpack and folded his hands on the table. “Do you want to feel better? Do you want to get your life back?”
Aaron smirked and took another bite of salad. “I’d rather not know how to cook.” His childhood was a sore spot, and he’d sacrifice his cooking ability if it meant he would have had a mother who actually took care of him. He couldn’t go back though, and there was no point in dwelling on it.
He fell silent as he finished up his lunch, then remained quiet, and dozed off a couple times before Rick showed up to tell him it was time...
...”It went as well as could be expected.” Rick spoke to Sam out in the hall later that afternoon. “I wasn’t so sure about how well he’d heal in the first place, let alone with this setback. There’s just some damage that can’t be repaired. I tell you this because when he hears that, he may be even more miserable than normal, if that’s even possible.”
In the infirmary, Aaron pried open his eyes, drowsy after the procedure. He stared up at the dim ceiling, and moved his wrists to find them both restrained, cuffed to the sides of the bed. “Precaution” Rick had said before putting him under. Sure. As if he could go anywhere anyway. He tried to look down and see his leg. It was all pretty numb right now. He dared to move just slightly, but the pain it caused was so great that he had a hard time not screaming. Okay. Wrong move. He sighed. This really was his lot now, wasn’t it?
Travis laughed and nodded. “Okay, well... my middle name is William, my favorite color is blue and... I like to play video games, watch movies and... I love dogs.” He took another bite of his sandwich and grinned. They’d ridden together, laughed and talked, and there was still a lot he didn’t know about her, too.
Moving down to sprawl on his stomach so he was closer to Ashlee, he propped himself up on his elbows and kept eating his sandwich. “Your turn. Same questions.”
Moving down to sprawl on his stomach so he was closer to Ashlee, he propped himself up on his elbows and kept eating his sandwich. “Your turn. Same questions.”
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