The Thing about Falling ✓

Thirty Nine • Her Once Again

Owen

I think I'm a little bit okay now.

Just a little, though. 

I still didn't talk that much but at least, I was answering messages now on my phone. Marley checks up on me almost daily on FaceTime and she even comes by sometimes with takeout from Delta's. I quite enjoyed that, and today, I was over at Calix's house for the first time since we all came back home for winter break.

Although I still didn't feel at ease with my emotions lately, I knew I needed to let myself take a break from being inside my room all the time. It was starting to get insufferable. Being alone with your thoughts all the time, I mean.

I needed people. And so I went out and did.

I was now blankly staring at Calix's living room TV, watching some random romcom playing. His Netflix account has been suspended recently and I found it weird not being able to control what you watch. Now, I have to choose between watching new, crappy cartoons or Notting Hill. It could be even worse too, like the news. Nothing good even shows up there anyway. 

I had been watching Notting Hill for the past hour now, propped on Calix's couch before he slowly pulled up in front of me, sitting on my new wheelchair.

I just thought it was about time I used it, by the way.

Calix had a cheeky grin on his face as he pushed back and forth in it, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What do you think?" he said as he spun around the sofa, circling me like a preying hawk. 

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed.

"I think you look stupid." 

Cal seemed unfazed. He continued spinning around the entirety of the ground floor of his house, zooming in and out of my view and I couldn't help but shake my head at him.

"This is awesome!" He said as he quickened his pace and pushed around faster.

He had been rolling around in my chair ever since I started watching the movie. I don't even think he stopped, even once. I was so focused on staring blankly at the television, the only thing I heard from him were the occasional whoops and thuds over stumbling over something.

"Why didn't I try this out before?" He said, as he tried to do a wheelie but failed, resulting to the chair flipping backwards, carrying Cal with it as it landed on the floor.

I shrugged and diverted my attention back to the television.

"I don't like people playing around with it." I said bluntly.

"I like this. It's cool." he said with a tight-lipped smile, motioning over to my chair he's  currently spinning around on.

I smiled a little and watched Cal nauseate himself as he spun faster and faster until he stumbled back down again, ditzy and dazed. 

I stifled a laugh.

"I think so too." I said.

To be honest, I was quite happy with it. The new wheelchair I got from my parents, I mean.

It didn't have any handles anymore, allowing me to have full control over the chair. The back was lower now and the best thing is, I can easily pop off the wheels and collapse the whole thing easier whenever I put it in the back of a car. 

I felt that I gave gained a little more independence this way and for that, it sparked the first of the little moments of happiness I get nowadays. 

Too bad Calix was the one using it now, falling over and over again as he tried to do some tricks on it.

I let him play with my chair for around a few more minutes until he stood up and dusted it off with a hand. He later pushed it beside me as he stretched his arms upward until they landed back down behind his head.