"2 weeks?! What more does that woman want from you, Haze?"

I pushed my cell phone away from my ear; trying to block out Rae's shouts. I told her that I had to 'leave,' from work for a few weeks to travel with my Aunt to visit her sick, distant relative.

I tried explaining to her that I wouldn't have gone unless she 'asked,' me to... but in this case, it was someone who wasn't well and my Aunt didn't want to go alone for a longer period of time. So we were bringing some of her plants with us and hitting the road...

"I just don't understand why after all this time she insists on taking up more of your time? Especially considering it's 2 weeks and not 2 days?"

"It was just a favour. She doesn't know if her relative will get better or worse and wants to stay for as long as her work allowed her to... I'm bringing my art supplies so if anything it'll be a good opportunity for me to relax and work on my art..."

"This is just too much, really..."

I couldn't believe how proficient I was becoming at lying. My boss was forbidden to tell anyone my personal business, even my friend... I could only imagine how awkward it would be for me to see him at work now, but I couldn't just 'disappear' and then come back suddenly after 2 weeks.

It was my job and I needed to tell my boss what happened to me, minus the back story... it was just unfortunate I couldn't let Rae know. Because then she'd want to visit me... that would be a disaster. I could just envision her getting into this mansion and finding me in this room... a nightmare...

After we spoke on the phone, I needed to go to the bathroom.

I could still feel the remnants of pain as I trekked forward, walking as slow as a turtle. I didn't think I needed 2 weeks off, but Nathan insisted. I thought about what it would feel like to have more leisure time to myself... but most of it would probably be spent trying to find more comfortable positions to sit or lay down in. For now, I mostly just wanted to sleep a lot, which wasn't a terrible idea...

*

For the first few days I was in my bed lounging. Any brisk movements only caused some sharp pains by my head and neck area. I only got up to use the restroom. A television was brought up to me so I was in-between Netflix and old re-runs of 90s sitcoms.

I was visited frequently by Nathan, Edna, Charlie, and Mackenzie.

Nathan brought me freshly baked goods from my favourite cafe in the city, which I was forever grateful for the trouble he went through. Edna brought me all my meals and helped me take a bath when I needed to refresh.

I protested at first but when I asked Mackenzie to honestly tell me if I smelled after a few days, she told me I did... the times she showed up we watched movies together or I helped her study for some of her social studies courses.

By the fourth day I was able to move around more so I started walking around my room and in the hallway. Any sudden movements there was some minimal tenderness but overall considering where I was hit I was lucky.

On the fifth day, I slowly was able to make my way to the kitchen. This was an incredible feat for me. I wanted to make my own fruit bowl so I gathered some strawberries, clementines, apples, and kiwi's from the fridge and pantry area.

I went to grab a bowl but they were on the second shelf in the cupboard and in my condition it was hard to reach for them. I considered grabbing a ladder, but I thought that might be a little much...

So I continued to reach for the bowl.

Just a little further...

When I thought I would lose my balance, someone had placed their hand on my back to steady me. A hand reached forward to grab the bowl I was aiming for. When I turned to look to see who was there, it was Kai.