The Weight of a Lie
Copyright© 2026 by Heel
Chapter 5
A week after the accident, the doctors finally decided that she was ready to leave the hospital. The fracture was securely immobilized, her circulation was good, the sensation in her foot had begun to return, and the prognosis remained reassuring. She would need rehabilitation, patience and time, but the worst of the immediate danger had passed.
When Nicole finally stood, supported carefully on her crutches, the hospital room seemed suddenly much larger.
Her left leg was enclosed in the heavy plaster cast, held straight and extended forward. Because of the immobilization, the tiny foot at the end of it remained elevated just above the floor, gliding forward whenever she moved rather than touching it. The sight was strangely reminiscent of the apparatus she had once invented, except that this time the cast was real, the injury was real and there was no performance required.
Simon stood beside her.
“Ready?”
Nicole looked at him.
“Ready enough to frighten the hospital staff.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I have two crutches, one giant cast and absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”
“Excellent. I have absolutely no medical qualifications.”
She gave him a suspicious look.
“That was supposed to reassure me?”
“No. It was supposed to establish that we’re equally unprepared.”
Nicole laughed, and the sound seemed to brighten the whole room.
Together they started toward the hospital exit.
Nicole moved slowly and carefully, placing both crutches ahead of her and bringing her body forward while the heavy casted leg remained straight and extended. Her bare foot glided safely above the floor with every movement. Simon stayed beside her, watching carefully but allowing her to move independently, resisting the temptation to interfere every time she shifted her weight.
When they reached the hospital doors, sunlight spilled across the pavement.
Nicole stopped.
For a moment she simply stood there, breathing in the cool outside air. She had entered the hospital terrified, crying and convinced that her lie had finally destroyed everything, and now she was leaving with a plaster cast, crutches, a healing nerve and a boyfriend who looked at her as though she were the most precious person in the world.
Simon turned toward her.
“You know something?”
Nicole narrowed her eyes.
“That usually means you’re about to say something dangerous.”
“You’ve never been so beautiful.”
She stared at him.
Then she looked down at the enormous plaster cast surrounding her leg.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I look like a medical emergency with hair.”
Simon laughed.