Tyler wakes in his bed, sits up, and stretches his upper body toward the ceiling, clasping his hands together above his head. He then relaxes, pulls off the bed covers, moves his uncast left leg around to the side of the bed to dangle down before taking his cast leg in both hands to lift it so it can join his other leg. Tyler then stretched toward the left to grab his crutches that lean against the wall by his bed.
Once each padded top is under his arms, Tyler pushes down on his crutches while at the same time lifting himself off of the bed. He thinks to himself about the call he got from Scott just before he went to bed. His brother told him he had to change counselors after Mike would not stop making false claims about Tyler.
He said some nutty stuff Tyler! Including that you injure yourself during rugby to feel things, and that connects us in some weird way. I told him, you have yourself together, and he should let go of this line, but he never did, so I reported him. Wayne, the head of the center, understood and apologized for Mike crossing the line. I would have liked it if Mike had apologized instead of Wayne doing it for him.
I try to keep myself together Scott, as you are well aware, our parents’ breakup was messy. I could have fallen down the rabbit hole as you did, yet somehow the counselors helped me avoid it. It was not easy. There were times my self-worth took a hit, and the depression socked me hard. I was tempted at parties to drink too much or be part of one of those drag races that took place off-campus. You know a taste of living dangerously. What is important now is you are catching up to me. Keep it up, Scott. I know you can make it.
