The rest of that day, Roni stayed locked up in her bedroom. She didn't come out for anything. For anyone. She stayed locked up in her bedroom, just as she had to stay locked up in her wheelchair.

The next morning, Abbey came to Roni's door and lightly tapped on it.

"Go away!" Roni proclaimed.

Abbey listened to the words that Roni proclaimed. But they aren't the words that Abbey heard. The words she heard, were, 'I need help.' Abbey jiggled the doorknob. Her little girl was so very depressed, and she needed her mother's help.

The door was locked.

"I said go away. That doesn't mean try to come in." Roni said just as loud as the first time.

"Roni, it's me. Let me in. We need to talk." Abbey's voice came from behind the door.

"I don't want to talk. I want to be left alone. Go away. Leave me alone."

"Fine, I'll go away. But you should come out and eat something." Abbey said with great concern.

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. Do you honestly expect me to buy that you aren't hungry?"

"Yes, I do." Roni said. "Now go away and leave me alone."

Abbey did as she was asked She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with her daughter. She was so stubborn sometimes.

Just as stubborn as Jed is.

Maybe even more stubborn that Jed. Was that possible? If it was possible for one to be more stubborn than Jed, it had to be Roni.

~~

Later that day, around noon, Roni began the very long journey from her bed into her chair. She knew her parents were about to come and tell her she had to go to therapy.

They could make her go to therapy, but they couldn't make her try when she got there.

She didn't know why she agreed to go. She knew nothing was going to change. How could it? She only had an 11% chance to walk again. How was therapy going to surpass those odds?

It couldn't.

Finally getting into her chair, she strolled over to the door and unlocked it for the first time since she slammed it shut the day before.

Jed and Abbey were both standing right outside the door when she opened it She looked up at them. She looked into their eyes.

She couldn't stand to look in their eyes. All she saw was disappointment.

Whether it was there or not.

That's what she saw. Disappointment. Roni turned her eyes down to the ground and quietly pushed herself in between the two of them. After she passed them, she stopped. "Are you coming?" She asked, without turning around to look at them.

"Do you want us to come?" Jed responded to her question with a question.

"Do I have a choice?" Roni knew how to play this game.

TBC…