"Four fifteen."
My left leg buckles slightly. I catch myself on the bars, arms straining.
"That's enough for today," Will says. "You're pushing too hard."
"I'll decide when it's enough."
But my body disagrees. The trembling intensifies. I can feel the collapse coming, the inevitable moment when my legs will simply stop cooperating.
I lower myself into the wheelchair before they can betray me completely.
Will makes another note. "Four minutes, twenty-three seconds. That's a new record."
I don't respond. A record means nothing if I still can't take a single step.
"I'll reach out to the specialists you mentioned," Will continues. "And there's a rehabilitation center in Switzerland that's had promising results with?—"
Footsteps in the hallway.
I freeze.
Will's eyes meet mine. He understands immediately. No one can know about this. Not yet. Not until I have something real to show them.
I wheel myself away from the parallel bars, positioning myself near the window like I've been sitting here the whole time. Will tucks his clipboard under his arm and moves toward the door.
A knock.
"Come in," I call out.
The door opens. Kristen stands in the doorway, her expression apologetic.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she says. "But someone has been asking to see you."
Before I can respond, a small figure pushes past Kristen's legs and barrels into the room.
Lily.
She's wearing a purple dress with unicorns on it, and she's clutching a stuffed rabbit that's seen better days.
"Bruno!" She runs straight toward me without hesitation. Without fear. Without any of the careful distance that everyone else maintains around my wheelchair.
She crashes into my legs and wraps her small arms around my knees.
"I missed you," she announces.
Something cracks open in my chest.
"I'll leave you two alone," Kristen says. She touches Will's arm, guiding him toward the door. "Come on. Let's give them some privacy."
Will nods at me once before following Kristen out. The door clicks shut behind them.
And then it's just me and Lily.
She pulls back from my legs and looks up at me with those big eyes. "Can I sit with you?"
I don't answer with words. I just reach down and lift her onto my lap. She weighs almost nothing. A feather. A breath.
She settles against my chest like she belongs there.