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Chapter 7

Sunlight greeted Annie’s eyes when she awoke, but so did a completely different sensation throughout her body compared to the day before. The twitching had stopped, no more wild movements or lurching head, no drooling or squealing, no more spasms in her arms or legs. What she noticed however, was no sensation either; she couldn’t feel most of her body!

The first time she had woken from Nate’s hypnotism, she had panicked, the second time she was confused, this time she smiled. She knew she was going to be okay, she knew what he’d done and it would be fine, so there was no need for panic or confusion. The bedcovers were pulled up to her armpits, but her arms were laid out on top. She concentrated on what she could feel and realised that she could feel the tops of her shoulders and down to where the bedcovers ended, just on top of her breasts. Her hands and arms for the most part were numb like her body and she was fairly certain they would be useless. Nate was not going to let her do much for herself, of that she was sure. She tried to lift her shoulders up off the bed and succeeded in moving them, but the rest of her body was a dead weight so it went nowhere. Her arms did move a bit though. Annie concentrated and found she could bend them at the elbow, raising them as far as her chest. When she tried to straighten them, however, that was another matter entirely. They didn’t budge and remained where they were. She strained with every ounce of strength she could muster, but to no avail. She blew out a breath from the exertion and a little frustration at finding out how limited her movement was. Nate must have heard because he trotted into the room, wearing just a pair of swim shorts and flip-flops.

“You’re awake, good. I wanted to let you sleep, you were so exhausted last night.”

“Thanks,” it was the first word she had spoken since yesterday and it sent a shiver of relief up the back of her neck to hear her voice was back to normal. “Why the change though?”

He approached and moved her arms down, so he could sit her up a little and talk more comfortably. Sitting on the bed, they were now face to face. “I’m sorry about yesterday, I thought it was a good idea, but I was wrong, it was a really bad idea, babe.”

“It wasn’t that bad, I quite liked being able to move the chair and I wasn’t completely useless.”

“I know but you were exhausted and as novel as you may have found the experience for a short time, you would be going to work on Monday morning more exhausted than when you finished work yesterday evening.” He smiled at her now, “I knew you were enjoying being designated driver though, so I thought I would go for something that would make you relax like before, but give you a chance to steer the powerchair yourself.”

“I’m completely numb from here though,” she raised her right arm up to her chest and watched with faint amusement as her limp arm raised up to the top of her breasts. She relaxed when she had indicated the point at which her feeling ended with her wrist and her arm slowly slid back down towards the mattress.

“I know, you’re quadriplegic. You are paralyzed like someone who has had a spinal cord injury in the neck.”

“It feels weird though, like my body just isn’t there, but I can still see it is.”

“Its going to be strange for a while,” Nate smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear. “You should have enough strength to control the chair and maybe scratch an itch, but you won’t be able to dress, feed yourself or get in and out of your chair alone.”

“Well I suppose we had better get on with those things then,” she looked at him expectantly.

“Okay, let’s get you showered.” Nate lifted her into the wheelchair and helped her get settled. Her left arm lay in her lap, unused. He fastened the harness around her shoulders so she didn’t fall out the moment she moved the chair. Now assured of her movements, Annie found it relatively easy to steer the chair towards the bathroom.

Once in there, Nate whipped her PJ top off, easier now she had some use of her shoulders. He stripped the bottoms off, though he had to tug and pull a bit because she couldn’t push down to lift her hips. Nate undid the diaper tabs and lifted her into the shower chair.

He ran the water until it was warm but not hot and rinsed her off. Annie enjoyed the sensation of the shower on her face and shoulders, but the lack of sensation in the rest of her body was freaking her out a bit. The line between feeling and not was quite distinct and she held her arm under the spray, watching it touch her flesh, but feeling nothing, not even the arm itself.

After the rinse came the shower gel and shampoo. She helped rub in the shower gel using the heel of her hands on her stomach, chest and arms, but couldn’t reach down to her legs without being unstable and couldn’t pull her arms high enough to do her shoulders. Her hands were pretty useless for gripping because she couldn’t contract her fingers or her wrists for that matter, but she could rub using her shoulders to direct her arms, so the larger body surfaces were pretty easy to do. Nate had to finish the rest including her private parts. Finishing off with a rinse, the whole thing took twenty-five minutes, much quicker than last time, when she had been completely immobilized. When she was ready for transfer, Nate showed her how to hook her arm around the push handle on the back so she didn’t fall without him there to help support her, while her got towels to line the powerchair. Once she was towelled off a bit at the front, her lifted her back into the powerchair and finished off drying her down. She had her hair brushed in front of the bathroom mirror and nodded when she was happy with it, then manoeuvred to the bedroom where he could help her dress.

“I’ll just get the bag of tricks,” he said, depositing her on the bed. Moments later he returned with the holdall. Out came another catheter and leg bag, as well as a fresh diaper. Inserting the cath was done in no time and once again he held up the bag which rapidly filled up. “Good job I didn’t leave this much longer,” he noted. “its gonna need emptying pretty soon.” The diaper followed, neither of which bothered her as she could no longer feel them. “I figured a pair of shorts for the beach?”

“Cool,” Annie noted her skin was pretty pale. She didn’t get much time for sunbathing, as she rarely took a holiday that was no surprise. “I want a bikini top though. I can feel the sun on my shoulders then.”

“Shouldn’t take long to get you dressed then should it?” Nate grinned.

Soon enough, Annie wheeled her paralyzed body from the bedroom to get breakfast.

“You look amazing, babe.” Nate leaned in to kiss her. He had removed the chest harness and replaced it with a Velcro strap instead, just under her breasts. He couldn’t remove the stud between her thighs though and the ones under her armpits were useful to stop her toppling forwards. She didn’t need the whole headrest now, but as they controlled the chair it had to stay in place. Her pale skin shimmered from the moisturiser he had liberally applied to her skin after the shower. She had on a small red bikini top and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. The leg bag was fastened to her slender calf and now pretty full. Her stomach looked smooth and more rounded than usual as she was sat down. Her ribs were as bony as ever, her arms looked longer than normal, probably the bikini top and bare shoulders. Her thighs seemed flattened somehow, sandwiched between the stud in the middle and the edge of the seat.

They sat at the table and ate breakfast together. As Nate expected she would, Annie attempted to feed herself. He gave her a bottle of orange juice which she succeeded in gripping in both hands and using a straw, was able to lift high enough to drink from. She couldn’t however, reach forward to put the bottle down on the table and Nate had to help her with that. Neither was she able to hold the spoon for her granola and strawberries, their now traditional breakfast and had to rely on him to feed it to her. She did have some success with an apple, although she dropped it in her lap several time, fortunately, with gravity aiding her downward arm movements, unlike when she was lying in bed, she could retrieve it herself. Nate gave her a sideways glance when she eyed up the coffee.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, hit me with it,” she grinned.

Not trusting her hands to do the job, she let him lift the cup to her mouth, but she used her arm, bending it and turning her wrist under the cup to tip the coffee into her mouth. It was a sweet moment for them both, she needed his help, but was in control. They took their time over breakfast, enjoying the intimacy. After they had done, Nate cleared away the breakfast dishes and then accompanied Annie back into the bathroom so her leg bag could be emptied. Following that, they headed for the deck and the beach beyond.

The beach was private, only for the use of the residents and it was still relatively early for sunbathers. A few children were playing in the sand in the near distance, obviously several houses down from the one which Annie now sat outside. The deck was large and had a table and chairs to one side, sun loungers to the other and a long decked ramp all the way out to the beach, beyond the picket fence surrounding the garden. At the top of the ramp sat the beach wheelchair, with its huge fat tyres and webbing seat.

“Want to take a walk along the sand?” Nate asked, seeing her eyeing up the alternative transport.

“Sure, shame it doesn’t come with a battery pack though,” she grinned.

Nate opened up the Velcro chest strap while Annie held her arms up as high as she could, so he could get his underneath to hoist her out of the chair. The beach wheelchair didn’t have the supports of the powerchair, so it was a bit more reclined. As he lowered her into it, Annie consciously kept her shoulders back, aware that there was little to stop her from toppling forwards with her precarious balance. She couldn’t feel whether or not the chair had a secure hold of her body and it made her slightly nervous.

“Do you want me to strap you in?” Nate noticed her rather stiff shoulders.

“I think maybe you’d better, I can’t push down if I start to fall forwards to brace myself.”

Nate fetched the chest strap and secured it around her chest. He shut the beach house doors and then pushed her down the ramp. The huge wheels were quite bouncy and soft, and the chair itself was very light compared to the powerchair. Nate rushed down the ramp to the soft sand at the end. He had a bag over his shoulder with sunscreen, water and other things they might need, but it wasn’t that hot yet so he just carried on down to the water’s edge. They walked for ages along the stretch of shoreline, able to see for miles in either direction. The air was warm, but not yet too hot for a brisk walk. They chatted as they went, noticing one or two others out, people with dogs, a woman on a horse, a few more children playing beach soccer. It was very relaxed and peaceful. Nate pushed the chair into the surf lapping at the edges of the pale golden sand and Annie watched the water lapping around her feet, amazed that her brain just wasn’t registering the sensation.

Forty-five minutes after they set off, they reached some sand dunes that looked a little tricky to navigate, so Nate turned the chair around and they walked back towards the beach house. There were more people out now, not that the private stretch of sands was busy, but there was a bigger audience. They passed a small boy at the waters edge with his mother. Annie looked at the child who was standing with water wings and a small blue bucket for building sand castles. The boy met her gaze, then looked at the wheelchair.

“Mommy, why is that lady in the buggy?” Annie overheard the boy ask as they moved past.

“Because her legs are broken, sweetie,” the mother replied. Annie smiled at the way adults always moderated the truth for children in the assumption that children wouldn’t understand the truth or it would upset them.

Heading back towards the house, the sun had warmed the air considerably and Annie noticed beads of sweat on the top on the top of her chest, but lower down, where she was numb, her skin was dry. “I think I better get some sunscreen on or I might fry,” Annie reminded Nate of something he had thought about earlier then forgotten as they walked. They were pretty close to the beach house now.

“Do you want to sunbathe a little out here or lie up on the deck?”

“Oh here, definitely,” she replied eagerly.

“I’ll go get the sun loungers and bring them down here first, then we’ll get some lotion on you. Have some water in the mean time,” he grabbed a bottle from the bag and held it out while she awkwardly gripped it between both wrists.

Annie lifted the bottle to her mouth and got it just high enough to pull the sport cap up with her teeth. She took a long sip from the bottle, using her neck to tip the bottle and her wrist under the bottom to lift it. There was something satisfying about overcoming a challenge.

Nate returned a minute later with the padded sun lounger and two beach towels. He found a nice flat spot and sat it down, throwing the towels on top, then pushed it down into the sand a bit to make sure it was stable. He pushed the wheelchair alongside, then lifted Annie onto the lounger.

“Can you raise it a little more?” she asked him. “It’s too low, I can’t move my arms like this.”

He lifted the back, carefully, holding onto her shoulder with one hand so she didn’t topple. “How’s that?”

She wriggled her shoulders a little and thought about it. “Better I think,” she was wondering if she was now too unstable, sat up so much, with little to support her at each side.

“Do you want me to strap you in again?”

“No I don’t think so, I’ll be careful. Can you pass me my water please?”

Nate handed her the bottle again and then trotted back up the ramp. Annie sat and drank steadily for a few minutes and wondered what was taking Nate so long. She turned to see where he was, but there was no sign of him on the deck. ‘He must have gone inside for something,’ she thought to herself and turned back to face the ocean. The sun was bright and she eyed the beg hanging from the back of the wheelchair, where she knew there would be a pair of sunglasses for her. She thought better of trying to get them herself and waited for Nate, who seemed to be taking his time. She turned again, the opposite way to drop the empty water bottle in the seat of the wheelchair, reaching slightly over so as not to miss. She was used to the restraint of the chest strap and the supportive padding of the wheelchair seat, which in her desire to perform a relatively easy task, she had forgotten about. Twisting to the left one minute followed by the right the next must have altered her balance a little, without her knowledge because she couldn’t feel where her trunk and hips were situated. As a result, the simple act of reaching left her suddenly tipping towards the wheelchair and the natural instinct to pull back, resulted in no such movement so all she could do was put her arms out to protect herself as she rolled to the sand. She tried to grab the wheelchair, but her hands couldn’t catch hold of anything, so they sort of bounced off, slowing but not stopping her descent. Her arms hit the sand, which was soft and didn’t hurt, followed by her body and legs, which of course she couldn’t feel anyway. She had fallen onto her front, having rolled from the lounger in a twisted position. Trying desperately to inch her body off the sand, she managed to get her elbows bent, but couldn’t push down to lift her face away from the sand. This left her frustrated and helpless, waiting for Nate.

Two teenagers were just leaving the house next door with boogie boards heading towards the sea when they witnessed Annie falling. They didn’t seem worried at first, expecting the woman to get up, but then the thought that there was a wheelchair there hit one of them.

“Dude, d’ya think she’s okay?” The taller of the two spoke first.

“Dunno, ask her,” the other replied.

“Hey ma’am, you okay?” he yelled across the thirty yards separating them. Annie realised someone had seen her and turned her head slowly. They were approaching, though not quickly, just sauntering over.

“I’m kinda stuck,” Annie called back.

They trotted over now, realising help may be needed. “We saw you fall,” the taller one kneeled down beside her with a concerned look. Annie turned her head to look at the teenager. He had the typical shaggy, sun-bleached hair and tanned skin of a kid who spent a lot of time near the beach. He had on only a pair of baggy surf shorts with a gaudy print in red and white. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so, though I can’t be certain, I just can’t move,” Annie explained.

“D’ya want me to call the paramedics?” the other boy asked, “I can run up to the house and get Dad to call.”

“No I don’t need medical help, maybe you could just run up to see where my boyfriend is, he went to get another sunbed a few minutes ago and hasn’t come back.”

“Okay,” he set off jogging towards the ramp.

“Can I help you up?” the taller one asked again.

“I’m a little awkward to lift, but can you help me turn over and maybe help me sit up?”

He reached for her arm, but hesitated when he saw she couldn’t move it much. Annie wondered if he was a bit freaked out and was about to run, but he stood and stepped over her, reaching down and pulled under her armpits, turning her round at the same time as lifting her. He had her turned over now, sat on her hips, legs crossed one over the other where they had landed as she turned, but he didn’t realise as he let her go that she couldn’t sit up without support and as soon as he stood and released his hold, she slumped forwards until her chest hit her thighs and she came face to face with the leg bag strapped to her calf. Once again, she was stranded being unable to push her upper body back.

“I can’t sit up on my own, can you pull me up?” Annie explained as he looked confused. He reached forwards again and pulled her shoulders back until she was leaned against his legs. He kneeled and supported her from behind this time, holding her shoulders back. “I’m paralysed,” she explained to him as they waited for Nate to arrive. “I don’t have much use of my body from the shoulders down.”

“Jeez, sorry I didn’t realize. Are you sure you don’t want me to lift you into the wheelchair?”

“No I’m fine so long as you don’t run off and leave me stranded,” she chuckled. “I wasn’t watching what I was doing and couldn’t stop myself tipping out of the lounger. It was a bit careless.”

Nate and the other boy were running back towards them now.

“She fell,” the kid supporting her explained, unnecessarily.

“So I see. You okay, babe?” Nate was kneeling beside her. “Sorry, I went to the bathroom, thinking you’d be okay for a couple of minutes.”

“I’m okay, love. I didn’t fall far, just couldn’t get up again.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so, it was a soft landing.” She laughed, “It was my fault for not waiting until you got back. I was trying to put my water bottle down and just toppled over.”

“Let’s get you up. Lounger or wheelchair?”

“Lounger, please.” She lifted her elbows a fraction for him to scoop her up and deposit her back on the lounger. “Thanks,” she said, grateful for the help.

The boys stood and watched, hands on hips as Nate settled Annie in the lounger. As he stood and looked at them, Nate held out his hand and thanked them with a hearty handshake, introducing himself and Annie. The taller boy stepped forwards and shook his hand.

“I’m Scotty, sir,” he replied politely with a broad smile and a row of perfect white teeth revealed themselves. “Glad we were here to help out.”

“I’m Brian, Scotty’s brother” the shorter of the two, grinned. He was a bit shy, but had curly blond hair, surfer style and like his brother, he was wearing bright, baggy surf shorts too. Both boys looked like they were high school age and had healthy, athletic looking bodies.

Scotty reached down to shake Annie’s hand as she introduced herself, but witnessed the curled fingers preventing a regular handshake, so gave her a fist bump instead. Brian wasn’t quite so brave and gave her a wave. “Thanks guys. I could have been stuck there a while if you hadn’t come along when you did.”

“Where are you guys staying?” Nate asked.

“That’s our house, next door,” Scotty pointed over his shoulder. They talked briefly for a minute or so, then the boys went off to enjoy the water.