See You at the Finish Line

It had been two weeks since the explosion and two weeks since I was told that I would need surgery. Though the swelling was a scary thing to deal with that wasn't the matter at hand, they found a break in my skull where my frontal lobe was located and it looked bad. They had told me several medical terminology but I had gotten the jist of it.

I would be going in tomorrow for the surgery with the best surgeon who had to be flown in from Michigan. He couldn't come any time sooner and of course I had been worried about what waiting could possibly mean for me. I wasn't the only one who had been worried about that.

There was my family, my girls (from the team) who had come to see me at home and then there was Cameron. Cameron had stayed with me when he wasn't at school or helping his parents out at the restaurant. I never really asked him why he did that.

At first when I was still in the hospital for the test I thought it was because he wanted to keep the illusion for the doctors that he was a genuinely concerned boyfriend. However, after I was dischaeged from the hospital and he still came around to just sit with me when my parents were out, I stopped thinking that all together.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked as we sat in front of the television in the living room. It was night time and the opening ceremonies were beginning to air. I had thought long and hard about whether I wanted to watch at all but I eventually decided that I would. The thought of where I was last year had almost stopped me. I would have been there. In London for the Olympics if things hadn't changed.

I sighed and turned to him. He looked down at me and smiled, encouraging me to speak. I looked away from him and stared at the television as I spoke. "I would have been one of the lucky ones that were a part of the team. I would have had a chance at gold.'

"Hey." He spoke as he placed his hand over mine. "You could still get to the Olympics one day. You can't give up, okay? It's not an option."

"I'm in a chair. What makes you think that?" I did my best to keep my voice from quavering. This is the most we had said in awhile. We just usually sat, or took a walk (he walked and I just pushed next to him.

He moved his hand and for a moment I thought he was upset with me because I was doing it again. I was pitying myself because of my situation. He had told me before that it won't help, that I could not keep doing that. It would only make me stay stagnant. I wouldn't go anywhere. I hated admitting that he was right.

He moved from the couch and crouched down so that he was sitting down in front of me. He took my hands and gave me a stern glance. Not a glare. "I believe that it won't always be like this. You won't be trapped for much longer. You will get gold in track at Rio. I'll be on your cheering squad, always backing you. No matter what because I believe in you, Rain."

I don't think I had even processed the fact that I had started crying at his declaration of support. It wasn't until he began wiping my face did I notice it at all. He put his head against mine as I looked at him in the eyes. His eyes were gorgeous and gleaming.

The sound of drums filtered in the background and I stayed in the moment with Cameron. "Thank you." I whispered as I swallowed down the bit of tension that risen in my throat.

Cameron wasn't just anyone. He was my light and my friend. I was more than happy to have him support me. I needed him, in more ways than I originally thought.