Some mental support

Maria and Laila were still in the kitchen. After Laila's snort and optimistic comment, Maria now also revealed a bit of a smile as she looked up and said, "Yeah, let's hope so. He tries to hide just how much pain he has from me, but I can hear him sometimes. When I am in my bed, trying to fall asleep. He forgets his ribs are broken and tries to turn around in an attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep. So, then I hear him groaning and cursing under his breath. He tries to keep quiet, but I keep my door open in case he needs something in the middle of the night and he can't find his phone to call me. Since I am a light sleeper, his attempts at muffling the sound, don't prevent me from waking up."

Despite Maria's words being far from cheerful ones, she couldn't help but giggle before replying, "I guess it is safe to say that you haven't been getting much sleep then these past couple of days?" Maria let out a sigh before shaking her head. "Far from it I'm afraid. But I don't mind, since I know that Steve has it worse. At least by sharing some of his burdens, I hope he feels he isn't all alone in all of this. But first and foremost I hope that his pain will gradually become less, and that the exercises will help him regain some mobility. Because being stuck on that couch for most of the day, is really not helping the situation. In fact, it is making him feel worse about everything."

Laila took a deep breath, before letting out an equally deep sigh, and said, "Yeah, I can only imagine what that is like. Being stuck at home with nothing to do, was enough to make me lose my sanity bit by bit. I am glad I have something to focus my energy on now, but if that situation had lasted for several weeks, I would have been quite miserable as well. In his case, he can't not only leave the house, but he can't even leave the couch, he can't do anything at all. I am glad he at least has you by his side to distract him from things."

In a fragile voice, revealing how unsure and worried she was in the situation, Maria asked, "You really think so? Do you really believe that my being here is helping him. Some days I really feel useless, despite trying so hard. I feel awkward enough since we moved from just starting to date, to moving in with each other. But the added responsibility of having to take care of him without any proper training, when he is in as bad a shape as currently is, is really messing with my ability to assess the situation objectively. My emotions are all over the place, while I try to keep a composed front in front of Steve and others."

Laila moved over to the other side of the counter as she went to give her friend a hug. She said in a comforting voice, "I don't only think so, I know so." She then gave Maria a tight squeeze, causing the latter to make sounds as if she was choking. The she held Maria by the arms as she gave her some words of wisdom and encouragement. "You know better than most, that I don't gamble, But if this were a bet, I would put all my money on you without even a moment's hesitation. That is how confident I am that you have made the situation a thousand times better for Steve."

Maria smiled a bit weekly, and wanted to say something, most likely tone Laila's praises down a bit, but Laila wasn't done yet. She refused to give into Maria's self-doubt, and had enough praises and arguments prepared, that by the end, she was confident that it would be impossible for Maria to still doubt herself after hearing all of it. "He is smitten with you and who wouldn't feel better when they can have the person they love by their side when they are going through a tough situation. Or did you already forget his initial reaction when you told him that you agreed to becoming his nurse. In fact, he even offered to pay you for all your troubles in order to make you stay."

Again Maria tried to interrupt, saying "But, that wasn't-". But again Laila didn't let her. "So, don't for a second think that you aren't doing enough for him. Because just your presence is healing for Steve. And of course it is going to take some time getting used to it all. It hasn't even been a week. Don't you think you are expecting too much of yourself? Things will get better and the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Practice makes perfect. So, stop doubting yourself, and stop trying to handle everything on your own. At the very least you can talk to Steve when things become too much, so he can provide you with some mental support. After all, all other burdens are on your shoulders. The least he can do is comfort his worrying girlfriend. Being on bedrest doesn't give you an excuse to skip out on all responsibilities. Who knows, it might distract him a bit from his own worries." With a wink she added, "If not, you know that I am only a phone call away."

Laila's little 'speech' was finally over when she suddenly remembered something else she needed to tell her friend. Something that was bound to help the current situation. "Oh, and I have another piece of good news that will surely put you in a better mood!"