Read Online A Missing Peace by Beth Fred - Free Book Online Page A

across my mind. She’d said it was safer for everyone if people back home didn’t know where she was. There was more to the story than she was telling me.
    This girl made me crazy. She’d saved my life. I knew that car would have hit me again if Mirriam hadn’t pulled me out of the road. But I didn’t like being accused of whatever it was she thought I had done.
    I called her name as she left. I wanted to follow her, but she was out the door before I managed to pull myself off the couch.
    Two hours later, I sat in the lobby of the doctor’s office. I spent as much time here as I did at home these days. My appointment was fifteen minutes ago, and they hadn’t called my name yet. Mom sat beside me, tapping her foot. She needed to go back to work, but I wouldn’t be driving any time soon.
    To kill time, I took out my phone and connected to Facebook. I hadn’t been on since the accident. Kailee had covered my wall with ‘Get Well!’ messages, but I was more interested in her profile pic. It was a white garage panel with pink letters, ‘RAGHEADS GO HOME!’ I knew this was connected to whatever Mirriam was accusing me of, but I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Mirriam’s garage.
    I zoomed in on the picture until I got the corner of a beige brick house in the bottom corner. There were lots of beige brick houses around here, but there weren’t lots of Iraqis brave enough to settle in Killeen, Texas.
    While Mirriam was sitting in the hospital with me, Kailee tagged her house. It was my idea to go to dinner that night—where we saw Kailee. No wonder Mirriam was pissed. She really believed I asked her out that night, so Kailee could trash her house. Why would she even think that? I had never done anything to her, and I didn’t like it when other people talked about her.
    I didn’t know if I should try to convince Mirriam I had nothing to do with this, or leave it alone because I was pissed she assumed the worse of me. Whatever I decided to do about Mirriam, I was talking to Kailee. Mirriam didn’t deserve this, but I was tired of Kailee interfering in my life.
    I ground my teeth and howled as the doctor squeezed and pulled on my leg. He pushed my calf up, and when my knee didn’t bend with him, he tried to force my leg into a bent position. I grabbed the sides of the table and screamed.
    â€œIt’s almost over,” he said.
    He laid my leg down on the table. I breathed in and out. In. Out. In and out, until I didn’t feel like my limbs were on fire anymore. When the pain subsided enough that the room quit spinning, I used my arms to push myself up into a seated position.
    I looked at the doctor who shook his head. I knew this wasn’t going to be good.
    â€œHave you been up and walking around?”
    â€œI get up to eat and go to the bathroom.”
    â€œHave you tried to walk more than that?”
    â€œI can’t. It’s hard. I can’t bend my leg, and after I take a few steps, I get dizzy.”
    â€œI think the damage to your legs may be worse than we thought. I’d like to get an MRI.” He paused for a minute and then added, “Son, you’re going to need physical therapy. You can get it right here on base, and the sooner you do, the better it’s going to be for you.”
    â€œYou think I’ll be back to normal by the end of summer?”
    Dr. Walker frowned. “Anything is possible, I suppose, but, Caleb, you’ve been seriously injured. Recovering is going to take time.”
    I didn’t say anything, but it must have been obvious that I didn’t like this response.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” my mom asked.
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œIs there something specific you were hoping to recover for this summer?” Doctor Walker asked.
    â€œI’d planned on enlisting. Boot camp.”
    â€œAhh,” he said. “I usually tell people if there is something they want to