(Isla)
Standing up was harder than it should've been.
Not because of my ankle. I walked on that every day, had been walking on it for five years through the burn and the soreness, and today was no different from any other day in that regard. It was my legs that weren't cooperating, stiff from sitting in the same position on the cold floor for hours. I got halfway up and my left leg buckled and I had to catch myself against the wall with one hand to keep from going back down.
I didn't look at him while it was happening. I didn't want to see his face.
I got my feet under me properly on the second try and straightened up and stood. My ankle where the chain had been felt strange. Not better exactly, the burn was still there the way it always was, but the weight of the cuff was gone and the
