He could do this. He could stand up on his own. For Arden because she needed him, and for once, he wouldn't think of himself. A grunt expelled from his lips with his efforts, and upright, bobbling, he caught Arden's eye. "Gabriel ..." She stepped his way, but he waved her off. "No. I'm going to do this." He gripped the back of his chair, firming his stance. "I'm going to be the shoulder you can cry on," he said. "Not the stupid boy in the chair." ----- Gabriel Allen wants to die. After the loss of his leg, there seems to be no reason to move on. Until he meets Arden Vargus. A glimpse at her private pain finally wakes him up to the hope standing right in front of him. Her. Only problem is she doesn't believe he cares for her or that anything she's said applies to herself. And that might just be the one thing he needs to show her she's wrong. A tender short story by best-selling young adult author, SUZANNE D. WILLIAMS, of the healing power of love.