Page 32 of Ready to Score

Babe.

11

Jade made it through a ten-minute car ride and to the last turn in the parking lot of Greenbelt Memorial before Lim uttered a drowsy “Wait, do you even know where I live?”

She almost felt bad for what she was about to do, but she knew how serious head injuries were. So much of her job was spent attempting to prevent things like concussions for the kids on her team. Their sport was rife with injury and not enough people to take those injuries and the players who got them seriously. She was not one of those people. Anytime one of her kids took a tough hit to the head or body, she made them see a medic.

Lim was no different.

“Okay, so about that,” Jade said with a grimace. “We’re actually at the emergency room.”

Lim gasped as if she’d been thoroughly betrayed. “Jade, noooo.”

“Look… I’ll… I’ll go in with you if you want. I’ll sit in the waiting room and drive you home when you’re done. But you have to get checked, you know that.”

Lim had spent the entire car ride with her eyes shut, and still Jade could feel her rolling them behind the lids.

“Lim, open your eyes, right now.”

Lim crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child. “I don’t want to.”

“No, you can’t, because if you do, your head will start hurting even worse, right?” Jade huffed the string of words.

“No.” Lim’s tone could be described as nothing short of bratty. “It’s because I simply don’t want to.”

“Right,” Jade said. She threw open her door and heaved herself out of the car, moving around the front and opening the passenger-side door before Lim found it in her wherewithal to stop her. “Let’s go. You probably have a mild traumatic brain injury, and if you die out of pure stubbornness, I will fucking kill you.”

Lim wouldn’t budge. This time, Jade threw her head to the sky and let out a screech.

“How about this,” she said to Lim through gritted teeth. “If you go in there and get seen by a doctor, I’ll—” She broke off, feeling flushed. Her immediate instinct had been to offer some type of physical service, like a massage or something. Not that she would have referred tothatas labor on her part. “I’ll… I’ll big you up to Landry once,” she said instead.

Lim’s ears practically wiggled with the way she perked up. “What will you say?”

Jade rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. I’ll think of it in the moment.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“What do you mean that’s not good enough? I’m the one trying to keep you safe here.”

“I already know I’m fine, so you’re going to have to try harder than that.”

Jade bit down on her lip, stressed. “What would you tell one of the kids, Lim? If they hit their head so hard they could hardly open their eyes. Would you tell them to walk it off?”

“Of course not!”

“Right, so how about you get out of the car before I’m forced to drag you out.”

Immediately, she could tell Lim wanted to argue, but her point had been too good. She didn’t know the other woman that well, but she knew enough that if she was anything like the type of person Jade thought she was, a hypocrite was the last thing she wanted to be.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve threatening me, Dunn,” Lim groaned as she stepped out of the car. Jade was immediately at her side. She put one of Lim’s arms around her neck and rested a hand around her waist, walking her the short distance toward the entrance of the hospital.

“Why don’t you just hush now and focus on not passing out.”

Luckily, the small emergency waiting room at Greenbelt Memorial was close to empty. There was a woman and a child sitting off in one of the corners near the loud vending machine. Aside from that, there was only one other person, filling out paperwork with his right arm secured to his chest with an old T-shirt.

Triage demanded that Lim be taken back first because of the nature of her injury and ensuing symptoms. Jade helped her complete her intake paperwork, then watched as Lim was helped into a wheelchair by a young nurse with kind eyes. She followed after them.

Before going through the double doors that led into the exam rooms, the nurse paused to exchange words with a colleague. It was only a brief moment, but Lim looked up at Jade, an expression coming over her face. Vulnerable, afraid. Jade opened her mouth to suggest that she escort her back for moral support. But nothing came out, because all she could imagine was Lim rebuking her for being inappropriate.

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