Page 7 of Fractured Hope
Bodhi seemed to have relaxed as we’d talked, so I picked up the makeshift ice pack and stood to take it to the sink. With a look at Doc, I said, “Well, you know what happened from what I mentioned on the phone, but it’s his ankle that’s worrying me. Do you think we’ll need X-rays?”
“Let’s take a look.” Doc stepped over to manipulate Bodhi’s leg and test out his ankle like doctors do when checking for a sprain. While Doc poked and prodded Bodhi’s ankle, he lay there, solemn and stoic, as if this was nothing new for him. He did flinch from time to time, but other than that, I would’ve thought he’d zoned out. When Doc indicated he would like to take Bodhi’s shoe off, I had to tap his shoulder to get his attention.
With a mumbled “Sure.” From Bodhi, Doc did his best to loosen the shoe and take it off as delicately as possible, without moving Bodhi’s foot or ankle too much. Carefully, he peeled back his sock, and once it was off, you could tell something wasn’t right. The top of his foot was swelling and there was a large discoloration under the skin, in line with his middle and fourth toes, like something had tried to crush his foot.
“Well, fuck,” Bodhi breathed out as he glanced down at his injury. Tears welled in his eyes, and he seemed to deflate. He looked just about done with the world at this point.
“It’ll be okay. We’ll get you patched up.” I patted his shoulder and gently grazed his neck with my thumb. He shivered as he turned his head to look at me, lips quirking up in a tiny smile before glancing back at Doc and his foot.
“I’m afraid we’ll need to get that foot X-rayed. It looks like your ankle is badly sprained, but you might have cracked the top of your foot on the way down. You’ll need to go to the hospital.” Doc sighed.
With a small smile, Doc left the room to give us some privacy. I crouched down next to Bodhi. “You sure there’s no one I can call for you?” I asked hesitantly.
He just shook his head quickly, still looking down at his swelling foot. As silent tears started to slide down his face, all I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and take away his pain. He appeared so beaten down that I knew I needed to help him in any way I could. With that dilemma resolved, I lifted his chin and ducked down to meet his gaze.
“It’s okay, I can take you to the ER.” He started to shake his head and pull away, but I held firm. “It’s no trouble. After all, I was the one who startled you in the first place. Please let me help make sure you’re okay.”
He studied my face like he was trying to figure me out. “I can’t let you do that. It was an accident. I’ll be fine.”
Bodhi broke eye contact and wrapped his arms around his middle, like he was trying to hold himself together. A serious look crossed his face as he sat there stiffly, still radiating anxiety. “Ah.... I.... Um.” Bodhi took a deep breath like he was bracing for something and tried again. “How much does Doc charge? Can he accept cash?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “Depending on how much it is, I can pay. Or maybe I can pay half in cash, then maybe work off the rest somehow. I could do something. If I use half now, then I should have enough left to survive on and work off the rest and still have a buffer, or maybe I could—” He was talking so fast and quiet the words became strung together and almost inaudible. It started to sound more like internal mutterings he probably didn’t mean to say out loud.He was looking paler, and his breathing had also quickened. I worried he would start hyperventilating.
Gently, I placed my hand on his knee to get his attention. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. Yes, it was an accident, but it happened in front of my business, and I reallyneedto make sure you’re okay. Please let me take care of you.” I made sure to keep my voice calm as I spoke.
He snapped his head up to look at me.What did I say?His eyes captivated me as he stared like he hadn’t seen me before.Weird.
He eventually sighed out “Okay.” while lying his head back down. Standing, I patted his shoulder. “I just need to make a quick call, and then we can go, okay?”
He simply nodded as I left the room.
I walked through to the office and checked over the books for the day, then called Seb because he would need to come in early. I would have to wrangle Lyric into coming in, too. After the talk we’d had yesterday, I hoped he would be okay to jump in and help me out. I groaned as Seb picked up before I was ready.
“Jeez, what’s up with that greeting? You called me, jackass,” Seb said with a chuckle, thankfully sounding a lot more awake than I would’ve thought for this early in the morning on his day off.
“I need a favor,” I said, right off the bat, since there was no point beating around the bush.
“Shoot.”
“Could you come in and work a full day for me today? There was an accident this morning, and I’ve got to go to the hospital.”
“What the fuck, bro!” Seb bellowed. “Fuck man, are you all right? What happened? Do you need me to drive you?”
I snickered at his stressed rambling. I wasn’t the only brother not cut out to respond to an emergency.
“Relax, I’m fine.”
He huffed at me through the phone. “But you said hospital. I’m on my way,” he breathed out. I could hear him grabbing his keys, and then I caught the sound of the door slamming through the phone.
“Hold up a sec and listen! I really am fine. I’m not the one who needs to go to the hospital. It’s someone else who I need to take, since they can’t drive.”
“Oh, okay. Jeez, warn a guy next time. You really could have phrased that differently. I almost had a heart attack.” An indignant sniff reached my ear.
“I’m really sorry, bro. Let’s just say it’s been an eventful morning.” Relief washed through me. My brothers would always be there if I needed them. “So, you’re okay coming in on your day off? I was going to give Lyric a call next and get him to come help you, too.”
“Of course, man. I’m already on my way. I’ll be there in five. Good luck trying to wake sleeping beauty. You know what a bear he is in the morning.” Seb ended the call on a laugh.
Chuckling, I shook my head and called Lyric, knowing full well Seb was probably right and I would have to wake him up. He wouldn’t be happy about it.
The phone rang and rang, until finally a clearly sleepy “Hello?” was rasped out.
