Page 122 of Stay

Her tone offers no room for argument, and I’m too tired to argue right now anyway. I rest my eyes, opening them when I hear Wyatt come in. He exchanges pleasantries with my parents and then focuses on me.

“I have good news about your arm. It’s as I thought, no need for surgery. It should heal nicely in six to eight weeks. If everything is looking good in four weeks, maybe we can switch over from this cast to something a little more comfortable.” He smiles and studies my face, stepping forward as he pulls out his little light. He’s used it on me a couple of times now. “I’m going to check your pupils. How’s your head feeling?”

“It hurts.”

“Any dizziness?”

“Yes.”

“Pupils look good. There’s no hematoma or signs of edema in your scans, which I’m happy about, but since you were unconscious for fifteen minutes or so, I want to keep watching for swelling. I’m also happy to say your ribs are bruised but not broken. I’m sure it’s still hurting like crazy, but if they were broken, it’d hurt to breathe.” He makes a face. “With the way you’re banged up, it probably already does, but the fewer things broken, the better. It’s okay for you to sleep, but we will bewaking you up often to ask simple questions and assess your condition. Sorry about that in advance.”

I return his smile.

He checks my water. “Drink more water if you can, even while we’re getting fluids in you with the IV. Just use that call button when you need to use the bathroom and one of the nurses will be right in to help you.”

“I’ll be staying here tonight with her,” my mom says.

He nods. “That’ll be fine. I just ask that you let her rest and not have the TV on.” He looks at me again. “It’ll be important that you avoid all screens, especially in the next forty-eight hours, but really…it might be a while before you can watch TV without getting a headache. I’d prefer you to avoid them for three weeks and then we reassess.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,easiest patient ever.” He grins at me again.

I’m really glad he’s here. I was already fond of him, but as a doctor, I trust him to know what’s best for me. And bonus: he’s got great bedside manner.

“All right, you know what comes next. The walk. I’m sorry to do this to you. Pam was going to do it soon, but I’d rather you not be woken up any more than you have to be.”

I take my time getting out of bed, waiting until my head clears somewhat before I stand up.

He offers his arm and we walk from my bed to the door and back again.

“One more time on your own?” he says.

I let go and walk even slower across the room. My head hurts, but I make it across the room and back to bed. In the next second, I grab the little bag on the tray and hold it up, afraid that I’m going to throw up.

I breathe through it and it passes, and I lean my head back. “Sorry, thought I was going to lose it there for a second.”

“Have you thrown up since the first time I walked with you?” he asks.

“No.”

“Good. Let us know if you do, and please, wait for a nurse to get up, okay?”

“I will.”

“All right. I’m going to let you sleep.” To my dad, he says, “We have a couple of rooms for family that need to stay close. During tourist season it’s often full, but not tonight. I can show you those if you like. They’re all open right now, so there’s no risk of getting booted out.” He grins and my dad looks at me.

“Go sleep, Dad. You too, Mom.” I barely have the energy to say it. “I just want to sleep and I’ll feel bad if I’m keeping you up.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Mom says.

I sigh.

“I’ll sleep a few hours and then come relieve you,” Dad tells my mom. “Would you let me know if anything changes?” he asks Wyatt.

“Absolutely. We’ll take good care of her.” His phone buzzes and he checks it, shaking his head and laughing quietly. “My brother and nephew have already left at least three messages since they left, so I have a lot of people to answer to about this patient.” He smiles pointedly at me. “Rest.”

I grin and close my eyes, thinking about Sutton and Owen.

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