Page 118 of More To Us

"No. Besides, you need to get to work."

"I'm not going to work."

"Austin, just go. Amber can pick me up later."

"Are you kidding? I'm not leaving. You're my girlfriend and you're in the freaking hospital."

The nurse starts wheeling Kira away. I follow beside them.

"I'll call you later, okay?" Kira says.

"No, it's not okay. I'm not leaving you."

The nurse stops as we reach the door that leads to the exam area. "Is he coming with?"

"No," Kira says, looking at me. "Austin, I'm sorry, but I need to do this alone." She nods at the nurse to continue through the door.

I'm left standing there, confused, wondering what the hell just happened. Why is she shutting me out like this? Why would she want me to leave? Why wouldn't she want me with her?

I call Amber. I don't give a shit if Kira gets mad about it. Maybe Amber can figure out why Kira's acting this way.

"Hello?" she answers. She doesn't sound right. Her voice is hoarse and lower than normal.

"Hey, it's Austin. Are you in class?"

"No. I'm not going today. I'm sick. Have you seen Kira? She's usually home by now."

"She's at the hospital."

"What?" I hear the phone drop on something, then hear her voice again. "Kira's at the hospital?"

"Yeah. She hurt her leg. We're in the ER. They just took her to be examined."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute. Which hospital?"

I give her the name and directions, and a half hour later she shows up.

"Any news?" she asks when she sees me.

"The nurse said they're taking her for x-rays, then they have to wait for a doctor. She said it could be a couple hours."

"Seriously?" She sits down next to me. "Why are these places always so damn slow? And why don't they ever tell you anything?"

"I don't know." I glance at the door that Kira went through. I haven't seen anyone come out of there the whole time I've been waiting.

"It's just like when she fell," Amber says. "She was unconscious and they took forever to tell us anything."

I turn to Amber. "She was unconscious?"

"Yeah. We all thought she had a brain injury but then they told us she passed out from the pain."

"When did this happen?"

"When she broke her leg. She told you about the accident, right?"

"Not really. She said she broke her leg but that it wasn't a big deal."

"Oh." Amber looks down.

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