Page 83 of I Am Salvation

I nod.

“How’s the ankle feeling?”

“The pain isn’t so bad now,” I say. “Though I haven’t tried to put any weight on it.”

“That’s good news,” Sarah says. “It may not be serious. The doctors at the ER will be able to tell you more.”

Thank God.

Maybe it’s not a sprain after all. I probably just twisted it slightly. I’ve done that a million times on the ranch, and it usually feels better in a day or two.

“You want me to call your boyfriend now?” Mark asks.

I’m still gripping my phone. “I’ll do it.”

He answers right away.

“Yeah? Diana?”

“Hey,” I say. “I need you to meet me at… Just a sec.” I turn to the paramedics. “Where are we going?”

“St. Teresa’s, on the outskirts of town.”

“St. Teresa’s Hospital on the outskirts of town,” I say into the phone.

“What? Are you all right?”

“Fine. I just took a fall at?—”

Shit. He’s going to be angry I went to see his mother.

“You took a fall where?”

I have to tell him. My car is still there.

“I was out this morning, and I took a fall.” I draw a breath. “On the steps outside your mother’s trailer.”

I hear him drop the phone on the other side of the line.

A second later, his gruff voice is back in my ear.

“What the hell were you doing there?”

“I wanted to talk to her, Dragon. I thought I could get some information out of her.”

“God damn it, Diana.”

He’s angry, and I can’t blame him. But right now, I need him to meet me at the hospital.

“I may have sprained my ankle, although it’s feeling better. Your mother wouldn’t help me, so I had to call 9-1-1. I’m in an ambulance, and we’re on our way to St. Teresa’s Hospital.”

“How the hell am I supposed to get there?”

“Call a rideshare. I’ll pay you back.”

“Jesus Christ.” He sighs. “So much going on. But are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Just meet me at the hospital, and we’ll talk.”

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