Page 3 of When We Fell Again
I sent him back a thumbs-up emoji, the pain in my left shoulder almost too much to bear with the effort of typing out another long message.
As if on cue, a nurse pushed back the curtain and entered the cubicle. “Okay, Jordan. Are you ready for the procedure now?”
“Let’s do this.” I nodded.
He handed me a small cup with a couple of pills in it. “Take these, then we’ll get started.”
Without needing any further prompting, I necked the two tablets and swallowed them down with some water.
The nurse got me to sit on the bed with my left side towards him. He took hold of my arm and rotated it around the shoulder joint. The movement seemed to go on for eternity, but after a few moments, there was a crunching sound, a thunderbolt of pain I’d never felt before, and then it popped back into its socket. A stream of profanities tumbled from my lips, and I watched the nurse fighting back a grin. Clearly, it wasn’t the first time he’d witnessed that type of reaction.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
Like it isn’t obvious. I’m practically doubled over with the pain of the procedure.
“What the fuck do you think?” I hissed. Even with whatever the fuck painkillers he’d given me, I was in all sorts of trouble.
“Take a breath, sit back against the pillows, and try to relax,” he suggested. “I’ll go and find a sling so we can settle the pain, then we’ll check everything is in the right place with another x-ray.”
“How long do you think that will be?”
“No idea, sorry. I’ll try to get you out of here as quickly as possible.” The nurse picked up my checked shirt from the chair by the bed. “Do you want to put this back on?”
“Yeah.” It was fucking freezing in that damn cubicle that I wasn’t going to be getting out of any time soon.
I’d never had a guy take so much care getting me into a shirt; usually it was women who wanted to rip it off. But when he lifted my left arm to slide it into the sleeve, I saw why. Grimacing against the discomfort, I sucked in a breath until it was over. Slumping back against the pillows from the effort, I closed my eyes.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I heard the rustle of the curtain and sensed I was alone again. The relaxing effect of the pills was starting to kick in, and I drifted in and out of consciousness. Even though it was only snippets of sleep, I had vivid images of flying off the swing and crashing into the ground. Each time, I jolted upright as if trying to stop the impact.
At this rate, I’ll be exhausted.
Having lost all concept of time, I had no idea how long it was before the nurse returned. On this occasion, I was less vocal as he took me to the x-ray department and left me there to get the final scans done. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep.
Another hundred years passed before the consultant finally came back and gave me the all-clear. She put my arm in a sling and handed me a pamphlet with some information about exercises and recovery. Before I was allowed to leave, she also gave me a prescription for super-strength pain killers and firm warnings about mixing them with alcohol. It was entirely possible she’d Googled me and believed the things she’d read, some of which were true. Dutifully, I nodded and agreed to the terms of my release, then headed to the reception area to sort out an Uber.
While I waited for the car to arrive, I messaged Levi.
Jordan: Want to organise that food now? I’m starving.
Levi: Sorry mate, we’ve already eaten. But I’ll get something for you. What do you want?
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. There was me thinking I was the important one, when in reality, my bandmates had already forgotten about me.
Jordan: Don’t care. Chicken, pizza, whatever.
Levi: You got it. I could go for some pizza anyway.
A car pulled up and I checked it was mine. Sliding into the back, I rested my head on the seat, fighting the fatigue slowly enveloping me.
“Wait,” I said to the driver, suddenly remembering my prescription. “Can we stop at the pharmacy on the way home?”
“Sure.” He nodded and drove the short distance to the nearest chemist.
Thankfully, there weren’t too many people in there and I made it in and out within ten minutes. Any longer and I’d have been dead on my feet. On the final journey back to the house, I popped two of the painkillers, neglecting to read the instructions.Consequences be damned.
“Here he is,” declared Levi, the moment I got into the living room. “How are you doing, buddy?”
