Where Dance Fits In

Chapter 27: Strange Ties

Reagan
The last thing I can remember is being wheeled into an ambulance. Now, for just rolling my ankle, this seems to be a pretty big deal.
I'm sitting in a hospital bed and I'm wearing a hospital gown. I don't remember changing into one of these.
I look to my right. There is a table with a glass of water and an empty pudding cup. On the other sider of the bed, Dad is crashed on the chair. I look at the clock. '3:58 AM' it reads. My phone is also on the table.
I turn it on and it is immensely bright. I have a billion texts from everyone. Kyle is the last one who texted me. The time reads '3:56 AM'.
He's texted
'Are u up'
'No'
'How r u feeling'
'Fine thanks 4 asking'
'I really need to talk to u.'
'I know'
'I'm really sorry u no that right'
'Yeah I know, I'm just not in the mood right now'
'O ok'
'Tomorrow'
'Well today.'
'Shutup :)'
'I'll ttyl'
'Ya bye'
'Bye'
I don't know what's possessed me to be so forgiving to Kyle. He is probably sorry though. Emily is a bit of a tricker. Just the fact that they kissed, though. Yuck. I don't know if Kyle and I will ever be able to connect the way we did. I do want to get his side of the story, though.
I wake up the next morning and I hear someone talking. There is a doctor talking to my mom and dad. My mom looks stressed and dad is looking at the doctor with concern. They turn and see that I'm awake.
"Hey sweetheart." Mom says as she walks in to the room. She automatically feels my forehead. "Feeling better?" She asks. I notice the bags under her eyes. I wonder if she had been up all night.
"I feel fine, mom. Where's Conner?" She told me that Conner stayed the night at Joe's house. "They'll be coming over soon." Mom says, checking the time on her watch.
Then dad comes in with the doctor. "Hey Reagan. Remember me?" The doctor says. It was one of the doctors that was in the hospital when Conner had his foot problems. "Hey Dr. Leon." I say. "When am I gonna be able to go back home?"
The three of them exchange worried glances. "What?" I say, concerned.
"Listen, Reagan." Dr. Leon begins. "Last night, we did some tests. At first I thought it was just a slight fracture. But then I noticed a little something lodged deep in there. There was a nail within a tendon running along your arch. We had to do some quick surgery on it, but it may have damaged some nerves. It cause some inflammation and it seems you have a mild case of Gout." "What's Gout?" I ask before he can continue, too much is happening all of a sudden. "Gout is an inflammatory condition in which crystals periodically deposit in joints, causing severe pain and swelling, not to scare you or anything."
I look at my mom. She looks defeated. My dad seems fine but I notice how his forehead is still wrinkled from all those concerned faces.
"Will I be able to dance?" I ask.
"We're going to keep an eye on it. But you want to let those tendons heal and let the nerves relax a bit. As for the gout, we're going to have some physical therapy sessions to help dissolve those crystals. I think you should stay off your foot for about six months."
"Six months?!" I exclaim. How can I take six months off! I have to train for worlds and nationals. "No no. Please Dr. Leon. I have to train for big competitions!" "Reagan, you don't want to risk anything worse happening."
I starts to cry when Joe and Conner arrive. "Reag," Conner says and he gives me a hug. "Is she okay?" Conner asks Dr. Leon. Dr. Leon fills Conner and Joe in on everything. "I'm so sorry, Reagan." Joe says. He puts his hand on my shoulder.
I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. Worlds is only a few months away. How could I do this to Miss Laurie?

A few hours later, Dr. Leon comes in with Miss Laurie and, boy, was I happy to see her.
"Don't worry about anything, Reagan." Miss Laurie says. "The only thing that matters now is healing."
"Thanks." I say. And I really mean it. I can only have hope now that everything will be okay. Maybe this will be just a fluke thing like Conner's situation.
But I can only hope.