The Rider

Chapter 10

I winced as Dylan gently set me down in the passenger side of my car. My head feels like someone is smashing a sledgehammer against my head repeatedly. My wrist feels like it was ripped from the rest of my arm, then clumsily shoved back in.

"Hold on Mia," Dylan reassured, "we're going to the hospital. You'll be okay."

"It hurts," I groaned as he buckled me in.

"I know, but try not to think about it, think about something happy instead."

Something happy? My wrist feels like an animal ripped it off, but sure, I'll think of something happy.

Dylan climbed into the driver's seat and hastily started the car. I groaned as the car moved backwards, cradling my wrist against my chest. Dylan looked at me again, worry etched in his face.

"I'm sorry Mia, I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"I'll accept your apology when we get to the hospital," I mumbled, gritting my teeth as another wave of pain washed across my head.
•~•

Dylan carefully picked me up in his arms and sprinted towards the entrance to the hospital.

I'm not sure why he keeps carrying me, my legs work fine.

Dylan bursts into the hospital, earning weird looks from the people in the waiting room.

"Nurse, I need a nurse! We had an accident, it's an emergency!" he yelled, desperately looking for a nurse.

Not exactly an emergency, Dylan.

A nurse hurries over to us and seeing that I'm in great pain, orders, "Come with me." She leads us into a room where Dylan gently sets me down into their hospital chair. She turns her head to Dylan and asks," What happened?"

"She fell off her horse and hit her head," he answers.

"And wrist," I add, closing my eyes in an desperate attempt to scare the head pain away.

"Were you wearing a helmet?" She asks, wrapping the blood pressure wrap around my arm.

"Yes."

"Smart girl," she compliments, reading my blood pressure. "Alright, follow the light with your eyes, okay honey?"

"Okay," I mumbled, attempting to follow the light with my eyes, but finding it difficult.

"Okay sweetheart, I'm going to show you this object," she instructed, pointing to a red foam ball, "and I'm going to hide it. Once I hide it, I'll ask you to wait a few minutes, then ask you where it is.

Easy enough.

I nodded silently at her and watched as she let me see the object for about ten more seconds. Then, she quickly hid it behind a trash can.

"It's behind the trash can," I pointed out.

This is easy.

She raised an eyebrow and said, "We have to wait now, remember? I told you that I would ask you to wait a few minutes."

"Oh." Why didn't I remember that?

After a few agonizing minutes, she asked me where the ball was.

"It's... Its-," I began. Where is it? She just put it somewhere, I was watching, I think. "I don't remember," I mumbled dispiritedly.

A worried expression crossed Dylan's face and he looked at me with confusion. "Mia, it's only been five minutes, you just saw her put it behind the trash can."

So that's where it is.

"That's what I thought," she sighed, looking at me. She took a careful look at my pupils and sighed. "It seems that you have a mild concussion. Since you were wearing your helmet, you were saved from something much worse."