The Shift

23

The red light started blinking, which meant all karts had to exit the track. If it wasn't for Cat's shrieking version of crying, I would've asked her if she wanted help. That was if I hadn't noticed how much blood was guzzling from her nose. Oh my god, the bone was literally misaligned. And that's when it happened, forcing me to quickly remove my seatbelt and step out of the kart. I aimed for the grass on the other side of the guard rail and let out all of my dinner. At least twice. It could've been from my headache, but most likely from my distaste for blood.

'Alright miss, we need to take you to the hospital' The emergency medic said as he and his partner unbuckled Cat. She wouldn't stop crying, so they had to rub her back as they walked her off the track. I heard a siren, assuming it was for her. Hopefully they'd put her on heavy meds so she wouldn't kill me immediately. 'Mam, are you okay?' Another medic asked, he spoke more english than the others. 'Um, my head just hurts' I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. 'Alright, let's get you some ice' He said. He led me back to where the others were waiting. 'Holy shit, Chan what happened?' Johnny asked me. Justin was on the phone with someone, and by the concerned look on his face, I thought it was probably his mom. 'My brakes weren't working' I whispered.

I continued to walk with the medic, but I knew Justin was following us because I could still hear him talking. 'Alright, I'll let you know how bad she is' He said before ending the call. 'Chan' He sighed. 'Baby are you okay?' He asked me. His hand slipped around my shoulder comfortingly, pulling my head into his chest. "I heard your brakes weren't working" He said. 'I couldn't let up on the gas either and I drove right into her. Her nose hit her steering wheel, and my head hit mine' I said. I felt his lips press against my forehead, it'd be nice to say that made me feel better, but I needed heavy pain meds right now.

"Alright, miss we can give you ice" The medic said. He then asked me other questions and made me follow a light with my eyes, all to check if I had a concussion. "You should take it easy, rest. Your headache probably won't go away immediately' He said. 'Do you know anything about the other girl?' Justin asked. I felt his hand rub up and down on my back. "She's going to need her bone reset, it's definitely fractured. The doctor will have to realign it, and then she'll wear a splint' He said. 'Damn' Justin mumbled. "I have to pay for that' I said, I knew I had to.

'Don't worry about that right now' He said. 'I broke her nose Justin' I said. 'You didn't punch her in the face, it was an accident. We'll figure it out' He said. 'Thank you again' I said to the medic as I placed the ice on my head, leaving with Justin. "Do we go to the hospital?" Cory asked as the rest of them joined us. 'I think we should" Andy said. 'We should get her some stuff she likes, just to make her feel a little better" Ashley said. 'I can't believe this' I whispered. I was trying not to talk too loud until I had a chance to chew some gum at least. 'Chan are you sure you're okay, you look a little out of it?' Beth asked. 'I just wanna sit down' I said.

We finally got another taxi, and asked for him to take us to the hospital. I was currently chewing four pieces of gum, just to rid of my vomit stained mouth. Out of all the people I had to break the nose of, did it have to be Cat? It was starting to get to dark, and I was getting really tired. 'Chan' Justin said. 'What?' I asked. 'Lay on me' He said, pulling me away from the uncomfortable head rest. He was warm and smelled like Old Spice and Crest toothpaste. Weird, but nice. "She's gonna kill me" I mumbled. I felt his fingers pull on the edges of my hair. He stroked my head slightly, and that actually helped a lot.

"I wouldn't let her kill you" He said. 'She will be pissed' I said. 'You'd be pissed if it was the other way around' He said. 'I know' I sighed. "But it wasn't intentional, and as long as she's okay then it's fine" He said. 'I've managed to cause drama on your trip twice in the two days we've been here" I felt myself dozing off. 'Chan' He whispered. 'Hm?' I asked. "I don't care if there's drama, as long as we're still having a good time" He said. "What'd your mom say?' I asked. "Oh, she said if Cat wants or needs to come home early, she'll pay for her flight' He said.