Beside You

Hospital Visits

A/N So I've realized that I never state where this story takes place, and I don't intend to- I'll let you guys decide. But I will say that it is in Canada, so if some of the words seem weird, it's because I'm Canadian, and so are the characters. Anyway, enjoy!

In the end Preston wins the game. Ryder earned a penalty kick that had to be carried out by another player because Ryder had to be subbed off, cradling his arm while the coach helped him off the field. A somber silence fell over the field. I stared down at where Ryder was sitting on the sidelines while the rest of the players finish off the last two minutes of the game. I felt my mom get up beside me and start to leave the bleachers. I realized what she was doing and followed her.

 When we reached Mr. Hill and Ryder my mom bent down to look at his arm to try to see if anything serious happened when he fell."Where does it hurt?" My mom asked Ryder. 

 "My left wrist," Ryder answered through gritted teeth.

 My mom continued to examine his wrist as the referee blew the whistle to signal that the game was over.

 Preston Academy lined up to shake hands with the other team in record time in an attempt to get to the sidelines and find out whether or not Ryder, one of their captains and the best player on the team, would be okay. In only a few moments we were surrounded by concerned teammates. 

 "Will he be okay?"

 "What's wrong?" 

 "Those damn Blair Academy kids." 

 Grayson and Mitchell remained silent through the chaos. They walked towards my mom, Ryder and I. 

 "Do you know what it is mom?" Grayson asked. 

 "I can't be entirely sure. It might be a bad sprain, or it could be a break." There was a sharp intake of breath from Ryder at her words. "I won't be able to know unless he gets X-rayed." My mom answered, then she turned to Ryder, "is there someone who could take you to the hospital?"

 "No, my mom is working."

 "We can take you." Grayson offered. 

 "I can't let you miss the meeting. You know coach will want to talk to the team about how we played in our first game." Ryder told him, with the pain evident in his voice. Grayson looked like he wanted to argue, but I interrupt.

 "We can take him, right mom?" I asked nervously, speaking up for the first time. 

 "Of course. Come on let's go." 

                                ~*~ 

 We've been in the emergency room waiting room for about half an hour so far. My mom talked to one of the nurses that she's friends with and says it will probably be about 10 more minutes. While she goes to get a coffee I Ryder help Ryder fill out the forms, since he can't write. Luckily, things haven't been too awkward so far. My mom comes back a few moments later and a couple of minutes later one of the nurses calls us back to one of the rooms. 

 We hand her the papers and she reads them over before starting to examine his wrist the same way my mom did back at the field. After a few moments she stops. "I'm going to have to send you to get some X-rays done, and then come back here to meet with the doctor." 

 While my mom and Ryder go to get his X-rays I stay in the waiting room and text Maddi, Arya, Grayson and Mitchell to let them know how everything is going. After about 10 minutes I look up to see mom and Ryder coming down the hall. When they approach I get up and meet them before going back to the room. 

 After a few minutes the doctor joins us with the X-rays. "I have some bad news, it's a small fracture. You're going to need to wear a cast for about six weeks.