Finding My Feet

Chapter Eleven

I check the time.
02:47.
I sigh.
I couldn't believe they live together.
I twist my body as much as possible so I'm laying on my side and I stuff my pillows under my head.
Who knew what they got up to alone?
I shuffle around my bed, trying to find a comfortable position. I start getting frustrated and throw my body to the one side.
A tearing sensation in my calf makes me scream in pain. After a few seconds, the hallway light turns on.
"Amber? What's going on?" My mom calls, coming into my room.
I scream again as a response, clutching my leg as tears stream down my face.
"Ryan!" My mom yells. "Ryan!"
My dad hurriedly gets to my bedside while my mom is wiping her hand across the sweat on my forehead.
"What's going on?" He demands. "What is it?"
"The girl is in pain, you could be considerate," my mom snaps at him.
My vision clears enough to see the my entire calf has gone a pastel blue color.
"It's so sore," I cry. "Something happened. I turned and it pulled or something."
"We should get you to hospital," my dad says and my mom agrees.
They hurriedly strap me into my leg braces and lift me to my feet.
I feel my leg give way and I plummet to the floor.
"I can't stand on it," I wail.
"That doesn't look great," my dad says. "I'll carry you."
He lifts me up bridal style and him and my mom rush to the car.
"Step on it," he urges my mom before she speeds down the road.
Soon, the hospital comes into view and my calf is now dark purple and black in some places. My mom stops outside the entrance and my dad hurriedly carries me out the car and to reception.
A nurse comes out from behind the counter, noticing my calf immediately.
"How did this happen?" She asks.
"She was just laying in bed and started screaming," my mom says from behind us.
The nurse nods and leads us to an examination room.
"A doctor will be with you shortly," she says.
"We can't wait shortly! Can you not see how much pain she's in?" My mom yells.
"Ma'am, there's nothing I can do but inform a doctor," the nurse snaps.
"Cocky bitch," my dad mutters and I suppress a smile giggle.
The nurse walks out and I glance at my calf again.
Blood vessels seemed to have burst across my skin. The color was a deep purple, yellowing on the outer regions. I could see how my muscle was throbbing. My entire leg felt like it was constricting.
I leaned back onto the pillows of the examination room bed and groaned.
Footsteps make me look up and there's a middle aged man in the room. He gives me a warm smile.
"What seems to be the problem?" He asks.
My mom gestures to my leg in a seemingly sarcastic way. The doctor raises his eyebrows.
"Tell me when it hurts," he reaches out to touch my leg.
"Don't even try touch it," I hiss. "You can see it's painful."
"We'll have to do an x-ray."
I roll my eyes.
"Could you come over to here please?" The doctor asks.
My dad lifts me and places me on the x-ray machine.
"Please exit the room," he tells my parents.
After what felt like an hour, my parents could finally come back into the room and the doctor holds my x-rays up to a light.
"Your calf muscle has snapped," he says.
"Well then that's easy to take care of," my dad says. "Let's go."
"It's not that simple," the doctor snaps. "By snapped, I mean it's completely ripped into two pieces. The one half has gone up into your knee and the other has gone into your ankle. It requires a special surgery to repair it and therapy to use it again."
My head falls into my hands.
"All my effort gone to waste," I murmur.
"How long will it take?" My mom questions.
"About an hour surgery and two weeks recovery," the doctor says.
I sigh loudly. I'd have to work twice as hard to reach my target for walking now.
"We'll book you in for tomorrow," the doctor says.
"It's already tomorrow," my dad says under his breath.
"The surgery will begin at around two in the afternoon. Don't put pressure on your leg and don't touch it. Blood vessels will continue breaking if you do," the doctor says before writing on his clipboard. "Your name?"
"Amber Tryland," I grumble.
"Alright. See you tomorrow," he grins before walking out.
"Why did this have to happen?" My mom asks. "You were doing so well."
My dad shakes his head.
"It's a sign. She shouldn't walk, just be in her wheelchair forever. She's wasting her time trying with that," he shrugs carelessly.
My mouth falls open.
"I honestly can't wait till you leave!" My mom hisses at him. "You're such a disrespectful person. This is your daughter, not some ornament that has no feelings. The least you could do is be nice. I don't know how I even married you."
My dads cheeks turn red, a sign of his anger.
"Well this is now your mistake of a daughter. You didn't even want her to begin with," he snaps back. "Now look how useless she's become. Telling me to be nice is rich coming from you after the past few weeks you've taken your shit mood out on her, Helen. I wasn't the one that said yes to my marriage proposal, it was you. And you still took three weeks to even say yes so that's your fault as well. Bitch."
My and my moms mouth fall open.
"That's taking it way too far, dad," I interrupt. "I get you're angry at each other but calling her a bitch and in a hospital room is being a huge dick."
"Let's just go," he lashes out, grabbing me roughly and carrying me to the car.
My mom follows slowly behind, lost in her thoughts. My heart breaks a bit when I see her eyes getting watery.
"I'll stay at a hotel for the rest of the time I'm here," my dad announces, seeming proud of himself.
Words escape my lips before I can stop them and I'm taken aback by what I say.
"Good riddance."