Malediction

16 - Retail Therapy

"Are you okay?" Dad panicked as he entered the hardware store half hour later, his eyes searching over my body, my face, looking for the injury

"I'm fine" I sighed, sitting leaned back in a camping chair with Todd sitting on the counter nearby

"What happened?"

I stood, holding my hand steady with ice on my wrist, every movement it made burning with pain.

"I fell, my wrist twisted when I tried to catch myself" I told him simply

"You could have told me that on the phone Em, here I was thinking the worse when you called and said you'd had an accident" Dad sighed with his hands on his hips

"If it was bad, the paramedics would have called you, not me" I told him, Todd beginning to pick his belongings up, ready to leave

"How bad is it?" His eyes hovered on my wrist as I held it closely to my chest, the ice numbing and soothing

"I don't think it's broken, but its a little swollen and tender, which could mean a sprain or hairline fracture" Todd cut in, standing beside me

"Todd's girlfriend is a nurse, he called her and FaceTimed to avoid another ambulance" I revealed to dad "I think one is enough for this year"

"We should go to ED anyways, just to make sure there isn't a break" He sighed, not convinced 

"Definitely worth getting it checked" Todd agreed "Let me know how you go, I'll talk to Jason in the morning and let him know what happened, there will probably be a bit of paperwork"

"Thank you Todd" Dad shook hands with my coworker, appreciative of his help before we left.

It was late, I was tired, yes my wrist hurt, but I believed Todd and his girlfriend, it didn't feel that bad. After lots of convincing, I'd won against dad to instead visit a medical centre over the hospital in the morning, as long as he approved of the urgency of the injury

"How did it happen?" Dad quizzed

"The step ladder I was using collapsed from under me" I sighed, leaning my head back, closing my eyes as melted ice trickled down my arm

"That's a serious safety incident Emilia, you could sue" His voice deepened, frustrated

"Accidents happen Dad, it's not that bad" I defended

"It isn't that bad" I told him, the pain numb, the swelling easing

"It is if it's a break" Dads eyes fluttered to my face

I shook my head "It isn't, it's feeling better already with the ice"

"I'll take a look when I get home, we can decide then" He gave a long sigh, rubbing his temples with his free hand. He'd clearly had a long day, his days were always long, unpredictable. He was in and out at any point during the night and day, his job demanding and exhausting.

He was an obstetrician, not an orthopedist, this wasn't his specialty, however once he'd poked and prodded a few times, he had concluded it wasn't a serious break. I was relieved, all I wanted was sleep.

Thankfully, the ice had taken the swelling and bruising down quite a bit by 8pm, the pain was tolerable.  With my casual calm composure and dads reassurance, mum had reluctantly agreed to wait until morning for an X-ray.

Despite my wrist taking majority of the fall, my body had still endured a blow, my joints and muscles aching, my butt was surely going to be bruised tomorrow, but that was definitely something I was not going to disclose to the doctor.
What I didn't realise was that every task, as simple as it normally was, was now extremely difficult with only one working hand. Luckily, I was right handed, but when it came to putting my hair up after my shower, I struggled, when it came to pulling my T-shirt and pants on, I struggled.