Started with a Whisper

Whisper - 4

“Hey Darcy,” I glanced up from my embarrassment to indeed see that Dillon had approached my secluded corner, and was smiling down at me, still cradling his arm close to his body. He adjusted his position a little bit, his face giving off a slight grimace as he did so, and I was perpetually stunned by his amazingly gorgeous body while he wasn’t looking directly at my gaping mouth. I may not believe in love, but I sure as heck believed in hot guys. That was a given, boys think about sex while girls drool over hot guys. I’m sorry I’m only human…

“Hi Dillon,” my voice cracked and I quickly cleared my throat. Conversation was proving to be a challenge.  “So…what happened?” I motioned to his arm, still plugging my nose with the bloody tissue. He gave me a crooked smile, one that could only be characterized as the most heart stopping event ever to occur in my life, and if that weren’t enough he sat down right next to me. I glanced up and sure enough my mom was still filling out forms, thank God. She could be so embarrassing sometimes.

He gave me a sigh, before chuckling and nodding down at his arm. “Many years of grace and coordination have made me a professional at falling down stairs. So, today I slipped and ended up breaking my arm.” I tried stifling my giggles, but he spoke up, “It’s okay, you can laugh.” He smiled at me again, and I found it getting a little harder to breathe. At least I was at a hospital. But all too quickly the subject changed, “So what about that nose of yours? Catfight?” I shook my head, wishing that were the case, at least I would sound tough.

                “Door, actually,” I informed him, smiling wide, even though the very motion was killing me.

                “You know, you’re supposed to open them, not walk into them,” I just gave him a goofy squinted look, trying to pass it off as a glare. He chuckled, “Don’t make that face around any doors, it might get stuck like that.” I shook my head. Dillon was surprisingly easier to talk to by the minute, I found I enjoyed talking to him.

                “I don’t know if I could handle another incident with a door,” I joked, his returning pun was equally as good.

                “I know what you mean, after falling down the stairs, I can really appreciate the gravity of the situation now,” he says, and the fact that he made it so that he could poke at himself rather than me made it all the better and we both burst into laughter. “But I can only imagine that being hit with a door was an unhinging experience.” 

                “It was quite the pane,” I agreed with a giggle, “but I think I can walk myself through it.” Within moments we were red in the face, wiping the joyous tears that had escaped in our fit of giggles. I wasn’t done just yet, “I hope you don’t let your fall get you down. The first step in getting better is having a positive attitude.” 

                “I’ve never laughed so hard in my life,” he whispered, and glanced up as a nurse with a clipboard came our way.

“Dillon Murray?” He stood up, acknowledging to the nurse that he was indeed Dillon, giving me a short wave before turning to follow her. In a quick second though, he turned back to me, “How about lunch this weekend, or something?” He raised an eyebrow, and had a fleeting smile on his face.  

                “Come on lover boy, it says here you have a broken arm?” The nurse said, her hardened scowl lifting into a semi-smile. Reluctantly, Dillon followed her without protesting, and I watched him slip away through the swishing double doors leading to the infirmary. My mom came over looking annoyed, sitting beside me her eyes drifting around as she absentmindedly nibbled on her thumbnail.

                “I hate this place,” she decided finally. “You need to be more careful.” I snorted, leave it to my mom to blame me for getting hit with a door. But I didn’t say anything, instead I replayed Dillon and I’s conversation smiling to myself all the while.

                Eventually a nurse came for me with a clipboard, and we followed her to the back. I searched avidly for Dillon’s face, smitten like a puppy, but saw him nowhere. Slumping my shoulders, and aggravated by the wait, I sat down onto a cot and waited for my medical examination. Hurry up and wait; that should be the hospital motto.

                The nurse grabbed a stethoscope, and a million other contraptions going through the regular motions. She checked my heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, eyes, ears, mouth and finally nose. “Just as I suspected,” she mumbled as if blaming me as well. Maybe it was my fault, but I wasn’t wholly the blame, Levi and the door opener were just as evil.

                “It’s broken?” I sniggered under my breath, receiving a look of warning from my mom. Right, attitude wasn’t necessary. I did want my nose fixed.  She and my mom grouped together, talking in whispers before the nurse straightened herself and walked out.

                “Well?” I demanded; crossing one leg over the other and being glad I couldn’t smell that disgusting sterile hospital smell. Instead I glared at the different germ posters on the walls and framed degrees that graced one particularly dull egg shell wall.

                 “They’ll have you fixed up in a jiffy, sweetie,” She said with a tight smile, I glared at her but she only pursed her lips and turned away. I hated when she was obvious about keeping things hidden from me.

                The shuffling of nurses’ shoes and squeals of turning wheels on wheel chairs were dominant through the door, and I wondered how much longer it would be before I could get out of here, but it didn’t seem like it would be anytime soon. Sighing, I mentally prepared myself for the worst. At least if it went better than I expected, I wouldn’t be let down, because I had already set my standards low.

                Waiting sucked.