Reality || L.H.

Chapter 37

I come to when Ashton slams the door shut behind him, his hazel eyes wide and worried. "Luke, what's wrong?" he exclaims.

Luke gets up from where he was kneeling beside the couch, speaking in a quiet voice. "Kat tripped and... I think her ankle's broken, Ash. I need you to take her to the hospital."

Ashton's brows draw together. "Did she throw up?"

Luke nods. "She threw up and passed out just a few minutes ago. I tried to look at her ankle, but whenever I touched it, she started screaming. You know how much I hate hospitals." He shudders at the mention of it. "I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't an emergency. She needs help."

"Let me see." Ashton walks closer to the couch to look at my swollen ankle, wincing as his gaze travels over it. He turns to face Luke, who's biting his lip anxiously, glancing back and forth between me and Ash. "Pick her up," he tells Luke. "She can't walk on that."

He nods, locking eyes with me as he slides an arm beneath my legs and lifts me up. I wince and wrap my arms tightly around his neck, trying to stay calm even though every step sends another flare of pain shooting up my leg. Luke does his best to be gentle, but it still hurts.

Ashton holds open the door as Luke gets in his Jeep, making sure not to hit my ankle on anything. He starts to set me down next to him, but I tighten my grip, wanting to stay on his lap, his arms around me. I need him to hold me and tell me that everything's going to be ok.

Luke rests his chin on the top of my head as Ashton takes a left toward the hospital. Thankfully we don't live that far away and it's only a ten minute drive. I wice at every little pothole the Jeep runs over, hiding my face in Luke's chest. I don't want him to see the pain I'm sure is written all over my face.

Ashton parks close to the front of the hospital and rushes over to open the door for us. Luke carefully stands up, holding me like he's afraid of letting go. I bury my face into his neck as the two boys walk towards the hospital doors, trying to focus on anything but the pain.

"Almost there," Luke whispers to me. "Hang on, Kat."

Ashton leads the way into the ER, stalking purposefully up to the receptionist. "My friend broke her ankle," he says in a soft, insistent voice. Luke tightens his grip on me and I press a soft kiss to his neck.

The receptionist flinches when she sees my injured ankle. "The wait is five minutes," she says apologetically. "I'm going to have to ask you to take a seat."

Ash nods and Luke carries me over to the chairs placed to the side of the room. I wince when he sits down and my foot brushes the arm of the chair. Luke mumbles an apology as he tries to move my leg into a comfortable position. I keep my arms wrapped around his neck, holding him close to me. My ankle was still throbbing and I just wanted it to be over.

"It's going to be ok," Luke murmurs over and over again as he strokes my hair softly, pressing the occasional kiss to my temple. I lean against him, glad to have him with me. Luke always makes everything better.

A nurse calls out my name and Ashton waits while Luke slowly gets to his feet, adjusting his grip on me. The nurse takes us back to a little room, gesturing for Luke to set me down on a table. He does and starts to back away, but I grab his hand and pull him back to my side.

I swallow hard as the nurse inspects my foot, her forehead creasing with worry. "I'm going to run a few x-rays," she tells me gently. "Can you come back into this room?" She gestures toward a door that branches off of this room.

I slide off the table, looking at Luke. He immediately swoops in and picks me up, carrying me bridal-style into the next room. It's dark, a weird machine set up in it. Luke sets me down on the table part of the machine and the nurse writes something down on her clipboard. "Ok, lie down," she says and I do. Flashing an apologetic look at Luke, she adds, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir."

He starts toward the door, but I latch onto his arm and hold him back. "No, he has to stay here with me," I say, starting to panic.

"I'll be right back, Kat, you're going to be fine, baby," he says with a soft smile, leaning in to kiss me. I want to deepen the kiss and hold him close, but he pulls away too soon. I watch as the door closes behind him and try to take a deep breath.

The nurse presses a few buttons on the machine and opens the door. "I'll be right back, Katherine, try to lay as still as you can."

I swallow and try to stay still, but I can't focus. My head is spinning and I'm exhausted and nausea twists my stomach and I just want Luke to come back.

The machine finally stops beeping and the door opens, Luke rushing in with the nurse and Ashton right behind him. I wrap my arms around his neck while he hugs my waist, burying his face in my hair.

The nurse politely clears her throat and we pull away. Luke moves to stand beside me, his fingers laced through mine. "Good news! It looks like it's only a small fracture, so you don't need surgery." I relax slightly and Luke squeezes my hand. "But," the nurse continues, "the bones have shifted enough that I'm going to have to reset them before we give you a boot to wear while it heals."

"Won't that hurt?" Ashton asks anxiously.

Luke sees the worry and fear on my face and squeezes my hand again.

"It will be excruciating," the nurses says with a slow nod. "I'm sorry, Katherine, but you have no other option. Trust me, resetting it is much better than surgery. I can give you a little bit of pain medications, but they won't do much."

She injects me with the pain meds and a little relief spreads through my body. Ashton moves to stand behind me, setting a hand on my shoulder. Luke draws slow circles with his thumb on the back of my hand, giving me comforting smiles.

The nurse gives me a look and I nod, taking a deep breath.

Pain shoots up my leg the second she touches my ankle. When she starts moving the bones in my foot, I start screaming. Luke murmurs soothing things in my ear the entire time, holding my hand tightly to let me know that he's still there. But I can hardly think about anything other than the pain.

The nurse finally takes her hands away, carefully sliding a boot onto my foot while my bones are still in the right place. I gulp down air as I try to calm down. Luke wipes off some of the tears that had fallen down my face, a tortured look in his eyes.

"It'll take about six weeks to heal," the nurse says gently. "You'll want to keep the boot on as much as possible. For at least the first week, stay off of it. If you're feeling up to putting some weight on it after that, try leaning on it a little bit at home. Take it easy, and if you have any problems, come back, ok?"

Ashton thanks her and holds the door open while Luke carries me out of the hospital. My ankle is still throbbing, but it feels better now that all the bones are in the right place. It's nearly four in the morning and I groan when I remember that I have class in three hours.

"What is it?" Luke asks softly as he plays with a piece of my hair.

"I have to go to french in three hours," I mumble into his chest as Ashton stops at a red light.

He rubs my back gently. "I'll take care of it," he promises as he kisses my forehead.

"Thank you," I say, genuinely meaning it. "For everything."

"Anytime, babe," he says with a small smile as he rests his head on top of mine.