Solo (30 page)

"Eeek…" I shrieked.

"Good morning, sunshine." His grin melted me.

"Good morning," I twisted to sit up. "Ouch!"

"What wrong? Is it your arm?" He quickly sat up. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't do anything; it's just been bothering me all morning. I figured if I was careful the pain would go away."

He scrutinized my arm. "It looks kind of swollen. I'm taking you to the clinic when we get back." He jumped up and started getting ready.

"Calm down, its fine. I'm sure it's nothing."

"I don't want to take chances."

"Well, I'll have to tell my mom, and actually I'd prefer if she took me." I winced at the pain.

"That's fine; whatever you want." Lucas seemed disappointed.

"I'd like you to go with us. My mom can sometimes be a drama queen."

"Like I said, whatever you want." He sat back on the bed. "But I think we should skip breakfast and go straight home."

"That's not fair."

"You'll thank me later." He kissed my forehead. "Let's go."

Casey was wearing an enormous grin when we met her and Jack in the lobby. Lucas explained that we needed to leave and have my arm looked at. Casey gave me a hug and told me she would call later.

Lucas wanted me to wait in the lobby while he got the truck, but I was too stubborn. "My legs aren't broken. My arm just hurts." I followed him to the truck.

"At least let me carry the bags."

"If that makes you feel better." I shoved my bag at him.

"What bothers you more, the fact that you're missing breakfast, or that I'm making you go to the clinic?" He opened the door to his truck for me.

"Too be honest, a little of both."

Lucas didn't waste time getting back to Myrtle Creek. Mom was outside weeding the flower bed when we arrived.

"Let me do all the talking," I said. "She can be overdramatic."

Mom was on her feet before we closed the truck doors. "Hey guys, how was prom?"

"Oh, it was fun. Casey and I were on the dance floor all night." I turned to look at Lucas for support. "But I had a little accident. I think I should get my arm checked out."

Mom dropped her dirty gloves and was examining my arm before I could get another word out. "What happened? How bad does it hurt? Why didn't you get it checked out last night?"

"Mom, breathe. It's fine; only a little sore. Casey and I were leaving the dance floor when I slipped and my arm just happened to break the fall. I didn't get it checked out last night because it didn't seem that bad."

Lucas scowled at me.

"Well, why are we still standing here? Let me grab my stuff. Lucas will you be joining us?"

"Yes, if you don't mind?"

"You two get in my car." Mom ran inside to get her keys and purse.

"See what I mean. She goes overboard."

"Eliana, she's worried. I don't think she's overdramatic. It's pretty much the same response I had this morning."

I thought about that for a second and then decided Lucas was overdramatic, too.

The clinic was busy with the urgent care waiting room full of people. The room slowly cleared. I looked at the clock. We had been waiting for two hours and there were still people ahead of me. We took turns reading six month old magazines scattered on tables. Finally, after three and half hours, we heard: "Eliana Davis."

I heaved a sigh and looked at Lucas.

"I'll wait for you." He smiled encouragingly.

"All right, this shouldn't take long."
I hope
.

Mom went to the exam room with me. The paper sheet crinkled when I climbed on the exam table. The nurse took my vitals and informed us the doctor would be right in. We waited for another twenty-five minutes before he made his appearance.

"What brings you in today?" he asked pleasantly.

"I fell last night at prom and landed on my arm. It hurts when I move it certain ways."

"Let's take a look. Yes, it's a little swollen. Tell me when it hurts." He started to move it slowly in different directions. "Looks like we're going to need x-rays."

The doctor left us in the exam room. "You should have called me last night when this happened," Mom scolded.

"Mom, it didn't bother me that much. Besides, I wasn't going to ruin prom by sitting in the ER all night."

The nurse came back and saved me from my mother's glare. "Okay, I'm going to take Eliana for x-rays. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"I'll wait right here." Mom settled back in her chair.

The x-rays didn't take long. As soon as I got back, she started in again. "So, how did you hurt your arm,
exactly?"

 I quickly painted a picture of me slipping on the dance floor and falling on my arm. I don't think she was a hundred percent convinced.

The doctor came back with the x-rays. "Okay, Ms. Davis, I don't see anything extremely serious. However this faint line concerns me." He took his pointer and slid it along a thin discolored area. "I recommend wrapping your arm in a bandage and wearing a sling for a few weeks to prevent any other damage."

I looked at my mom and then back to the doctor, disappointed. "Will I be able to take the bandage off if I need to?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I don't think you understand. You need to keep your arm protected for a few weeks so there's no risk of more injury. You can take it out of the sling once in awhile. The bandage is not optional. We'll make an appointment for you to come back in a few weeks to get it looked at."

"Okay," I sighed.

"I'll be right back with the supplies." The doctor left the room.

While the doctor wrapped my arm tight in the Ace bandage, I started worrying about how Lucas would react. When we returned to the waiting room, I watched his grin fade.

"It's not as bad as it looks."

He gently rubbed my arm in the sling. "You shouldn't have this at all."

"It's only for precautionary measures. They put this on so I don't do anything else to my arm. Don't stress over it."

Lucas didn't say anything during the ride back to my grandparents' house. I tried to break the tension by joking about the talent show, but Mom and Lucas glared at me.

"I hope you don't really think you're going to tumble during your routine," Mom stated, matter-of-factly.

"Well, it's in the routine, but obviously I'll have to alter things a bit."

"I would prefer that you don't try any tumbling," she replied.

"I agree with Sophie," Lucas put his two cents in.

I turned and gave him a cold stare for agreeing with my overdramatic mom. "Thanks for the input. I'll take it into consideration."

I stared out the window trying to keep my emotions in check. The anger over my arm's condition, and the disappointment of being unable to do the routine I'd worked so hard on, caused tears to roll down my cheeks. I swiped at them, trying not to be obvious.

We pulled into the driveway and Lucas hurried to assist me. I knew he was trying to be helpful, but he made me feel even more helpless. Now I had doubts about my ability to perform at the talent show, and if  I backed out, I would look like a chicken. I had a little over a week to revise and perfect my routine.

"Thanks for the help."

"No problem. Do you need help inside before I go home?"

"No, my legs aren't broke."

He threw me a scowl. He didn't think I was funny. "Well, I'll be here in the morning by seven."

"Um, did I miss something? I thought I told you that I planned to drive myself so I could work on my routine every afternoon."

"Yeah, but that was before you hurt the arm you use to shift gears. The less pressure you put on it, the quicker it will heal. Eliana, I'm not giving you a choice in the matter."

I looked at my mom, raised my eyebrows, and waited for her to come to my rescue.

"I agree with Lucas," she said.

"I can't believe this!" I stomped away, throwing my good arm in the air.

"See you at seven, Eliana." Lucas called as I slammed the screen door.

I stayed in my room the rest of the evening. I didn't want to face my mother after she'd chosen to side with Lucas. Periodically, my phone rang. I had seven missed calls and four new voicemails from him, but I refused to give in. I was angry about him taking so much of my precious time away. It was like he wanted me to back out of the talent show.

I spent my evening studying for finals, catching up on e-mails, and sending text messages back and forth with Kelly and Shelby with details about prom. It seemed to take the edge off my attitude.

Finally, giving in to hunger pangs around nine o'clock, I tiptoed downstairs to get something to eat. Mom sat at the table reading a magazine and drinking a night cap.

"There are leftovers in the fridge." She continued staring at her magazine.

I opened the fridge and grabbed the plate of food obviously set aside for me. While my dinner heated in the microwave, I tapped my fork on the counter.

"Do you feel like talking?" Mom asked.

"Not really."

"You know, Lucas really cares about you."

"I know." I sat at the table eating my dinner with my head hanging low.

"Eliana, just to make things clear, I don't want you to cancel your performance in the talent show. I just want you to take out anything that might cause permanent damage to your arm."

"I'm so upset. You don't understand how hard I've worked on this routine. I took part of my recital piece and converted it into this masterpiece." I jabbed my fork into a poor defenseless carrot.

"Just alter some movements. Your routine will be shorter with no tumbling, but you can put in a few more eight counts."

I rolled my eyes. "If you saw my routine, you would understand the significance of my tumbling." I got up to wash my plate.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Mom went back to reading her magazine.

"Good night, Mom."

"Good night, honey. Eliana, don't be so hard on Lucas. He doesn't know how to make you feel better."

"Letting me drive myself to school would have been a good start," I muttered.

My phone beeped when I entered my room. Three more missed calls from Lucas. I gave in. He didn't deserve the silent treatment. I also didn't want to listen to my phone ring all night. It took me a minute to push the send button. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to him. His phone rang. I almost hoped that I'd get his voicemail.

"Hello?" Lucas sounded shocked.

"Hey, it's me. I see I have a missed call from you."

"Just one?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, I was trying to be nice. I didn't want to say you were a borderline stalker."

I heard chuckles on the other end of the phone.

"So, is there something you needed?"

"Come on, Eliana, are you seriously upset about today?"

"Um, well, I would like to make my own choices—no matter what the circumstance."

"Okay, poor choice of words on my part, but do you really think you can drive with your arm in a sling?"

"Well, I would've figured it out. It's only an ace bandage. I could have taken it out of the sling to drive.

The phone went quiet for a long time.

"Lucas, are you there?"

There was a slight hesitation, "Yeah, I'm here."

I could tell he was upset. I let out a defeated sigh. "I'm not going to fight with you about this anymore. If it makes you feel better, then it's okay to pick me up for school."

"Okay, get some sleep. I'll see you at seven."

"Good night, Lucas."

I was sitting on the steps with Mom when Lucas showed up promptly at seven. "Honey, if you want me to pick you up after school, give me a call," Mom offered.

"Thanks, I might take you up on that. I'll call you at lunch to let you know." I walked to the truck. Lucas opened the passenger door, smiling and waving at my mom.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning, beautiful." He took my bag. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Just peachy. My mom said she would pick me up after school so I can work on my routine."

"Well, I already took care of that."

"What do you mean?"

"I called Casey last night after I got off the phone with you. She offered to bring you home. She wanted to call, but I told her you'd already gone to bed. So, be forewarned, she's slightly frantic about your arm."

"Ugh, just what I want this morning, another person becoming overdramatic." I shook my head and stared out the window. I needed to think positive. I only had a little over a week until the talent show. Negativity would just stifle my productivity. I was thankful Lucas had warned me about Casey's hysterics. His hand gently covered mine and I looked over. He was concentrating on the road, but I felt comforted by his touch. "So, I forgot to tell you I talked to my mom about Memorial Day. We won't be able to make it."