For one long moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead, he rested his forehead against mine. “Let’s go get you sorted out.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, voice shaky, though I wasn’t sure whether that was from the pain or Finn.
The emergency departmentat Southmead Hospital was busy, but at least not Friday night before Christmas busy. Finn went and bought me some paracetamol for the pain, though I had my doubts how effective it would be, and then we waited to be seen.
I sat with my head back, wrist as still as I could possibly make it, but it throbbed regardless. To be fair, I only had to wait about forty minutes to be seen by a triage nurse, which wasn’t that bad at all.
I gingerly stood when she called my name.
“Want me to come in with you?” Finn asked, looking up at me.
I really did, and before I could think of any reason why that was a bad idea, I nodded. “Please.”
He followed close behind me, and once inside the room with the nurse, we sat down, with Finn hovering over me like I might fall again any second.
The nurse took one look at us, and I could tell she assumed he was my partner. And yeah, I liked that way too much.
“So,” she said, looking at the way I held my arm. “What happened here then?”
I explained in embarrassing detail how I’d fallen and where and how severe the pain was.
After fitting me out with a temporary sling to keep my wrist from moving about, she sent me off to get it X-rayed.
Finn and I trooped over to the X-ray department and I yawned three times on the way there. Like A&E, someone had attempted to add some Christmas cheer. A tinsel-covered tree sat in the corner, and the same colour tinsel hung along the front of the reception desk.
It must suck to have to work during the holidays.
When we took a seat to wait to be called, Finn tapped me on the knee. “How you doing?”
I was sore, knackered, and really fucking miserable that I was probably going to be in a cast for the next six weeks. Instead of saying any of that and coming off as a right miserable bastard, I managed a small smile. “Could be worse.”
We both glanced down at my swollen wrist.
He laughed and shook his head. “You can say if you’re thoroughly pissed off, Jasper. I think you’re allowed.”
I grinned despite the pain. “Fine, I’m thoroughly pissed off and it really fucking hurts.”
His expression softened. “Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For being honest.” He sighed. “You don’t need to hide how you’re feeling.”
Don’t I?
I glanced over to find him watching me, gaze intense. I wondered if he was talking about more than my broken wrist. The X-ray department of Southmead Hospital was hardly the place to have this conversation, especially when I was distracted with pain.
The nurse came to get me a few minutes later and I suffered through the agony of having my wrist X-rayed from all angles.
“Well, that was fun,” I grumbled as I came out.
Finn looked up from his phone and frowned. “What did they do to you? You’re as white as a sheet.”
I tried to shrug, forgetting what an insanely bad idea that was, and sucked in a breath at the sharp pain. “Ouch.”
Finn shot off his chair but then hesitated in front of me, looking all kinds of frustrated. “I don’t know what to do to make it better,” he whispered.
And whether it was the fact I was knackered, the pain in my wrist, or just the words themselves, but a wave of feelings hit me right in the chest and I felt myself tear up. Snapping my eyes shut, I took a deep breath in and out, trying to get myself under control.
