Broken Empire A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance - Callie Rose Page 0,5
be a good sign that I remembered it—but Philip looked deeply offended that a doctor at this elite medical facility was swearing in front of his granddaughter.
I could’ve told him Doctor Garrett was doing what adults did to kids all the time. Trying to gain my trust by proving he was “cool” and “hip” or whatever.
But my brain was still hung up on the words the man had said before that. The part about me almost dying. Had the wreck been that bad?
My stomach felt like it dropped out of my body as I remembered the sickening feeling of the car’s wheels lifting off the road, of the world outside tilting and spinning dangerously as the little blue vehicle rolled.
I closed my eyes for a second, fighting down the images. When I opened them, Doctor Garrett was regarding me seriously.
“The seat belt and airbags kept your body from absorbing as much of the impact as it might’ve otherwise, and they prevented you from receiving worse whiplash. The strain in your neck was mild, but you hit the left side of your head and received several lacerations along the left side of your body. The seat belt strap itself cut into your shoulder, leaving further lacerations and some significant bruising.”
He stepped forward, perching on the end of the bed and balancing his chart against his leg with one hand.
“You were pressing on the brake when you wrecked, weren’t you?”
Wordlessly, I nodded, trying to mesh what he’d told me so far with what I felt. The hit on my head explained the bandages over my left temple. And judging by the bruises and bandages on my left arm, that side of my body must’ve absorbed more impact than the right.
“I thought so. The most significant injuries you suffered were to your right leg. You received compound fractures in both your tibia and fibula and fractured a bone in your ankle as well. We went in surgically and were able to set the bones and secure them. You’ve got a few screws in your leg that will stay there to help reinforce the damaged bones and secure them until they’re healed and beyond.”
What?
My gaze snapped up to his face so fast it made me dizzy.
The room seemed to fall out of focus as he talked, until nothing existed but his lips moving, forming words I couldn’t understand, didn’t want to understand.
My legs.
Not my legs.
“To come out of a car accident like the one you were in with only the injuries you have is pretty miraculous, kiddo.” He dipped his chin, a look of sympathy passing over his features. “You might not feel like it right now, but you’re very lucky, Talia. You’re alive. And you’ll heal.”
An awful heaviness crept through my gut, wrapping itself around the core of me and threatening to drag me under.
I had been here before, propped up in a hospital bed listening to a doctor tell me my legs would heal. And they had… that time. After my dad had pushed me down the stairs at our old apartment complex, I had worked through physical therapy and pushed my body to adapt, to function despite my injuries.
But could I do it again?
“I…” Tears leaked from my eyes, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Doctor Garrett. He looked so calm, so kind. And he had saved my life. So why is he crushing my heart? “I’m… a dancer. Will I be able to…?”
He straightened a little, and I saw him press his lips together as if holding back the first response he’d been about to give. Then he shook his head, reaffixing the calm, patient expression to his face. “It’s really too early to say, Talia. You’re young. You have that going for you. And with careful healing and rehab, I feel confident you’ll be able to walk again just fine. A dance career though… That kind of strain on your body? I can’t make you any promises.”
The tears slipped faster down my cheeks, but I jerked my head up and down to show I’d heard him. I could feel my body now, and even though the pain meds being pumped into my system kept anything from hurting, everything felt wrong.
Wrong.
All wrong.
Doctor Garrett rose to stand again, casting a sympathetic look from me to my grandfather. Through blurry eyes, I saw Philip glaring at him. The doctor had gotten on the older man’s bad side the second he’d said “fuck”, and nothing he’d said since had redeemed him.