“Me too,” I tell him.
“The only real maintenance you’re gonna need to keep in mind is remembering to take your antibiotics and not getting the cast wet, and you’ll need to take it easy for a couple of days until the pain subsides. Like I said, we’re going to send you home with some pain meds, but you won’t be able to do much while you’re taking them. You’ll feel a bit sleepy and out of it, but it will help you manage the pain.”
Austin keeps talking and giving me instructions, but all I can think about is the growing burn running from my elbow down to my fingertips. It feels like my bone has been snapped in half and punctured my skin. “I’m in pain,” I say frantically.
“Did she just realize this?” Brendan asks. “What’s going on?”
“The anesthesia sort of turns on and off like a light switch in a lot of people, which means the pain will reappear out of nowhere.”
Austin stands up and walks across the room to a tray placed on the counter next to the sink where he picks up two small cups and brings them over to me. “I’m going to give you a couple doses of Percocet to relieve the pain while you transition home. It will only take a few minutes to start working. I’ll recheck on your pain level after they have had a chance to take effect.”
I take the first cup from his hand and toss the pills into my mouth, then switch the cups for the water to wash them down. “It really hurts,” I tell him.
“Scarlett, you’re worrying me,” Brendan says, pacing back and forth.
“Bud, she’s going to be okay. It’s just pain. It can be managed.”
“I know. I just hate seeing her in pain like this.”
“She’s okay,” Austin assures him, though I’m not so sure of that. I’m not okay. I’m in a lot of pain. Does anyone care how I feel about it?
“Why don’t you close your eyes for a few minutes and let the meds kick in? I’ll go start working on your discharge papers, and we’ll get you on your way. As soon as you’re in your clothes and out of this bed, you’ll start to feel better too.”
I don’t think I can believe him now. I don’t see how getting out of bed and getting dressed is going to take this pain away, but I do as he suggested and close my eyes.
“Are you going to be okay with taking care of her?” I hear Austin ask Brendan.
“Yea—yeah, I’ll be fine. I just gotta pull myself together,” Brendan says.
“Come over here,” Austin tells him.
I peek out of one eye to see what’s going on, and they’re chatting in the corner by the counter. Austin hands Brendan a piece of paper, and then they turn back to me, so I re-close my eye.
I don’t like the conspiring going on between the two of them andI really want to know what they were just talking about, I think to myself as I drift back off.
