Roshan bit back a smile. “I saw you fall backward.” He knelt and did a quick neural check. She had hit her head, but showed no signs of head trauma. He sighed in relief.
“Need me to call the paramedics?” Karan asked as he approached, his phone out.
“No,” Nimita said, groggy but coherent. “I’m okay.”
“Okay,” Roshan said, relief relaxing his body. “Can you stand?”
She tried to stand up but scrunched up her face in pain.
“Okay. Hold up. Let me see.” He kneeled in the shallow water. “Which foot? Left?”
She nodded, wincing. “I think my other toe is broken.” She tried to stand up on her own, but pain shot through her left foot, making everything spin. She plopped back down.
Roshan tried to help her up. “Lean on me.”
“I can do it,” she insisted.
“I know,” he told her. “Just can’t have you falling again, or I have to call the paramedics.”
This seemed to placate her, and she allowed him to put an arm around her waist so she could lean on him to stand. She hissed as she got to her feet and put down her left foot.
“It’s okay. I got you.” Roshan kept up his calm doctor voice, even though the fact that she was in pain made him anxious. “We’ll take it slow. The beach is just a few steps away.”
“Yeah. Okay.” She nodded and leaned into him, moving slowly toward the white sand.
Karan laid down a few towels so she could sit comfortably, and Vishal hurried off to retrieve Roshan’s backpack from the car. They knew he traveled with a makeshift doctor’s kit wherever he went.
Roshan sat her down gently. “Can I take a look?”
She nodded.
He gently lifted her foot and tried small movements in all directions. She hissed in pain when he moved her ankle and her big toe.
“Your left ankle is sprained for sure. And your big toe, too. Though there is a small possibility that your toe has a small fracture in it.”
She met his gaze, a look of panic in her face. “I’m not getting an X-ray.”
Roshan nodded his understanding. She had no job, so she was worried about health insurance. “Not necessary right now. An X-ray will not change the treatment.”
“Which is what?”
“Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation and pain relief.”
She stared at him, disbelief in her eyes. “Are you serious?”
He nodded as he opened his bag and pulled out an ACE bandage and wrapped her foot, including the toes. He actually wished he had some turmeric to make the haldi paste his mom had used in these situations. He made himself stay in doctor mode and not think about the fact that he was touching her. That she was allowing it. Though why that should thrill him was a whole other situation. “I think tape will hurt too much, if it really is broken.” He put everything away and then offered his arm to help her up.
“I can walk myself,” she insisted, pulling away from him.
Damn but she was stubborn. He sighed his irritation but stepped away from her. She stood and teetered, clearly unable to put much weight on her sprained ankle. Roshan’s arm flew out, catching her.
“Fine,” she capitulated, her arms out for balance. “Just to the car.”
“Of course.” He tried to hide his grin as he once again wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned into him.
“No need to enjoy my pain so much,” she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear.
It wasn’t her pain that he was enjoying. She smelled of flowers, and he was transported to his parents’ kitchen island while she helped him balance chemical equations. Her proximity was new, but her murmured voice felt intimate in a way that he enjoyed. “I’ve only known the grown-up version of you for a few days, but I already know that you like to do things on your own—sprained ankle or not. Not too different than the high school version of you.” He chuckled. “It’s nice to see you let someone help you.” Also, her pain was killing him.
