Liam blinked, then nodded. “I’m on site,” he said. “I can help if needed.”
Marlene smiled like she’d just seen something click. “All right then.” She turned back to my ankle and got to work, all efficient and confident.
I told myself this meant nothing.
I told myself I would never need him.
Marlene pressed and prodded my ankle with the confidence of someone who had seen worse and might see worse again before breakfast.
“Tell me when it hurts,” she said.
“It hurts,” I said.
She adjusted her grip. “Helpful.”
She moved it side to side. Up. Down. A little rotation that made me clench my jaw and reconsider all my life choices.
“Okay,” she said after a minute. “Nothing feels unstable. No obvious fracture. Likely a minor strain or sprain.”
“Minor,” I repeated. “Love that word.”
“If the swelling gets worse after three days, you’ll need an X-ray,” she continued. “Until then, rest, elevation, ice. Be gentle.”
“I will absolutely do all of that,” I said, lying with absolute confidence.
She wrapped it neatly, firm but not cruel, and taped it like she meant it to stay that way. When she was done, she stepped back and nodded at her work.
“You can walk. Just don’t be heroic about it.”
“I have never been heroic in my life,” I said.
Liam crouched and picked up my shoe, careful to keep his hands to himself, like proximity was a privilege he didn’t abuse.
Marlene peeled off her gloves. “One more thing.”
I braced myself.
“A short soak in the outdoor heated spa should help loosen things up,” she said. “Just don’t fall in.”
“I would never,” I said.
She looked at me, then at my ankle, raising one eyebrow. “Have a good night,” she said, already moving toward the door.
When Liam and I stepped back outside, the quiet wrapped around us again. Pine Hollow had returned to its usual state. I hesitated, then cleared my throat. “So. Hypothetically.”
Liam turned to me.
“If someone had a freshly bandaged ankle,” I continued, “and a noted history of poor decisions around wet surfaces...”
He nodded once.
“And if that someone wanted to take medical advice very seriously…”
Another nod.
“It might be safer,” I said, carefully, “to not be alone near the spa. In case of slipping. Or… further heroics.”
He considered that, his gaze moving over the path ahead, the light, and the ground, as if my hypothetical required a full safety assessment.
