Page 68 of East

The tractor jerks forward instead of stopping. The plow catches on whatever it hit—a rock, maybe—and the sudden resistance twists the machine sideways. The steering wheel wrenches violently out of my grip. With one more lurch, the tractor bucks me off like a bronco.

I hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of my lungs.

Then the pain hits.

Blood. So much blood.

I can’t make much sense of it, because my vision is going white. Searing pain from my left thigh. I squint, try to catch a glimpse of what happened. Something metal caught me as I fell, scraping a wide gash through my blue jeans into my left thigh. Not a clean cut, but one that zigzags across my thigh like a lightning bolt.

I try to sit up, but the pain shoots through me like fireworks.

Everything goes black before I hit the ground again.

When I wake up, machines are beeping. Ladies in white surround me, and tubes shoot into my skin.

I don’t feel anything below my waist.

I blink a few times. Emmy stands in the corner of the room, her arms crossed and her expression stern.

She crosses to the bed.

“Finally up,” she says. “Enjoy your nap?”

“What… What happened?” My voice is raspy, my lips drier than the Sahara.

Emmy rolls her eyes. “You acted a fool, let the tractor get out of control. It threw you off, and you took a big scrape to your thigh. The doctors had to perform surgery on you to get the pieces of metal out of your leg and sew you back up.”

Her words aren’t sympathetic, like a parent should be when their child is in a hospital bed. They’re condescending, almost scathing.

She leans in and whispers in my ear. “The doctors believe you took the tractor on a joyride, and if you want your recovery to be easy, you’ll confirm this story if asked. Nod if you understand me.”

I can barely string a coherent thought together, but I manage a tiny nod.

“Good. The doctors placed you in a medically induced coma.” Her face twists. “It’s been days, Thea. How could you let this happen?”

“I… I’m not old enough to⁠—”

“Christ, Thea. Children do these things every day. I asked you once to help out around the farm, and you couldn’t handle a simple task. And to be so careless when we don’t have health insurance…”

“We… What?”

“Health insurance, you stupid girl. Do you think it just grows on trees? Your father’s policy died with him. I never thought it necessary to renew it. I’m in perfectly good health, as are you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d be stupid enough to injure yourself doing something you saw your father do every damned day.”

I draw in a shaky breath. I’ve heard of people driven to ruin by medical debt. This is serious. How could Emmy let our health insurance plan lapse? I don’t really know how it works, but this seems like it’s her fault, not mine.

But she won’t see it that way. And she certainly won’t allow me to see it that way.

“Emmy, I⁠—”

She holds up a hand. “I don’t want to hear another word. I’ve already solved it, just like I solve all your problems.”

“How?”

“I worked out a deal with a gentleman I know.” Her expression doesn’t change.

“A… A deal?”

She nods. “Before I brought you to the hospital, I made a quick stop at the courthouse. Took a husband for my own. Since you’re my legal dependent, the two of us are now under his policy.”