Ellie held Kevin’s gaze until the nurse turned the corner and then lay back and closed her eyes. The movement of the gurney made her feel dizzy. She just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. Maybe the whole thing was just a bad dream and in a short while she would wake up in bed at home… Ellie realized the nurse was chattering to her about something but she was too worn out to really pay attention.

A minute later, they rolled into small, darkened room. The nurse handed her over to an x-ray technician who was thankfully less chatty. The man covered her torso with a heavy smock like they did at the dentist and used an overhead contraption to take various x-rays of her leg. The procedure was mercifully quick and before she knew it, Ellie was being whisked off again.

This time the nurse wheeled her into a private room and with the help of an orderly they removed her damp practice clothes and dressed her in a gown. The room swayed nauseatingly when they lifted her from the stretcher and helped her to the bed and she felt completely exhausted by the time she was finally settled in.

”Alright hun, you just try to rest now. I’ll send in your friends and the doctor will come by once he’s had time to review your x-rays. There’s a call button here if you need anything.”

The phone rang twice before a woman’s voice answered on the other end. James was relieved to finally get ahold of one of Ellie’s caretakers. The poor woman seemed almost in a panic when he explained to her what had happened, and she assured him that she would be there just as soon as she could and that she would try on her end to reach Ellie’s father.

After he hung up, James rejoined Kevin who had been left sitting alone. The poor boy looked positively miserable. ”Hey, would you like a soda or something? I was thinking of getting something from the vending machines,” he said. Coach didn’t feel particularly hungry or thirsty himself but he wondered if a snack wouldn’t help the boy take his mind off of things a bit.