“Yeah, that fucker can kick!” Hugo cried as Stephen and Frank helped him up to his feet.
“Hey, is everyone alright? What the hell are y’all doing in there?” one of the rodeo workers shouted.
More and more workers came out to see what was going on. Several jumped in to help carry Hugo out, while others went to calm down the animals and check on Tyler and the girls. They called for an ambulance and performed minimal first aid on Hugo. They interrogated the group about why they were out in the fields so late.
Hugo had been coughing up blood, which alarmed the workers. They helped take care of him and made sure that everyone else was okay and that they should head home. Stephen stayed behind to go to the hospital with Hugo, while Frank had almost completely sobered up from all the excitement and offered to drive all the girls and Tyler home.
“You sure you’re all right to stay with him?” Frank asked Stephen as Tyler gathered the girls to head to the truck.
“Yeah, it’s not a problem. I’ll make sure they take care of him.” Hands in his pockets, Stephen nodded to his friend.
“Well, the second you know he’s okay you call us, all right? I’ll come and pick you guys up whenever they discharge him, okay?”
“Will do,” Stephen said softly and waved goodbye to his friend.
“Oh, Liz, wait a second.” Stephen gently took her arm as she walked toward the truck with Tammy. “I didn’t get a chance to finish explaining everything back there.”
“It’s okay, Stephen. I understand,” she replied with a tender smile on her face and glass-like eyes. “We can still be friends. I’ll see you around.” She tugged him down and kissed him on the cheek.
He watched her walk to the truck and jump into the bed. Then she turned to wave goodbye to him.
Stephen was speechless and, having finally calmed down, almost collapsed. It was somewhere between three and four a.m. and all the activities and events of the past 24 hours had exhausted him.
“Hey, don’t go falling down on me now. You still gotta take care of me.” Hugo was sitting on a cooler behind Stephen, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Stephen turned and smiled at his friend. Hugo hadn’t lost his sense of humor despite the immense pain he must have been in.
“Don’t worry about me. Just make sure you don’t kill yourself.” Stephen sat next to his friend as the ambulance finally arrived.
Once the paramedics had taken a look at Hugo, they warned him that he had a few broken ribs and that the hospital would have to run some tests. They told him that because he able to speak and walk were good signs and that he probably had nothing more serious than broken bones.
Stephen was relieved to hear this news while Hugo played it off as though he’d expected nothing too serious. He joked around with the paramedics as they drove to the hospital and rode in the back on the gurney while Stephen sat next to him and worriedly looked at his friend.
At the hospital, the paramedics took Hugo to get x-rays and other internal scans, while Stephen had to wait in the Emergency Room waiting area and helped the nurses fill out the paperwork for his friend.
After a couple of hours, they put Hugo in a room to rest while they waited for the test results, and Stephen was allowed to visit and wait with him in the room. It was still relatively dark outside, and Stephen was able to finally fall asleep in the chair beside Hugo’s bed.
Not half an hour later, Stephen was woken up by light pouring into the room. Confused, Stephen looked up to see a nurse entering the room. Haloed by the light from the hallway, she looked almost angelic. Stephen could just barely make out her features. She had a rounded face with prominent cheekbones that perfectly supported her eyes. Her hair was a shade of brown a little lighter than milk chocolate, but the light shimmered on each strand framing her face and it turned the color into a sparkling gold. The door to the room slowly closed behind her, and when she looked up from her clipboard, she seemed startled to see Stephen.
“Oh my, I am so sorry. I didn’t realize that anyone was in here with him.” Her voice was soft and high-pitched. Probably realizing she’d just woken Stephen up, she tensed her shoulders nervously.
He sat motionless in his chair in a trance, not knowing whether he was still dreaming, or if he’d rejoined reality. Instead of replying, he squinted at the nurse, a confused look on his face.
“I’m just going to check on your friend here and make sure everything is in order, and then I will be out of your hair.” Her smile brightened up the room even after the door had closed on the hallway and its light.
Stephen continued to stare at the nurse as she checked the monitors and fluid level in Hugo’s IV bag. Stephen wondered what exactly she was doing although she’d just told him. He didn’t care what she’d come to do; he’d asked as an excuse to keep looking at her. Although the room was dark, the delicate luminescence from the monitors gave her face a unique shine. He couldn’t look away no matter how much his burning eyes pleaded for rest. He kept them open just the tiniest amount, allowing him to watch her.
The entire interaction took only a few minutes, but it felt both as if it had passed by in an instant, yet somehow time had also frozen as the event burned into his memory. The nurse had finished checking in on Hugo and opened the door slowly, obviously trying to leave quietly. Looking back and seeing Stephen still awake, she smiled, more faintly this time. Her lips stretched just enough to make a smile that shimmered tullian pink and shot a sensation straight into Stephen’s chest. She finally left the room and simultaneously escaped his gaze.
As the door closed, taking the light and the nurse with it, Stephen, infused with a burst of energy, shot up from his chair as if possessed. His heart began to race and quickly became the only sound he could hear. The thumping in his chest clouded and blurred his thoughts. His legs moved on their own and agonized over what to do. Finally, he grabbed the door handle and flung open the door in a panic. The nurse, only a few feet away as she scribbled on her clipboard, turned around and let out a startled cry.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Stephen was frozen. He had no idea what to do next. All he’d been preoccupied with was making sure that he could see her again, but he wasn’t satisfied. Lost and feeling more embarrassed with each moment that passed in silence, Stephen shot out a hand that trembled slightly and said, “Hi.”
Although his sudden movement startled the nurse for a second time, she quickly collected herself. She let out a sharp breath as she dropped her head but quickly picked it back up. Smiling, she grabbed his hand and said, “Hi.”
“Um, my name’s Stephen?” He said uncertainly.