"Oh, my," my mother says, putting her hand to her mouth.
"I’m not a doctor," Chelsea says, "but I think she has a concussion."
"Here, rinse your mouth." My mother runs to me with a bottle of water.
I grab the bottle, not even giving a shit that I just threw up in the middle of the parking lot, and rinse my mouth out. "Ready?" they ask me, and I nod my head.
We get into the room, and I look up at Chelsea, who is typing away on her phone. "I’m not going to put in this text that you threw up," she says, "because no one needs to know that."
"This whole thing is ridiculous," I finally say. "I fell and hit my head."
"Well, as soon as the doctor tells us that, we can go." My mother folds her arms over her chest, and I know that no matter what I say, she isn’t going to let me leave here until the doctor sees me.
I don’t have to wait long. He comes in, and after thirty minutes, he sends me for tests and finally comes back and tells me that I have a concussion. "Do you have anyone at home who can monitor you for the next twenty-four hours?" the doctor asks me.
"I can do it," Chelsea tells him. "I work with Dr. Gabe."
"Perfect," the doctor says. "Now on to the nitty-gritty stuff.
"No work for the next five days at least." My mouth opens, and I’m about to argue with him when he says, "You’re lucky it isn’t seven."
"But …" I say.
"Your brain just suffered a contusion," he says. "Which means you have to give it rest to get back to normal."
"We will make sure she rests," my mother says, and I turn to glare at her, but she ignores me.
"Limit the time you watch television or you’re on the computer," he says. "The minute you get a headache, you have to start back at day one."
"After five days, I can go to work?" I ask.
"For a couple of hours," he says. "But you have to be headache-free for five days before you even go back to work." He smiles at me. "You’re lucky that your head didn’t crack open."
"Oh, yeah," I say sarcastically. "So lucky."
He laughs and walks out of the room. "Let’s get you home," my mother says.
I stand and walk out with both of them at my side. "Are you hungry?" Chelsea asks, and I shake my head. I get into the back seat of the truck, and my mother gets in next to me.
"The guys are still at the bar," Chelsea says, and I look at them. "It’s been three hours?"
I look out the window now as Chelsea drives toward my mother’s house. Pulling up, I see that the lights are on outside.
My mother opens the door and then comes to open the door in the back, sticking her head inside. “Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?” she asks, her hand going to my cheek.
“No, I’ll be okay, and if I need you, I’ll call you,” I say, and she leans over and kisses my cheek.
“I’ll come by in the morning to bring you food,” she tells me, “and you promise to call me if you need me.” She looks at me now, waiting for me to answer her and mean it.
"I promise," I say, and I hug her before she gets out of the truck and closes the door. I close my eyes as we make the four-minute drive to my house, and when we pull up, I am suddenly disappointed that Asher is not here. I push it far down when I get out of the truck, and I walk up the step and into the house.
"Go take a shower," Chelsea tells me. "Just don’t close the door."
I walk toward my bedroom and stop and turn around. "Who told you to come to the hospital?" I ask.
She avoids my eyes and puts her purse on the couch, and then goes to sit down. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"If I asked you, it’s because I want to know," I say, ignoring the heat that comes up my neck.
"Asher," she says his name, and I close my eyes. "He was a mess," she says and I hold up my hand.
"I’m sure he would have been that way for any of us." I turn, not ready to have this conversation with her. Not ready to have this conversation with anyone actually. Making my way to the shower, I stand under the hot water for a couple of minutes, letting it seep into me.
When I woke up in the dark, I was so confused and scared. Especially when I couldn’t remember where I was. Then I heard his voice and felt his hand in mine, and a calmness came over me. I knew I would be okay.