With and Without You by Austin Siegemund-Broka & Emily Wibberley
Author:Austin Siegemund-Broka & Emily Wibberley [Siegemund-Broka, Austin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-04-19T00:00:00+00:00
Twenty-Eight
IâM STUNNED AT FIRST, feeling nothing when I land. I know I fell hard and pain is coming, though. I roll over, conscious of Patrick running down the hill where I stumbled. Embarrassment works its way into my disorientation. I probably look ridiculous splayed out in the dirt. Not to mention the way I probably looked falling, like one of those YouTube videos you feel bad for laughing at.
âOh my god.â Patrick reaches my side. âAre you okay?â
I rise shakily into a sitting position, feeling out my feet, my legs, my back. There are scrapes on my palms and probably my knees, although I managed not to rip holes in my leggings. âI think so,â I say.
âWhat happened?â Patrick asks. He kneels at my side, worry in his eyes.
âMy foot slipped on the loose rocks,â I admit, my cheeks heating out of a combination of chagrin and adrenaline from my fall.
He glances down, his eyes narrowing. âSiena!â he says a little harshly. âYour shoes have practically no treads. You told me you had appropriate footwear.â When his eyes return to me, Iâm surprised to find them accusatory.
âI thought I did! Itâs not like Iâve fallen down a mountain in these shoes before,â I offer with a half smile.
âNot funny,â he says stonily. âWe didnât have to do this if you didnât have the right gear.â
âI wanted to do this,â I reply more firmly, flattening the waver in my voice. âIt was our one chance to do this before I go back to Phoenix for who knows how long.â
Patrick still looks displeased. âLet me see your hand.â
I surrender my left hand, knowing itâs the one he means. While itâs bleeding more freely now, the blood dampening the dirt on my palm in gunky black streaks, itâs just a scrape. However, when Patrick gently takes my wrist, I gasp. All of a sudden, Iâm aware of pain stabbing out from within my wrist, white fire under my skin. I withdraw from him instantly, jerking my hand close to my chest.
Concern shadows over Patrickâs face. âWas it me? I barely touched it.â
âI donât think so,â I say. âIt just hurts, like, constantly.â
He studies my wrist, his demeanor calm yet focused. âIt looks swollen,â he observes. I follow his eyeline. Heâs right, my entire wrist is puffy and pink. For the first time since I fell, real worry knots in me. Whatever happened to my wrist when I landed, itâs probably not good.
Patrickâs sudden movement distracts me from the new pain. Shrugging off his backpack, he unzips the front pouch and pulls out our water bottles, which he places on the ground. Then he takes out a forest-green pouch I donât recognize. I peer in when he zips it open to reveal first aid supplies. Past the throbbing ache in my arm, I smile a little. Of course ever-responsible Patrick has an entire first aid kit with him wherever he hikes.
âElevate your wrist,â he orders me with controlled urgency, âand take one of these.â
He shakes an Advil into my uninjured hand, then passes me my water bottle.
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