Page 47 of Euphoria
“What happened?” she asked Alex, adding a penetrating stare into the mix that forced a reaction.
“I just slipped, that’s all. Landed with a thump and everyone panicked.”
Francine stepped forward. “It was a crack, you screamed, and then you couldn’t get up after, so let’s stop being brave and let the good doctor do what she’s paid to do.” She turned to everyone else and shooed them all away with a silent waving of her fingers.
“Okay. Do you feel any pain now?” Morgan asked, lowering onto her knees so they were on a similar level.
Now that everyone else had gone, Alex winced. “I guess I do feel a little bruised and foolish.”
“Foolish won’t be a problem, bruised however… I’ll need to check you over properly, but I can’t do that here. So, did you bang your head?”
Alex shook her head. “No, my ankle turned and then I landed on my arse.” She blushed before admitting, “The ankle did really hurt.”
Morgan smiled. “Can you move all of your toes?”
“Yes.”
“And fingers, any pain in your back?” Morgan leaned in close and reached around, prodding here and there.
“No, nothing.”
Sitting back on her heels, Morgan stared up at Alex. “And you had trouble standing?”
Alex nodded.
Gently, Morgan rolled the trouser leg up to the knee. And then carefully, she took hold of Alex’s calf and raised it a little in order to remove her shoe and take a better look. Whenshe pulled the sock off, she could already see some bruising appearing around the ankle bone.
“Can you move your foot up and down?” The foot moved gingerly, and a hissing sound emitted from Alex with the movement. “Side to side?”
This time, the sound from Alex was much more painful, but her foot did move.
“Is it broken?” Alex asked.
“No, I don’t think so. But I’m going to strap it up so we can get you back to the hotel.” She pulled the sock back on as she spoke. “And I can do a proper examination and get you some pain meds set up.” She looked at Alex then. “You’ll need to rest it.”
“God, I have to—”
“There’s nothing that can’t be done tomorrow,” Francine interrupted. “If the doc says you’re to rest, then that is what you’ll do.”
Morgan said nothing, but she raised an eyebrow and smiled at that.
“I just need my bag,” Morgan was saying as Francine swooped down and swung it in her direction.
“Already got it.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
With her foot up, Alex huffed and pulled open the next page in the magazine Francine had gone and got her. This wasn’t how she had expected the rest of her day to look.
Dinner had been ordered and would be brought to the suite. Francine had left and gone to her own room to continue working, and Morgan was locked away in her room, avoiding Alex.
At least, that was how it felt to Alex.
Morgan would pop out every thirty minutes or so and check to see if she needed anything, and when Alex smiled and said, “No, I’m fine, but thank you,” she would retreat back into her room again.
She slammed the magazine down on her lap and huffed again. Her watch said Morgan would be out again any minute, so she waited, staring at the door and urging it to open.
When it did, she picked up the magazine again quickly and pretended to be interested in the wedding of the year, two minor celebrities from a reality show whose wedding was being featured in an 8-page spread. It was horrendous, Alex thought.