Not that it mattered. It was nice to hear someone’s voice, to feel the touch of another human. I drifted away, lost in a land of pain and shock. When the roar of tires arrived, I barely recognized them.
“I want to ride with her,” Sebastián told one of the medics as they were loading me into the ambulance.
Melba put her hand on his shoulder. “We will meet her at the hospital.”
“Thank you, Sebastián,” I told him.
He waved to me as the doors to the back of the ambulance closed.
* * *
Two hours later, I was finally in a hospital bed, a doctor wrapping my leg in a cast.
“You’re lucky,” he said. “A spill like you took, and only a broken tibia?”
“I don’t feel so lucky.” I dropped my head against the pillows and sighed. “I’m on vacation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. The good news is, you can call whoever you are here with and ask them to pick you up in an hour.”
My insides shriveled. “I’m here alone.”
“Oh.” He looked confused—and then sorry for me.
“I like traveling alone,” I said defensively.
The doctor nodded, but I got the sense he was trying to avoid a conversation he had no interest in having.
“I can do whatever I want,” I added.
He cocked an eyebrow. “And now you get to rest in bed for two months.”
“Two months!” I might have bolted out of bed right then and there were it not for my broken leg.
“That’s how long the cast needs to stay on.”
I deflated against the pillows, unable to help but feel I was being punished for something.
“Is there a taxi service I can call?” I asked.
“Yes. I will get you the number.”
“Thank you.” I pressed my lips and tried to hold it together, but the moment he left the room a few tears leaked down my cheeks.
So this was the downside of traveling alone. Or was it the downside of putting lizards’ safety first?
Either way, I couldn’t help but wish I was back in Baltimore, with my friends close by. Being injured made me feel weak and needy, two things I abhorred.
There was a knock on the door, and a little head popped into the room.
“Sebastián!” I wiped the tears away and grinned.
He bounded to my bed. “That’s a big cast.”
“I know. Would you like to sign it?”
His eyes widened. “Can I?”
“Of course. I would be honored. You are my guardian angel, after all.”