Fear of Falling by Laurie Halse Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

arms hold me down. I taste blood in my mouth. A gentle hand brushes the dirt from my face.
    I squint, trying to see. Faces come slowly into focus. My father is on one side of me, Mr. Quinn on the other. Both of them look strangely pale. Their voices are calm and soft. “Don’t move,” they tell me. “Lie still.”
    I clutch at Dad’s sleeve. “Comet—is she OK?”
    Dad’s face nearly crumples. “She’s fine, son. I promise. I’m sure you are, too.”
    Promises.
    A siren shrieks. Lights flash as an ambulance arrives. My eyes drift closed. Man, my head hurts.

    When I wake up, I’m in a hospital. Darn! I always wanted to ride in an ambulance, and here I went and slept through the whole thing.
    They wheel me into the emergency room. I’ve never been in a hospital before, except to see Mom when Ashley was born. All the nurses and doctors seem to be rushing, but calmly, like they’ve seen it all before and know what to do. It reminds me of being at Dr. Mac’s Place, the way Dr. Mac moves so quickly when she’s got an animal in trouble…I remember all those sick puppies, we had to work so fast…
    My eyes drift shut.
    When I open them again, the nurses and technicians hover around me, setting me up for X-rays. It hurts like crazy when they move me into different positions. I mumble something about Dr. Mac’s portable X-ray machine being a lot easier on the patient, and they look at me like I’ve gone off the deep end.
    Then they wheel me into a little room, where I wait awhile. Finally a young doctor comes in. “Good news, bud,” he tells me. “Nothing’s broken. You’re just a little banged up.”
    â€œThat’s good,” I whisper.
    â€œYes,” he says, “you were lucky.” He pats me lightly on the arm. “Be prepared for some major bruises, though. You’ll be pretty sore for a few days.”
    The doc helps me up off the table— umph! —and leads me out to the waiting room. My parents are sitting there with strained faces, not talking or looking at each other. Several Styrofoam coffee cups litter the small table between them. I wonder how long I’ve been here.
    Dad looks up and spots me. “David!”
    Mom jumps to her feet and rushes toward me, her eyes brimming with tears. Dad is right behind her. They throw their arms around me.
    â€œOuch!” I yell before I can stop myself.
    â€œOh dear, did I hurt you, sweetheart?” Mom asks, stepping back.
    â€œNo, no—I’m fine.” I try to smile. “Just kind of bruised all over.”
    It’s the truth, but not the whole truth. Seeing them together like this, I realize how much more I’m hurting on the inside than on the outside.
    Dad turns to the doctor. “How is he?”
    â€œHe’s all right, considering. Pretty banged up, but nothing broken. I’ll give him a prescription for painkillers if you want. But I think ibuprofen should take care of it.”
    â€œWhat about all the blood that was on his face?” Mom asks.
    â€œJust a nosebleed,” the doc explains. “Always looks scarier than it is.” He scribbles something on a prescription pad and hands it to Mom. “Call if he has any dizziness or nausea. But I expect he’s going to be just fine.” He smiles at me. “Take care and get some rest—and stay off those horses for a few days!” He turns to go.
    â€œThanks, Dr. Michaels,” Mom says, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
    I glance up at my parents. Dad’s face is pale and tight, and Mom looks positively sick with worry.
    What can I say? “Sorry, Mom, sorry, Dad. I totally blew that jump,” I mumble.
    Mom’s never been all that wild about me riding horses. Unlike Dad, she doesn’t ride at all, and she’s always been fearful that I might get hurt, especially once I started jumping. Now I’ll probably never even