Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“You know me,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m always on call. Hey,” she said, giving me a warm smile.
“This is Traveler,” August said. “Trav, this is Lettie. She’s a doctor. More or less,” he added, making my brows raise.
“I dropped out like a semester short of graduation,” Lettie explained. “Will you come with me to the bedroom, so I can look you over?” she asked.
“Sure,” I agreed, handing my coffee to August with a small smile as I followed Lettie.
“Does your side hurt?” she asked, picking up on my strange gait.
“I was kicked in my hip area,” I said, motioning to where it had landed as we walked into August’s bedroom.
It was a lot like the rest of the house.
Very sleek.
White walls, dark wood floors, with big windows, the views unencumbered by drapes or blinds. But there was a heavy tint on them.
The bed was large and covered in black bedding so lush that I wished I could climb in and take a much-needed nap.
Lettie closed the door, and placed her bag on the dresser.
“If you’re not comfortable taking off… okay then,” she said, smiling as I reached to pull off my shirt.
“I’m not shy,” I told her. “Just a little… in shock,” I admitted. “Hence the…” I said, waving in the air toward my head.
“Seems like you were hit in the head a few times,” she said. “That might have something to do with feeling off.”
“I was punched twice,” I said, gesturing toward my cheek and temple as Lettie folded down my pants to see my hip better. “And my head whacked off my dresser,” I recalled, touching the side of my head.
“Well, at least you didn’t break it open,” she said as her fingers probed around my stomach. “And tenderness here?” she asked as she kept probing.
“No. It hurts like a bruise hurts,” I said.
“Okay. What about here?” she asked, pressing on my ribs and chest.
“It’s okay. My chest feels kind of tight, but I think it might have something to do with this,” I told her, pressing a hand to my sore throat.
“Yeah, this isn’t pretty,” Lettie agreed, tilting my chin up slightly. “Swallowing feel a bit like choking down glass?”
“Yes.”
“I recommend icing this from the outside, as well as some warm tea and honey for the upcoming soreness and hoarseness. Alright, are you ready for the list of things I want you to look out for?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding.
“Any breathing difficulties either standing or lying down, loss of consciousness, trouble swallowing, drooling, swelling in your throat, weakness, numbness or tingling on one side of your body, bad headaches, lightheadedness, loss or blurred vision, seizures, little red or purple dots on your face or in your mouth, drooping eyelids, any inability to think clearly. And, this likely sounds crazy, but issues with your bladder or bowels,” she said as she rummaged in her bag for one of those pen lights. “Open for me,” she asked.
Finished looking in my mouth, she checked out my eyes, made me follow the light path, all the usual stuff.
Then I did something I could only call close to a field sobriety test, likely looking for any issues with my balance or whatever from whacking my head.
“This might sound crazy, but you got really lucky tonight,” she said. “If you are going to be around, I do have a facility where you could get scans if you get some more symptoms.”
“We, ah, we are leaving tonight.”
“I figured with Aurelio and Milo here,” she said, nodding. “Well, if anything seems worse, wherever you are going, I want you to go to the emergency room right away, okay? You don’t want to fuck around with the aftermath of strangulation. I’m not super worried about your hip. And I don’t see any current signs of a concussion. But just… stay aware, okay? No matter what is going on with all that,” she said, waving toward the living room.
“I will,” I assured her. “I’ve had several brushes with death now. I’d really like to survive this, so I’m not going to ignore a medical emergency.”
“That is good to hear. If you find yourself back in Navesink Bank in the next few days, I would like to see you at my office. Just to make sure you’re healing like I think you should be.”
I wanted to be back in Navesink Bank.
That was a startling revelation.
But it was the most clear, the most certain, my mind had been about anything in what felt like ages.
I wanted to be in Navesink Bank.
I wanted to walk the beach, try the coffee place Aurelio raved about, eat at Lucky’s pizza place and Famiglia. I wanted to try Adrian and Giulia Grassi’s food. I wanted to have a girls night with Smush, Elisa, and Valley. I wanted to meet August’s other brothers. I wanted to sit around their tables at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I wanted to curl up with August in bed every night.