Lock’s prediction about Carmen being less than happy about his having being beaten up proved unerringly accurate. Standing at his bedside, he was treated to a good five minutes of English and Spanish that tested the limits of his vocabulary in both languages.
At one point he thought that she might need some oxygen to keep going. Finally, her emotions seemed to subside, and she sunk her face into the pillow next to him.
“Oh my God, Ryan. I’m sorry. I just saw you and–––. You could have been killed.”
“You should see the other guys,” he quipped, every word that passed his lips hurting his chest. “Not a mark on them.”
“That’s not funny,” Carmen shot back.
It kind of was, he thought, but he didn’t exactly blame her for not seeing it.
“You speak to anyone? What’s the verdict? Anything broken?” he asked.
“Mercifully, no,” she said. “Although you were concussed, so they’re going to want to do some more scans.”
He was going to make a joke about brain damage and not having much of one left to damage, but decided against it. He doubted she’d be in the mood for laughter in the dark for a while yet.
He’d slipped. No question about that. He’d made a rookie mistake and paid a price that could have been higher, but a price none the less.
At the same time, he hadn’t regretted going down there. Not even a bit. His body would heal.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to ruin Christmas for you.”
She reached out and took his hand in hers.
The curtain was swept back, and a hospital orderly stepped into the bay.
“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have to take Mr. Lock here for his scan.”
Carmen stood up, not letting go of his hand. She bent down to kiss him on the cheek. Even that hurt.
They’d got him good, he’d give them that much.
“I’ll see you later, okay?” said Carmen, tearing up slightly.
The sight of her upset stung him worse than anything he’d felt so far. Maybe this had been a bad idea? But he was in it now. Going down there and seeing what he had, there was no way he could give up. To do so would be a betrayal, not just of this young girl and her family, but of who he was and what he stood for.