Broken
Bailey sat in the waiting room of the hospital with his father. Mr. Rodriquez was back at Horseland running things and letting the other family members that were coming in for the holidays know what was going on. The little boy's arm was in a sling and he was told not to move or aggravate it for a couple of days, whatever that meant.
It wasn't a bad injury, defiantly not anywhere near as bad as what Will had sustained. Kimmy was also being looked over and he was worried that something very bad was likely wrong with her too. His arm hurt, but his chest hurt too… not from falling from the horse, but from the tears he was trying to hold back.
His head startled up as he saw his grandmother and one of his Aunt's hurry in. His grandmother cupped his father's face in her hands. "Tell me it isn't so!"
"Both are dead… Kimmy needs a place to stay now…" the man sighed. "She will be fine, but they want to keep her over night…"
"What about Will!" Bailey commented, panic in his voice.
"There is also the fact that Will might not make it…" the man mumbled. "I'm sorry kiddo, but I can't change it… all we can do is hope."
"How did you hurt your arm Bailey dear…" his Aunt asked.
"I… fell of a horse…" Bailey choose not to look in his grandmother's eyes.
"And… you didn't get back on?" his grandmother asked.
"Well… he ran off… and…" the boy stopped.
"He found the accident mother…" causing both women to pause for awhile.
"No… a child shouldn't witness that…" his Aunt muttered.
"And they say the driver of the truck was driving drunk…"
"We haven't been approached by lawyers yet…" his grandmother asked.
"Why would lawyers approach us… we haven't done anything wrong… aren't they supposed to get criminals off?" Bailey asked.
This brought a chuckle from his Aunt. "Bailey, sweetheart… lawyers also put those people away… there are always two lawyers… on each side."
"Well… the people down at the general store don't like lawyers… why would they approach us?"
"Because if that man was drunk Bailey…" his father stopped.
"This was an accident… right…" Bailey asked.
"Not if he was drunk…" his grandmother commented. "Driving drunk is against the law because it makes it so that you can hurt people… it becomes…"
"Bailey… we'll talk about this when you get older… just know things are going to be different," the man commented.
"So… what does this nephew of mine want for Christmas?"
"I want Will… I was going to play with him… and give him his Christmas present…" the boy said.
"Didn't you ask for anything for Christmas…" his Aunt continued, only to be pulled aside, his grandmother following behind them.
"Bailey asked for his own horse for Christmas," his father whispered.
"I hope this is only because he's bumped Will's importance up," his Aunt commented.
"No…" his Grandmother commented. "He should have been able to get right back up on that horse… but he wasn't… and considering that this situation isn't normal…"
"I hope that Bailey hasn't lost confidence in himself…" his father commented. "He's never had a lack of confidence in himself… nor has he been afraid of the horses… I hope that this doesn't end up being a problem."
"What are you guys talking about?" Bailey asked in his seat.
His Aunt went over to talk to Bailey. "Aunt Irim and Uncle Carm want to take Kimmy to live with them."
"What?" Bailey's father commented.
"It would be a good home for a little girl," the older lady said.
"But what about Will!" Bailey started. "You can't separate Will and Kimmy…"
"If Will gets better… he'll need therapy for awhile… horses are good therapy… Kimmy on the other hand… has a fear of horses and won't go near them."
"You aren't afraid of horses are you?" his Aunt asked.
"No… I don't think so… I don't think I could be… could I… I don't get why you are asking… Will is going to get better, right?" the boy said.
"Bailey… you want to go home with me and help Mr. Rodriquez with the horses?" his father asked.
Bailey's eyes went wide. "I want to be here when Will wakes up!"
The three adults could only look at themselves and shake their heads.
