JOSH'S POV:
By the time Evie's appointment with the nurse came around, her wrist was no better. In fact, if anything, it had gotten worse and she was in agony. Making our way to the nurse's office, I booked her in and sat down next to her…
"I've broken it, haven't I?" she asked
"I don't know, Evie." I admitted "We'll just have to wait and see."
"What do I do if I have? How am I meant to keep up with my workload?" she inquired
"Stop worrying and just think about yourself," I replied, pulling her into me, her head falling onto my shoulder as she sighed heavily "your health and getting your wrist back to normal is the most important thing."
"Evie, would you like to come through?" the nurse questioned as she was about to reply
Evie pulled away from me and we both stood up, both of us making our way into the nurse's office…
"Okay, so how's the wrist?" she asked as she began to remove the bandaging
"Agony," Evie informed her "I've broken it, haven't I?"
"I can't be sure," she admitted "which is why I'm going to send you to the hospital for a scan."
EVIE'S POV:
An hour later Josh and I were sat in the x-ray department of the hospital, waiting for my name to be called…
"Evelyn Macguire please…" a voice called a minute or two later
Handing Josh my handbag, I made my way over to the nurse as she led me into the room…
"Okay, Evelyn, let's take this bandage off and see what's going on, shall we?" the nurse suggested
I sat down in the chair she guided me to and let her remove the bandage the nurse at university had put on and watched as she began to set up to take my x-rays…
JOSH'S POV:
I made my way out of the double doors and through to the area where phones could be used and pulled Evie's mobile from her handbag, scrolling through her contacts till I reached Hannah's name…
"Hi, Evie…" her voice spoke on the other end of the line a minute later
"It's not Evie, Hannah, it's me, Josh." I informed her
"Josh, why are you calling from Evie's phone? Is everything okay?" she questioned
"Evie's in hospital," I admitted "she hurt her wrist a couple of days ago and she's in x-ray now."
"Is it broken?" she inquired
"I don't know," I replied "the nurse at uni sent us here for it to be x-rayed."
"Okay, thank you for letting me know. Zac and I will be there as soon as we can." she informed me
EVIE'S POV:
I made my way over to Josh and sat down next to him as my x-ray finished and sighed…
"What now then?" he questioned
"The x-rays are going to be shown to an available doctor. We just have to wait." I informed him "Sorry I took so long."
"It's fine," he replied "I actually made a call whilst you were in there…"
"Yeah, who to? Maddy?" I inquired
"No, Hannah." he informed me "She and Zac are coming up."
"What?" I questioned "Why, Josh? There's no need for them to come!"
"What if you have broken your wrist?" he inquired "You'll need to go home…"
"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him
"You're not gonna be able to continue with the course till your wrist is better, so there's no point you staying somewhere where you can't do anything." he replied
"And what will I be able to do at home?" I questioned "Oh yeah, that's right, nothing! You had no right phoning Hannah, Josh."
JOSH'S POV:
I sighed heavily and ran my hands over my face as Evie walked out of the x-ray department and followed after her, stopping her as she reached the corridor…
"I'm sorry, okay? I am." I informed her "But I just think it'd be better if you went home as oppose to staying at the university when you can't do any work. Think about it, Evie, you'll be stuck in the dorm room day after day whilst I'm out at lectures, how are you gonna manage on your own?"
"I'd get by somehow…" she replied
"Stop being so stubborn, will you?" I questioned "You don't have to go home for however long you may have your pot on, but just for a couple of weeks so you don't go stark raving bonkers!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence…" she chuckled
"Is that a yes?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at her
"Evie…" Hannah's voice called as she was about to reply
"I guess it's gonna have to be." she replied, turning around as we saw Hannah and Zac making their way over to us
"How are you?" Hannah questioned worriedly "Have you been seen yet?"
"No," she informed her "I'm waiting for a doctor to look over my x-rays."
"Then we'd best get back in there…" she replied, turning Evie by her shoulders
EVIE'S POV:
"Evelyn Macguire," a doctor called half-an-hour later
"Let's go…" Hannah stated, standing up, holding her hand out to me
Smiling at Josh, I stood up and took her hand, letting her lead me over to the doctor and into his office…
"Take a seat, please…" he greeted us, motioning to two chairs in front of his desk
"Can you just get this over and done with please?" I questioned "Is my wrist broken?"
"I'm sorry about my niece, Doctor." Hannah sighed, shooting a glance in my direction "She's just a bit worried about her university course…"
"It's okay," he assured her "but I'm afraid the news isn't good, Miss. Macguire. You have indeed broken your wrist, and the type of break you've suffered leads us to believe that you may too have osteoporosis."
"What does that mean?" I asked
"It's a progressive disease, so you may suffer from more fractures as you get older." he explained
"So it's going to affect my life?" I questioned
"Not necessarily, no." he informed me "There are things you can do to help yourself."
"Such as?" I inquired
"Change your diet, increase your pace of exercise, but not too severely." he replied "Just take it steady and eat in moderation. Don't overindulge."
"So what you're trying to tell me is I can't be a normal young adult then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him
"Instead of bombarding her with all this information, would we be able to have some leaflets for her to look through instead?" Hannah inquired "And would we be able to get her wrist seen to as soon as possible? We have a long drive home…"
The doctor nodded his head in understanding and turned away from us, moving to a stack of leaflets on shelves behind him…
After two-and-a-half hours of waiting for my cast to be put on, Hannah, Josh and I made our way back into the main building and to the dorm room to pack some of my things whilst Zac waited in the car…
"Thank you for looking after Evie, Josh, but you go back to your dorm. We can take it from here." Hannah informed him
"Josh lives here now." I admitted
"What?" she questioned as she turned to face me
"Josh lives here. He took Maddy's old room. It made sense…" I informed her
"Do you mind if I have a word with my niece in private please, Josh?" Hannah inquired
"Of course not," he replied "I'll be in my room…"
Josh's bedroom door shut behind him and I sighed heavily… "Save the lecture!"
"What are you thinking? Did you learn nothing from what happened last time?" she asked
"Of course I did, but this isn't the same." I informed her "Josh needed a place to stay, so I offered him one."
"What was wrong with his dorm room?" she inquired
"Noisy room-mate," I replied as I made my way into my bedroom "he played his music too loud and it made it impossible for Josh to study."
"And he can't go to the library to study?" she questioned
"You expect him to remove himself from a place he's meant to call home every single day just so he can study?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her "You know it's crazy…"
"What about Maddy? What does she think?" she inquired
"She and Josh haven't spoken since she got back to Yabbie Creek. He's tried calling and has left a message with her Mum, but she's not calling back." I informed her "Listen, do you mind if we just pack and go? The painkillers the doctor gave me are starting to kick in and I'm exhausted."
"We're not done talking about this…" she admitted as she began to pack a bag
"I never thought different." I replied, sitting down on the end of my bed
JOSH'S POV:
"I'll see you in a few weeks." I informed Evie as she stood on the outside of the dorm room
She nodded her head and turned to Hannah… "Can I have a minute?"
"I'll see you at the car." she informed her "See you soon, Josh. Take care."
"Thanks. You too." I replied as she began her walk down the corridor "What's up?"
"What are you gonna do about Maddy?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me
I shrugged my shoulders… "No idea. What am I meant to do if she won't return my calls?"
"Keep trying till she answers." she replied "She's got to one day. You need to sort things, Josh."
"I know, I know," I sighed, running my hands over my face "you'd better be going, Hannah and Zac are waiting."
She nodded her head in agreement… "I'll see you in a few weeks. Try not to miss me too much, okay?"
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." I replied
"And make sure you keep the place tidy. I don't wanna come back to a pigsty." she admitted
"You have my word that the place will be spick and span by the time you return." I informed her "Now go!"
"Okay, I'm going," she replied "hug?"
Smiling at her warmly, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me…
EVIE'S POV:
Pulling away from Josh a couple of minutes later, I reciprocated his warm smile and began to walk down the corridor, waving at him as I disappeared out of sight…
Oh dear, so Evie's had to go home because of her injury. What do you think will happen in the time she and Josh are apart?