Page 23 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“Get out right now.” Ashley jerked in the direction of Dennis’s booming voice. There was the sound of thundering feet coming toward the inner door. She tried to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit, but her feet chose that moment not to work quickly enough. She only got a step off to the side when the door flung open, hitting her side hard. The force sent her tumbling to the floor as two men jumped over her legs and ran out the front.
“And don’t come back. Oh, shit, Ashely, I’m so sorry.” Dennis dropped down beside her and laid a baseball bat on the floor as he yelled for someone to come help.
“I’m fine, really. It just hit me off balance. I was unsteady with the cane, and this darn twisted ankle.” She waved off the support, her body breaking out in a sweat as one after the other, people came out of the inner living area to see her sprawled on the ground like a circus act.
“Can you stand, or is anything broken?” Dennis’s worried expression said it all. She definitely looked worse than it had felt. In actuality, she’d felt very little other than the jarringly hard floor slamming her jaw closed on impact. “Shit, your lip is bleeding.”
She licked at her lip, and the coppery taste filled her mouth.Just great. Now it was going to look like she’d gone a round with Mike Tyson.She needed to get off the floor. With every person that filled the room, the walls closed in around her.
“Can you help me stand?”
“Of course, but should you move yet?”
“I’m fine, really. Just a bad ankle, and now a swollen lip.”
Dennis’s unbelieving stare said he didn’t believe her, but he wrapped her arm around his neck and slowly stood, helping her to her feet. Once vertical and steady, he bent and grabbed the cane.
“I don’t understand. When did you twist your ankle?” Dennis held out the small wooden helper.
“I guess I did it at the car wash and didn’t notice until after you left. I grabbed this from the box in your office. I hope that’s okay?”
“Anything you ever need from here is yours.” Dennis gave her a small smile and then went to help her again, but she shook her head no.
“What was that about with the two men?” She nodded toward the now closed door.
“I caught them stealing from some of the members that were asleep. I don’t mind anyone staying under this roof, but never steal from or hurt one another. That has always been our motto. Respect, is it really that difficult to ask of people?” Dennis huffed and shook his head, his face a glower of disgust.
Ashley looked around at the somber faces. “I’m good, I promise. You can all go back inside now.” It didn’t matter what she said. The group followed her like she was going to fall over at any moment, and she hated that more than the cane.
She was the one who helped people, not the other way around.
Head held high, she made her way into the room where she offered physical therapy and shrugged out of her jacket. A soft rapping sound had her turning to see Momma G. This was a rare occurrence. She preferred to stay away from the shelters, opting to stay on the streets—said she didn’t need any coddling. Ashley understood the older woman better today than she ever had before.
“Hi there, Momma G. Are you okay?”
The older woman held onto the door frame, her feet taking small shuffling steps. “You help my back?”
“I will certainly try. Come on in and lay down.” Momma G looked back in the direction she’d arrived from. Ashley knew what she was worried about and said, “It’s okay. Dennis will make sure your stuff is safe and no one touches it. Come on in, let me help your back.”
It was easy to see her reluctance as she chewed on her bottom lip, but she did come in. It was another mini battle getting her to remove her coat and sweater. “Can you tell me where it hurts?”
“All where.” She moved her thumb in a slow circle to indicate her entire back.
“I’m going to touch you now, Momma G,” she warned. She’d made the mistake of just starting an assessment one time without warning the patient, and in his mind, he thought he was being attacked. It took both Dennis and Charlie to calm him down. Now she always waited for the confirmation nod.
As soon as Momma G gave her permission, she gently felt around her neck and shoulders and down her spine. The car accident the woman had suffered had done a lot of damage, and she’d barely received any medical care once released from the hospital. She had a distinct twist in her spine and her shoulders were permanently hunched, which was exacerbated with her lifestyle and only added more strain on her spine. She’d never be able to fix this much damage, but she could alleviate some of the pain.
Momma G lay down face-first on the treatment table, and it felt good to work. To be useful, to help someone again. Scheduling the two weeks off to process was supposed to be a good thing, but it gave her too much time to think and let her mind travel down dark roads.
Twenty minutes in, her left hand began to cramp. It wasn’t much. It felt like she’d been away from work for too long, and her hands were rebelling. Shaking it off, she continued on, determined not to give up, but another twenty minutes in and she couldn’t open her hand. The pain was immense as the tendons and muscles rebelled against her.
Ashley sat back on her small rolling stool and gripped her fingers with her other hand to force the hand open. It wasn’t smart, but the charley horse-like pain was radiating up her arm.
Momma G lifted her head, her soft eyes staring at her. “You okay?”
Ashley was so sick of that question. No, she wasn’t okay, but she had to be okay. She had no other choice.
“I will be, bad hand cramp. How do you feel?” She averted the conversation.
