Harper had fallen asleep for a while in between the x-rays and getting the cast on. I’d stayed right here with her.
Violet had texted a few times, and I’d let her know that Harper was okay and she was welcome to come back in the room, but she’d stayed out in the waiting room.
We were both obviously processing a horrible situation.
I knew Harper was too small to go down that fucking death slide, and I was pissed at myself for saying yes, and even pissed at Violet for asking.
Hell, maybe I was just pissed at everyone and everything because seeing Harper cry in pain made me feel helpless.
My job was to protect her, and I hadn’t done that today.
“Okay, we’re all finished up. Looks pretty cool, doesn’t it?” the orthopedic technician asked my daughter.
Harper was all smiles now. She had a hot-pink cast on her arm and pain meds running through her little body to manage her discomfort.
“It’s so cool. Wait till Violet sees it. And it’s pink, Daddy. Pinkalicious would get a pink cast,” Harper said with a big smile on her face.
Her eyes were still swollen from all the tears she’d shed earlier, but she was feeling much better now, that much was obvious.
“Yep. It’s pretty cool, Harps. But no more going down slides for a while,” I said, my voice coming out harsher than I meant it to.
“From what I heard about the incident, I don’t think you can blame the slide,” the technician said. “It sounds like the problem was the kids landing on top of her.”
I nodded, but none of it would have happened if she hadn’t gone down in the first place.
The nurse came in and gave me some paperwork to sign, and they insisted on taking her out in a wheelchair, even though I offered to carry her.
Once we made our way out to the lobby, Violet was there in a chair, with Montana and Myles beside her. Jeanne, Tim, and Lily were there as well, and even Benji and Will had shown up. How the hell did they all know to come to the hospital?
My gaze found Violet’s, and I realized it was her.
She’d called all my people. The people who felt more like family.
Everyone hurried to their feet and came to check out her cast.
“Oh man, Denise Quigley is going to lose her mind that you got a pink cast.” Lily stared down at her best friend’s arm.
“And we both went down the demon today,” my daughter said.
I got the short version from Jeanne when I’d lost my shit about how a group of kids had jumped on behind Violet, which was exactly what I hated about that damn park.
Everyone took turns giving Harper hugs and telling her how brave she was.
My gaze locked with Violet’s. Her eyes were swollen, and her cheeks were streaked from hours of falling tears.
I wanted to comfort her, but she could barely look at me.
“We did it, Violet. We went down the demon,” Harper said, her voice filled with pride.
“Is her neck okay?” Violet asked, her voice small and shaky.
“Yes, her neck is okay. She broke her radius bone on her arm, and her wrist is sprained,” I said, my voice flat, because I was fucking exhausted.
I glanced over at the nurse, patiently waiting to take us out to the car.
“Can you pull my truck up to the front, Will?” I asked, tossing him the keys. He nodded and jogged out the door. “You all need to go home and get some rest. I’m going to take Harper home and get her cleaned up and fed, and hopefully she can sleep for a few hours.”
Everyone said their goodbyes, and Violet leaned down and kissed my daughter’s cheek.
