Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
Nora’s hip struck the first step.
Her shoulder hit the wall, and her right hand shot out for the railing. Her fingers caught it for half a second before slipping free.
Then she was tumbling.
Pain shot up her arm as her wrist folded beneath her. Another step caught her ribs. She tried to stop herself, but the staircase seemed to keep coming until she landed hard on the floor at the bottom.
For a moment, Nora couldn’t breathe.
She lay on her side with one arm curled against her chest, waiting for her lungs to work again. Light shifted across the room as Dad threw off the quilt and jumped from the couch.
“Nora!” He reached her and dropped to his knees. “Don’t move.”
“I’m okay.” The words came out thin and breathless.
“You’re not okay. You just fell down the stairs.” His hands hovered over her as if he wanted to help but was afraid of making something worse. “Did you hit your head?”
She took a quick self-assessment. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?”
Nora closed her eyes and took a careful breath. Pain pulled along her left side, but the air went into both lungs. Her neck moved without anything sharp catching. When she opened her eyes, her vision remained clear.
“I didn’t hit my head,” she said. “My shoulder hit the wall, and I landed on my side.”
A movement above them caught her attention.
Christian stood at the top of the stairs.
He was barefoot, dressed in the same sweatpants and T-shirt. His hair stuck up on one side, and his face looked pale in the dim light.
Nora stared at him.
The floorboard had creaked behind her.
Then she’d felt pressure between her shoulder blades.
Had Christian pushed her?
She wasn’t sure. But her entire body tightened at the thought.
Nora pressed her eyes closed, trying to gather herself and to stop her racing thoughts.
She’d fallen. That was all. No one had pushed her.
Christian hadn’t pushed her. He wouldn’t do that.
“What happened?” Christian asked from the top of the stairs.
She forced her eyes open and her voice to remain calm.
“I fell.” The words scratched her throat as she answered the question.
His gaze moved from her to the top step. “How?”
“I lost my balance.”
The answer came too quickly. Nora heard it, and from the way Christian’s expression changed, he did too.
Dad slid one hand beneath her shoulder. “We’re going to the hospital.”
“No, we aren’t.”
“Nora—”
“I need to sit up first.” She braced her left palm against the floor and pushed. Pain flared through her ribs, forcing her to stop.
Christian started down the stairs. “Let me help.”
“No.” The word came out sharper than she intended.
He stopped halfway down.
Nora saw the hurt move across his face and hated herself for putting it there. “My wrist,” she added more gently. “Give me a second.”
Dad helped her sit with her back against the wall. The room tilted briefly before settling again.
“Dizzy?” he asked.
“Only for a second.”
“That’s it. We’re going.”
“I sat up too fast after falling down a flight of stairs. Anyone would be dizzy.”
“I’ve always heard nurses make the worst patients.”
“I’m not a patient.”
Dad gave her a look that would have made most people stop arguing. Nora checked her right wrist instead. It had already begun to swell, but she could move her fingers. Nothing looked displaced.
It was probably just a sprain.
Her ribs hurt when she inhaled deeply, but not enough to suggest anything serious. They were most likely bruised.
From the stairs, Christian asked, “What happened? Did you trip or something?”
He came down two more steps, though he still kept his distance. His eyes moved over her face as if searching for something.
“I’m not sure,” she finally told him.
Dad frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I was tired. It was dark.” Nora cradled her wrist against her chest. “I thought I heard something and leaned over the stairs to look. I must have lost my footing.”
She didn’t mention the creak behind her or the shove, not when she couldn’t be certain about either.
Christian came the rest of the way down. “I heard you fall.”
“Is that what woke you?”
His steps slowed. “Yeah.”
Nora studied his face, searching for some small change in his expression. A hesitation. A flicker of fear that didn’t belong.
All she saw was concern.
Dad rose and reached for the lamp beside the couch. More light filled the room, and Nora glanced at the ceiling.
Mom hadn’t come out of her bedroom. The medication she’d taken earlier had worked exactly as intended. For years, she hadn’t been able to sleep without it.
“I’m getting the car keys,” Dad said. “We’re having someone look at that wrist.”
“It’s two in the morning.” The last thing she wanted was for someone to make a fuss over her. She’d be fine.
“Emergency rooms stay open all night. It’s one of their defining features.” The dry tone Dad used to be known for returned to his voice.
“I’m not going to the ER for what’s probably a sprain and maybe bruised ribs.”
“You don’t know that’s all it is.”
“I’ll ice my wrist and check it again in the morning. If the swelling gets worse or I have trouble breathing, I’ll go.”
Dad continued staring at her as if uncertain.
“I promise,” Nora assured him.
He muttered something she couldn’t make out before heading toward the kitchen for ice.
Christian remained a few feet away. “Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
He held out his hand.
Nora looked at it.
For one terrible moment, she couldn’t make herself reach for him.
Christian’s fingers slowly curled toward his palm, and he started to lower his arm.
Nora forced herself to take his hand.
He pulled carefully while she pushed up with her legs. Pain tightened around her ribs, but she made it to her feet.
Christian kept hold of her until she was steady. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I will be.”
His gaze searched hers. He’d noticed her hesitation. They both knew it, even if neither of them acknowledged it.
She gently released his hand.
Christian stood in front of her, looking younger than seventeen and far less certain than he had a moment ago.
She told herself the hurt in his eyes meant he hadn’t pushed her.
Nora wished she believed that.