Hospital, orthopedics department.
Ellinor was helping Balfour, who was limping on one leg, out of the orthopedics office, asking him to sit for a while on a chair in the corridor.
The doctor had written a note for him to get an X-ray to check the condition of his bones.
Balfour was reluctant to sit; he wanted to go get the X-ray himself.
Noticing that his injured foot was about to touch the ground, Ellinor immediately stopped him, âDonât move; the doctor said you canât walk until your test results are out!â
Balfour thought the doctor was making a fuss, insisting, âWalking a few steps wonât hurt.â
Ellinor got worried, âDonât move!â
Balfour didnât dare disobey his sister and quickly sat down obediently.
Ellinor said impatiently, âJust stay here and donât mess around; Iâll go get a wheelchair.â
Balfour nodded with a smile. He enjoyed getting this kind of treatment from Ellinor; he should have gotten injured sooner.
Ellinor borrowed a wheelchair from the nurseâs station and helped Balfour onto it. She pushed him to get the X-ray, taking care of him carefully throughout the process.
Although Balfour felt that his foot injury was not severe, he enjoyed the feeling of being cared for by his sister, something he had never dared to hope for before.
After the X-ray, Ellinor pushed Balfour back to the orthopedics office with the results in hand, showing the X-ray to the doctor.
In fact, she had already noticed the problem from the X-ray before showing it to the doctor. Balfourâs foot was severely injured.
The orthopedic doctor diagnosed it as a mild fracture, arranged for Balfour to get a cast on his foot, and prescribed some painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, advising him not to walk for the next month and to rest.
Ellinor pushed Balfour out of the office with a worried heart, feeling down.
She didnât want to have anything to do with Balfour, nor did she intend to admit he was her brother. But now she felt bad because it was her fault that Balfour got injured so badly that he couldnât walk for a month.
The wheelchair belonged to the hospital and could only be pushed to the hospital entrance, where it had to be given back.
*Mr. Howard, Iâm sorry you got hurt because of me. Iâll cover the medical expenses, and Iâll also pay you for lost work, mental distress, and nutrition expenses. Call your family to come pick you up; itâs hard for me to get you home alone.â
Balfour felt a sense of loss after hearing his sister say this, âEllinor, Iâm fine; you donât need to feel pressured.â
Ellinor sighed, âAnyway, call your family to pick you up.â
Balfour patted himself down and realized he didnât have his phone, âI must have dropped it when I was hit on the sidewalk.â
Ellinor frowned, feeling helpless.
What could she do? She didnât have the phone numbers of any Howard family members, and even if she did, she didnât want to call them. She was afraid of being blamed for causing Balfourâs injury; it was irritating to even think about.
But she couldnât carry Balfour, who was over six feet tall, by herself, and she couldnât just leave him here.
After thinking it over, she had no choice but to call Theo.
After the phone rang for a while, it was picked up, and his low and lazy voice echoed through the phone, âHmm?â
Ellinor asked, âAre you busy right now?â
Theo quickly picked up on the unease in her voice, âWhatâs wrong? Where are you?â
Ellinor answered truthfully, âIâm at the hospital,â