“Were you distracted maybe?” He asked.
I was distracted. I was thinking about you the entire time.
That’s what I wanted to say to him. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I don’t know.” I said instead.
“But why are you scared to go home?”
“My dad wanted me to get an A.”
“But a C isn’t horrible.” I think he was trying to make me feel better but he was failing drastically.
“No, you don’t understand. He,” I stopped. I wasn’t ready to tell him about my father. Not yet…. “Never mind.”
“No, tell me.”
“No. It’s not important. He just will be really disappointed.”I sigh. “But I better get home before he gets even more upset at me.” I stood up and started walking home before Taehyung could say anything else. I don’t know what to expect from my dad when I get home, but it can’t be good. I wiped my tears and calmed myself down before walking inside.
“Hey squirt.” Jin approached me. “How was your test?” I glanced at him and shook my head. He looked at me empathetically. “What’d you get?”
“C.” I said, holding back tears.
“Oh boy.” He replied. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I sighed.
“He’s not home yet. He went to the store to get groceries for dinner but he’ll probably be home any minute now.”
“Ok.” I croaked, running up to my room. I shut the door and locked it behind me. I threw my bag on the floor before plopping onto my bed. There was a note left on my bed.
Olivia,
I hope you do well on your exams today. You know I won’t be happy if you get anything less than an A.
Love, dad.
This day couldn’t possibly get any worse. Just then, I heard my dad walk into the house. My heart quickened and my palms started to sweat.
“Olivia!” He called. “Come down here and tell me about your test!” I gulped and slowly opened my door. I walked downstairs with my head hung low, dreading what my father would say or do. I stepped into the kitchen where he was cleaning pots and pans for dinner. “Hi. How were your tests?”
“Uhh…” I hesitated. He turned around and glared at me.
“And don’t even think about lying to me.”
“I got a C.” I mumbled.
“Speak up!” He snapped.
“I got a C, ok?”
“A C!?” He turned around so quickly that the cast iron pan he was holding slipped from his hand and landed on my foot. I let out a loud scream and gripped onto the counter. A shooting pain spread all the way up my foot and I fell to the floor. My dad was saying something to me but I didn’t hear it. All I could think about was the excruciating pain in my foot. He lifted the pot off my foot and picked me up. I was hysterical, screaming and crying as he took me to the car. My foot felt like it was going to explode and it started throbbing. He backed out of the driveway and quickly drove to the nearest ER.
When we got there he carried me inside. Sudden;y, my vision blurred. The pain in my foot was almost too much to handle. All I remember was the doctor coming into the room and checking out my foot. He placed his hand on my shin and it sent a wave of pain all the way down my leg. Before I knew it, I was laying under a bright light and the doctors were injecting a fluid into my arm.
I woke up to a quiet room. The only sound was the monitor next to my bed. My mom was sitting near my bed. My moms head was in her palms. I think she was crying.
“Mom.” I croaked. She rushed over to my side.
“Honey, are you feeling ok?” My mom asked frantically. “Is your foot hurting? Do you need anything?” I chuckled, sending a shooting pain to my foot. I took a deep breath.
“I’m fine mom.” I lied. I was in a tremendous amount of pain right now. I was debating on whether to ask this question, but my curiosity got the better of me. “How bad is it?” My mom sighed.
“You had to have surgery on your foot because your father dropped the cast iron pot on it and shattered your talus bone, the bone right on the top of your foot.” She explained. I could see the fire in her eyes. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there honey. I had a late shift at work and I-”
“Mom. I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I reassured her as every word I spoke pained me.
“Are you sure, honey?” She took my hand.
“I’m sure.” I lied again. “It only hurts a little bit.” She let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I wish there was something I could do but you know I-”
“Mom, please don’t stress about this. I’m fine, ok? I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”
“In no time?” She raised an eyebrow. “The doctor said you’d have to stay here at the hospital for the rest of the week. Then he said you won’t be out of this cast for another three or four months. Olivia, you're not gonna be on your feet any time soon.” I sniffed. “Oh honey, please don’t cry.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s going to be ok, I promise.”
“I’m sorry for getting a C.” I said, crying.
“I don’t even care about that. It’s your father that cares about those stupid grades. I’m just glad that you tried your hardest.” She stroked my head. “It’s going to be ok.” Then she kissed my forehead.