Amy Andrews - Australian Affairs - Tempted

He was grateful.

Juan looked up at Olive and remembered the last time he’d had an accident. He had been lying on his side, begging bystanders not to touch him, not to roll him, not to move him.

It’s not like last time.

Over and over he told that to himself and held onto the scream that was building.

He’d explain things to the paramedics, Juan decided, closing his eyes and hearing the faint wail of a siren far in the distance. He tried to calm himself, but there was an unease building as he thought of the paramedics’ response when he told them about his previous injuries. An appalling thought occurred when he tried to work out his location and the nearest hospital.

He did not want Cate to know.

Juan did not want his past impinging on the little time they’d had, yet he could hear the paramedics making their way over to him and knew that it was about to.

‘Juan!’ Louise smiled down at him, shone a torch in his eyes as she spoke to him. ‘What happened to you?’

He told her. ‘It was a simple accident. I have only grazed my shoulder. I’m not going to hospital.’

‘Let’s just take a look at you, Juan.’ Louise was calm. ‘Were you knocked out?’

‘No.’

‘How did you land?’

‘On my shoulder.’

Her hands were feeling around his neck. ‘Do you have any pain in your neck?’

‘None.’ He felt her fingers still on the scar and then gently explore it.

‘Is there any past history that we need to know about, Juan?’

He stared up at the sky at the tops of the trees and he absolutely did not want to reveal anything, except only a fool would lie now.

‘I had a spinal injury.’

‘Okay.’ Louise waited for more information.

‘Eighteen months ago.’

He just stared up at the trees as the routine accident suddenly turned serious. ‘I’m fine, Louise.’ He went to sit up but hands were holding his head.

‘Just stay still, Juan.’

‘My neck is stable, better than before…’

‘What injury did you have?’

‘I had an incomplete fracture to C5 and C6.’

He lay there as they carefully removed the helmet and he was placed in a hard collar, and the spinal board was brought from the ambulance.

‘I don’t want to go to Bayside,’ Juan said as they lifted him in.

‘I’m sorry, Juan. We need to take you to the nearest Emergency.’

‘Nothing is wrong.’

‘We have to take all precautions. You know that.’ Louise cared only for the health of her patients and pulled out the words that were needed. ‘I’m following protocol.’

He couldn’t argue with that.

The best that he could hope for was that Cate might be on her break, that he could somehow slip in and out of the department unnoticed by her. She might even be holed up in her office.

Except she wasn’t Christine.

She wasn’t like anyone.

Cate was like no one he had ever met.

Juan stared up at the ceiling of another ambulance and said it over and over again to himself.

It’s not like last time.

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