The Unlucky Turn by Mark Twain 291
After saying his piece, the call ended.
Leilani held her phone, momentarily speechless.
Judie, standing beside her, looked entirely self-righteous. “My cousin did the right thing. If you ask me, Leilani, you’re just too independent! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Acting like this-shouldering everything on your own-only makes the people who love you worry!”
Leilani remained silent. She knew Judie had a point, but she had been this way for so many years that it was a hard habit to break.
Seeing that Judie felt no guilt over snitching and was instead doubling down, Leilani poked her forehead in resignation. “I know I handled this a bit poorly, but your cousin is still abroad on a business trip. Calling him won’t help anything; it just makes him worry for no reason. I won’t say anything about you telling your cousin, but you absolutely cannot tell Dante about this. He is getting older. Let’s not burden him with this.”
Dante had always been fond of her. Ever since he found out she and Callahan were officially a couple, he would send over jewelry and food every now and then. If he found out she was injured, she wouldn’t hear the end of it for a while.
Judie nodded. She understood the logic and hadn’t planned on telling Dante anyway. She looked at Leilani’s treated wounds. The large patches of black and blue bruising made her wince just looking at them.
Judie suddenly remembered that Leilani had been in the accident with Yvonne. If someone as skilled as Leilani was hurt this badly, Yvonne must be in terrible shape.
“What about Yvonne? Is she okay? I remember she just got discharged a little while ago. Now that she’s been in another accident, she’s not back in a hospital bed, is she? Who on earth is this vicious? That was a brutal hit!”
At the mention of Yvonne, Leilani’s expression grew complicated.
“When we were dodging the truck, she hit her head and passed out. But the doctor said it’s nothing major.”
Judie sharply picked up on the shift in Leilani’s tone and frowned. “Is the Sherwood family giving you a hard time again?”
Leilani offered a faint smile. “It’s nothing.”
But Judie wouldn’t let it go. “Leilani! Don’t keep things from me! Did that old hag from the Sherwood family come after you again?”
Leilani ruffled her hair. “Don’t ask so many questions, kid,”
Judie stamped her foot in frustration. “I’m over twenty! I’m not a kid!”
Seeing that Leilani wouldn’t elaborate, she pouted and dropped the subject, though she had already guessed most of it. It was definitely those ingrates from the Sherwood family bullying Leilani again!
17:48
Judie straightened up. “Leilani, let’s go to the hospital and get you checked out again. I know you treated the wounds, but it was a car accident. We should make sure you don’t have internal injuries. Getting some X-rays would be safer. It’ll give us peace of mind.”
Leilani wanted to refuse, but seeing the worry in Judie’s eyes, she eventually nodded. “Okay.”
At the hospital, the doctor carefully examined Leilani’s wounds and scans, then frowned slightly.
“The scans look fine. The wound care was done well, too. However, the abraded area is quite large. Be careful not to get it wet for the next few days, and stick to a light diet. I’ll prescribe a restorative ointment for you. Apply it regularly.”
Judie nodded repeatedly from the side. “Doctor, with a wound this big, will it leave a scar?”
17:48
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