Chapter 34: A Facial FractureI woke in a hospital bed.
I looked around, frowned.
“Oh, thank God!” Mama exclaimed. Her face suddenly appeared not inches from mine. “Oh, my baby! Wiley, honey? Can you hear me?”
“Mama?” I muttered.
“Wiley, honey, I’m here,” she said, grasping my hand.
“What happened?” I asked. I couldn’t get enough breath, so my question was a whisper.
“Oh, Wiley, honey!” she exclaimed unhappily.
Then she burst into tears.
“What, Mama?”
Lost in a crying jag, she couldn’t answer.
My right arm felt itchy and too heavy. I lifted it, surprised to see it was in a cast. My chest was also bandaged rather tightly, making it hard to breathe.
“Mama?”
She used a Kleenex to wipe her nose, tried to get hold of herself.
“Thank God you’re okay,” she said at last. “We’ve all bee
