The Last Train Home

Chapter Forty-Two

"The good news is, no broken bones. Just a couple of bruises and scrapes," the doctor said, scribbling away at his clipboard.

"Well, that's a relief at least," Mr Thompson said.

"So it turns out you're not a showjumper, eh Syb?" Eva looked at me and snorted, slapping her hand over her mouth to try and muffle the noise. I was glad someone found it funny.

The moment I fell off Jigsaw, Mr Thompson appeared in the paddock. He had been watching from the pigpen and witnessed my spectacular fall in person, much to my chagrin. With Jigsaw seemingly unhurt, just a little touchy, Alec had taken him back to the farm so he could tell Barbara and Jonathan what had happened with Mr Thompson driving myself and Eva to the village to see the local doctor. Eva found the whole thing funny; I found it humiliating.

We were still waiting for Jonathan and Barbara to arrive, but the doctor had already concluded his examination. No serious damage, other than my pride. I knew I should have listened to my gut and not agreed with Alec's stupid plan to try those jumps again. The last time, I did it because I knew Jonathan was watching and that nothing would go wrong because he was there. This time, fear got the better of me and I knew Jigsaw sensed that. He wouldn't have stopped otherwise.

The door to the doctors' office swung open to reveal Jonathan, Barbara and Alec standing in the doorway, each with a different expression on their face. Alec looked a little amused, Jonathan nervous with a hint of confusion and Barbara looked like she would hurt someone if they got in her way.

"Are you alright?" Barbara asked, attempting to rush forward but Jonathan grabbed her arm lightly

"I'm fine. My pride took the biggest hit."

"You amaze me, Sybil," Jonathan said. "You can work on a roof and be fine, work in a tree and be fine, and then fall off a horse."

"I've always been a bit of a mystery."

Barbara, clearly not amused with Jonathan trying to make light of the situation, turned to the doctor. "Is she really alright?"

He nodded. "Just a couple of bruises and abrasions, that's it. The one on her chin is probably the worst; the slacks prevented a fair few others. Keep an out for any signs of a concussion, dizziness, nausea, headaches, that sort of thing. Other than that, my only advice is to keep the scrapes clean and have a few days rest to let the bruising go down. Other than that, you're good to go."

Barbara appeared to visibly deflate in response to the doctor confirming what I had already told her. My pride definitely became the biggest victim out of it all, but I was glad there was nothing too serious.

After discussing a few more things with the doctor, we were allowed to go. The scrape on my chin stung a little from the ointment he had put on, but other than that, I felt fine. I had no doubts that I would be feeling the pain from the bruises come morning, but I pushed them to the back of my mind since they weren't bothering me when we left. We walked back into the village with Barbara almost demanding a detailed account of what had happened from Mr Thompson. He didn't appear too impressed about being accosted by her, but obliged and spoke both of them through just what had happened. I hung back to talk with Alec and Eva.

"I'm sorry," Alec said after a little while.

"What for?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"I shouldn't have pushed you to do the jumps."

"You didn't push me to do anything. I agreed. If anything, it was my own stupid fault for letting my pride get in the way."

"Mark didn't help," Eva added.