Leo was not doing great. He was moody, irritable, and in pain, but he wouldn't let anyone talk to him except for the doctors. I don't blame him though - he was facing possible permanent blindness, and there wasn't anyone who could fix that except for the doctors.
"Ready to head out?" I asked Hannah as I hovered by the front door. I was eager to get back to the hospital.
"Em, are you sure this is the best idea?" she asked. "He seemed pretty upset last time we saw him."
"I am not going to let him push away everyone he loves! He needs a support system right now and he's not accepting his," I explained. "So yes, I'm sure this is the best idea. He doesn't need to talk, but he's going to listen. I'm going to tell him about anything and everything, whether he likes it or not."
And he didn't like it. When the nurse announced to him who entered the room, he turned his head away from us and sighed. I didn't let that defeat me though. I rambled on and on about everything.
"Em," he cut me off mid-rant. "What are you doing?"
"I'm engaging you," I replied. "Including you. Getting you involved."
"Why?"
"Because you need it," I said. "Because you're hurt and angry and pushing everyone away. And you can't. You need us, Leo. You need your mom, and Molly, and me. You can't keep pushing us away."
He sat in silence for a minute before speaking up. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"How is Vegas?"
I turned to Hannah, who replied for me. "Vegas is doing okay. He hurt his legs pretty good in the tumble so he's on stall rest for a bit. But he's okay."
He got quiet again, deep in thought. "I-I don't even know w-what happened. I don't remember anything. I can't rememb-ber anything."
Tears were streaming down his face as he struggled to push his thought out.
"Shh, Leo, it's okay," I rushed to his side and cupped his cheek in my hand. "Leo. Breathe. It's alright. The doctor said you'd have some memory loss."
He sniffled before asking his next question. "Can you tell me what happened? The whole story?"
"Leo, I don't know what happened," I said seriously. "One minute you were fine, the next you hit the jump. I don't know why he stumbled. He just did."
"Where's Molly?"
"She's grabbing lunch with your mom," I explained. "They'll be back soon."
"Good," Leo nodded. "I need to talk to Molly."
Once Molly and Kendall arrived, Hannah and I left.
"Hey," Hannah said as we hopped in her truck. "You did something great today, okay?"
I looked over at her and smiled. "It's the least I can do for him."
-
Back home, I took care of Dublin, Titan, and Archie. I rode and jumped all of them, making sure they all got plenty of exercise. Once I was satisfied with my work, I allowed myself to relax and take a nap. Sometime during my nap, I was woken up by my phone buzzing.
"Hello?" I groggily asked, not even checking to see who called me.
"Em!" Molly's cheery voice rang out. "Thank you so much."
"For what?" I asked as I sat up and stretched.
"Making Leo talk," she said. "He's been talking nonstop almost since you left."
"That was like four hours ago," I laughed. "But I'm glad."
"Me too," she said. "He's finally talking about how he's feeling. How he's scared, hurt, and unsure about everything."
"Makes sense," I nodded. "Seriously, let me know if you need anything."
"Of course I will, thank you Em," she said before we ended the conversation. I sat in bed staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the events of the past week.
I knew Leo's life was changed forever. I had to do something that would make that easier for him. He may be losing his vision, but that doesn't mean he had to lose horses.
I knew exactly what I had to do.