Justin fumbled around for the call button with his left hand instead.
He was hurt—obviously—but underneath all of that he was terrified. He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened at the house. He couldn’t remember anything at all after Steve started kicking him. Where were the kids?
“Hi, Justin,” a woman in pastel scrubs said as she walked into the room. “Can you tell me how you’re feeling?”
Justin made a dry sound in the back of his throat, but couldn’t get any words out.
“Okay, I’ve paged the doctor, but I’m just going to check your vitals first. You’ve been out for a few days.” She began to read the screens on the equipment and jot down notes. “Your family has been really worried. They’ll be happy to know you’re awake again.” She smiled at him. “I’ll call them and tell them they can come and see you after the doctor’s been. It’s past visiting hours, but that’ll be our secret, okay?”