Theo was already at my side and was trying to pick me up in his arms. I bit my lip to try to keep from screaming again, biting it so hard it began to bleed. My caramel-colored hair was a tangle of dirt and leaves, making me look like a wild woman from one of the adventure books I enjoyed reading. Tears were already forming in my eyes as my brother carried me into the house, walking past my worried parents. He gently set me down on the kitchen table and my mother examined my leg while my brother explained which had happened.

            “It was just a bet,” Theo tried to explain, though my furious father wouldn’t listen.

            “It was stupid, Theo. You know Esme will do anything to prove herself right and now we’re going to have to pay for her to get checked out at the hospital in Columbus,” my father growled, shaking his head in disapproval and not even meeting my brother’s eyes.

            Theo bowed his head in shame and mumbles an apology, knowing he had just put a dent in our already small income.

            “It wasn’t his fault, father. I made the choice to climb up there. He didn’t force me at all,” I said in between winces while my mother tried to make a temporary splint for my leg out of a belt and a wooden spoon. The pain was so bad that I was beginning to feel dizzy and fatigued. I had started to have trouble keeping my eyes open but my mother kept trying to keep me from passing out. I just wanted to sleep.

            “It’s broken, alright,” my mother interrupted. “We have to take her to Columbus to get this looked at, though. This splint won’t last long.”

            “I’m fine,” I mumbled in a groggy voice, waving my mother away.

            “No, your not,” she insisted, not moving an inch further away from me.

            But before I could respond, I gave in to the temptation and closed my eyes. I was out within minutes and the last thing I could remember was seeing my father shaking his head at Theo, who hung his head low in shame and guilt.