I'll Pick You Up

The girl

Gracie's POV:
I set the girl on the table as one of the medics we kept on hand walked up. It took a little coaxing to get her to release her grip from around my neck. She was very obviously stuck in her head. Though, she snapped out of it as I touched her arm. She looked up at me wearily, and I couldn't help but question why she was working in my head. She looked young, her small stature not helping any.

I wondered how she even got here, she looked like a child, not even teenage yet. Maybe nine. Ten? I was broken from my thoughts, at the sight of movement in my unfocused view. She had scooted back curling into herself as if she was trying to make herself impossibly small until we couldn't see her.

'Can you tell me what happened?' The man asked her as he walked even closer. I naturally noticed the way she tensed at his movements, clearly not trusting his actions. It made me concerned. I felt a certain pang at my heart. Before this I knew I was a very empathetic person, yet I still couldn't tell you why this situation felt so significant for me.

As I waited for her response, I realized it wasn't coming anytime soon, and took it upon myself to explain what had happened. He nodded, listening as I went through a brief run down of its events, mentioning how her back and left leg seemed of most concern.

'Alright, can I see your leg for a moment?' He asked, reaching for it. She had an unreadable expression on her face as she looked at her arms wrapped securely around both legs.

'You can trust him. He just wants to make your pain go away.' I reassured her, effectively catching the attention of her gaze.

She looked at me, almost as if she was gauging my feelings, and whether or not I was telling the truth. I nodded encouragingly, hoping she took it as confirmation that he wasn't here to cause any harm to her.

Slowly she released her hold on her legs as her left leg extended out on the bed. He watched her carefully, checking for any visible signs of damage, noticing the stifled wince that came when her leg hit the table. Her whole body tensed as he picked up her leg gently, to further examine it. She looked up at me, almost immediately following his touch.

'You're ok.' I told her, wordlessly, hoping to not distract the man taking care of her. She had glossed over eyes, obviously unsure of shedding any tears in the presence of strangers. While she had cried earlier, it seemed as though her tears dried in the presence of the unknown character examining her. But she didn't know me either.

'Gracie, come on. They need you back on if you can finish your set!' One of the stage managers called as she walked into the tent.

I turned to meet her look, quickly glancing back at the seemingly young girl, though she was too distracted by her pain to realize. Debating leaving her, I remembered I only had two songs left in my set before I was done, not including the one I only half finished. Ten minutes. I'd be gone for like ten minutes, then I'd come right back.

'She'll be fine.' The manager said as she recognized my hesitation in leaving the girl.

I felt a little upset that she was so quick to dismiss of my worries. But it didn't last long when she followed up with her statement.

'You can come see her after.' She continued, 'it looks like she'll need an x-ray anyway and that'll take almost the whole time your gone since they gotta set up the portable machine.'

I nodded at her words, easing me in the thought that nothing much would happen while I was gone. I quickly followed after her changing my earpieces and grabbing a new mic as I got back on the stage. I finished where I left off, the audience now wild with my presence. Even more so than before.

As I finished the interrupted song, I was absolutely stunned to have received a standing ovation from the filling crowd.

'Thank you so much! I promise I'm ok, medics are currently checking on-' I stopped for a moment, realizing I never even got her name,'-everyone else to make sure they're ok.'