Page 113 of Your Play to Call

Both of those things have crossed my mind.

“There’s no way you’re dating someone withthisschedule.” I appreciate her honest reaction. She’s right. There’s no way I’d be able to see Tripp but that doesn’t even need to be a consideration.

“Tripp wants nothing to do with me so that shouldn’t be a problem,” I say, feeling sorry for myself a little bit.

“He hasn’t called?” Claire asks. She rarely wants to get into the details of my personal life.

“No. He hasn’t. I haven’t. It feels over.” I reach for the folder, mostly so I have something to do with my hands.

No one else says anything the whole way home.

Chapter 62

Tripp

I’m back at thepractice facility and it feels so good. I’ve been medically cleared, from my concussion, to resume normal activity, both from an independent and our team doctor. I’m thankful the team doesn’t mess around with concussion protocol.

I do feel pretty good. My shoulder has even started improving quite a bit. Amazing what rest will do to your body. I’m not going to be able to play this week but it’s noticeably better.

Being around the guys immediately lifts my mood, well, almost all the guys.

“You look like shit,” Zack says, his eyes checking me over.

“It’s good to see you too,” I respond, shaking his shoulder with my good hand. His dark blonde hair flops back and forth.

“Your skin, it’s like, not the right color. Do you have a fever?” Zack uses the back of his hand to touch my forehead and I don’t pull away. Instead, I roll my eyes.

“No. It’s just been a rough… however long it’s been.” I try to reassure him with a small smile.

“I thought Willow would do a better job taking care of you.” The sound of her name has me go rigid. It’s like lemon juice in an open cut you forgot about.

“Ah, fuck. What happened?!” Zack’s shoulders slump when he reads my face.

Before I can say something, or nothing, a coordinator lets me know that my head coach wants to see me. I give Zack a look that says we’ll talk about it later, even though I don’t mean it.

“Coach, you wanted to see me?” I pop my head into Coach’s office. He’s watching film. I swear, this man is always watching film.

“Tripp Owens. Always great to have ya at the facility. Close the door. Have a seat.”

Why do I feel like I’m about to be in trouble?

“I’m medically cleared from the concussion, but the shoulder isn’t ready,” I say.

“No. How are you feeling?” He leans forward.

I slowly take in a breath. “I’m feeling much better. Being back here helps.” When he doesn’t say anything, I have a feeling he wants me to keep going. “I’m hoping to play this season. If we can hold the playoff spot, for sure. I know you want to know about the retirement rumor, but in all transparency, I haven’t decided. The thing I’m focusing on now is coming back, this season, and seeing how that goes.”

“You don’t owe me anything when it comes to that decision. I’m here if you ever want to talk, just you and me. I was a player who once had to make the same decision and it’s one of the hardest ones.”

“How did you know?”

“Well, unlike you, I had an injury-riddled career. I was successful but my body was banged up from what felt like the very start. One day, it was harder and harder to make it to the facility. My body was taking longer to recover. I felt the itch to do something else, even if I didn’t know what it was. And ultimately, I wanted to go out on my own. This next part sounds like complete bullshit, but it’s not. You’ll just know.”

“Really?”

“Really. There’s a difference between knowing and following through. Lots of guys know they should hang up the cleats but keepplaying because they can. I could’ve kept playing but the risk was too great.”

“That’s helpful. I appreciate you checking on me. This is obviously a setback, but it currently feels good to try and get back this year. I’m still seeing my sports psychologist and we’ve had quite a bit to talk about.”

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