Page 100 of Off the Pitch

Kit was sitting quietly beside me, occasionally making a comment about how nice the hospital was, but mostly he was just a solid, steady presence. He hadn’t said anything about me holding his hand, but occasionally his thumb rubbed softly against my skin in a soothing motion.

“Hugo Serin?” A nurse in pink scrubs appeared in a doorway to our left, a cheery smile on her face and a folder in her hand.

“Yes?” I said as I looked up from the floor and tried not to feel as though I was about to be executed.

“Do you want to follow me?” Your boyfriend can come too if you want.”

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” I said. I felt my cheeks flushing. Her words had made my insides squeeze, but I didn’t have time to examine why because Kit was already standing up beside me, offering me my crutches and an encouraging smile.

“Come on,” he said, voice soft. “It’ll be okay.”

We followed the nurse down the corridor and into a smaller room, where one of the doctors I’d been seen by a couple of times over the past few months was waiting. Beside him stood Ellie, one of Greenwich Athletic’s team physiotherapists, who was probably here to find new ways to torture me after the cast came off. Since the club had arranged for all my treatment, I wasn’t surprised to see her. I assumed the club had told her about my appointment.

I’d worked with Ellie before, and under her sweet smile was a woman of steel. She was tough, and everyone I knew was a tiny bit scared of her. She was also the best physio I’d ever met, and I knew she’d whip my ass back into shape no matter what it took.

“Good morning, Hugo,” Doctor Reynolds said, looking up from examining the X-ray of my leg that they’d done as soon as I’d arrived this morning. He patted the bench and offered me a cheerful smile. “If you want to take a seat up here, your friend can grab that chair and sit next to you. Then we’ll have a look at removing that cast.”

I scooted ungracefully onto the padded bench, hauling my leg up in front of me. I definitely wouldn’t miss how fucking hard it was to move around with my leg held in one position. Although I wasn’t looking forward to seeing what my leg was going to look like underneath the plaster. I’d probably look like some sort of lizard.

Kit pulled the chair up next to me and took my hand, squeezing it gently, and some of my nerves faded.

“Okay, so here’s what’s going to happen,” Doctor Reynolds said. “We’re going to cut this cast off and have a look at your leg. Your skin will be a bit scaly, but the best thing to do is just wash it gently in warm water with soap and moisturize it. Don’t pick it.” He shot me a firm look that told me he’d said this a lot. “It might be a bit stiff and sore for a few days, but that should ease. It may also get a bit swollen, in which case you should elevate it. But if you have any problems, give me a call straight away.”

He added a few other things—like that it would be good for me to start walking on it and that going for walks would help. Ellie added that she was here to give me some exercises to do to help me start regaining my muscle strength.

Doctor Reynolds nodded before turning to the machine next to him and pulling a mask over his face. “Let’s get started.”

In all fairness, it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. He simply cut the cast open, peeling it back to reveal the leg underneath. The skin was scaly, and a little bruised, but it didn’t look as bad as I’d dreamt. It didn’t feel that bad either—a little sore and stiff as I wiggled my foot, but there wasn’t any searing pain or mind-numbing aching.

In fact, Doctor Reynolds seemed pleased, nodding and humming to himself as he examined my leg. His fingers felt strange against my skin as he gently prodded and poked my calf, asking me a few questions.

“Everything looks good,” he said finally. “I’m very pleased. The X-ray shows that it’s healed well and shouldn’t give you any problems, provided you follow your physiotherapy regimen.”

“Will I be able to play?” I asked, my voice coming out lower than I’d intended.

“I don’t see why not.” The doctor smiled. “Right now, I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t be able to.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, I felt my whole body relax, relief rushing through every fiber of my being as a little laugh slipped through my lips.

Kit squeezed my hand again, his beaming smile brighter than the sun. “I told you everything would be okay,” he said. “We can go and celebrate now.”

“First things first,” said Ellie. She stepped forward, a smile playing across her lips. “I’ve got some exercises to teach you.”

Chapter Six

KitDo you have any allergies? I probably should have asked you that already

KitI mean to food not anything odd like chickens

KitAlthough technically chickens are food—but I meant live ones

Kit

I was so pleased to escape the hospital that I was practically bouncing on the spot. I’d always found hospitals to be rather soulless and grim, even if the private hospital Hugo was being treated at was the nicest hospital I’d ever been too.

I supposed that was what you got when you paid extortionate fees for your healthcare.

Still, I was far more excited to move on to the rest of the day. I just hoped Hugo was up for it. He seemed far happier now that the cast had come off and the doctor had pronounced him healed—like the dark cloud that had been looming over his head had melted away instead of opening up to reveal the most almighty storm.

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