Page 9 of Hold Me Down

Doctor Ortega tucked her tablet against her stomach.

"You're unlikely to be in your top form after needing to stay off your foot and to rest for long periods of time. However, since I'm assuming you're used to regular physical exercise, I see no reason you wouldn't be able to bounce back quickly."

"How quickly?" Dave pressed, but she shook her head.

"I'd only be guessing right now, and you don't need that. However, it should become clearer in a few weeks, when a doctor will be able to determine your progress. Theymightbe able to tell you more then."

"Is there anything I can do to help the process along? Any exercises?"

"Lots and lots of rest. You should stay off your leg, that's the most important part at this stage. Pay attention to any tightening muscles, as you may need to massage your thigh and knee area regularly to keep them from locking up."

Travis immediately thought of Melody, their trainer at KRK who was also a physical therapist. He hoped she wouldagree to teach them everything they needed to know to do this right.

Whatever that would mean.

Fuck, Travis didn't even know how they were going to organize everything, but he was definitely going to request some time off, at least.

"I'll leave you for now, and the nurse will be back shortly to fit you in for the cast."

With that, the doctor was gone, and Travis looked at Dave, desperately trying to find something comforting to say.

Before he could do that, though, there was a knock on the door.

As Travis turned and saw Kalei, instead of the relief he would usually feel at the sight of the man, now it only added another twist to his already knotted-up stomach.

Because under all that calm demeanor, Kalei was livid.

CHAPTER FOUR

The weight of the day was crashing on Dave pretty badly and the last thing he needed was to get schooled by his boss, but it didn't seem like he'd have any choice in the matter.

He knew he deserved it, anyway.

"How bad is it?" Kalei stepped into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed and clasping his hands behind his back.

Damn, Dave knew that pose.

They were in it, now.

"It's a clean break," he said after clearing his throat. "Two or three months to heal, then however long it takes to get back into shape. The doctor didn't want to give any estimates, but I'll try my hardest to make it as quick as possible, you have my word on that."

"Trying your hardest to make things as quick as possible is what landed you in this situation, so spare me, please." Kalei glanced between him and Travis. "I'd ask what the hell the two of you were thinking, but I can guess."

Ouch. "This was an—"

"I know I fucked up, and I'm sorry," Travis cut in, and Dave turned his head to see his partner staring at the floor. "We shouldn't have scaled that wall, or I should've stayed on his side to see it through. Even better, I should've been the one to do it."

"And maybe you'd be the one hurt right now," Dave protested. "It was an accident."

"It was an accident that would have been avoided if you stopped and thought things through." Kalei took a deep breath and let it out slowly, which was a weird sight for someone who usually looked unruffled no matter what. "And I'm not blaming you for falling, by the way," he told Dave. "I know accidentshappen, and any day we train may be the day we get injured. But this was preventable, and that's partially why I'm so pissed."

Dave pressed his lips together, afraid to ask what the other reason was.

He didn't have to wait long to find out, though.

"Mostly, however, I'm pissed because I should have seen this coming. Hell, I did see it. I should have benched you a while ago, and I didn't, I let it play out, and here we are."

Before Dave could protest, Travis spoke up first.

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