Page 79 of Before You
The minute the snap occurs, I take off, pumping my arms and legs as no one covers me, trying to set myself up correctly for Trent’s throw. Turning my head, I catch sight of the perfect spiral heading my way. I reach out, but as the ball hits my hands, I’m hit hard from the side.
All the air is immediately knocked from my lungs as I land on the ground hard, my knee twisting underneath me as the other player lands on top of me.
The knee I should have had safely enveloped in a brace to protect it, but I stubbornly thought I was fine.
The ball is cradled to my chest, but I see stars in my vision from the pain coursing through my body. The other guy climbs up, and I hear whistles blown as my lungs try to refillwith oxygen. My jaw is clenched, trying to keep any sound from escaping as I roll, trying to give myself a second before attempting to get up.No pop. There wasn’t a pop.
“Walker, did you hit your head? Can you get up?” Billy’s voice asks next to me.
I gnash my teeth together, inhaling sharply before sitting up. “As much as you deny it, I knew you cared about me, Billy,” I joke, mustering a smile as she kneels next to me. I’m momentarily blinded by the light she shines in my eye, checking for signs of concussion, and I push her hand away. “I didn’t hit my head,” I say, and she frowns, reading between the lines.
“Is your knee okay?” she asks, and this time, I don’t deflect from the question when answering. Billy has the authority to pull me from this game in a heartbeat if she wants to.
“I’m fine—honestly. I just got the wind knocked out of me,” I say, and Billy purses her lips.
“I’m pulling you this half.”
“Billy—” I protest, but she crouches down, slipping my arm around her shoulders to help me up.
“Donotargue with me if you even want to think about re-entering this game, Walker.”
I snap my mouth shut, rise to a standing position with the help of Billy, and my knee is already protesting.I’m fine. It’ll be fine.I take a step, grimacing at the pain I feel, but I also feel immense relief because it’s not torn, even as I limp with Billy’s help. Everything will be fine.
I take a seat on the bench, pulling my helmet off as Coach Dixon hovers to observe Billy’s examination of my knee as the game continues.
“Does this hurt?” Billy asks, rotating my knee in. It doesn’t feel great, but it’s not the worst pain in the world.
“It’s fine. Just get me an ice pack and I’ll be fine.”
She twists it outward now and a yelp slips through my clenched teeth as my hands grip the bench tightly. “Motherfucker! When you twist it like it belongs on a doll, it’s obviously going to fucking hurt.”
“Language!” Billy corrects, shooting me a sharp look as our offensive coach glances in our direction.
“Billy, will he be able to go back in?” Coach Dixon asks, his head turning to look at the scoreboard.
She looks at me, her eyes surprisingly sympathetic before shaking her head. “Not this half. I want to take him back to the training room to do a more thorough evaluation—ice, heat, all the works. Walker might be able to go back in after halftime.”
“I’m fine,” I protest, but I’m ignored.
I could scream, except no one would listen. No one is ever listening to me because I’m the one who’s supposed to keep everyone together.I’m the one who’s supposed to be fine.
~
It was risky, but I snuck an extra pill during the chaos of halftime which helped everything fade away, including my anger toward Trent, but I’m not wasting any more time on him.
There’s no sign of a limp in my step, but I still didn’t go back in. By the time Billy was done examining me, their lead was too great, so the coaching staff decided it’d be better for me to rest than risk an injury by allowing me to go back in. While I understand their reasoning, I could have helped.
Ash bumps my shoulder with his as we exit the locker room to meet my family.
“You good?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m fine,” I repeat for what feels like the umpteenth time today.
“Yeah. You look fine. Almost like you didn’t get hit at all,” he muses, but it’s the nonchalance in his tone making my heart rate spike.
I bump him back, eager for my parents to see I’m fine. “You know Billy, she works miracles.”
Asher grabs my arm and pulls me off to the side of the hallway, waiting until some of our teammates pass. “What are you on?” Asher asks, his voice low. I feel all of the blood drain from my face, but it doesn’t stop me from trying to recover with a half-ass smile.
