Page 76 of Puck You
I held back a snarl of frustration at the clear concern etched into Grace’s eyes.She was doing was she thought was right, but bringing in the head trainer was unnecessary.Pain after an injury like mine was normal occurrence.I couldn’t expect to feel in perfect form all the time.
“Don’t meddle.I’m fine,” I insisted.
“Do you trust me?”
An answer came to me without an ounce of hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Then let her look at your knee,” she pleaded, and I was prepared to put up a fight until I heard the fear in her tone.“Please, do it for me.”
“Fine.”
Begrudgingly, I stripped off my gear and folded my socks down to reveal the swollen skin around my knee.Grace let out a dramatic gasp, leaning forward to get a better look.I was seconds away from receiving a lecture when a formidable woman stepped into the players bench.My body was seized by a brief sense of panic at the sight of the middle-aged head trainer.I’d endured countless hours working through torturous exercises with Taylor throughout my recovery period.We’d spent the second half of the previous season working together on a daily basis.While I was thankful for everything she’d done to help me recover, I wasn’t thrilled to see her.She placed her kit on the bench beside me and gave me a cautious smile.
“I hear you’ve been favoring one knee this week,” she said in way of greeting.
Taylor had a built-in bullshit detector, so there was no use in lying.I immediately dove into an explanation of my pain, giving an overview of when it had started and how it had progressed.She assessed the knee with careful eyes.After having me extend it, she felt around the swollen area and asked if I had any pain to the touch.Grace remained by my side, watching carefully as Taylor ran her tests.
“I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about: some inflammation is expected after the severity of your injury.I want you to go back to some of the basic exercises you did when you first started recovery—bridging, calf raises, hip abductions.In the meantime, I’m going to give you a cortisone shot to help with the pain, but I want you to sit out of practice tomorrow.”
That was not going to happen.
“I’ll do the exercises and the shot, but we have an important game coming up.I can’t miss practice.”
“You can and you will,” said Grace, moving to stand beside Taylor.“Missing one practice won’t affect your game.Itwillgive you time to get that swelling down.”
The head trainer gave Grace an appreciative nod.
“You should listen to her, Sebastian.She also happens to be one of the best players this institution has ever seen.”
When I met Grace’s eyes, all the fight left in me vanished.She had no idea how much power she had over me.
“Fine.”
I sounded like a broken record at this point.
Taylor led us down to the recovery room, where she began to prepare a shot for my knee.To kill time, Grace poured herselfan ice bath and stripped down to her sports bra and compression shorts.Before getting in, she slowly bent over to place her phone on the ground, sending me a wicked smirk over her shoulder.
“Ice that knee, but you shouldn’t do full submersion for a few days,” Taylor instructed.
After administering the shot, she packed up her things and gave me a stern talking-to about listening to my body.The entire time, Grace had a death grip on the edge of the tub, her eyes squeezed closed as she breathed through the overwhelming cold.
“Please distract me,” she gasped as soon as Taylor left room, and I could hear the pain in her voice.
“I’m not sure I should get naked here.Anyone could walk in.”
She scoffed.“That didn’t stop you in the locker room.”
“You were naked as well, so I couldn’t think straight.”
“Distract me,” she pleaded.“I need to stop thinking about how cold this damn water is.Tell me about one of your favorite hockey moments.Tell me about your favorite goal, I don’t care.Just distract me.”
The memory came to my mind without a second thought, an image of a crowded arena and the sound of a raging crowd flooding my senses.I was immediately transported back in time to my youth hockey days.
“After my dad died, when it was just me and my mom, there was no money for me to join a traveling team.But when she married my stepdad, everything changed.I went from playing in house leagues to making the Chicago Fury U12 team.”
From that moment on, training became intense.Hockey went from my hobby to my entire world.Even as a kid, I needed to be better than everyone.I worked my ass off and promisedmyself that I would be the best.
