Page 81 of Legend

“It was a legal tackle,” Robbie grunts, still holding me back. “He’s just riling you up. He did the same thing to Alex. Don’t fucking fall for it. We’re already down two of our best players, do you really want to give them another advantage?”

I finally come back to my senses and remember we still have a game to win. I’m sure as fuck not going to be responsible for us losing Tom Whitford’s last ever game, if that’s what it turns out to be.

Seeing that I’ve calmed down, Robbie lets me go. “You good?”

I nod and give him a slap on the back. “Yeah, mate. Thanks.”

“Looks like we’re going to have to lift our game,” he says wryly, nodding to the sideline.

I see what he means straight away; with Alex out, Vinnie’s opted to reinforce the backline by bringing Massimo in, rather than subbing in Andre to replace Tom. But that’s okay; we’re a goal up, so all we need to do is stop Lancaster from scoring for the next half hour. It’s easier said than done, but I know we can pull it off.

Chapter twenty-seven

Tom

I’minatotalfog when I wake up. All I know is that my throat is killing me, my head is kind of fuzzy, and I’m in a really bright room. I mean,reallyfucking bright.?

I try to lift my hand to cover my eyes but my arm feels like lead. The rest of my body feels weird as well. Everything is just soheavy.

“Tom?” I hear a familiar voice say from somewhere nearby.?

“Court?”

“Yeah, babes, I’m here.”

“Too…bright,” I manage to croak out, still wincing at the blinding light in the room.

“Oh, sorry. They needed the lights on when they came in to check on you before. I guess we can turn them off now.” I sense her rushing away for a moment and then the bright light is blessedly gone. “How’s that?”

I crack my eyes open and see the room isn’t completely dark, but the?soft daylight coming in through a nearby window is bearable. “Better,” I say, my throat still burning. “Why do I feel like I’ve been swallowing razorblades?”Or given about a million really rough blowjobs in a row.

“Oh, they had to intubate you. Something about the anaesthesia affecting your breathing.”

“anaesthesia…” Fucking hell, why is my brain such a mush.

“Ah, yeah you’re on some really heavy duty pain-killers right now, babes. Don’t try to think too hard,” she says with a soft chuckle.?

“What…? I know…” The thoughts are right there at the edge of my mind. I know where I am and why I’m here, I’m just struggling to grasp onto it and hold it.

Courtney steps towards me and brushes her fingers through my hair in that motherly gesture she uses on Keegan all the time. “You’re in the hospital. Your leg had to be operated on. Do you remember what happened? In the game?”

The words “hospital” and “leg” and “game” manage to push through the fog in my brain and clear some of my thoughts. But then all I want is for the fog to come back, because I’d really love to be living in oblivion for a bit longer.

“Fuck,” I groan, my eyes falling closed as misery sweeps over me.

Courtney strokes my hair again. “I’m so sorry, Tom.”

“Where’s Keegan?”

“He’s at Mum and Dad’s,” she says gently. “He was really upset seeing the injury. I figured it’d be better for him to stay away from here until the surgery was over.”

I nod. “Yeah. Good call. What about Archie?” I love Courtney, I really do; she and Keegan are my only family. But she’s not who I wanted to see when I opened my eyes.

“He’s here,” she tells me, her tone a little uncertain. “They’re all here. All the players. Vinnie. Gideon. Everyone. But there’s a lot of media around. We weren’t really sure…”

“Fuck the media,” I growl. “I want to see him.”

Her lips twitch in a wry smile. “Alright then, I’ll go get him. You need anything else?”

---