“I don’t know if I feel like I’m three or ninety,” I mutter as I lift my left leg. The throb in my right ass cheek bone—yes, I’m making that a thing—makes me wince, but it’s worse when I lift my right leg.
Keno’s giving me an amused smile as he pulls up my briefs. His smile fades when he sees the pain I didn’t hide fast enough reflected in my expression. He sighs.
“Etna,” Coach calls from the door.
I sway when Keno steps away, so he quickly comes back and wraps an arm around my lower back. Coach is frowning.
“You said you were fine,” Coach accuses.
“I’m sorry. I thought I was.”
His frown deepens. Doc steps up behind him as Julian joins us again. He gets on my other side and he and Keno help me out of the locker room.
“What hurts exactly?” Doc asks.
“Lower back. Radiates down my right leg when I step, but not all the time.”
“We’re going straight to x-ray,” Doc says.
I don’t answer. Only concentrate on walking. Trying not to step weirdly on my right leg. Not every step makes the shock of pain run down my leg, so I try to find the pattern that does.
Keno and Julian help me onto the x-ray table how Doc instructs and then leave the room. I close my eyes and pretend I’m not watching my career circle down the drain.
“That’s it,” Doc says. “You can stay there for a minute while I look at them if you’re comfortable.”
“Comfortable enough,” I answer. “Can Keno come back in?”
“Yep.” He stares at the computer screen for a minute before getting to his feet. He opens the door and waves Keno in.
Keno stands beside me, his hand on my chest over my heart. I take his other one in mine and close my eyes. The room is silent for several very long, tense minutes.
“Nothing’s broken,” Doc says, and I release a breath. Thank fuck. “No fractures or anything indicating any ligament or tendon tears. But Ithinkthere’s something pinched based on the pattern of your pain. I’m going to see if Trevor’s still here.”
I nod. Trevor is one of our trainers.
Keno’s fingers brush against my forehead, and I open my eyes. His concern is loud. I smile, trying to reassure him. “Nothing’s broken,” I repeat.
He doesn’t respond as he watches me, brushing my hair from my forehead. It reminds me I haven’t gotten my hair cut in a while.
There’s a knock on the door and then Trevor steps inside. I watch as they confer by the computer, most likely over my x-rays. I rub my face and yawn. I’m fucking tired. I wonder if a good night’s sleep will fix this. There’s not much sleep can’t fix in my opinion.
“Okay, let’s try some stretches,” Trevor says. Keno lets me go and takes a step away. Trevor takes his place and manipulates me so I’m twisted again. I grit my teeth. “Ready?”
“Sure,” I mutter.
He pushes on my hip and my shoulder in opposite directions. Nothing pops or makes a noise, but it definitely feels like he’s stretching my spine. I’m not going to say I feel anything different. That is, until he lets go.
Then I sigh. “That was magic,” I say. The pain has completely dissipated. “You went to magician school, didn’t you?”
Trevor chuckles. “One more time.” He stretches me again and this time, it feels like my entire body sighs and releases the tension I’ve been holding. When he releases me, he asks, “Feel better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“What happened?” Keno asks.
Trevor looks at me. I smirk. “I’m marrying him. You can tell him anything.”
“We’re going to need to put that in writing, but since I have your verbal permission right now, to make it as easy as possible to understand, he got hit just right so things were pinched thatshouldn’t be pinched. Etna’s body was already hyper extended in an exaggerated position when he was hit. When it compressed again, things that had moved couldn’t get back to where they belonged.”
