The groan of pain from Henry’s lips cuts me to the bone. He clutches his left shoulder.
“Fuck you, Bennington. That was the perfect pass!”
My blood runs cold as I hear Valentine Ward approach, livid with anger.
“Val,” someone says, but he shakes his head.
“He doesn’t belong on this team. He ought to be back on the bloody bench.”
“That’s enough, Val.” Mr.Cormack’s voice will tolerate no argument. Their eyes wrestle for a moment, then Valentine stamps away. I’m not sure if Henry even heard him. Dr.Henderson stays perfectly calm. It’s undoubtedly not his first rugby accident, but Mr.Cormack looks worryingly serious. He has a hand on Henry’s arm and is talking quietly to him while Dr.Henderson investigates his shoulder.
“Definitely dislocated,” I hear someone say. Henry’s eyes are shut, but I can see him pressing his lips together in pain.Dr.Henderson says something about the hospital and A and E, needing an X-ray before his shoulder can be reset, avoiding ligament and nerve damage.
I want to go to Henry and tell him I’m sorry for everything. But I can’t. I just stand there as he first sits and later stands up. And he walks away, supported by Dr.Henderson and Mr.Cormack.
“Emma.” I feel a hand on my arm and look into Sinclair’s face. He steers me gently toward the edge of the pitch, where Tori’s standing. “They’ll take care of him.”
“I have to...” I begin, and I want to pull away, but Tori’s holding me tight. “They said they have to get him to hospital.”
“I’m sure it’s just a precaution,” she says.
Sinclair nods. “Let’s wait here, all right? If nothing’s broken, he’ll definitely be coming back to school. And then they’ll let you see him.”
“We had a fight,” I blurt. “The day before yesterday, it was so stupid. I didn’t get the chance to say sorry. I...”
“Emma,” says Tori. Her voice is gentle. “Come on. I’m sure it looked worse than it was. Later, you’ll be able to talk in peace and everything will be OK again.”
I want to contradict her, because absolutely nothing is OK, but there’s no point. So I follow her and Sinclair past the stand as the referee blows his whistle behind us to restart the match.
We won. Just. By twenty-five to twenty-three. Another victory to open the season for Dunbridge Academy. After the match, dinner in the dining hall is like a festive banquet, but I haven’t the leastappetite. Henry’s seat is empty, and I like to think that the mood in general is a little subdued.
I messaged him, but he hasn’t replied. Probably his phone didn’t get to the hospital with him and it’s lying around somewhere in the changing rooms.
Dr.Henderson went with him to Edinburgh, as there’s no hospital in Ebrington. That was over four hours ago. I know Henry will have a long time to wait, but all the same, I feel close to a nervous breakdown when I still have no news of him after dinner.
We’re just clearing our plates away when I get a message. It’s from Olive, who’s never texted me outside the Midnight Memories group chat before.
O:My dad and Henry are back, if it interests you. He’s in the sick bay.
“Was that Henry?”
I look up, right into Tori’s face. “No,” I murmur. “It was Olive. They’re back.”
“Henry too?”
I nod.
“I see.” Tori points at the tray in my hands. “Give me that. You have to go to him.”
“Thanks, Tori.” I leave the dining room and run to the sick bay. My throat tightens a little with every step, even though I ought to be calmer now that I know they’re not keeping him in hospital overnight. Or even longer if they’d had to operate on him. But I’m scared because I don’t know if he’ll even want to see me.
That might be the least of my worries, though I don’t know that until I see Petra, the school nurse, through the door to the sick bay. She’s sitting at her desk and raising her head.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
“I wanted to see Henry,” I begin. “I’ve been told he’s here.”
She hesitates. Are there visiting hours? I’ve never been to the sick bay before.
