Okay, hypocrite who quit physical therapy.
He groaned, the sound rivaling a Sasquatch. It almost shook the ground. “Okay, so if I ice, I’ll be fine later?”
“No. You need to ice, then stretch it with one of us. Then, tomorrow, you’ll be fine. Tell your coach and find out what you need to do. Abe is in the rehab room now.”
“I don’t wantAbe.” He stared at me. “You’re nicer.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m on the field today.” I flashed a smile. “Stop stalling. Tell your coach.”
I clicked the radio, feeling Callum’s eyes on me the entire time. “It’s Emerson. Charming is en route to rehab room. He needs ice and stretching for left rotator cuff.”
“10-4.”
Charming glared. “I take it back. You’re mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, big guy,go.The sooner you rest, the sooner you’ll be on the field.”
He grumbled before marching off, leaving me with Callum. I’d been hyperaware of him and how close he stood to me. I stepped away, putting a foot of distance between us.
“Hey, are you upset with me?” he asked, his voice small.
“What?” I faced him, foregoing my rule ofignoringhim. His face was crumpled into a frown, and his eyes searched mine. “No. I’m not upset at all.”
“You wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t… it was weird.”
“I focused on Charming.” I scanned the field, searching for Henry to see if he was watching. With him reaching out to two teams on my behalf, I felt like I had to be on my best behavior. Even though he said being friends with Callum was all right. I stared at my former best friend and smiled, for real. “We’re totally okay. Yesterday was the absolute best.”
He swallowed, a small smirk forming. “It really was.”
“I’m trying to find the balance of being your friend again and being professional. If not looking at you happens again, it’s because of that. It’s me, not you, okay?”
“I understand that. I’m sorry I was selfish about it. Of course, you want to be professional. This is your internship. I won’t intrude again.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Ivy.” He stepped closer, surrounding me with his scent. “I lied. This is my last time interfering. But does Henry know about your injury? I can tell you’re hurting, but my guess is you don’t share that anyone.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m fine. He doesn’t need to hear about it.” He’d asked me my story one time, and I shared the small details. He never questioned me after that, and I never complained. It’d remain that way.
He frowned. “I won’t share your secret if that’s what the daggers you’re staring at me with mean. But you need to take care of yourself. You’re favoring your left leg when you walk.”
“Am I that obvious?” I whispered, fear clawing up my throat. I’d lose a shot at making it into the NFL if people learned. Henry never brought it up or even looked at my injuries, but he was a good one. Most guys considered me weak, not strong enough, not able to do the job. They’d use it against me, like my parents, coaches, like everyone. “Callum, no one can find out.”
“Deep breath,” he said kindly. “It’s okay. Your gait is a little different when you’re tired, but unless someone is watching you as much as I do, they wouldn’t know.”
I exhaled, relieved and tickled at the fact he watched me a lot. “I’ll rest it tonight.”
“I doubt it.” He grinned before backing away. “I have an idea. I’ll see you after practice, Emerson.”
He jogged toward the field and got to work. I spent the next few hours watching, being on call, and tending numerous small injuries and stretches. Abe reported that Charming was following directions and would return to the field tomorrow. No major damage.
The rest of the day flew by, and once I said goodbye to Henry and the team, my adrenaline crashedhard.The pain I masked overwhelmed me, and I thought about calling Enrique for a ride.
My inner voice told me I needed to look into therapy again or at least build in rest, but I didn’t have the luxury of time. There wasn’t time in my schedule to focus on me. How pathetic was that? We did that as a society. Packed our days and weeks and months with things to better our lives, but we never focused on our bodies.
With my bag on my back, I rolled my shoulders as I walked down the stairs of the stadium. Most of the guys had left hours ago, so it wasn’t like Callum would be hanging around, but I searched for him anyway. It was like that in high school too. I’d be in the cafeteria or after school or a basketball game, and I would seek him out.
A blip of worry wedged its way into my chest. Life seemed cruel to bring us together again only to have one of us move across the country. It felt like… I should keep myself back a little bit. I loved him so much before, and it had killed me when we stopped being friends. Putting a wall between my emotions and our new friendship seemed like the right move.
