Nico was roughed up with grass and dirt stains all over his white jersey. He had bumps, scrapes and bruises from the notorious defense of Green Bay, and his face was stained with tears. Cooper wished to wipe the tears away, but it’d be too suspect.
Sometimes, he fucking hated that he devoted his life to a sport that’d never let him out of that cage of masculinity.
Cooper placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “You’re going to be okay.”
““I’m sorry for letting you down, Coach,” he said, grimacing in pain.
Once Nico got to the locker room, he’d be administered pain medications.
“This wasn’t your fault.” Cooper gripped Nico’s shoulder.
It wasn’t. Accidents happened in football. The players were commodities and the pain and suffering of injuries was baked into the exorbitant salaries. Still, he hated seeing Nico like this because he had enough experience to know the rookie’s season was officially over. The earliest he could come back would be a week or two prior to the Super Bowl, assuming the team even had a shot at that point.
Jensen Fuller had made it there once and won, almost a decade prior. He wasn’t in condition to win the necessary next three games to have a shot at the wild card. They were hard matchups.
The medical staff drove Nico away on the cart, leaving Cooper in the tunnel.
He returned to the game just as Jensen Fuller took to the field, suited up and ready to finish the two minute drill.
later that night - columbus
It was a somber night at Cooper’s house.
Coach White had called to make it official; Nico Fallon was out for the season with a torn ACL. All the work he had put into helping the rookie adjust to the playing style of professional football seemed for naught.
Cooper lay in bed beside Stassi.
Sometimes, they shared a bed.
Sometimes, they slept in different rooms.
Most times, they were in cities on opposite ends of the country.
She slept well that night, resting her head over her hand, completely unaware of the battle in Cooper’s mind. Sure, she had an indication but it wasn’t something either of them wanted to discuss.
Cooper’s phone lit up with a text from Nico.
Nico
tey gayve me ah goOd sht
Cooper read between the lines and laughed quietly to himself.
Cooper
You shouldn’t be awake. You should be resting.
Nico
SHUld b n yur boody
Cooper started typing: Nah, we lost…
But he deleted the text and wrote a new one.
Cooper
Maybe next time.
