Chapter Five
“So, what’s the verdict, doc?” Isaac asked, pulling his shirt back over his head on the examination table. He grinned his brightest grin at the doctor, hoping she’d be charmed enough to write off the remaining stiffness in his shoulder as lack of exercise.
“You’re healing up just fine,” Doctor Carr said. “And you’re telling me it’s just a little stiff?”
Isaac nodded. That was true, and he’d been careful about it. He didn’t need an injury to take him out of professional competition at twenty-six.
“Then I think you’ll be okay as long as you’re sensible with getting back to training. A low-stakes tournament would probably be good for you, actually.”
Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. That was exactly what he needed to hear.
“Awesome. So you’ll sign off on me?”
“I will,” she said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. Isaac hopped off the examination table and grabbed the hoodie he’d come here in, pulling it on for warmth.
“Thanks. For this, and for everything else,” Isaac said. “You’ve been an awesome doctor.”
“Yeah, well, us bisexuals have to stick together, right?” she asked, a smile playing around her lips.
A wave of guilt washed over Isaac. She was helping him out at least partially out of solidarity, but he didn’t deserve it. This was a lie.
He swallowed. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all? It did meanlyingto people.
But then… she was smiling. And he was doing this to make people happy.
As long as no one everknewit was a lie… was it even really a lie?
His mom would have said yes, and Isaac knew deep down that was true, but it wasn’t going to hurt anyone. Not all lies were bad. Sometimes they were kind.
This was about kindness. And the only person he stood to hurt was himself, so…
Yeah, that was all the justification he needed. The people he’d disappoint if he told the truth now, and the fact that he was the only one really affected by it.
He was doing more good than harm, which was all he’d ever wanted to do.
“Definitely,” Isaac said after a slightly too long pause.
It was a surprise that it mattered to adults, too, but it shouldn’t have been. Isaac hadn’t spent much time thinking about any of this, but now…
He knew he was doing the right thing. The look on Doctor Carr’s face was proof of that.
Maybe he’d have to talk to Julian about that. He obviously didn’t understand the full extent of what he was doing, here.
Too late to back out now, though.
“So is that it?” Isaac asked as Doctor Carr handed his signed and stamped papers over.
“Unless there’s something else bothering you?”
Isaac shook his head.
There were plenty of things bothering him, but they weren’t really sports medicine territory. Mostly, he was worried about how this thing with Julian was going to work out, and whether or not he could actually still play tennis well enough not to embarrass himself.
He’d only been out six weeks, but it felt like a lifetime.
“Then I’ll see you before the professional season starts for your annual physical,” she said, smiling warmly at him. “Good luck at the tournament.”
“Thanks.” Isaac stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Couldn’t do it without you.”
