Page 25 of Marrying My Brother's Best Friend

“Trevor…Dude…” voices call around me, but their terrified sounds fade away as the roar of my ache fills my ears and echoes through my head. The pain keeps me rooted to the ground, and the chaos erupts around me till the first aid team runs towards us on the court.

The rest happens in a blur, and the medic team rushes me out of the court on a gurney.

“You’re gonna be fine, dude,” Joe says as he hurries with the team while they take me to the ambulance already waiting outside. I can’t think through the pain and the blinding sting of tears burning the back of my eyes.

***

About one hour later, a doctor is examining my ankle in a private hospital room, and my teammates are cramped outside the door, all waiting for news about my injury.

“It looks like a sprain, but we’ll have to do a scan to make sure nothing’s broken. In the meantime, I’ll need you to keep that ice pack over the swelling,” the team’s doctor explains as she adjusts the ice pack over my ankle.

“Thanks,” I say to her with a shaky smile, and I don’t miss the flush that creeps up her neck before she dashes me with a flirtatious grin. The team always has a doctor on standby to treat any player who ever gets injured.

“You know, you’ve never been in here for any injury of the sort,” she says after some time, then places a hand on my upper arm gently. The door bursts open right then, and Gracie comes running in.

She’s all flustered as she tosses her bag to the ground, then rushes towards me. “Oh my goodness, are you alright? What happened?” she cries, her eyes wide with panic as she peers down at me.

The doctor instantly withdraws and clears her throat. “Looks like it’s just a sprain. He’ll be fine,” she says to Gracie, then tucks her hands into her pocket. “We’ll do an x-ray just to be sure though, and I’ll write him a prescription for the pain.”

“So, it’s nothing serious?” Gracie asks in a shaky voice. “I mean, he can still play, right? I’ve heard of athletes and injuries that end their careers. This is nothing like that, right?”

Gracie’s eyes are wide as she rambles on with her questioning, and Doctor Gilbert only smiles at her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. It’s nothing serious,” she says to console Gracie, then steps back and lets herself out of the room.

Alone with Gracie now, she huffs in a deep breath, then pins those bright eyes on me. “How did this happen?” Her lower lip trembles as she asks, and the quivering gloss of tears in her eyes melts my insides. “When I got the call from Zane, I thought it was a terrible accident. He sounded so panicky and I just…Goodness, I thought you’d lost a leg.”

Her right hand rests on my shoulder and offers me a little comfort before she blows air out of her lips again and closes her eyes.

“It’s cute when you worry about me,” I whisper to her, and she smacks me in my arm a little. “Ouch,” I groan, then chuckle with her as the smooth tendrils of her laugh fills the air and warms my heart.

Our gazes lock, and the moment between us tenses a little before she clears her throat and pulls away from me.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispers.

Without thinking, I place a hand over hers and gently squeeze her fingers. Her eyes widen as they latch onto mine, and I slowly start to inch toward her before brushing off some strands of hair framing the sides of her face.

Another knock on the door interrupts the moment, and she pulls away from me abruptly, making me miss her heat almost immediately.

“Trevor,” Billy says from the doorway and makes his way into the room despite the other teammates trying to stop him. “I’m sorry, man,” he says, ignoring them as he approaches my bed. “I was drunk, and I didn’t know what I was saying, I just…”

His words trail off when he sees Gracie in the room and pales even further. “I’m sorry, okay?” he combs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, you have to believe that.”

“It’s alright…We forgive you.” My chin stays hard, but Gracie’s soft words cut into the air and shock me. “You made a mistake…We all make mistakes and I’m sure Trevor will find a way to let it go and put it behind him too, right babe?”

There’s a stiff smile on her face, but she stays still before saying. “You screwed us over, Billy, and that was not cool and as much as I’m pissed at you, I still think we should take things slow and not give the media more to chew on.”

My throat tightens, but she puts on a smile and that forces me to nod stiffly without looking at Billy.

Billy backs out of the room after that, leaving us alone.

“What was that? He clearly put us through a lot of trouble and made the past two weeks tough for you, and you just forgive him?”

“We all do stupid stuff, Trevor. You of all people know that, and you get forgiven for it all the time. You hurt me once, but I forgave you and decided to help repair your reputation. I think you can do the same for Billy.” She arches a brow and adds defiantly, once again showing me that fire that attracts me. “Don’t you think?”

The corners of her lips quirk up with a smile after that, and I find myself so drawn to her that my breath hitches in my throat for a moment.

“Right,” I whisper, sounding huskier than I anticipated.

“Good,” she says and releases a light chuckle. “Now put on a smile. Don’t forget those guys out there will come in here to see you soon, and we still need to convince them that we’re a loving couple.”

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