Page 108 of The Way We Touch

Her voice fades, and my lips tighten.

I swallow the shout bubbling in my chest, clenching my teeth instead. “Hip-drops are illegal.”

She nods, her eyes fixed on my hand. “Garrett got into a fight on the field. Ripped off the other guy’s helmet and started punching. It was chaos.”

Thinking of my oversized friend doing his best to beat up the asshole makes me feel slightly better. Until my doctor enters, with a tight expression on his face. He’s an older man in traditional scrubs, and I wait as he clips X-rays to a screen.

“The good news is, you’ll be off crutches in a week to ten days, but here’s the problem…”

He circles my knee with his pen and goes on to describe the injury and what it needs to heal, finishing up by essentially saying if I follow his orders, I’m looking at a full recovery—but this season is done.

“You’ll be able to walk and live your life normally. You just can’t run fifty yards or fly through the air or zig-zag out of the way of a defensive tackle…”

“Or basically do anything related to my job.” My tone is bitter.

He exhales a chuckle and stands. “Only for six to twelve weeks. The physical therapist will decide when you’re ready. You’re very lucky.”

He leaves the room without saying the silent part out loud. It’s over. My record, the trophy, everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve, all ended in one illegal play.

“I could kill that guy.” I exhale heavily.

Dylan’s fingers tighten around mine, and she nods. “I’m pretty sure that’s how everyone feels right now. Even Ricky.”

“Ricky?” My eyes snap to hers.

“He’s out in the waiting room. He wanted to talk to you when you woke up. He’s really pissed. Not as pissed as Garrett, but close.”

I press my head against the bed as sickness spreads through my stomach. I don’t want to see anyone. I don’t want to be in this hospital room. I want to be as far away from all of this as possible, then I want to throw things and break things and roar.

Clearing my throat, my eyes are fixed on my leg. “How long do I have to stay here?”

“Just a day or two.” She strokes my hand, and I watch her slim fingers sliding up and down mine.

The sound of the monitors is around us, and I can’t think of a thing to say.

A light tap on the door and Ricky steps inside the room. He’s in jeans and a thin, long-sleeved sweater, and he looks like he spent the night here.

“Logan…” He doesn’t approach my bedside, but I can tell he’s agitated. “I won’t stay. I just needed to say something in person. We’re all sorry about what happened. Peter is trying to say he did it for me, but that’s bullshit. I’m pushing to have his contract terminated. I don’t even want to be on the same team as that guy.”

Peter Krall. Now I’m even more angry. That asshole’s got a reputation for targeting runners. I’m not his first illegal tackle, and I hope he is kicked out of the league.

“Thanks, Ricky.” I attempt a smile, but it’s more of a grimace.

“I wanted you to know just in case you saw any lies in the gossip feeds.”

I glance at my girl by my side, her fingers threaded in mine, silently holding me together. “I’ve seen a lot of lies on the gossip feeds.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he stands taller. “Well, I wanted to beat you fair and square. I didn’t want to win the trophy this way, by forfeit.”

“You haven’t won anything yet.” Garrett’s tone is pissed as he walks through the door, coming straight to my side. “How’s it going, bro? You’re pretty swole up, but you’ll heal. No worries. We’ll get you back out there.”

I expect nothing less from my best friend, but I can’t tell him how I really feel. I’m not even sure yet, so I only shake my head. One thing I do know, I never expected to see my biggest rival so wound up in my defense.

Ricky exhales a noise, holding up his hands. “That’s all I wanted to say. There’s always next year.”

The words hit me like a punch in the chest. I press my head against the stiff pillow behind me again, squeezing my eyes shut. Next year wasn’t the plan.

“May I speak to my son, please?” The polished voice draws all our attention to where my father has replaced Ricky at my door.

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