Page 60 of Holding On

"It's already there. He did that on his last visit. He made it clear I'm no good to him without a football in my hand."

"Speaking of football, I'll be moving back for practice in a few weeks. Probably the end of the month. Derek and I are already planning the parties."

"Count me out. I'm not showing up on crutches."

"Come on, Ethan. That's stupid. It's not a secret you broke your leg."

"I'm the quarterback. I'm their leader. I can't be seen as being weak and broken down."

"We're all broken down at some point or another. It's football. Everyone gets injured. You could've broken your leg playing the game."

"But I didn't. And it wasn't just a simple fracture."

"Any news on how it's healing?"

"No, but I see the doctor tomorrow. I'm hoping he'll say I can start using the crutches."

"And then you'll finally leave the house?"

"I don't know yet. We'll see."

"Ethan, I know you don't want people seeing you injured but you gotta get out of that house. You've been stuck in there for almost two months."

"Yeah? So? It's been nice to finally get some quiet time without people bothering me." It's a lie. Being stuck in this house sucks, but it's better than going out and having people talk about me. "And tomorrow I'll see the doctor so that counts as leaving the house."

"Do you have a ride?"

"I told you, Coach takes me."

He mumbles a curse word.

"What? What is it?"

"Why do you keep lying to me?" He sounds pissed. And hurt.

"I'm not lying."

"I talked to Coach yesterday. He said he hasn't been giving you rides. He said you won't even come to the door when he stops by."

"Because I don't want to see him. I'm not ready to."

"Why? You love Coach. We all do."

"If I talk to him, all he'll want to do is talk about my future in football and whether I'll be able to play. I don't want to deal with that shit right now. At this point, it's anyone's guess if I'll play again, so why sit around talking about it?"

"You could talk about other stuff."

"Just leave it alone, all right?"

He sighs. "Fine. So who's been taking you to the doctor?"

"I take a cab."

"I don't get you, man. Why don't you just let people help you?"

"I don't need help. I can get to a doctor's appointment by myself."

"Sometimes you need someone there for support."

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