Page 18 of Ice Me Baby

Once the pain dulls to a manageable ache, I slowly increase the weight on my foot while I get everything into the car before slipping in myself. Taking a few deep breaths, I start the car. I’m going to need to stock up on aspirin if the weather is going to bother my ankle this badly.

Pulling into the driveway, I debate if I want to let them know I’m here or not. My ankle still hurts a bit and, knowing my luck, I’ll end up tripping with everything in my arms. I can already see the fight over who will come out to help me if I told them I was here in the group chat.

Pulling up Oli’s name, I press the call button. It rings twice before he answers, “Hey, Roe Roe.”

“Hey, I’m letting you know I’m here. I suppose I’ll take you up on the offer to help me bring stuff in.”

He snorts. “Be out in a moment.”

“Thanks.” I throw my phone into my bag as I try to gather everything together so I can hand it off. It’s only a few minutes before I hear the front door open. Oli steps out first, followed by Lewi. Interesting.

Oli smiles as he opens the door for me, holding out a hand for my things. “Let me grab your stuff.”

I smirk as I hand him my bag as well as the few notebooks that wouldn’t fit. “I didn’t realize I needed two of you to help me inside.”

Lewi shrugs as he waits for me to step out of the car. “We made a rule to always have a buddy with us no matter what. Keeps everyone out of trouble.”

With a nod, I stand, trying to suppress a wince as I sidestep to close the door. Lewi must have seen the wince though because he arches a brow. “You good?”

“I’m fine.”

He crosses his arms over his chest, and his eyes narrow. “Lizzy?”

Exhaling a sigh, I begin shuffling toward the front door. I know I can’t completely hide my limp from Oli or Lewi.

Oli rushes to jump in front of me, which forces me to jerk to a stop to avoid bumping into him. He looks down at me with an arched brow. “Did something happen today at work? You didn’t have that limp earlier.”

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I try to avoid his gaze but cave when he continues to stare at me, waiting for an answer. “It’s the weather. Just an old ankle injury, nothing new or crazy,” I say, groaning.

He hums. “Nothing crazy?”

I nod. “Nothing crazy. Can we go inside now?”

He backs away, turns, and heads to the front door. “Yep. Come on inside. You can sit on the couch, so you can put your feet up.”

With an eye roll, I follow him. “I don’t need to do that. I’m fine.”

“Just put them up,” Lewi says from behind me. “You can’t argue against us. We’ve all had ankle injuries. What would you tell us to do if it were the other way around?”

Scrunching up my nose, I huff out, “Elevate and rest the ankle.”

He laughs. “Exactly. So, take your own advice. You’re planning to work on paperwork anyways.”

“Fine,” I growl out. He’s right, but I don’t want him to know that. And my ankle is starting to ache more with each step. Sighing, I make my way over to the couch and do as I’m told; I sit and prop my legs up on the arm of the couch.

Lewi lifts my legs and places a pillow underneath my feet before sitting beside me on the couch. Oli holds out my bag and my loose notebooks. “You may be our athletic therapist, but we are going to take care of you just as much as you take care of us.”

I smirk as I take my things from him. “So, you’re only taking care of me because I’m your athletic therapist?”

He boops me on the nose before walking away. “You know I’ll take care of you for other reasons.”

My gaze meets Lewi’s, and he gives me a wink, then mouths ‘told you’.

Rolling my eyes, I focus back on my notebooks. I still need to make a few more notes about some of the players. It’s not until I hear my name being called that I realize I’ve zoned out. Looking up from my paper, I see everyone around the room staring at me. “What?”

Taz laughs. “What has you focused on your work?”

I look down at the pages in front of me before looking at him. “I’m writing things down about you guys. Each book is dedicated to one of you.”

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