Page 29 of The Hooker

“I don’t care.” I don’t look at him as I step over the white line and onto the playing field. My sneakers squeak on the damp grass as I jog to the medical team surrounding him.

He’s sitting up now, face leeched of colour. His brown skin has lost its healthy glow and turned dull, and the corners of his eyes are tight and lines bracket his mouth.

Our team doctor, Mark, frowns at me. “Daisy, what are you doing here?”

“I just—I wanted to—” I shake myself and force a coherent sentence out of my mouth. “Is he all right?”

“Dislocated his shoulder. Should be fine, but we’ll get some scans done once I’ve popped it back in.” I cringe and nausea rolls through me. “You don’t need to be here, Daisy.”

“I know. I?—”

“Daisy?” A pain-filled voice interrupts me, slurring slightly around his mouth guard, and we turn to Jamie.

I ignore the odd looks everyone is giving me and crouch beside him. “How are you feeling?”

He spits his mouth guard out and I take it from him, barely clocking that it’s covered in spit. “Like a fucking Australian dislocated my shoulder.” He smiles at me, but it looks more like a grimace. “Stay with me? I’m out of the game now and going to hospital.”

“Of course I’ll stay with you.”

He takes my hand and squeezes it harder than usual, probably not realising his strength while he’s in pain. “Good. Pop it in, doc.”

Mark takes Jamie’s right arm, angles it, and pops it in with a sickening crunch.

“Motherfuckingcunt. Jesus.” Jamie brings my hand to his mouth and wheezes, his grasp tight, almost too tight, but I don’t say anything.

Mark’s assistant wraps Jamie’s arm in a sling and then we’re all standing. I try to drop Jamie’s hand so we don’t draw more attention to ourselves, but he holds tight and refuses to let go as we walk across the field to the sidelines.

Adam meets us there and Jamie says, “She’s taking me to hospital. Sorry.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you are,” Adam responds and nods at me with soft eyes. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

We ignore all the cameras and flashing lights and pass Nick getting ready to go on. His olive skin is pale, and his brown eyes are narrowed in focus. Jamie drops my hand to slap his shoulder. “Good luck, mate. Make ‘em sweat for it.”

Nick nods, a concentrated frown on his face, and runs onto the field. Jamie grabs my hand again and the game begins behind us as we walk to the sheds.

Mark frowns at our clasped hands. “I’m assuming you want to drive with her?”

“Yes,” Jamie says.

“I’ll meet you at Auckland Hospital where the ambulances come in.” He strides off before I can respond.

“Okay, my lovely, let me grab your stuff and then we’re off to hospital for medicine and some tests.” A dislocated shoulder is better than something tearing, but we won’t know everything until the scans come back.

Jamie stares at me blankly and nods along to everything I say. I slip his mouth guard into its case and run around the sheds, finding his stuff and mine before we walk slowly to my car.

He gets in with a wince, and I reach over him to gently click his seatbelt on without jostling his shoulder. I kiss his cheek, already rough with stubble. “Once we’ve got you fixed, we’re talking.”

I shut the door and round the car to the driver’s seat and we leave for the hospital. But what I meant as reassurance has done the opposite, and while I drive, I’m haunted by the dark look that entered his eyes when I told him we’re going to talk.

CHAPTERTEN

Jamie

“Think it’ll take much longer?” Daisy asks from the plastic chair beside the bed they made me lie on.

It’s frankly ridiculous they put me in a private room when all I’m waiting for is the scan results, but it stops anyone taking photos of me. My black jersey was cut away from my shoulder so the doctors could assess it properly, leaving me in my sweaty shorts, now clinging to me uncomfortably, and my jersey hanging half off me. There were sneakers in my bag I could change into thankfully, so I didn’t walk through the hospital in my boots.

“I hope not. I want to sleep.” My eyes close and a heavy sigh escapes me.

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