Page 199 of The Surprise Play
Changing up positions, we all take turns doing something a little different, and I set for the play, pushing Fleischer out of the way and spinning to chase after the ball.
It pings off my fingers, and I scramble after it. Aware of the player coming at me on my right, I pivot to my left, go for a quick dodge… and my knee twists as I hit the ground.
Pop!
“Ah! Fuck!” I land with a thud, reaching for my knee as a pain like nothing I’ve ever experienced takes me out.
The agony is blinding, and I roll onto my back, swearing up a storm as players race toward me.
“Wily.” Carson drops to one knee beside me.
Grady takes the other side, resting his hand on my stomach. “Where does it hurt, man?”
“My knee.” I choke out the words, writhing at the searing burn shooting through me when I try to move it. “Shit! Ahhh!”
“Out of the way!” a voice directs from behind Carson, and I open my eyes in time to see the head trainer crouching down for a look. “Your knee?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Grady answers for me when all I can do is cover my face with my arm and whimper.
“I heard a pop,” Carson tells him.
“Okay.” The trainer’s tone is gravely serious, and it only amplifies my terror.
Shit. My knee. I’ve just fucked up my knee.
Shit, shit, shit!
“How’s it looking?” Coach Jones says from somewhere above me.
There’s a pregnant pause, and I hold my breath, willing the guy to say I’m being a baby and it’s really not so bad. But the pain ricocheting through me at his lightest touch is like a warning alarm.
It’s blaring so loud and deafening that I almost don’t hear his prognosis.
“I think it might be an ACL tear.”
“Oh fuck,” Grady whispers just as the words register in my brain.
An ACL tear.
And there goes my world. My fucking life.
CHAPTER 61
ELIZABETH
It’s taken maximum effort and some decent classical music, but I’ve finally managed to stop thinking about my weekend and focus on school.
I’m minutes away from finishing my conclusion, and then I can let this essay percolate for a day or two. After that, I’ll do my next round of edits, and I’ll be one step closer to acing this assignment.
With a little grin, I add my final sentence, happy with the wording because I’ve been playing around with it for a few days now. It feels so good to finally type it out.
Yes!
I love this sense of completion.
Sitting back with a happy grin, I look at the calendar on my wall and quickly calculate that I’m well ahead of schedule.
“Edits on Wednesday,” I murmur to myself, adding the task to my to-do list before checking what’s next on today’s list.
