Page 12 of #Beautiful

“What are you doing on the field, babe?” I say, trying to distract myself from the pain.

She actually chuckles. “Well, I was going to punch the guy that tackled you, but Jackson wouldn’t let me.”

Our coach laughs and shakes his head. “Declan, can you stand, son? I want to get you to the locker room, and then we can get you over to the hospital.”

“I’m gonna need help,” I say, gritting through another sharp pain.

“We got him, coach,” Jackson says as he taps Lena on the shoulder. She moves, and Jackson takes her place as Justus comes up on the other side of me.

Carefully, but still painfully, they sit me up and then help me to my feet. As soon as I’m standing, Lena is at my side with her arm around my waist, and the cheers from the stands double in volume. We make our way to the sidelines where Lena sits me down while the rest of the team finishes up so we can head back to the locker room.

“You know you can come back with me, right?”

Lena gives me a stern stare with a raised eyebrow. “Who’s gonna stop me?”

“Sadly, I have to,” Coach says coming up next to her. “The other players have privacy rights, too, Lena. But you can wait in my office while the trainers check him out, and then we can get him a ride to the hospital.”

“I can take him,” Lena says sharply. “I’ll go get my car while the trainers are looking at you, and then I’ll come down to the office as soon as I gt back and wait for you to meet me, okay?”

Using my good arm, I reach up and grab the side of her neck and bring her lips down to mine, making my coach chuckle again. “I love you, woman. You know that, right?”

Lena laughs against my lips. “I know, babe. Now, go get looked at, and I will be right back. I love you, too.”

With that, Lena speed-walks down the sidelines to where Torrey and Gretchen are waiting for her. The three of them chat for a moment, and then all three take off toward the parking lot at a jog. Something tells me I will have not one, but three at the hospital with me tonight.

Coach helps me off the bench and walks with me to the locker room. Once we are inside, he takes me to the exam room and within minutes, both our trainers are in to look at my arm. They try to get me to lift it, but the simplest and smallest movement makes me growl and damn near cry, the pain so intense it makes my vision spotty.

“It’s either badly dislocated or broken,” our head trainer says. “He needs x-rays, and to make sure there isn’t any tissue damage.”

The trainers and Coach stand with me asking questions for a bit, and reassuring me the whole time that I’ll be okay no matter what. By the time they are done, the pain and throbbing in my shoulder has me on the verge of tears. This isn’t how this season was supposed to go, and the last thing I want is an injury that can screw up my scholarship. Finally, Coach helps me to his office, where Lena is waiting, the stress so clear on her face it makes me feel bad.

“Let’s get to the hospital,” I say as we head to the parking lot. “I still owe you and the girls dinner.”

“That isn’t important, Declan,” Lena snaps as she holds the door to outside open for me.

“I’m messing with you, babe,” I say as we head down the steps to her car parked right on the curb. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

As she opens the passenger door, Lena sighs. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you, and I don’t want you focusing on anything but getting treated.”

Sliding down into the seat, I chuckle. “And I love you for it. Now kiss me, and take me to the hospital.”

Lena rolls her eyes with a tight smile, but leans into the car and plants her lips to mine. Grabbing the back of her head with my free hand, I tease her lips open and kiss her like I haven’t in months. Despite the pain, I can’t help getting turned-on as she moans into my mouth, kissing me back with equal need.

Pulling away, she huffs. “Don’t distract me, Declan Harp, your health comes first.”

I grimace as I laugh too hard after she shuts the door and heads back to the driver’s side. I don’t know what her new friends are doing, but I feel like I owe them flowers or something. This is the most Lena has been her old-self in a long time, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not happier than all get-out over it lately.

Chapter 11 - Lena

Part of my new fitness routine— that’s what I’m calling it— is my Sunday morning weigh-in. Declan is asleep in my bed still, but then again, it’s only seven in the morning. No one in this house really gets up at seven on Sundays. Saturdays, there isn’t usually a peep here until after ten. I enjoy the weekend mornings because I can get up, check over my food journal, make plans for the coming week depending on my schedule and any plans I have with friends, and go from there.

Stepping on the scale, I glare at the numbers as they move upward. A smile spreads across my face as they flash with the final reading. I was a hundred forty five pounds when the semester started. Now, the scale read a new low for me at a hundred ten pounds. The smile on my face widens as I realize in a month, I met my first goal. Stepping off the scale, I grab the composition book I got to journal, logging the date, time, and weight. I also doodle a few smiley faces and hearts around the weigh-in number.

Sitting on the toilet lid, I grab my phone off the sink and open the group messages with Torrey and Gretchen.

Lena: Guess what guys?!

Gretchen: Declan proposed?

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