Connor's Achilles (Fast and Loud #1)

by S. L. Perrine

  Another blink of the eyes and then I was counting. I think I made it to nine, but at this point, I can’t recall. The next thing I do remember is hearing Parker’s voice.

  It’s been three months since I woke and heard the news of all the injuries I’d had. The worst of which was my leg. It was broken in three spots. The cast went from my groin down to my toes, which was the only thing I could move. I was wiggling them just as Parker came into the room with a wheelchair.

  “What’s this new fresh hell?” I asked as he parked it next to the bed. “They lettin me go?”

  “No such luck, love. It’s time for your first visit to physical therapy.” He said with his hands on his hips.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why can’t I do therapy at home? I need to get outta this damned hospital.” I was going stir crazy, and it was affecting my behavior. At least that’s what Parker and Rob kept telling me.

  “I know, babe. But they want to assess your abilities and get you into a regimen.”

  “I want to go back to New York. They have physical therapists there too, ya know. I could be doing this recovery thing in the comforts of home.”

  “Yes, Connor. I know. I’ll talk to your nurse and see if he will talk to your doctor about doing just that.”

  The only reason we were in the hospital was because I didn’t have a Florida address. If we went back to New York, maybe I could get a therapist to visit the penthouse. Then I could really begin to recover.

  “How do they plan on me doing physical therapy with this damn cast on?”

  “I guess you’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, why don’t you scoot your pretty ass to the edge of the bed. The nurse gave me a pair of scrubs to put you in,” he said holding up a green pair of hospital pants with a leg missing.

  “That has got to be the most amusing thing in this place…besides watching Rob mimic the overnight nurse.” That woman was a drill sergeant and not a very effective one I might add. She wore her crazy, frizzed-out hair in a ratty mess on top of her head. Her red glasses were always down on the tip of her nose, and she wore red lipstick that reached farther than the lines of her wrinkled lips. Despite being overweight and old, she always walked with a nineteen-fifty’s pin-up girl sashay, which Rob found hilarious.

  “Regardless, unless you want to show off your ass to the entire hospital, you’re going to put these on. Even still…you’re putting these on.”

  “In other words, you don’t want me showing off my ass.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I can live with that. Are they going to let you go with me?” I asked sliding to the edge of the bed so Parker could slide the pants up my legs. One leg was covered in green while the other showed the bright white cast with a big black heart around my knee. Parker had been the first to sign it. Then Rob decided to draw a dick on the side. Of course, parker colored it in, prompting Rob to draw several more while I was sleeping, and Parker was at the hotel getting a shower. Needless to say, my cast was now covered in polka-dots.

  “Nope. You must go alone. So, I’m going to go get something to eat and some coffee. Want one?”

  “I’ll probably need one when I’m done. Or I could just take a nap.” I sighed sitting down in the wheelchair. “This place is making me soft. I feel like a geriatric patient. I take three naps a day just out of boredom.”

  “As soon as they come to get you, I’ll talk to Josh. Okay?”

  “Thank you.”

  Patrick wheeled me out into the hall. I usually kept the lights in my room down low because the full strength of the halogens still hurt my eyes and head. The doctor didn’t know if that would remain a problem for me or not. He said skull fractures were unpredictable. So, whenever I left my room, I wore my sunglasses. I must have looked like I was sleeping when the young girl showed up in navy blue scrubs to take me downstairs. She picked up my chart, must have read my name and her eyes grew wide. I couldn’t wait until this part of my life was over. Of course, in New York, I was recognized for being the owner and operator of Fast and Loud Custom Motorcycles.

  “And away we go,” I said startling the poor girl as she placed my chart back in the pocket on the back of the chair.

  “Sorry, Mr. Reed. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m here to take you to physical therapy. Are you ready?”

  “I guess since I’m in half a pair of pants and a wheelchair that I must be.”

  “Connor be nice. It’s not her fault you have to do this.” Parker gave the girl an apologetic look before kissing me. “I should be here when you get back. See you in one hour.”

  “If I’m late it’s not my fault.”

  Parker just laughed and pointed, mouthing the words, be nice as the girl wheeled me down the hall. Of course, if I was recognizable, so was Parker. Anyone with a television knew the linebacker who played six years in college to get a degree in engineering, just to go on and play professional ball. He was a local of Miami, and when he’d been traded to the team after only two seasons in the mid-west, he’d come home. Now he was running away, and that was okay with me.

  I knew part of my problem was the more time Parker spent in the hospital with me, the longer it took him to clear his name. His new employment was giving him some bereavement time between careers and because of my accident, or that’s what Rodeo says. I wonder whether or not Parker lost the acting gig and Rodeo was just going to get him into something else.

  Parker is stubborn and thick headed and refuses to leave my side. Rodeo and I finally agree on something. Parker needs to take the interview offer he got from News Today and get back to work. I knew he was okay for the three weeks to look for a place, but he should have started working on the movie set more than a week ago. I made a mental note to bring it up casually later. For now, I had to deal with the new hell my doctor was making me go through.

  The room was huge with wall to wall teal rugs, orange triangles and black circles were scattered over the thing. The walls were nothing but glass from the ceiling to the floor. All the windows were covered with shades, allowing the slightest amount of light to filter through. The overhead lights weren’t on, so I took off my sunglasses. Giant medicine balls and various exercise equipment lined the middle of the large room, with low bed-like tables along the outer perimeter.

  The girl pushing me left me sitting beside the desk inside the door. She placed my chart, a large blue binder, on the desk. “See you in an hour.” Her smile was shy, and she turned hesitantly and left.

  As I sat there waiting for my presence to be known, I realized the entire place was empty. “Hello?”

  “Well, hello there. How are you today Mr. Reed?”

  A tall hunk of a man came from around a corner. Instead of the scrubs, everyone else in this hospital wore, he had on a tight spandex shirt and shorts. I let my gaze roam over his sculpted body and instantly took a disliking to him. He was built in areas I shouldn’t be admiring, including the package he was advertising beneath his shorts.

  “Can we get this over with please?”

  “Hot date?” I did a double take and looked at him in confusion. “I’m Luke the resident physical therapist, and you’re kind of stuck here until I’m done with your evaluation. I even cleared my schedule, so we’d have the place to ourselves.”

  “Why, are you the molesting type?”

  He laughed, not bothered by my candor. “No, Mr. Reed. In case you didn’t know, you’re sort of a big deal around here. I figured it would be easier to assess your abilities without my staff fawning over you; male and female alike.”

  “Oh, I see. You want me all to yourself. Sorry, pal. I’m not interested.”

  “Oh darn.” His mockery only made me want to leave even more, but I doubt after being in a coma and bedridden that I’d be able to push the wheelchair back to my room by myself. So, I sat there, head cocked to the side and glared at him like an angry gorilla.

  “Fine. Let’s see. You’ll be getting that cast off today,” Luke said thumbing through my chart.


  “That’s the best news I’ve had all week.”

  “I guess it’s been a pretty bad stay. Must suck not to have finished that race, being it was your last and all.”

  “Doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is having to stay here. I just want to go back to New York.” I shifted in the chair, and the therapist noticed my jolt of pain.

  “Still sore? Let’s see what we can do about that, and after my evaluation, I’ll let you know if it’s safe for you to travel.”

  At that, I perked up just a bit. Luke pushed my chair over to one of the bed-like tables. The mattress was blue under a white sheet, and several pillows were laying on it. He draped my arm over his shoulder to help me out of the chair. I was able to pivot on my right heel and sit down on the table.

  “Okay, I’m going to help you lay back and then I’ll prop your cast on the pillows.”

  I felt like a small child being man-handled, and I was not too happy about that either. The only man I wanted handling me was Parker. I wish he’d come with me. Since I woke, it seemed like he never left my side.

  Once I was laying down, Luke took hold of my injured leg and set it down on the pillows. He couldn’t evaluate that leg since it was immobile, but he picked up my other leg and bent it at the knee. He then moved it around at the hip joint while one hand felt like it was resting on my ass.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Checking your range of motion on your good leg to see if you lost any muscle movement since you’ve been laid up. Laying in a bed for so long does a number on the body. If you don’t strengthen your muscles, joints and ligaments properly before you try to use them as you did before, you could seriously injure yourself.”

  He put my leg down then let a bar suspended overhead down from a hook hanging from the ceiling. It was attached to sizeable green rubber bands like a miniature swing. He moved the hook along the ceiling on a track, making it stop just above my chest.

  “I want you to grab this when I pull it down. Don’t worry it’s not going to pull you into the air. Just try to pull yourself up by using your arms only. Don’t push with your feet.”

  “Like chin-ups? What is the purpose of this one?” I asked as he pulled the bar down far enough that I could reach it.

  “Checking to see how those arms are doing. I understand your day job requires upper body strength for turning wrenches. You want to be able to do that?”

  “Of course. That’s an asinine question.” I said rolling my eyes as I grabbed hold of the stupid thing.

  “Good, try five pull-ups.”

  It was more difficult than I thought it would be. The cold of the bar stung my hands but felt good against my hot skin. When I tried to pull myself up from a prone position, I could barely raise my shoulders off the mattress.

  “Fuck,” I yelled letting the bar go.

  “You fractured your collarbone. It’s going to hurt. You are not the man you once were. You’re going to have to give this some effort if you want to work up to being in the shape you were in before the crash.”

  Accepting his words was taking more out of me than the stupid fucking exercises.

  Chapter 17

  Parker

  While Connor was in physical therapy, I found Josh at the nurse’s station and asked him to put a note into the doctor asking if Connor could be released to his own doctors. He would have to be able to travel, which was at the discretion of the physical therapist and Dr. Stevens. There was nothing more I could do for him about that, so I went out to grab lunch and coffee.

  When I got back, Connor was in with the doctor. Seems Josh spoke to Dr. Stevens when he came in for rounds, and the doctor found Connor as he was being wheeled into his room. I waltzed in without knocking, wanting to know what the decision was.

  The saw blade was what caught my ear first as I pushed the door open with the bag of sandwiches and a tray of coffee. I set the food and drink down and went to Connor’s side, letting him grab my hand. They had just begun, starting in his groin and working their way down to his knee. The cast wasn’t as thin as I thought, and I could see the safety shield on the blade, keeping it from ripping into Connor’s skin.

  When the technician was done, the doctor moved forward and began manipulating his leg. “How does this feel?”

  “It’s sore, but not too bad.”

  “All your scans say it’s healed. They were small fractures, but those are the sneakiest ones. Keeping that in mind I must express that I don’t want you to put any weight on it. At least with the healed collarbone and shoulder, you should be able to start using crutches,” the doctor took hold of Connor’s arm and began looking at and pressing on the collarbone that had been injured, then laid the bed down all the way to feel around his chest and abdomen. “Ribs seem okay. Any pain when you breathe deep?”

  Connor shook his head as the doctor sat him up. He placed his stethoscope in his ears and put the other end on Connor’s back. “Breathe normally for me,” Dr. Stevens moved the device around Connor’s back. “Deep breath… and again. One more.”

  When the doctor was done checking Connor over, he pushed the button to sit him back up, and Josh came into the room with a pair of crutches.

  “So, what’s the verdict? I can sit here in this bed just fine, so there should be no reason why I can’t sit on a plane.”

  “No, Connor you’re right. I see no reason to keep you here. Luke has said so himself, that you will be fine to travel. It’s walking to the plane, but I think once you get to the airport, you should use a wheelchair. Besides staying off that leg, you’ll be less recognizable.”

  “I didn’t think about that.” Connor seemed to contemplate his decision.

  “Changing your mind, babe?”

  “No. I just thought I need a hat and a blanket.”

  “Shopping I go. When can my guy be discharged?”

  “Couple hours. You know how it is, paperwork needs to be done.” Dr. Stevens said rolling his eyes. “It’s the bane of my existence, but I’ll get on it. You, Connor, will be in your own bed by tonight. I’ll be looking for regular reports of your care. So I expect you to get a call to your doctor soon to get set up with physical therapy and I’m going to recommend nurse visits.”

  “You got it.”

  “Okay, babe. I’ll be back.” I said leaning in to give Connor a kiss and then without wanting to, I left him alone in his room.

  Once I got in the rental car, I sent Rob a quick text asking him to come over and see Connor before we left for New York. Since I had to shop for supplies, I wanted to make sure he got some company. He hated being in the hospital, and it was showing.

  I’d made it to three different department stores. I grabbed Connor a baby blue blanket and was looking for a neck pillow for the long flight. His shoulder was still bothering him, but I only knew because of the look on his face when the doctor was examining him. I know Connor better than he knows himself and I know he was trying to hide it just so he could get the all clear from the doctor to head home.

  I had to admit it would be nice to be in the privacy of the penthouse. No more feeling like our every movement was being watched and monitored. It was one thing to have photos taken of us before the accident when we were out together. But Connor shouldn’t have to see pictures of himself in the hospital posted all over social media. I think I even saw one of his backsides, that an elderly woman posted. That’s what prompted me to get the scrub pants from the nurse this morning.

  When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I hardly felt it. I pulled it out, not wanting to talk to my agent, I hit the screen haphazardly and managed to answer the phone instead of sending him to voicemail.

  “Hello. Parker?”

  “Yeah, Rodeo. What do you want?”

  “You to do the interview with News Today.”

  “I told you. I don’t want to.”

  “But others are defending you. We didn’t have that before. This could save your career.”

  I sighed, breathing deeply as I sto
od in front of the very pillows I was looking for. I picked one up, mulling over Rodeo’s claim. We were going back to New York. I could do the interview, if Connor was okay with it. I didn’t want to impose on his recovery. That meant I was going to have to make a few requests at the hospital. For one, he would need a physical therapist we could trust, and who was highly recommended.

  “We’re heading back to New York tonight. Let me get Connor settled in, and I’ll talk to him about it. I won’t leave him out of anything. He gets the full truth about this.”

  “Yes!”

  I heard the excitement in his tone and hit the end button. I didn’t need anything else from him. Knowing others were speaking in my defense was enough to get me out of hiding. Not because I cared what people thought of me, but because I cared what Connor thought of me. I wanted him more than anyone, to know I wasn’t to blame for what happened. I also didn’t want to hear Rodeo talk about my career. He was looking out for me as much as ever, but he had a bottom line too. My improvement meant his improvement. I just had to make sure the world knew what happened, and that I won’t be returning to football. If Connor could give up so much and be content in one place, then so could I. Especially if that meant we would be together.

  The interview would have to wait, at least until I had Connor comfortable at home. I looked at my phone and knew what I had to do. Taking the pillow in my hand, I went to cash out and dialed a number I rarely use.

  “I need the plane in Daytona by six,” I told the person on the other end of the line as I made my way back to the rental. Getting back to the hospital was the first thing on my mind. The second was asking Josh to work some magic for me. “Two passengers to JFK.”

  “Okay, she’ll be there.”

  “Thanks.” I hit the end button and tossed the phone on the passenger seat. It was only a few minutes to the hospital, but I felt like it was going to take hours as I sat behind the wheel of the car.