“So this won’t affect his scholarship offer?” his dad asks, and I feel Todd’s fingers tighten around mine.
“You’ll have to talk to the Penn State coaches for sure, but my recommendation is that he’ll be as good as new, and this won’t affect his game or ability.” His eyes shift to Todd. “You are very lucky. I think it has something to do with being an athlete.” He winks with a smile. “Now, let’s get you in a cast. And even better news, we can give you a little stronger pain medication for this one.” He gives a robust chuckle. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to go into surgery tonight, because I had one too many cocktails at dinner, if you know what I mean,” he says jokingly, I think.
“Thanks, Dr. Warren,” Todd says with a smile.
“Yes. Thank you so much, doctor.” Mr. H. reaches out to shake his hand, and then he wraps his arms around him in a bear hug.
“You’re very welcome. I’m glad it was good news. I’m a Penn State Nittany Lion, and God knows we need a good kicker. I’ll keep an eye out for you next year,” the doctor says with a smile as he leaves the room.
Within seconds, Brian and Ryan come rushing in with Sid behind them.
“What’d he say? Good news?” Brian asks, his eyes shifting between all of us.
“Sorry, we couldn’t wait,” Ryan says to Mr. and Mrs. H.
Brian’s eyes are darting around the room, trying to read everyone’s expressions. “The doctor was smiling, so it must be good news, right?”
I look at Todd whose face is unreadable. Man, he’s good at this. I’m pretty sure I already gave it away with my smile, but I realize he’s messing with Brian, so I start to play along as Todd just looks down, shaking his head.
“So, it’s bad news?” Brian asks, instantly deflated.
More silence. I’m impressed; even Todd’s parents are playing along.
“Someone say something,” Sid says. I forgot she was here.
Immediately, Todd’s face breaks into a smile. I think he forgot, too.
“I knew it!” Brian shouts to all of us, and then to Ryan he says, “I knew it’d be good news.”
“Oh, really?” Ryan says with a laugh. “What did the doctor say?”
“Well, it’s broken.” Todd’s dad steps in and gestures to the film still on the wall.
Ryan, Sid, and Brian all suck in a breath at the same time when they see the actual break.
“But the doctor said it’s nearly a perfect break, so no surgery is needed, and he believes Todd will regain full mobility and be good as new for summer training.”
“So the scholarship offer still stands?” Ryan asks cautiously.
“We still need to hear from the coaches,” Todd answers, clearly trying to manage everyone’s expectations.
“You even break your leg perfectly,” Sid comments out of the blue, and everyone loses it. We are all laughing when Mr. H.’s phone rings.
“It’s the Penn State coach,” he says, instantly silencing the uproar. You could hear a pin drop.
“Hello?” Todd’s dad says calmly, pleasantly. “Right … Yes, we did speak to the doctor … Yes.” He nods his head as he looks at Mrs. H.
When I glance at Todd, I can tell he has momentarily forgotten how much pain he is in.
“I see … Okay.” Todd’s dad holds up a finger to the room. The tension is palpable.
“Yes … Full mobility … Yes. I understand … You’re taking a chance.”
The mood in the room drops, and I squeeze Todd’s hand tighter. He merely looks down and shakes his head.
“Right … Okay … So the offer still stands?”
Everyone’s heads shoot up, all of us looking at each other with anticipation as Todd squeezes my hand back.
“Yes, two months with hard work and he’ll regain full mobility and maybe even be kicking farther than ever before,” his dad adds.
“Dad,” Todd says quickly, irritated.
“Yes, thank you so much, Coach. And thank you for calling … Yes, you, too.”
As soon as his dad hangs up, the room erupts. Brian leaps over me and hugs Todd, causing him to flinch in pain.
“Careful, careful,” he says to Brian. “Broken leg here.”
“I was so worried, man,” Brian says, still attached to Todd and currently crushing me.
“Oh, yeah, you knew it was going to be fine.” Ryan chuckles.
The door opens again, and a nurse comes in. “I heard someone needs pain medication and a cast.” She smiles sweetly at Todd then turns to the room. “I’ve got to take him for a bit. We’ll be back.” Her eyes land on me.
I don’t think I like this nurse or the way she’s looking at Todd. Then I think I better pull it together, because I’m being ridiculous.
“I’ll miss you,” I whisper to him as he leans his forehead against mine. I let go of his hand, but his fingers stay wrapped around mine for a bit longer. “Go. Get your pain medicine,” I say through my smile and then reluctantly hop off his bed and watch them wheel him away.
Chapter 18: Feeling Better?
TODD
I’m finally feeling good. Whatever it is they gave me is awesome. I’m a little sleepy, but my leg feels great. I have to struggle to keep my eyes open while the doctors and nurses talk to me. I need to see Ashley, and I need to find the chapel, but first, I just need to lie back and close my eyes …
ASHLEY
Todd’s been gone for over an hour, and I’m starting to get worried. What if, when they went to put the cast on, something went wrong? The evil, flirty nurse said she would bring him right back.
The waiting room has cleared out since everyone heard the good news and also since it’s now one o’clock in the morning.
My leg is nervously bouncing up and down, but I can’t control it. It has a mind of its own. I texted Shane the good news, and he immediately called me and started screaming, “I told you,” into the phone. I know he was worried, so I’m glad at least someone is relieved.
“He’s back in his room now,” I hear, and my eyes land on the evil, flirty nurse who is giving me a big, insincere smile. “He’s a little out of it, though.” She giggles.
“Out of it?” I ask, not amused by this girl, nurse, whatever.
“Since they have to make sure the leg is truly aligned when they put the cast on, it’s pretty painful, so they gave him some strong pain killers. I’m guessing you’re Ashley?”
I shoot a questioning look to Ryan, who is sitting a few seats down from me and clearly amused by this conversation. Then I glance back to flirty nurse.
“I am Ashley. Why?”
She smiles. “Well, he’s been talking about you.” She giggles again.
“What does that mean?” Once again, I am not amused.
“Let’s just say, I can tell he really likes you.” She smiles. Yup, still insincere. She probably tried to flirt with him, and he put a stop to it. This woman has no idea what she is talking about. “Do you know where his parents are?” she asks as her eyes glance around the waiting room.
“They went to get coffee.” I try giving her a fake smile back. “Can we see him?”
“He’s asleep right now, but you can go back there. He’s in the same room as before.” She gestures to the hallway behind her.
“Can he go home tonight?” Ryan asks as he gets up to join us.
She looks around. “Well, technically, I’m not supposed to discuss this with you, because you are not family, but I’m pretty sure they are going to admit him for the night since he’s pretty out of it. But you didn’t hear that from me.” She smiles and giggles, now she’s flirting with Ryan. She is the worst.
TODD
I hear a lot of voices and want to open my eyes. I try, I want to join in on the conversation; however, sleep seems like a much better option. Then I hear Brian say something about, “Who cares what the nurse said? We’re all coming in at once.” And then Ryan says something, but I can’t really make out what. The deep black silence is so appealing, so I go there, instead.
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“Todd. We’re going to go, honey, since it’s three a.m. We’ll be back first thing in the morning,” I hear my mom’s voice, which instantly comforts me.
I’m glad they are here, and that they’ll be back. I still can’t bring myself to respond, though. I’m not sure where I am, but I’m glad they will be back.
“Todd, everyone is gone, but I stayed. My dad let me stay. Can you believe it? I guess he figured we wouldn’t be able to do anything,” I hear Ashley’s voice, and then she giggles. I love her laugh. “I love you,” she whispers close to my ear, and then I feel her hand in mine and what feels like her soft hair draped over my arm.
I try to squeeze her hand. “I love you, too,” I say, unsure if the words actually came out.
“Todd?”
Maybe they did.
I try to open my eyes again, and there she is, a little out of focus at first, but it’s definitely her. It’s incredible to wake up to her beautiful face. I want to do this forever.
“How do you feel?” she asks as her hand strokes the hair away from my forehead.
“Tired,” I answer groggily.
“I bet.” She smiles. “Go back to sleep.”
“No, I don’t want to waste a minute with you.”
“You heard?”
I smile. “Everything.” I look down at our hands intertwined and see the lump from the large cast now on my leg under the blanket. As soon as my eyes land on it, I feel the weight of it. I hadn’t really felt it before. “Well, I think I heard everything. I don’t really remember much.” I squeeze her hand tighter. “But I did hear you say you’re allowed to spend the night.” I smile. “So I’m going to need you to come here.” I try to scoot over to make room for her and am quickly reminded I broke my leg. I try hard not to wince in pain, but Ash doesn’t miss it.
“Does it hurt?” she asks as she scoots closer to me and rests her head on my chest. She fits perfectly here in my nook.
“A little, but it feels much better than before.” I want to ease her concerns; she doesn’t need to worry.
“I like your cast,” she whispers as she runs her fingers along my chest.
“Yeah? Is it blue? I think I picked blue …”
She lifts the knit blanket to double-check. “Yup, blue.”
“It’s such a waste to have you here alone in the middle of the night and not be able to do anything with you,” I say.
She smiles, because she thinks I’m kidding. “I’m pretty sure that’s the drugs talking.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not.” I run my hand over her hip, letting it linger as far down as I can reach without moving any other part of my body. I know if I move, it will be excruciating.
“You said some pretty funny things the last few hours.”
“Really?”
Oh, God. What did I say? And who heard?
“Yeah, that you love me. Over and over. I think that’s why your parents finally left.”
“Doubtful.” I laugh while I continue to run my hand along the curves of her body as she nestles into me. I wish I could reach her ticklish spot behind her knee. “But it is true. I do love you, over and over. I guess our secret is officially out now. What else did I say?”
“Um … You pretty much love everyone. Sidney is the best sister ever. You love Ryan and Brian, but you couldn’t pick who you loved more.”
“How’d they take that?”
“Pretty well.” She smiles, her nose wrinkling up.
“And you kept asking for a wheelchair.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it was pretty funny. And then you would fall right back to sleep. In fact, I’m not sure you ever really opened your eyes. You’d just hear our voices and then say you loved us and then sleep.” She yawns. I know she must be exhausted.
“Well, you should sleep now,” I say gently as I stroke her arm.
“I’m not tired,” she says as she closes her eyes. “I want to be here with you.”
“You are here with me, just rest.”
Within seconds, I hear her deep, soft breathing and know she’s asleep. Who would have ever thought this night would end like this—me, here, sleeping next to Ashley?
***
“Rise and shine.” I open my eyes to light streaming through the blinds and notice I am in a different room. I didn’t realize that last night when I was talking to Ashley.
“I heard someone was looking for a wheelchair?” Dr. Warren smiles and then shakes his head as his eyes land on Ashley next to me in the bed.
I feel her stirring. She’s going to be humiliated as soon as she sees Dr. Warren, so I hope she doesn’t wake up. Too late.
She quickly tries to pull the white knit blanket over her head.
“He saw you. It’s too late.” I try to hold in my laugh.
“Good morning, Ashley,” Dr. Warren says, an evident smile in his voice.
“How did you know her name?” I ask, confused, as Ash slowly re-appears from under the blanket, bright red.
“Oh, you told us a lot about Ashley last night.” Dr. Warren smiles.
“I don’t think I want to know.” I need to change the subject quickly. “So, about that wheelchair?”
He raises his eyebrows. “Right. The wheelchair.” He pushes it forward a little. “Now, don’t get too used to it. This is for the hospital only. It will be crutches for you when you’re released. We need to keep everything else strong to get you back on that field. When your parents get here, we can talk about the next steps.” He checks my chart. “Looks like they gave you pain medicine a little while ago, so you should be good, but let us know if you’re in pain. We’re still trying to find the right balance.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Dr. Warren, for everything.”
“Just score some points for my alma mater next season; that’s payment enough.” He smiles then leaves the room. Now it’s just me, Ash, and the wheelchair.
“Need some help with that?” She gestures in the direction of the chair.
I look at the wheelchair and the giant cast on my leg. “Yeah, I think I do.” I smile.
I hate that she has to help me, that anyone does. This is going to be a long six to eight weeks.
ASHLEY
Getting Todd in the wheelchair is just short of a miracle. I can tell he’s in a lot of pain, but he is determined to do it and shoots down every suggestion that we wait for help. He’s so stubborn sometimes. This is going to be a long six to eight weeks.
Then he gives me his crooked smile, and all of my frustration melts away.
“Your chariot awaits.” He pats his lap.
I can’t help smiling. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Of course it is. Now get on.”
“Okay?” I say as I try to sit on his lap without hurting him. I don’t want to put my full weight on him, yet it’s impossible not to.
“I broke my lower leg, Ash, not my lap. It’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” I turn so I can see his face as I drape my legs over the side of the chair.
“Positive.” He smiles at me as he starts to wheel us both down the hall.
“Where are we going, oh, brave knight?” I figure I will play along with the whole chariot thing.
“Well, fair maiden, you shall see.” He’s not the best at steering the wheelchair, so my legs bump into the wall as we make a turn.
“I’m sorry, Ash,” he says quickly. “Are you okay?”
I can’t stop laughing as my shoes slide across the wall while he slowly wheels us down the empty hall. “I think we finally found something you are not good at, my lord.”
“I don’t doubtith you are correct.” He laughs, too.
My eyes land on a hospital directory pointing toward the chapel, and I know exactly where we’re going. Of course. This is why he wanted the wheelchair.
“We’ve arrived, but I will need my lady’s help with the door. Oh, wait, there is a wheelchair button. Stay put, fair maiden.”
“You
are ridiculous”—I give him a quick kiss on the cheek—“in the best way.”
“Oh, my lady, not in public.” He plays shocked and has now started using a terrible British accent. “Please wait until we are in this non-denominational house of prayer.”
“Because that is so much better, my lord,” I say, matching his terrible British accent.
Finally, he cracks his proper British façade and smiles as he wheels us inside. “I thinkith it is.”
“Well, good thing we’ve completed our journey, then.” My eyes lock with his. We are all alone in the chapel, probably because it’s six thirty in the morning. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful.
“Good thing.” He pushes his fingers through my hair then caresses my jawline before he leans in and kisses me, really kisses me. His thumbs run along my cheeks then he adjusts us both so I’m almost straddling him and he pulls me in even closer. “I love you, Ashley. Thank you for coming.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love you so much,” I say through our kisses. “I hate that you got hurt, but I’m glad I got to spend the night with you and visit yet another hospital chapel.”
“I know. We can add this one to our growing list. And a big thank you to our parents for understanding for once.”
I giggle through our kiss as his hands find their way to my back and bring me in even closer. After a few minutes, we both pull back and take each other in.
I study every detail of his face in one second flat. Then he turns me a little so we are both looking at the altar. He wraps his arms around me from behind, while I hang my legs on top of his. One of my legs is gently resting on top of his cast.
“Does this hurt?”
“Not at all. The cast is pretty sturdy, you know.”
“Good, because it makes a great leg rest.” I smile up at him.
I love being here, seeing the candles lit at the altar, knowing they are all wishes someone made. I’m so lucky my wish came true.
“You know what?” Todd’s voice breaks the silence; it’s low, calm, peaceful, just like our surroundings.
Unbreakable (Accidental Crush #3) Page 20
