Page 81 of Dream On, Liar

“Extra session,” he said, already turning away like the decision had been made long before I walked in. “Precautionary, otherwise no play at all for you in the next round.”

I almost laughed, but the seriousness in his voice stopped me.

Precautionary.

As if I hadn’t spent the last four days ignoring every precaution my body had been begging for.

“Fine,” I said instead. Because, what else was I supposed to do? After I’d left his office yesterday morning, he’d given me a resigned look as he found no hint of our truce. I suppose he was just glad I didn’t throw a tantrum when Maeve did swap for a field position.

Taking a quick shower, I changed out of the team gear and, made my way to the treatment room.

Tonight, the silence was enough to raise goosebumps across my skin. As though unlike the rest of the stadium, the noise of the win hadn’t been allowed to follow me in. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and tape, the kind of clean that never quite reaches the tension in your muscles.

Maeve was already there, her focus completely absorbed by whatever notes she was making on her tablet.

As though sensing my gaze, she looked up the moment I stepped inside.

And something in me—something I didn’t have a name for—shifted in a way that felt too immediate to be safe.

Her eyes narrowed at the way I shifted, and as though she knew how serious it was, jumped up. “Please, let me help.”

A rough breath left me as her sincerity reached me.

I swallowed before I nodded and closed the distance between us.

“Don’t lie down just yet.” The flat table creaked under me as I lowered myself, but pausing to follow through her words.

Pulling the shirt off my shoulder, I stilled under her gaze. Discomfort filled through me, making me roll my shoulder once before I could stop myself.

“Don’t—”

“Fuck”. I cursed instantly, my joint answering for my mistake in a deep, grinding ache.

A sympathetic expression filled her face, before her hand settled beneath my elbow. The other came lightly against my upper back, steadying me without forcing anything.

“I’m going to help you lie back,” she said. “I’ll take the weight of the arm. You just move the rest of you.”

A part of me hated how relieved I was.

“Ready?”

I nodded.

She lowered me slowly, keeping my left arm supported against his body. Even that small movement pulled a grimace from me.

“There,” she murmured. “Stop.”

I laid still, breathing carefully.

“How bad?” She finally asked, raising a brow.

Closing my eyes, I muttered. “Seven.”

“Rihaan.” Her voice left no room for arguments.

“Fine. It’s edging at Nine.”

“Thank you.”