AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Juan!” I reach the kid and do the involved, fist bump handshake thing I’ve seen the kids at practice do. He barely smiles, but I sit across from them.
“I was just talking to Juan about his injury.” She stares at me. “He told me you saw it happen,” she says, and then swallows hard. She’s searching my face. There’s a tension in the room that wasn’t there before.
“Yes, I did.” I do not like thinking of that moment. “You know I can relate,” I tell him.
“It was training camp,” Juan says to Oakley, shaking his head. “It’s one thing if it’s a game, or even an actual practice. But training camp?” His mouth screws up like it holds a lemon. “I go up for a pass and this jerk undercuts me. Totally illegal move.” He closes his eyes, tips his head back, and stuffs his knuckles in his eyes.
“Torn meniscus, right?” I ask. “How was the surgery?”
“Yep. Torn meniscus.” Juan spits it out like a swear word. “Surgery was okay, I guess. Right now, my team’s in Denver at another camp. Without me.”
Oakley traps her bottom lip with her teeth. “Sorry to hear this. You’re in the right place, though. I don’t want to overstep any physical therapy you’re already receiving, but I can certainly give you a few things to supplement.”
“I haven’t really gone to physical therapy,” Juan says. “My mom can’t drive me to Fort Collins because she works during their business hours. She’s been trying to find a place that’s closer, but no luck yet.”
“That sucks so bad,” I say. I feel for the kid. My chest clamps down and I find it hard to breathe as I think of what he’s probably feeling. For me, it’s a memory. For him, it’s his current reality. “You’re in really good hands here with Oakley. She’ll help you, guaranteed.”
“I’m not a physical therapist yet,” Oakley says. “But we can talk through some things and work on the upper body. Maybe some really light exercises with the knee. Trust me, Juan.” She shrugs. “Alec needs to stretch. I tell him every day to do it and he doesn’t.”
My mouth drops open. “I do!” I look at Juan, and I can feel the smile on my lips. “I do my stretches. Probably for not as long as I should…”
“Guaranteed, he does them for half the time I tell him to.” Oakley shakes her head and I get tripped up for a moment on how beautiful she is, even when she’s calling me out in front of a kid. “But even that’s helping,” she says. “A little goes a long way, right, Alec?”
I nod. “I was injured in the fall, and I’ve gotten more mobility and less pain than I’ve had in months, just by doing the therapeutic exercises.” I zero in on Juan and relax my arms on my thighs. “Look, Juan. You’ve been dealt a bad hand. Bad luck totally bites. But you can do this. Don’t be like me, okay? Don’t give up on the therapy because you don’t think there’s hope. Because you’re young and you’re going to bounce back from this, no question.” There’s something in my chest. Something’s breaking loose. I stand. “Okay, Dr. Oakley, give us some stretches to do.”
Oakley rolls her eyes, but she does. She leads us in several slow, long stretches. It almost feels like nothing is happening. But I know it’s going to help. Juan is sullen at the beginning, especially when he says, “But these stretches aren’t even for my knee.”
“I know,” Oakley is a little testy. “It’s like stretching a rubber band. Your whole body is a rubber band. Stretching one area helps the whole thing.”
“Yeah, like a rubber band,” I said, making a flourish with my arms. “Ah. See? That’s nice.” I make a show of it, stretching wider and further than Oakley told us to. “I’m channeling my inner jazzercise. It’s fun. Try it.”
Juan’s scowl turns to a lopsided smile. “You’ve lost your mind.” He begins stretching, shaking his head in annoyance.
“It’s working, isn’t it?” Now I’m doing some weird kicking, skipping thing. “Oh yeah. Now I’m feeling it.”
I’m having so much fun that I don’t worry too much about already feeling the burn. Yeah, I’m out of shape. But at least now I’m doing something about it.
Chapter 19
Oakley
Alec is ridiculous.
Ridiculously goofy with Juan. Ridiculously handsome and sexy as he’s doing his dumb moves.
I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s gone from this sullen, chip-on-his-shoulder former athlete to something…bright?
That’s what it is. He’s bright and animated. But not in an over-the-top way. It’s in a genuinely funny way. And I can’t help the laugh that burbles out of me as the two of them, Alec and Juan, end up in a relaxed warrior pose.
“It’s all about the hips, Juan.”
He’s right. Itisall about the hips.
“Where did you learn such mad yoga skills?” I ask.
“The trainers for the Wolves had us doing all sorts of things.” His grin slips a little. “I didn’t want to, at first. It took me a long time to get into meditation. Thought it was pointless for a long while. But it turned out to be a gamechanger.”
“Wise man. Yes, it is a gamechanger,” I say. “Do you still meditate?” I’d be surprised if he did.
