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“Are you feeling okay?” I stand up and put my hand on his forehead.
“Aaron, you’re burning up.” I move my palm to his cheek to verify what I’m feeling is correct. Pure panic washes over me as I take in just how warm his body feels.
He moves his other hand to where mine is on his face and holds it there. “It’s okay. The nurse has been paying close attention to my fever. They say it’s normal since my bone broke through the skin.”
We stare at each other for a few breaths while holding hands.
Seeing him like this is heartbreaking, but knowing I’ve gone over a year now without him in my life is even more devastating.
I miss him.
I miss my best friend.
He brings my hand down to his chest, and I make a spot for me to sit on the bed next to him.
“You had us all scared there for a little while,” I admit.
He lets out a loud laugh. “I was scared shitless.”
I breathe in a sigh of relief. Knowing he can joke about it now is a good sign.
“The doc said your break was pretty bad. Have they showed you what it looked like?”
He nods. “Yeah. They showed me the X-rays. Said I’ll be off of it for a few months.”
“Thank goodness it was the last game of the season. Now, you get to sit back and relax.”
He takes in a breath with a very slight nod to his head, and I can tell the wheels in that brain of his is starting to turn and not in a good direction.
I grip his hand tighter. “Hey. Don’t go down that rabbit hole. Doc said you’re going to be just fine. A few months off won’t hurt you.”
“Yeah, but Texas doesn’t know yet.”
I’ve never seen this boy look so sullen, especially as he’s lying so helplessly in this hospital bed.
“Do you think you’re the only football player ever to get hurt? They’re used to this kind of stuff.” I lean down closer to him to look him right in the eye. “Don’t you dare think differently. You’re going to heal just fine and still go out to Texas and kick some Longhorn ass.”
He grins, and it honestly melts my heart.
I forgot just how a simple grin from him can make everything better again.
Both of our parents walk back in the room, and I stand up from his bed to make room for his mom to come back by his side.
Only a few more minutes go by, and we all sit up straight in anticipation when the doctor knocks on the door.
“I see we have a full house here,” he says cheerfully. “How’s our patient doing?”
“As good as I can be, considering my bone literally came out of my leg,” Aaron says as he tries to sit up more, noticing quickly there’s not much movement he can actually make.
I watch as Debbie strokes her hand over his arm. “He’s been really tough through this whole thing.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything different,” Dad pipes in.
The doctor walks closer to the bed and examines his leg with pins and plates holding it all together while it floats in the air on a sling.
“Everything is looking good so far. No sign of infection on the outside. Nurse said you’re still fighting a fever, but that’s to be expected.” He turns to face Aaron more. “I hate to say it, but you’re going to stay for a few more days so we can make sure everything is healing properly, and then we’ll send you home.”
Aaron nods as his mom asks, “How long will this contraption be on his leg?”
