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“No, listen.” Alex leaned forward. “You must be wrong. It’s just a twist, okay? I’m sure it’s just a little twist. Some ice and a bit of rest today, and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Alex,” Oliver began, and Alex turned to look up at him, blindsided by the concern he saw not just in Oliver’s eyes but in Kieran’s too, and in Jeff’s. Lee was pale under his tan, bottom lip tucked between his teeth, and shit, why was Alex still sitting on the ground? He needed to get the fuck up and show everyone he was fine, well and trulyfine.
The moment he made a move to rise to his feet, Lee’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Please don’t,” was all Lee said, worry so thick in his tone that Alex sank right back to the ground.
“Please?” he asked Lachlan without much hope.
As expected, Lachlan shook his head, regret etched into his weathered features. “I really am sorry, Alex. But you know as well as I do what this means.”
“Fuck.” Alex dropped his chin against his chest, blinking against the leaden pressure of tears. He wasn’t going to cry. He was not going to fucking cry.
Disbelief lingered as he watched ice and a bandage appear from somewhere. Then Lee and Jeff helped him to his feet, refusing to let him put any weight on his injured ankle as they carried more than walked him back to his hotel room in abject silence. God, things had to be bad for Jeff to lose his words.
“Maybe…” Alex sat down on the edge of his bed. “Maybe Lachlan is wrong and it’ll feel a lot better tomorrow?”
Jeff’s reply took the form of a snort, at odds with the sad twist to his mouth.
“Look, babe.” Lee sat down next to Alex and, after a brief glance at Jeff, placed a hand on Alex’s knee. “This sucks, and if you wanna punch a pillow, I’ll hold it for you. But you’re not playing. Not on a sprained ankle.”
Fuck, fuck,fuck.
Alex blinked back the renewed threat of tears. “What—are you a doctor now?”
“No, but I know how to listen to one.” Lee gave Alex’s knee a gentle squeeze. “You’re not playing, sweetheart. Even if you were miraculously able to walk on this tomorrow, no one here would let you take a risk like that.”
Jeff nodded sharply. “What he said.”
“But it’s thefinal,” Alex countered, desperate. “I can’t just sit it out.”
“You can,” Jeff said firmly, “and you will.” He didn’t give Alex a chance to respond, just gathered him in a hug, unceremoniously seating himself on Alex’s thighs. Lee shifted a little to make room, slinging an arm around Alex’s waist, and that was how they stayed for a few seconds before Jeff slid off.
Alex stared at the ice pack tucked against his ankle. “But it’s the final,” he repeated, much quieter now.
“And we’ll fuckingmissyou on the pitch,” Lee said, equally quiet. “Sometimes, life just kicks you in the nuts.”
“On the bright side,” Jeff put in, “you can now drink all the beer you want.”
“I’d rather be playing.”
“Sorry, that item’s been taken off the menu.”
“Let’s elevate your foot,” Lee said before Alex could complain once more about the unfairness of it all. Yes, he realised he was being repetitive but … fuck. It was the final, and he’d be watching from the sidelines.
It sucked. It just really, reallysucked.
Silently, he complied when Lee prompted him to shuffle up the bed and lean against the headboard, Jeff grabbing a couple of pillows to raise Alex’s foot. Alex stared at the unsightly lump that was his ankle distorted by an ice pack, and told himself he wouldn’t cry. Because what was the point? It didn’t change a thing.
“Fuck, if there ever was a time for a few shots of vodka…” Jeff shook his head, arms hanging by his side.
“Is there anything we can get you?” Lee asked Alex.
“A time machine?” Alex tried for a smile that he managed to maintain for a whole second. It was a start, though—because if he really couldn’t play, well, what was it Lewis had said?Right now, my job is to cheer the team on.
“Ah, I’m afraid we’re fresh out,” Jeff said. “But how about this lovely remote control for the telly? It’s a state of the art technology that gives you immediate access to mind-numbing daytime TV as well as cat videos on YouTube and niche-interest documentaries on Netflix.”
“Yeah, all right.” Alex bit the inside of his cheek before he forced another smile. “You guys should get back. Two more days, right?”
Jeff handed over the remote control. “You sure?”
