AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could tell by Cam’s reaction that this wasn’t normal. Eric lay on the field for too long, not moving, and then one of the players from the other team waved the paramedics over. “Dad, is he okay?” Cam asked, his voice trembling.
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine, buddy.” I tried to keep my voice light, to smile reassuringly, because Cam needed me to stay calm. But on the inside, I was curled up in the fetal position, having a full-blown meltdown.
While the paramedics were attending to him, they kept showing replays of the sack. Over and over, in slow motion, I watched Eric get crushed under that bulldozer of a man. My throat got tighter, squeezing until I could barely catch my breath. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away. Cam cuddled up to me, and we held each other tight.
Finally, they got him onto the spine board and started carrying him off the field. What did that mean? Was he paralyzed? Wasn’t all that padding supposed to keep this from happening?Shit. No, no, no. Cam choked on a sob and buried his face in my chest. “Shh, he’ll be okay,” I whispered, rubbing a hand over his hair and down his back.
I almost missed it. If I hadn’t been watching the screen so intensely, I never would’ve seen it, and a choked gasp slipped past my lips. “Cam!” He looked up, and I scrambled to find the remote so I could rewind it. There it was again, and my heart soared. “Cam, look! He’s giving a thumbs up. He’s telling us he’s okay.” Relief washed over me so quickly I felt lightheaded, a shaky laugh sneaking out as I closed my eyes. “He’s okay.”
Eric and I chatted briefly later that night after Cam was already asleep, but he was at the hospital and couldn’t talk long. He just wanted to make sure we knew that he was okay. He was back from a CT scan, and while his collarbone was most definitely broken, his spine was fine. He needed to go in for surgery to get a plate put in, but he would be home in a few days. I had every intention of taking care of him for as long as he needed.
I came back to the present when I heard a car pull up in the driveway, and I ran to the window, banging my shin on the coffee table. “Shit,” I muttered, rubbing the spot, but the pain wasn’t important. The only thing that mattered in this moment was Eric, currently getting out of his Uber.
Racing to the front door, I jerked it open as he was coming up the front steps. My vision went blurry with bubbling tears, and he gave me a sad smile. My hands came up, but I left them there, hovering uselessly. I wanted to hug him, but I didn’t know where was safe to touch him. His right arm was in a sling, keeping it in position. He couldn’t even put his jacket on properly, hooked over his shoulders awkwardly.
“I’m okay, baby. I won’t break. Everything is pinned in place.” He stepped inside and held his left arm out, and I fell into him with as much caution as I could manage.
My sob was muffled against his chest. “I’m so sorry, Eric.”
“Shh, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Every athlete knows it’s a risk.” He rubbed his hand in a slow circle over my back.
“I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around,” I teased, pulling back but keeping my hands tangled in his shirt. It was safe to say I wouldn’t be letting him go for a while. “Come inside. I’ll make you some lunch, anything you want.”
Taking him by the hand, I led him farther in and closed the door, helping with his jacket and boots. Then I sat him down on the couch and set about fluffing cushions to prop carefully under his arm. “What would you like? Coffee? Hot chocolate with some of those little marshmallows? Or how about whiskey? Wait, are you on painkillers? You probably shouldn’t mix those with alcohol.” I couldn’t seem to stop fussing.
Eric cut off my babbling by snagging my hand. “Jasper, it’s okay. Just sit down with me. You’re what I need to make me feel better.”
I lowered to the couch beside him. It felt like there was a ball of worms in my gut, and I couldn’t seem to look away from his bandage peeking out from the collar of his shirt. My lower lip started to tremble, so I pulled it between my teeth and clamped down hard enough to sting.
“Baby, don’t do that,” he whispered, using his thumb to pull my lip back out, smoothing over the indents left by my teeth. “You’re making this out to be a lot worse than it is.”
My eyebrows jumped. “You mean it’s not serious? I just assumed, what with the surgery…” I cleared my throat, cutting off my confession that I had assumed this was a career-ending injury. “So, what’s the next step? Physio? What kind of recovery time do you have?” Though, to be honest, I wasn’t sure my heart could handle watching him play again after this.
Eric shifted on the couch so he could face me, our knees bumping. “Look at me, Jas,” he said, and I realized I’d been staring at his shoulder again. I forced my eyes up to his. They held a strange sheen, and I wondered if it was the drugs making him so mellow. If it were me, I’d be furious, raging at the injustice of losing so much. His face was smooth, though. “I think it’s time for me to retire.” He said it so simply, without a single waver in his voice.
My back bowed as I caved in on myself. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Eric.”
He shook his head, smiling. “I’m not. It was such a wild ride, and I’ve been so damn lucky. It was an incredible opportunity that most people will never have, and I don’t regret a second of it.”
I searched his face for a sign that he was hiding depression or rage or even fear and doubt, but there was only a depthless certainty. “Why aren’t you more upset?” I asked. “I mean, I’m glad you’ve made your peace with this, but… are you high?”
He laughed, and I was surprised to hear the sound. This really wasn’t how I thought this day would go. “No, I’m not high. I wanted to keep my mind clear when making these kinds of decisions.”
“What other decisions are you making?” My throat tightened painfully, and I swallowed hard. Was he about to tell me he was moving away? Without the team, there was nothing holding him here except me and Cam. Were we enough?
He took a deep breath. “Jasper, I want you to—” He was interrupted by my phone ringing.
We both turned to look at it on the coffee table, and I could see from here that it was Brent. “Ignore it. What were you saying? You want me to…”
“Um, right.” He cleared his throat as the ringing stopped. “Jasper, I want you to move in with me.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
His eyes widened. “Or I could sell my house and move in here with you guys if that’s easier. Of course it’s easier. Cam won’t want to change schools. I should’ve thought about that.”
“But—” This time it was me the ringing interrupted, and I huffed a breath out through my nose, glaring at Brent’s name on the caller ID. “Sorry.” When the ringing stopped, I tried again. “It’s a big step, Eric. And you’ve just had this massive life change. Are you sure you want to be making these decisions now? What’s the rush?”
Eric opened his mouth to answer, but the phone rang yet again, and he clamped his mouth shut with a clack of teeth. “Maybe you’d better answer it. Sounds like it could be important.”
