Chapter Seventeen
Connor
I hated doctors because they only ever gave me bad news. This ER doc was no different.
I was out of the pennant race and possibly the World Series, too, if we made it. Sure, it could have been worse. I didn’t have an ACL tear. No joint damage, either. But if I had any prayer of continuing to play, I had to sit out the next couple weeks.
All in all, it was the best news I could have hoped for, given the pain I was in. But it still cut deep. Even with all the painkillers I was on, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to hold on to any semblance of control. As it was, I was hanging onto Cassie and Gia as if my life depended on it. And right now, it did. Having them both here helped me get through this. So I gripped their hands, inhaled Gia’s scent, and tried not to lose it in front of the Doc and Coach. Except, Coach wasn’t around for some bizarre reason, and I decided that was a good thing. He’d get the information soon enough.
Meanwhile, the ER doc was writing out prescriptions, Gia was taking notes on her phone, and Cassie was shaking like a leaf. I pulled her hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss to her cold fingers.
“I’m going to be fine,” I said, knowing the words were for me more than her.
She hugged me back. “I know.”
Then I turned to Gia, knowing she would understand the subtext. “Can you get me home? Quietly?” Meaning no press, no cameras, no social media, anything. At least not yet.
She took a deep breath, and I appreciated the distraction of her full cleavage. Until she answered, that is. “I don’t know. I’ll do my best.”
I frowned. “The papers couldn’t possibly have found out yet. It’s only been an hour.”
“Actually, it’s been two, but you’re right. It should be fine.”
It wasn’t.
By the time I was discharged, hobbling awkwardly on crutches, there was a whole gaggle of reporters outside the ER doors. Four security guards were holding them back while also trying to let legitimate patients through. Horrified, I stared at Gia, who flushed dark red. I wasn’t accusing, though. It was just that she was the person I looked to when dealing with all things media. But at her glower, I hastily backtracked.
“Um, I know it’s not your fault. But—”
“It’s definitely not my fault.” There was an edge to her voice that I didn’t have the brainpower to understand. The painkillers were wearing off, and my knee was throbbing. It was enough to make me think longingly of amputation. Meanwhile, Gia helped me with my jacket and then held up the baseball cap. Somehow, I doubted a plain blue hat was going to keep my face out of the papers. So I waved it away.
“Tell me what to say.”
She looked at Coach, who had joined us in the lobby and was now conferring with Doc—a whole procession of people lined up to tell me that my knee was crap.
“Tell them it’s minor,” Coach finally said. “He’s DL for this week’s series, but will be back soon.”
“I’ll get them a press release,” Gia added.
“You tell them that,” I grumbled. “I’m going with, ‘it sucks but I’ll be back.’”
“Good choice,” she said. Then she looked around. “We could try going out the other side—”
“They’ll just sit outside my apartment building. Let’s get it over with now.” Then I looked at Cassie. “If you want to escape—”
She shook her head, her jaw determined. “If you’re going that way, I am, too. Besides, I’m cuter than you. Let them take pictures of me.”
“Hell yes, you are,” I said. Though, privately, I thought that if the reporters were looking for the most photogenic one here, they’d all focus on Gia.
So with a grim grip on my crutches, I tried to look athletic as I one-footed it out of the hospital. Even though I was ready for the camera flashes, I still winced at the onslaught. And then came all the questions, too many at once for my addled brain to process. I just wanted to get home.
“It’s not too bad,” I said, pitching my voice loud enough to be heard. “Hopefully—”
“Oh my God! Connor!”
Oh fuck. Sophia.
She came running to me, her arms outstretched. I barely had time to hold up a hand to keep her from bowling me over. She skittered to a stop on her stiletto heels, then she took my arm while she aimed her tear-streaked face toward the cameras.
“My God, what happened?”
“It’s just a sprain. A bad one, but—”
“Oh no! They told me it happened when you saved a child from certain death. You stopped him from running out into traffic, but at what cost? You risked the pennant, maybe even the World Series, to save a boy. Oh, Connor, that’s so you.”
I gaped at her, completely dumbfounded. “Where did you hear that?”
“Everyone’s talking about it. The boy’s family is mortified, of course, but so grateful.”
“That’s not true—” Gia protested, but Sophia was on a roll.
“Of course they’re grateful. Don’t be such an idiot.”
I was pretty sure that wasn’t what Gia meant, but this was not the place to have a truth spat. Sophia was too good at twisting a situation. I didn’t want to risk that in front of the cameras. So I waved at the reporters. “Can you back up, guys? I just want to get home and start healing.”
They didn’t back up, but they did turn their attention to the coach who was exiting behind me, asking questions about who would replace me on the roster and what Coach thought about our chances, etc. I was grateful for the reprieve, but as I started hobbling forward, Sophia rushed in and fouled my footing, blocking one of the crutches enough that I stumbled.
Gia was too far back to catch me. She’d given me enough room to maneuver myself, but Sophia was there, planting a hard shoulder into my ribs as she wrapped an arm around me.
“Sophia!” Cassie snapped. “You’re making it worse.”
“You’re so clumsy,” Sophia hissed in a loud whisper that every microphone picked up. “You tripped him. Let the grown-ups handle this.”
That was when I’d had enough, the cameras be damned. “Back away, Sophia,” I growled. “Now.”
She must have heard the anger in my voice. She stared at me with her tear-stained face, mascara running artfully down her cheeks. “I-I’m just trying to help.”
And the hell of it was that in her mind, she was helping. She’d just guaranteed that I’d get airtime on the local news station and in the papers with the headline, Bobcat Catcher Risks All to Rescue Boy. It didn’t matter that none of it was true. There was enough that a good spin doctor could make me look as heroic as Jake had been a couple months ago, when he’d actually rescued Ellie from a burning building.
It set my teeth on edge, but it was also Sophia’s way of doing her job.
“Get back,” I repeated.
Sophia stood back silently while all the reporters waited for more drama. Thankfully, Gia spoke up then. “We’ll get a press release out to you in the next hour,” she said.
“I’ll do it!” Sophia snapped loudly. “You all have my card.”
Of course, they did. Because Sophia would have been out here making sure the press showed up and handing out her card when they arrived. I couldn’t fight her now, so I turned to Gia.
“Which way is the car?”
“It’ll be here in a second. I gave the keys to Cassie.”
Really? I hadn’t noticed when she’d left, but I was grateful. I didn’t want her running afoul of Sophia. That one stupid nickname—Little Snit—had haunted Cassie for years. I knew she second-guessed herself regularly because of it. Was she throwing a snit? Was she taking things too seriously? I feared that hearing that insulting name would push my sister into another depression.
“She’s driving?” Sophia gasped. “But she’s distraught. What if she hurts someone?”
I shot an annoyed glance at my sister. “She’s been driving for years just fine.”
Sophia sniffed. “I wouldn’t know. Thanks to you, I haven’t spoken with her.”
A lie? I couldn’t tell. Maybe she really did miss her sister, or maybe she just missed having such an easy target. My knee hurt too much to figure it out. And thankfully, the reporters started disbanding as Gia’s car pulled up.
I made my way forward, Sophia on one side, Gia on the other. Coach hung back, drawing the reporters off me with some comments about how the team would manage the coming series against the Rangers without me. It was a kindness, though I hated the idea that he already knew who would replace me on the roster.
Gia helped me get settled then squeezed my arm. “Go home. Get some rest. I’ll…um…I’ll call you later.”
I gripped her hand. “You’re coming with me, aren’t you?”
She hesitated. “I need to stay with the reporters, craft a statement and stuff.” She shot a look over her shoulder. “Do you really want me to let Sophia handle all of that?”
God, no. But I didn’t want to be without Gia, either. Not with my leg crapped out and my career in shambles. Sure, I was being dramatic, but my head was beating those words with every throb of my aching knee. Meanwhile, Cassie spoke from behind the wheel.
“But it’s your car! And there might be reporters at his apartment.”
Gia smiled. “Rob and Jake are waiting there to help. They’ll keep the reporters away and help get him upstairs.”
She’d thought ahead and arranged for help. Of course, she had. Gia was always three steps ahead.
“But this is your car,” Cassie repeated.
“I’ll pick it up later.”
I leaped on her words as if they were a throw to home plate. “You have to come get it. Tonight. I don’t care how late.”
She looked at me, and I could see the understanding in her face. I wanted her with me tonight. I might be hopped up on painkillers by the time she arrived, but I wanted her there.
“Please,” I begged.
She smiled. “Of course. I’ll get there as soon as I can. But you need to go now. Coach is running out of interesting bullshit.”
I snorted. “He ran out of that years ago.”
“But the press doesn’t know that.” Then she gave Cassie a thumbs-up and shut the car door. A moment later, we were pulling away from the hospital. That was good, I thought, as I eased back in the seat. Except that it hurt even more to leave Gia behind.
We made it to my apartment building without incident. And sure enough, there were reporters there, too, though Rob and Jake were keeping them back, probably regaling them with baseball bullshit. Every player had a store of great plays or glorious screw-ups that entertained the fans. We talked endlessly about them when we wanted to kill time with the press. But as I pulled up, Rob waved the reporters back and Jake helped me get out. Their eyes were filled with worry as they teased me loud enough for the press to hear.
“Did you get a boo-boo? Did a pretty nurse kiss it all better?”
“That’s your move, Jake,” I grumbled as I grabbed my crutches. Then I gestured to my cousin Ellie, who had somehow stepped out of the shadows to hover nearby. She understood better than most how fragile Cassie could be. “Could you go with her while she parks the car and make sure she’s okay?”
Ellie nodded and quickly slid into the passenger seat. A moment later, the car pulled away from the curb, and the guys were waving goodbye to the press as we went inside. I waited until we were in the elevator to give them the news.
“No pennant for me, but maybe the World Series. If I do everything I’m supposed to—”
“You always do,” snorted Jake.
“Yeah, you’re boring like that,” Rob continued.
“Or just old,” Jake continued.
I was four years older than Rob, but I swear, I felt every minute like it was a month. How could I be this crippled at twenty-seven?
“No problem,” Rob added. “I’m sure Gia will help you convalesce in style.”
My head jerked up. No one knew about my relationship with Gia. Not even us, really, given that we couldn’t decide if we were together or not. The guys absolutely could not know—
“Look at his face,” Jake hooted.
“He thinks we’re all clueless,” Rob laughed. “We’ve known since before the All-Star Game. That’s when it started…right?”
“Fishing?” I asked with a glare.
He shrugged.
“That’s his day in the pool,” Jake responded. “I think it was more like the Thursday after the All-Star Game. You know, when she went all goo-goo eyed during batting practice.”
“Grow up,” I growled as the elevator doors opened.
“Never!” they both answered at once.
Then we were at my apartment door. Rob’s fiancée Heidi opened it—apparently, building security let her in—and she’d gotten everything set up in my bedroom—ice packs, water for taking pills, and a pyramid-shaped pillow to keep my knee elevated and bent at the right angle for optimal healing. She offered to make some food, but I waved her away. I just wanted to be alone. With Gia.
But I wasn’t about to get my wish yet. Ellie and Cassie came upstairs, and I studied my sister’s face to see if she was okay. Had seeing Sophia upset her? Of course, it had. But how much? And how much of her distress right now was because she was worried about me?
All of those damn fears scrambled around my brain. But at least they were crowding out the my-career-is-over chant ringing through my head. Well, some of the time.
Eventually, they all said good-bye. Cassie and Ellie went last, since Ellie was going to drop my sister off on campus. I kissed them both and was incredibly grateful when Ellie whispered into my ear.
“Cassie’s fine. I’ll check in on her tomorrow, but honestly, she’s doing really well.”
Those reassuring words made me feel enormously better, for a few minutes at least. Long enough for them to leave and for me to make sure the door was unlocked so Gia could come in, no matter what time it was.
And then I lay back in bed and waited.