“You feeling okay? Any pain or tightness?” he asks as I lean against the wall to catch my breath and take a drink.
“In my knee? No. Just my brain from your nagging.”
Carlos smirks, inspecting my knee anyway. “I don’t see any swelling. It’s looking good.”
“Yeah? Do you think there’s a chance I could get back on the ice for a skate in January? The surgeon said he’s seen guys back for non-contact skating at three months.”
Carlos shrugs, though he’s clearly not excited about making promises. Rehab is a messy business with few guarantees and limitless variables. “I still think that’s quick, but you keep working this hard and doing everything right, I don’t see any reason why we can’t evaluate in January. Just… don’t look too far ahead, Ollie. One day at a time, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grunt, waving him off. I swear, if I hear that stupid platitude one more time…
“For now, let’s get you over for an ice bath. I want you to get in with the massage therapist too. Oh, and the dietician wants to make some adjustments now that we’re upping the intensity of your workouts.”
“The hairdresser wants a piece of you also,” Sandy calls over. Some of the other guys snicker, and I roll my eyes, though I secretly enjoy the ribbing. Truthfully, it’s felt great having the team around again, even if I have to train separately and can’t join them on the ice. At least I don’t have to deal with the cavernous silence of being alone in this huge facility. It was eerie coming to work every day and walking these halls alone. I already feel so isolated from the team and the game that’s been my world for as long as I can remember. Plus, they’ve been going out of their way to chat and catch up which helped break up the strain of the day.
“Yeah? If it’s the same person who styles that mess on your head, I’ll pass,” I call back. Sandy laughs and pushes through another set of reps on his own equipment. He’s been watching me closely as well, checking in several times throughout the day. I glance at my phone and curse. Dread gnaws at my stomach as the clock pushes toward go time. If I have any hope of making it to Las Vegas tonight, I need to be leaving now.
I look over at Carlos who’s putting stuff away, oblivious to the argument about to come. He’s got another few hours of care lined up for me. No way he signs off on a spontaneous trip to Vegas. I test my own tired muscles. My quads are already shaking with fatigue, my hips sore from the mobility drills we’ve been running most of the day. The worst part is, he wouldn’t be wrong. The last thing my body needs after today is another long, taxing adventure late into the night. I don’t know what I was thinking when I told Gen and the publicist I’d be able to get to her show.
“You ready?” he asks, coming over.
I glance at Sandy who’s now watching me also. Shit. This isn’t going to go well.
“I can’t.”
Carlos blinks at me, stunned. Maybe angry. No wait, angry stunned. Yep. “You can’t? What does that mean?”
“I have to get going. I have somewhere I have to be tonight.”
He shakes his head. “No. Where you need to be is in an ice bath helping your body recover.”
I sigh and shove my phone back into my bag. “No. I have another commitment.”
“Hell no, you don’t,” Sandy interrupts, his eyes narrowing at me. “Carlos is right. You’re in no condition to be doing anything tonight except taking care of yourself. Go get to the fucking training room and take care of business.”
I glare back, reading the part he didn’t say. Of course he knows my sudden rebellion has to do with Genevieve and he’s not about to let that happen. Shit. Now what? I think about her look when I asked if she wanted me there tonight. Then the look on Coach’s face after those articles when he asked if I wasn’t taking my rehab as seriously as he thought. I study Carlos now, his expression hard and primed to explode if I give him a single reason to do so in the next two seconds. Back to Sandy who’s clearly already resisting the urge to throw me in the water and hold me there. I want to keep my word to Genevieve, but enough to sacrifice myself and my own career? It’s just one show. She’ll have plenty of others I can attend without risking everything.
I let out a heavy sigh, a weight pressing down on my chest as I pull up her number. “Yeah, I’ll be over in a sec. Just have to make a quick phone call,” I say to Carlos who finally relaxes. Sandy’s gaze continues to bore into me, and he waits until Carlos walks away to lean close.
“You cannot skip out on rehab to go to her tonight,” he hisses in my face.
“I promised her,” I return with little conviction. God, I’m tired. I didn’t even realize how much until now.
“Well, then you unpromise, because you can’t afford another screw up right now. For your body, or with the team. You just came back from a physical setback and a PR mess. They’re watching your every move. But even outside of that, after what you just put your body through and will do again tomorrow, you have to take care of it tonight. You know that, dude.
