Dare You to Fall for the Catcher (Rock Valley High 3)

“Hello, I’m Dr. Kim.” A new voice piped up from behind me. “What seems to be the problem here?”

I twisted my neck as far as I could to see a stout little man with olive skin and crazy black hair standing behind me. He smiled at me and then my mom as he rubbed hand sanitizer between his palms.

“Mandy’s hurt her ankle,” Mom said, pointing to my leg currently wrapped up in bags of ice we picked up through a Burger King drive-through. “She’s a long-distance runner. This girl lives and breathes running. As you can guess, she’s very upset.”

“It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at,” I said, forcing a smile at him, although my neck was starting to cramp. “So I need you to tell me I can get back to running as soon as possible.”

Dr. Kim laughed, his belly jiggling. “First things first, young lady. Let me take a look.”

It took a little finagling, but we finally got the wheelchair into a position that allowed Dr. Kim to examine my ankle. When he took the ice off, all three of us hissed in horror. In the time it had taken to drive over here and wait to see the doctor, it had swollen to three times its size.

“That’s normal, right?” My eyes grew wide as I stared up at him. “Tell me that’s normal.”

He grimaced. “It’s not a good sign. But let me first feel it for any broken bones.”

I gripped the armrests as his fingertips pressed into my flesh. Whatever he was doing made me want to scream out like when a character was being tortured in a TV show. Someone needed to get me a piece of leather to bite on. My eyes burned with unspent tears by the time he was done, but I made it through without kicking anyone.

“Good news,” he said with a smile and a pat on my knee. “No broken bones. I’ll send you for an x-ray, just in case, but this looks like a simple case of a sprain.”

> A smile instantly sprung to my lips. The torture had been totally worth it. “So, I’ll be good as new in a couple days?”

“It’s rest and ice for you. I’ll refer you to a physical therapist as well so that you can be running-ready as soon as possible. But stay off it for the next three weeks.”

“Wait, what?” My gut clenched as if I’d come down with a sudden case of stomach flu. If my life had a soundtrack, right then would’ve been the soundbite for impending doom. Instead, I was met with a total and resounding silence as I attempted to suck in a breath. “You can’t be serious. Our first track meet is next Friday.”

He giggled, as if I were a stand-up comedian. “No can do. You wait three weeks.”

I leaned forward and narrowed my eyes at him. “One. I’ll do one.”

“Mandy, this isn’t a negotiation.” Mom’s eyes darted between me and the smiling doctor. “You have to take a break. Doctor’s orders.”

“But three weeks in track season is practically a lifetime,” I said, desperation entering my voice. “If I’m not training, I’m not improving my times. And if I’m not improving my times, I’m not winning heats. All of my scholarship offers are going to be pulled.”

Her eyes slanted with sympathy and she patted my knee. “Mandy, this isn’t the end of the line. You’ll come back from this injury. And if you don’t, we’ll figure something out. We Hales always do. You know that.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and stared down at the floor. This wasn’t like other times. Mom wasn’t going to come out and say it, but they’d been depending on me getting that track scholarship. We couldn’t afford school without it. I might as well trade in my metal cleats for an apron at the diner because I’d be stuck working late shifts for the next four years to pay for a single semester.

“Two weeks,” I said, blinking away the tears to look up at Dr. Kim. “How does that sound?”

For the first time since he’d walked in the room, the smile on Dr. Kim’s face dissolved. He pulled his stool closer to me and looked me directly in the eyes. “Amanda, if you push yourself too fast and run before you’re ready, you’ll do even more damage and there will be no season for you. Period. Healing takes time. Do not rush this, or I’m afraid you will be sorry for it.”

I gulped down the lump in my throat, feeling Dr. Kim’s warning strike me clear to the bone. He was right, I didn’t want to do more damage. I wanted to come back from this stronger than ever. If I had to put in the time, then I would. No running for me.

I could do this.

“Okay, I wave the white flag,” I said, whirling my finger in the air. “Three weeks of no running.”

It was going to be the longest three weeks of my life. February and March would be totally wasted.

A smile quirked on Dr. Kim’s lips and he went to open the door with a satisfied grunt. “Very good. I think you made the right decision. Let me know if anything changes. We’ll call with news of your x-ray.”

I tried to wave goodbye at him, but my arm felt like it now weighed a million pounds. Mom hopped up from her chair, wearing that beaming smile that said she knew just how to make everything better.

“Maybe, in the meantime, you’ll find something else to occupy your time,” she said, shooting me a hopeful smile that lit up her blue eyes. “Something that you’re really good at. Like a hidden talent! I’ll bet you’re a fabulous cook and you don’t even know it.”

I snorted and tucked my hands in the hoodie pocket.

Jayden’s hoodie.