More than anything, I wanted to pull her to me, hug her tight, and tell her that it was all going to be okay, but I knew I couldn't.
“Chin up, Eryn. You'll be fine in a week or so. Just go home now and get some rest.”
She smiled up at me, our eyes meeting once more for a brief moment before she looked away again. “All right, Wade. Have a good evening.”
“You, too.” She was moving slowly on the crutches, and for some reason, it crossed my mind she might need help with her gym bag, so I called to her,
“Hey, Eryn! Do you need help getting your stuff to the car?”
She stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “No, but thanks. Leena is going to get it for me. I appreciate it though. I’ll see ya later, Coach.” She never looked directly at me.
“See ya later, Eryn. Take care of yourself.”
I watched her crutch off the court and felt more determined than ever to find out who was behind her fall. Then, I went to my office to wait for Leena to bring my gym bag by from where it had been stashed in the locker room. Hopefully, my secret audio recording would reveal who the guilty party was.
It was gonna be an interesting evening, that much I knew for sure.
Chapter Fifteen
Eryn
Sitting in my car after practice with the crutches on the passenger seat next to me and my ankle bandaged and aching, I couldn't help but feel depressed.
I mean, this past weekend had been such a great game for me, and it had seemed as if things were starting to truly go right in my life. I'd finally made the starting lineup, and I'd played one of the best volleyball games of my life. And, of course, there had been the amazing kiss with Wade.
But first, I'd had to let Wade go and try to remove any thoughts of him from my mind. And now this: an injury that would keep me off the court for at least a week.
At least there wasn't a game this weekend, so it wasn't like I would be missing something important. But for the game the following weekend, it would mean that I wouldn't be in top form. I'd lose fitness because of this forced week of rest, and my skills would deteriorate. Not by any kind of huge margin or anything, but they would, and that thought made me discouraged.
Another thought, though, made me angry: the fact that I had been tripped up. The fact that this injury had been a deliberate act of maliciousness.
And, I was almost certain I knew who had been behind it.
Tammy had been in a foul mood ever since she had been taken off the starting lineup, and her little sidekick, Kelly, had been in a similar mindset. And, of course, since I was the one who had replaced Tammy in the lineup, I'd had more than a few death stares and muttered insults from her.
For some reason I had never understood, she had never liked me, not from the moment we had first laid eyes on each other. I had to say, the feeling was mutual. I didn't know why she had such a dislike for me, or what I had ever done to her to warrant these feel
ings, but I couldn't deny that they were there.
I'd been content with simply keeping a distance between us. That's what normal people did, right? If there's someone you don't get along with for whatever reason, you just ignore them. Keep away from them. Not Tammy. She would do everything she could to try to get in my face or make me look bad.
There had been plenty of snide comments and muttered insults, and of course, the time I’d found the word “bitch” written on my locker in lipstick — her color, nonetheless – but this? This was the first time her aggression had turned physical.
Of course, like the lipstick graffiti, I had no proof that it had been her, but it seemed unlikely that anyone else on the team would have gone to so much trouble. I got along really well with all the other players. It was only Tammy and Kelly who seemed to have a problem with me.
The question now was what was I going to do about it?
Of course, at the moment, with pain throbbing through my leg starting at my ankle and the frustration and anger I felt at being forced to rest for at least a week, I couldn't deny feeling like I wanted a little revenge.
I knew it would pass. I wasn't one for vengeance, and certainly hadn't taken any for the lipstick incident. I was quick to forgive, even if I didn't forget. This time, however, she had crossed a line, and if I didn't stand up for myself, who knew what she would do next.
Not that I had any idea exactly what I could do. I mean, I could always take the guy route, and when I was all healed up, I could just go up to her and kick her ass in the locker rooms. But that wasn’t my style. Of course, I admit, punching her square in the eye wouldn’t have hurt my feelings any. I knew my best bet was to talk to Leena and see what she thought.
I took a detour through a drive-thru on my way home because there was no way I was standing in the kitchen to fix myself something to eat, and leaving myself at the mercy of Leena’s cooking was always hit and miss. Still, I couldn't help but smile as I saw Leena waiting for me at the entrance to our building. Gourmet chef or not, she was a great friend.
“Hey, Lee,” I said as I got out of the car, situating myself on the crutches.
“Hey, Eryn, how's your ankle feeling?”