“Oh my God, Hayden! You’re going to get in trouble for missing practice!” I yelled regrettably. “I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t worry about me, let’s just get you to the doctor. My coaches aren’t hard-asses like yours anyway, so it won’t be as big of a deal for me.”
Nodding, I closed my bedroom door and dropped my towel. I grabbed a pair of black yoga pants and a hoodie along with a sports bra and panties. I slipped on my clothes as swiftly as possible, the sudden onset of chills caused my teeth to chatter. The only thing I could think of was I had some sort of virus that caused the pain to zip line through my body. Maybe food poisoning. I had been on a carb free diet for weeks and last night when Hayden and I watched Mean Girls together, he brought pizza over. This could possibly be my stomach reacting to the junk food and grease. If this was my body’s way of revolting against my one night of fun, then I was never touching pizza again.
Even with my door shut, Hayden’s voice carried down the hall. Every time he went to speak, he barely got a few words in before he was abruptly cut off. This happened four or five times, the pattern repeating constantly, which was surprising to me. I felt like I was listening to an episode of Maury. No one spoke above the coaches, and when they did, they spoke louder and above people. Whoever was on the other line, they weren’t happy with him.
In this moment, I would forever be thankful for Hayden Moore’s friendship.
“Ready?” I asked.
His jaw dropped. “Your eyes are blood shot.” He walked over and pressed a hand to my head. “You’re hot.”
I chuckled. “Thanks.”
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the front door. “That coach of yours is a piece of work. Thank God I only work with him on rings.”
The side of my mouth pulled up. “Tell me about it.”
“Do you have a doctor or are we going to the emergency room?”
I paused in my tracks. “I don’t have a doctor…and I really don’t want to go to the ER. Let me do a Google search and find a local twenty-four hour urgent care center.”
Hayden cleared his throat. “Ah, you don’t have a guardian to sign off on anything should the occasion arise?”
My head snapped up and met his worried look. He was right. I didn’t have a parent or a legal guardian while I was here. This could get tricky. Luckily for me, I’d gotten great at lying lately and had the ID Avery made me that made me legal.
“I highly doubt there’s going to be an issue. They’re most likely going to insist on payment up front, which I have cash I can pay with.”
“Where’s your insurance card?” he asked as we walked out of my condo. “Do you have it with you?”
“I do, but since I’m paying with cash I don’t think I’ll need it.”
I rattled off the address to a local urgent care center and ten minutes later we pulled into a lit up facility with a big red cross on the front of the building. We were just in time as another wave of cramps hit my stomach. I prayed the wait wouldn’t be long as I slowly walked up to the entrance, slightly hunched over with Hayden by my side. The doors slid open, and I looked around at the empty lobby.
Thank God.
A heavyset woman picked her head up and glanced at us as we made our way to the front desk. She sighed irritably and asked, “What can I do for you?” She clearly wasn’t a morning person.
“I need to see a doctor, please.”
The woman sneered. “What seems to be the problem?”
“My stomach and back are killing me.”
She looked at the computer. “Are you pregnant?”
My jaw dropped, and Hayden froze. “God, no!”
“You’d be surprised how many girls are pregnant by your age, if not younger,” she mumbled under her breath, typing away, loud enough for me to hear.
“Ma’am, I’m not pregnant, I’m in serious pain though. I feel like someone is beating on my back and it hurts to stand.”
“All right, let’s get a few things squared away first.” Ms. Attitude pulled out a folder with an impatient look. I handed her my fake ID and informed her I’d be paying with cash. An open chair was positioned next to the counter so I took the liberty of sitting down. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes, grateful Hayden took over filling in the blanks, asking me for the answers. He made a comment about how good the fake ID looked and I mumbled I’d have Avery get him one. That was as much effort as I could handle at the moment.
Thirty-nine agonizing minutes later, I was brought back to an exam room. She checked my vitals and noted a fever. Like every doctor’s office, I was freezing and waiting impatiently on the paper-covered table. The pain was so intense in my back, I started rocking to find a way to ease it.
Knock. Knock.