Chapter 7
***WALKER***
Walker was sure that he’d never felt anything like the pain that was currently radiating from his knee.
It was nearly impossible to breathe, and he was sure that he was going to puke any second.
For the rest of his life, he would remember the moment when his knee connected with the hard wooden floor of the basketball court.
He would never forget the gross feeling with his knee cap shattered and the ligaments holding everything together stretched to the breaking point.
Not even time would erase the memory of the pain he was in right then or the pain he knew would come when his body started healing the damage on its own in just a few minutes.
He was vaguely aware of being lifted onto the stretcher, his only focus the pain and trying not to spill his lunch all over the court, but as they left the gym he surfaced just long enough to see Maddie standing alone on the court.
Taking several deep breaths to push back the nausea, he grabbed onto the first arm he could find, turned to the man it belonged to, and fought to get out just a couple of words.
“I want Maddie here with me,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Send someone to get Maddie.”
The pain became too much then and the world went dark, giving him the break that he needed.
When he opened his eyes, Maddie was standing next to him, his hand in hers, a worried look on her face.
He could hear the murmur of voices above his head and knew that someone was talking, but all he cared about was the feeling of Maddie touching him for the first time in years.
Closing his eyes, he let himself drift off again, filled with the warmth that only she could bring.
When he opened his eyes a little while later, Jackson was staring down at him. “Hey there, I got here as soon as I could,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a truck,” he said, trying to sit up. “What happened?”
“Don’t you remember?” Jackson asked. “You took a pretty bad fall. We’re just waiting for Dr. Abbot, then we’re going to move you to the hospital.”
It all came rushing back and he quickly looked around the room. “Where’s Maddie?” he asked. “She was right here.”
“She just stepped out for a second,” Jackson said, leaning in a little closer. “Walker, we’ve got to be a bit careful here, we can’t let them run any tests. You’re probably already healing, and that’s going to look strange on an MRI or an x-ray.”
He flexed his knee, wincing when the pain came back, but not as bad. “It’s already better,” he said, his head beginning to clear. “Did they give me something?”
Jackson nodded. “Some morphine, but it should be starting to wear off,” he said. “If you can just hang on until Dr. Abbot gets here, he’ll handle everything; he knows what to do when things like this happen.”
A few minutes later, an older man came bursting into the locker room. “Where is my patient?” he asked, then saw Walker. “Ah, yes, this must be the young man. I’ve got an ambulance waiting outside; we need to get you to the hospital right away.”
Before he could even protest, he was loaded into the back of the ambulance, strapped down, and they were zooming away from the campus, lights flashing, sirens blaring.
“Is all this really necessary?” he asked, holding onto the side of the gurney.
“I’m not dying, I just hurt my knee and it already feels better. ”
“It makes a good show,” the doctor said happily. “I can have the driver turn them off if you want.”
“Yes, please,” he said, sighing when it fell silent. “Thank you.”
He lay his head back and closed his eyes. Maddie’s worried face popped into his mind, and he opened them again. “Did you see a young woman hanging around when we left?” he asked. “She’s tall with long black hair and these incredible green eyes.”
“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t see anyone like that,” Dr. Abott said, shaking his head. “Would you like me to have someone call her?”
There was nothing he wanted more, but he realized that he had no idea how to get a hold of Maddie, and even if he did, he wasn’t sure that she would come. “No, that’s okay,” he said, pushing down the feeling of disappointment. “She probably wouldn’t come anyway.”
They rode the rest of the way to the hospital in silence.
He was whisked away for testing as soon as they arrived, and it was almost an hour later before he was finally wheeled into a room.
Jackson and Abby were waiting for him, books open in their laps, but they both put them away when they saw him, then jumped to their feet and rushed over to him.
“How do you feel?” Abby asked. “Does it still hurt?”
“Not really,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “This all seems like a lot for nothing.”
“We have to pretend it’s not nothing,” Jackson reminded him. “Regular people would still be writhing around in pain, so try to ham it up a little.”
“I was hoping that Maddie might have come to the hospital,” he said. “Has anyone seen her?”
Jackson shook his head. “Sorry, we’ve been in here the whole time,” he said. “Do you want me to go look for her?”
Before he could answer, the doctor came through the door, a big smile on his face. “Well, the good news is you’re going to recover,” he said. “The bad news is it’s going to take three weeks.”
“Three weeks?” he demanded, looking down at his knee, then back up at the doctor. “But it feels just fine.”
“You’ve got hairline cracks in the knee cap and torn ligaments; you’ll need rest and physical therapy,” the doctor said. “But luckily for you, no surgery.”
“Well, there goes basketball season. I guess Thomas is getting one thing he wanted,” he said, then realized that if he wasn’t playing ball, he wasn’t going to get to see Maddie either. “What kind of physical therapy are we talking about? Where do I have to go to get it?”
“Oh, just the usual stuff, stretching, lifting weights, ice baths,” the doctor said, ticking each one off on his fingers. “You could do it right there at the school, you have an excellent training facility, but remember, three weeks and not a day less. We have to make this look real.”
Not as disappointed as he was before when a plan began to form in his mind, he smiled at the doctor. “Don’t worry, I’ll be a model patient,” he said. “I just need one little favor.”
***Maddie***
Watching for the snow and ice on the steps as she hurried into the administration building, Maddie paused for just a second to catch her breath before approaching the reception desk that blocked the path to the elevator.
She’d never been in the imposing structure before, since only professors and the higher administration were allowed inside, and it was impossible not to stare as she made her way to the big mahogany desk.
When she approached; the older woman behind the desk swept her eyes over Maddie, taking in her ratty coat, banged-up backpack, and wrinkled her nose.
“Can I help you?” she asked, then pointed to a sign on the desk. “Students aren’t allowed in this building unless by invitation.”
It had already been a long day, and she was going to have to skip lunch again, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself that there were only a few weeks to go before winter break.
“I’m Maddie Carter. Dr. Braithwright asked me to meet him here,” she said instead of shoving the sign down the woman’s throat.
“He said that he’d make sure my name was on the list.”
The woman raked her eyes over Maddie again before letting out a little huff and turning to her computer. After a few seconds of typing, the woman turned back to her. “I’ll need to see some identification,” she said, holding out her hand. “Can’t be too careful these days.”
After staring at the woman for a few seconds, wondering if she was torturing her on purpose, Maddie dug through her backpack for her student identification card and handed it over, trying to control her temper.
The woman took more time than necessary to study the picture, then handed it back.
She turned back to the computer and typed a few lines before printing something out.
“Here, put this on, then go to the third floor,” the woman said, shoving a nametag at her. “You can leave your stuff at the coat check; backpacks aren’t allowed in the building.”
By the time she got off the elevator on the third floor, she was ready to scream with frustration, and almost did when she realized Dr. Braithwright was having lunch.
“Oh, wonderful, Maddie, please have a seat,” he said when the hostess brought her over.
“I’m sorry about the last-minute meeting.
I know how busy you are, but maybe lunch will make up for dragging you all the way up here. ”
Stunned, she sat down in the chair and then took the menu card the hostess handed her. “Can I bring you something to drink?” the woman asked. “Or would you like to wait for your server?”
“I’ll have a glass of iced tea,” Dr. Braithwright said, then looked over at her. “Don’t be shy, lunch is on me today.”
“Tea would be fine,” she said, managing a smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” the woman said before walking away.
“Now, isn’t this nice?” Dr. Braithwright said. “Much better than my stuffy old office.”
She had no idea what to say, knew that having lunch with him was highly unusual. “Yes, it is,” she finally said. “This is a beautiful dining room. I’ve always wanted a chance to see inside this old building.”
“Well, I’m glad I could make that happen,” he said, then looked up at the waitress who was approaching with their drinks. “The food here is excellent, you’ll be pleased no matter what you order.”
They placed their orders, and then silence fell over the table for a second.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I invited you to lunch,” Dr. Braithwright finally said, pausing for a second.
“I don’t want you to think for a moment that this is a bribe.
I just wanted a quiet place to have this discussion, and since you’re not in trouble, I didn’t see why we couldn’t enjoy ourselves a little bit in the process. ”
She relaxed a little, but couldn’t help still being a bit wary. “What is it you want to discuss?” she asked. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me somewhere.”
“Yes, I suppose so, I guess I should get right to the point,” he said.
“We’ve had an unusual request from the athletic department.
Apparently, one of their star basketball players suffered a significant knee injury and will be out for some time.
He’s been prescribed an extensive physical therapy protocol and they’ve requested that we handle all of the rehabilitation here at the school.
It’s my understanding that the player has asked for you specifically. I believe his name is Walker Price.”
“He didn’t…he wouldn’t have…” she stammered, trying to catch up with what was happening. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I heard you right…”
“It’s very simple, Ms. Carter, the athlete wants you to oversee his recovery,” Dr. Braithwright repeated. “I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he insists, and since you’ve already passed your written exams, this could be considered your internship, allowing you to graduate early if you accept.”
She was too stunned to speak. “I’ve never worked with a patient on my own,” she finally said. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“No, but Walker won’t listen to reason, he said you were the only person he could work with,” he said.
“I’ll be there with you every step of the way.
You won’t really be alone, and if you run into problems, I’ll only be a phone call away.
I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but this is important to the school; athletics sells tickets, tickets make money for the school. ”
“I don’t think I can say no,” she finally said, then sighed. “When do I start?”
A big smile spread across the doctor’s face, .“Excellent, I knew you’d be willing to help,” he said. “You start right away, as of now, your only responsibility is Walker’s rehabilitation. The coaches want him back on the court in three weeks.”