Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Brooke
After showering, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, slipped into my black workout pants, and put on my black and white sports bra.
As I walked to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, I stopped when I saw Logan standing at the island.
Just as he was about to sip his coffee, he stopped, and his eyes raked over me like a salivating dog looking at a piece of raw meat.
“I didn’t think you’d be up already,” I spoke as I tried to ignore his muscular body.
“I couldn’t sleep anymore. Are you wearing that to the gym?”
“Yeah.” I reached up into the cabinet for a coffee mug. “Why? Do I look bad or something?”
“Umm. No. You look incredible. I mean, nice, good.” He was fumbling with his words, and I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s just—I mean, shouldn’t you wear a shirt or something over that sports bra?”
I let out a laugh. “Oh. I am. I just haven’t put it on yet. I wanted to grab some coffee.”
It looked to me like he let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll be ready to go soon. How about you?”
He set his coffee cup down on the counter. “Yeah. I just need to get dressed.”
Putting on my boots and my coat, I grabbed my purse, and Logan and I climbed into the back of a cab. I could tell he was a little apprehensive when we arrived at the gym.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” I smiled as I had him sit down on the leg extension machine. You’re going to start with your damaged leg only.”
I set the machine to ten pounds and got on my knees, grabbing his foot.
“Slowly extend your leg,” I spoke as I helped him lift his leg. “We’re going to do ten reps to start and go from there.”
After spending about thirty minutes on the leg extension machine, I handed him his crutches and took him over to the treadmill. He spent about an hour walking slowly until he looked over at me with sweat running down his face.
“The pain is really bad, Brooke. I need to stop.”
“Okay. That’s enough for today or at least until later. Let’s go sit on the bench so I can rub down your leg.”
“Here? Can’t you wait to do that when we get home?”
“No. It has to be done while the leg is still warm. What’s the problem?” I asked as I cocked my head at him.
“It’s embarrassing. People will stare.”
“I don’t care, and neither should you.”
He sighed as I helped him over to the bench. Taking out the bottle from my purse, I got down on my knees, poured the contents into my hand, and started massaging up and down his leg.
“This will help with the pain. I promise.” I smiled as I looked up at him.
As I made my way to his knee, I heard a voice from behind.
“Hey, Logan. What’s up?”
“Hey, bro.” Logan held his fist up, and they fist-bumped.
“So, what’s going on here?”
“James, this is my physical therapist, Brooke. Brooke, this is James, one of my teammates.”
“Nice to meet you, James.” I held up my hands. “Sorry, I’m a little greasy at the moment.”
“No worries. It’s nice to meet you too, Brooke. Are you coming to the Christmas party on Friday night, Logan? The coach said he wasn’t sure.”
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Logan spoke.
“Yes. Actually, he will be there,” I interrupted.
“Brooke,” he spoke in a harsh tone, “I don’t want to go.”
Looking over at James, I smiled. “Never mind him. He’ll be there.”
“Great. We all miss you, Logan. It’ll be good to have the whole team together.”
Logan looked down. “Dude, the whole team won’t be together. Have you forgotten about Tommy?”
“No. I haven’t. But you know what I mean. I better get going. It was nice to meet you, Brooke. I’ll see you on Friday, Logan.”
As he walked away, I glanced over at Logan, who was sitting there with a pissed off look on his face.
“Talk to me, Logan.”
“You had no right telling him that I’d be there. No right at all. This is my life, Brooke, and I make my own decisions. Understand?” he spoke in a low but stern voice as he picked up his crutches and hobbled away.
Following him out the gym door, he hobbled to the corner to catch a cab.
“Welcome to the land of the living, Logan!” I yelled from a few feet away.
Logan
I rolled my eyes and climbed into the back of the cab while Brooke slid in on the other side. It wasn’t her decision whether or not I went to the Christmas party, and it really pissed me off that she thought she could make my decisions for me.
“Whether you like it or not, it’s time for you to start being social again.”
“Give it a rest, Brooke. I’m not talking about this anymore. You’re here to help me rehabilitate my leg, and that’s it! What I fucking want to do with my life is my business, not yours!”
Her phone rang from inside her purse. As she pulled it out, I noticed the name Mark appeared on her screen. She immediately hit the decline button and shoved her phone back inside. I sat there and wondered who the hell Mark was as the ride back to my apartment was silent.
Once we got inside, I went straight to my bedroom and lay down on the bed.
Maybe I shouldn’t have snapped at Brooke as I did, but she had no right.
Closing my eyes, I fell asleep. When I awoke, I looked at my clock.
I had been asleep for three hours. My leg was aching something fierce.
Grabbing my crutches from the floor, I hobbled out to the living area and didn’t see Brooke.
Checking in the kitchen, I saw that she wasn’t there either, so I hobbled down the hall to her room.
The door was open, but she wasn’t in there. Great. Where the hell did she go?
Sitting on the couch and turning on the TV, I looked at my phone and thought about how I didn’t even have her phone number. How the hell could I not have her number? As I lay down and flipped through the channels, the door opened, and Brooke walked in.
“Where were you?” I asked.
“Out.” She set her purse down on the table.
Suddenly, a man appeared behind her. “Where do you want it, miss?” he asked.
She stood in the middle of the room with her finger on her chin. Walking over to the area where I had two chairs and a small table, she picked the chairs up one at a time and put them in one of the guestrooms.
“You can put it here, but make sure it’s facing the TV.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
As I heard more voices from behind, I turned my head and saw two men carrying in a large treadmill and setting it down where the chairs once sat.
“Thank you.” Brooke smiled as she handed the man some cash.
“Thank you, Miss Alexander.” He nodded as he left.
“I asked you a question,” I spoke.
“I’m sorry. What question was that?” she asked sarcastically.
“I asked where you were. And why is there a treadmill in my living room?”
“I was out, and it’s for you to use.”
“You went out and bought that?”
“No. I rented it. I figured it would be better to start with this and then use the other gym equipment when needed. With the treadmill being here, it’ll be easier to get on it multiple times during the day and work that leg.”
“Oh.”
“I’m going to go to my room for a while, and then we’ll get you back on the treadmill for a bit. Isn’t your team playing tonight?”
“Yeah. They are.”
“Good. You can watch the game while you’re on the treadmill.”
She walked down the hall and went into her room.
I continued to flip through the channels as I sat there and glanced down the hall, hoping she’d come back out and sit with me.
After a while, I heard her phone ring. It sounded like it was coming from the foyer.
Grabbing my crutches, I hobbled over and picked up her phone off the table.
That was when I noticed that guy named Mark, whose call she had ignored earlier, was calling again.
Making my way to her room, I lightly knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Hey, your phone was ringing. You left it on the table in the foyer.”
“Thanks,” she spoke as she got up from the bed and took it from me.
“Who’s Mark?” I asked.
She looked at me, and for a second, she stood there frozen. “Is that who called?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s just a friend from back home.”
“Well, I’m going to make myself a sandwich. Do you want one?”
“No thanks. I’m not hungry.”
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.” I turned around and left her room.
Something was bothering her. I felt she was still angry with me for yelling at her the way I did, but it also seemed like her mood changed even more after the first time Mark called her.