Chapter 8
Hazy
After a night in the hospital with constant monitoring and check-ins, his care team allowed him to go home. He hadn’t managed to convince Livy to quit her job, but she at least agreed to stay with him for a while. Having her close would be such a relief.
She didn’t fit in at the hospital. Over the course of his brief stay he’d heard more than his fair share of gossip about the doctors and nurses there.
It sounded like everyone was sleeping with each other.
The environment was a breeding ground for toxic behavior.
Her working in a place where she went unappreciated and gossip spread like wildfire rubbed him the wrong way.
Livy opened the door of Daisy’s SUV and handed him his crutches. He grunted as he stepped his good leg out.
She held out her hands, ready to steady him if needed, while Daisy went ahead with his bag and unlocked the front door. Lover and Beanie were in New York, so it was just him and his girls.
Getting into the house had him out of breath, and suddenly he could see the next several months laid out ahead of him.
“Fuck, this sucks,” he said, lowering himself onto his couch.
“Think of it as a mandatory vacation,” Daisy said, parroting Livy’s words from the previous night while heading into the kitchen to grab a box of Cheez-Its. For once, her chipper attitude did nothing to lighten Hazy’s mood.
“Easy for you to say,” Hazy replied. “Your career isn’t on indefinite hold.” The season had barely started, but they’d started strong. Hazy had a feeling this could be Seattle’s year. He wouldn’t even get to be a part of it.
Livy grabbed Hazy’s duffle from where Daisy sat it and disappeared down the hall while Daisy sat crisscross on the couch next to him.
“Quit whining,” she said. “You can still do team stuff. You still get to work with your trainers. You can still go to all the functions. If you think the boys will leave you out over a stupid injury, you’re delusional.
Everyone goes through injuries. Your career will be waiting for you when you can walk again. ”
Hazy crossed his arms and frowned. Usually, Daisy coddled her friends rather than gave tough love. He wanted sympathy and affection. “It’s not the same. Everyone is traveling and I’ll be here.”
Livy, having dropped his bag in his room, grabbed a snack of her own and joined them on the couch. Daisy pressed play on an episode of trash TV.
“Oh no,” Livy mocked him. “You have to eat snacks and relax for a couple of months. Whatever will you do?”
Daisy laughed at Livy’s snark, and Hazy’s frown deepened. “I’m being serious. How am I supposed to support the team when I’m cooped up all by myself and everyone else is working hard?”
Livy, recognizing his need for comfort, reached across Daisy and squeezed his arm. She said, “It’s not like you have to do any of this alone. Focusing on rehabbing your leg is how you can contribute this year, and I’ll be right here to cheer you on.”
Daisy leaned her head on Hazy’s shoulder. “She’s right,” she said. “And we didn’t leave you behind. I’m still here.”
He looped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her as close as he could at the awkward angle.
“That reminds me!” Livy said. “Are you going to stay here while I work tomorrow?” she asked Daisy.
Hazy groaned. He was a grown man who didn’t need a babysitter, and, as much as he adored Daisy, if he had to choose one, he wanted it to be Livy.
“Or,” he dragged out the word, “Hear me out.” He raised his hands in surrender.
“The offer to come work for me while I heal still stands. I can pay you. More than that fuck-ass hospital.” He’d resisted the urge to beg her to quit her job for a whole twelve hours.
If he pushed too hard, she would rebel, and he’d never get what he wanted.
“I’m already relying on you for everything.”
“And I’ve told you, please rely on me. Otherwise, I’m useless while I’m fucking broken.”
Her taking up space in his house for the few days she’d been there made it feel much more like home.
The little pieces of herself she left in her tracks were minuscule.
A hair tie on the coffee table. An extra coffee mug in the sink.
A tube of lipstick that had fallen out of her purse.
Nobody would notice if they weren’t looking.
Nevertheless, all those signs of her warmed the house up.
He wanted to keep her close for as long as possible.
Daisy stuffed a handful of crackers into her mouth, then talked around them. “I bet you wouldn’t have to pay.” She took a swig of diet soda. “The league would probably cover it.”
Hazy stole his snacks from her. “They totally would. What if I wasn’t paying? It could be separate. A temporary contract, like Daisy’s.”
Livy pressed her lips into a flat line.
“You could use the time to find a different job,” Daisy said. Hazy could have kissed her, but he restrained himself.
“I’ll think about it,” Livy replied.
He’d be happy if she quit right that second, but her thinking about it was better than the flat-out no he’d been getting.