TWENTY-SEVEN #2
Ee sighed, his jaw unclenching as he forced his uadriceps to surrender beneath my zngertips. 2nly then did I continue feeling along the LCG, pressing my thumb into the warm, swollen tissue. Eis knee felt like a ripe fruit that was still tender but still intact when I applied pressure at the joint line. It was not the spongy, unstable give of a complete tear, but deznitely inMamed.
JGie back.9
Cain leaned back onto the table with a uiet groan, staring up at the ceiling while I lifted his leg. 2ne hand supported his ankle while the other rested just beneath his knee. The joint moved as I bent it.
JEow bad is it?9
JI haven’t tested it yet.9
JDour face says otherwise.9
7…7 L.K. HKNOR, LKTT LRLRLKN2
I ignored him and slowly Mexed the knee a little deeper than what he would have done. Then I pushed it another few degrees as well. The moment I applied pressure4 I started to see his zngers curling against the edge of the table.
JEow’s that?9
J”ine.9
JKnd that?9
J3till zne.9
JThat one’s less zne.9
Jqive it to me on a scale of one to ten.9
Cain breathed out, staring directly at me. J”ive.9
JKlright. I’m going to check the stability of the LCG.9
Ee glanced down at me. JThat sounds ominous.9
JIt’s a standard ligament test. 0ust fucking relax.9
I positioned his leg at a thirty8degree angle, feeling the skin beneath my
palm as I placed one hand zrm against the outside of his knee. Ly other hand encircled his ankle, my zngertips meeting at the bony prominence. Eis calf muscle tensed before he took a deep, shuddering breath and nod8 ded, his eyes never leaving mine.
I applied gentle inward pressure, feeling the subtle give of tissue beneath my hands. The joint opened under the stress. There were a few millimetres of movement that made my stomach tighten, but then it stopped with the characteristic zrmness of intact zbres. Kt least there was a clear end point. Nelief Mooded through my chest, before I even realised, I had been holding my breath.
I repeated the test again, watching the skin dimple under my careful pressure. Cain was watching my face carefully, his eyes dark and searching, but he was too close. Ee was close enough that I could smell the faint mint of his breath and see a tiny scar above his eyebrow I had never noticed before. It was like he expected to see something in my expression that I did not see when I looked at myself in the mirror.
EKNH OS2CO3 7…
JWell?9
JDou didn’t tear it again.9
The tension left his shoulders. It was like a weight had been lifted oY
them and Cain sat up straighter.
JBut.9
Cain rolled his eyes at me with a heavy sigh. JThere’s always a but with
you, Klicia.9
JBut you deznitely aggravated it.9
Ee groaned and dropped his head back against the table. I pressed along
the ligament again to conzrm what I had already felt. The tenderness was concentrated through the middle portion of the ligament, exactly where the zbres would stretch during a load. Cain looked back down at me.
J3o, it’s not torn.9
JSo.9
JKnd the ligament’s still intact.9
JDes.9
I held up a znger, raising my eyebrows at him. JDou need to slow down.
Sot everything is a race. The ligament is irritated and you’ve stretched some zbres. It’s inMamed, and it’s going to hurt. But structurally, it’s still stable.9
Ee fell uiet, though the hopeful look on his face made it very clear where his mind had already gone. I leaned back slightly and studied the knee again. Cain watched me carefully. K grin slowly crept across his face.
J3o, I can zght. That’s your verdict?9
I sighed. JIf you were sensible, you’d rest it for a few days, ice it, keep compression on it, and avoid anything that stresses the inside of the knee.9
JLy zght is 3aturday.9
JDes.9
JKnd you know I’m not pulling out.9
2f course. I was not sure what else I expected from him. I grabbed him a brace from the counter and stepped forward again.
7…… L.K. HKNOR, LKTT LRLRLKN2
JIf you zght, this stays on until the warm8up.9 I lowered myself again and began applying the knee brace to his knee. Ee watched my hands while I tightened the straps, but I felt like his eyes never left my face.
JKnd?9
JKnd we tape it heavily before you walk out.9
JWill it hold?9
JDes. But I don’t think I’d recommend you checking kicks with that leg.9 JThat’s half the sport.9
JThen use the other one.9
JThat’s my lead leg.9
JThen maybe don’t stand there letting people smash your knee. 2kay,
down you get.9
JThanks, Klicia.9
JDou got lucky. ery lucky.9
Cain slid oY the table and put his weight on the leg. There was still a
slight limp, but the knee held. Ee was already looking better than he had when he had walked in. Ee just needed to rest for a few more days. Ee looked back at me with a grin.
J3o, I guess that means I’m zghting.9
I just rolled my eyes at him. What else could I do? I could not agree with him. Ee still needed to prove that he was ready to go.
JDou were zghting the moment you walked through that door. Hon’t think for a second that you’ve won.9
Eis grin widened and I knew that Cain had something smart coming out of his lips. JThanks for the medical clearance.9
JI did not give you clearance. Dou and I have a lot of work to do between now and 3aturday.9
Cain just smiled up at me even though he probably should not have. JI just conzrmed you’re too stubborn to cancel on me. I’ll be zghting 3aturday.9
JIf you say so.9
EKNH OS2CO3 7…
JGook, I don’t even care if we get back together or not, but I want you in my corner for the zght. Will you corner for me, Klicia?9
I raised an eyebrow at him. JHuncan doesn’t have a problem with it?9
JIf he does, I’ll kick him in the fucking head. I’ve wanted you by my side ever since the zrst night that I laid eyes upon you, Klicia. I’ve got one more chance to get this title back. That’s all I want. 2nce I’ve got that, then I’m done and can decide what I want to do after that.9