Redemption (Forgiven Series) (29 page)

“Lauren’s hurt,” Caleb yelled at me. Immediately I stopped fighting and my gaze snapped in her direction. She was on the floor surrounded by the girls, holding her right arm protectively to her side. Shit, her pitching arm.

“Let me go,” I snapped.

Andrew and Nick were holding my arms and they waited for Caleb to tell them it was okay before actually letting me go. The minute their grip loosened I was on my feet, heading towards Lauren. As I got closer, I saw the tears running down her face. Making my way to her side, I wrapped my arm around her waist.

“Jersey, what’s wrong?” I asked in a panic.

“Something’s wrong with my shoulder,” she cried.

“It’s going to be okay,” Morgan said, lightly stroking Lauren’s hair. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

“I’ve got her,” I said to Morgan.

Putting my other arm beneath her legs, I lifted her up against my chest. I made sure to put her left side against me so I didn’t cause her anymore pain. “I’ve got you. Let’s go get this checked out.”

She buried her head on my shoulder, crying harder. “How am I going to play this week?” she mumbled into my shirt.

I kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about that right now, let’s see what the doctor says,” I tried to reassure her. I’d been hurt before on the field and knew how scary it could be for an athlete.

Turning to Caleb, I saw that he already had his keys in hand and was heading toward the door. I gazed back at the rest of the group. “Are you guys coming with us?”

Everyone nodded, making their way to the door behind us. When we reached the car, Caleb opened the door and I lowered Lauren in, quickly moving around to the other side and climbing in to sit with her. Trying not to hurt her, I waited until she got into a comfortable position, before I put my arm around her. She continued to cry as we made our way to the hospital.

Angie had gotten in the car after talking to Emily. I figured the rest of them were following behind. “We’ll be there soon and Morgan’s calling your mom and having her meet us there,” Angie told Lauren.

Once we got to the ER, I helped her out of the car and through the doors. This time she was walking, but still leaning against me. We signed her in and sat down to wait. The pain in my own hand, which had been dulled by the adrenaline, was starting to make itself known, but I didn’t take time to focus on that. Lauren was hurt, and that was all that mattered. After about two hours, they called us back and the nurse took all of her vitals, telling us the doctor would be in soon.

Lauren had been allowed to have two people come back with her and since Morgan had volunteered to wait for Lauren’s mom to get there and explain what happened, Angie had come with us.

Angie was rubbing circles on Lauren’s calf, trying to comfort her, but the tears were steadily running down her face. “It’s going to be okay, Lauren.”

Sitting in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand, I stood up to whisper in her ear. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stop him sooner.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. He should have never had his hands on me in the first place.”

I reached my hand up to wipe the tears from her face. “I’ll take—” I started to say, but the nurse walked back in with the doctor.

“Hello, Lauren, my name’s Dr. Barrington,” he said with a comforting smile. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Lauren explained the story to the doctor, leaving out my involvement in the fight after Ryan had pulled her to the ground. He nodded in understanding. “Okay, let’s have a look at this arm.”

Angie and I moved to one side of the room, to give the doctor space to work. He used his fingers to put pressure on her shoulder, and she winced every time he pushed down. He had her do a few more range of motion type tests and the pain in her face increased with each movement.

“Well, I think you may have a rotator cuff injury, but I’m going to have Marie take you for an x-ray and MRI,” Dr. Barrington told Lauren.

The nurse came back in with a wheelchair. I must have been so focused on Lauren and the fact that she was in pain, that I’d missed her leave. She helped Lauren off of the bed and into the chair. Walking over, I bent down and kissed her on the head. “We’ll be here when you get back, Jersey.”

She nodded, a look of absolute resignation on her face as they wheeled her out. Angie turned to me. “How bad would a torn rotator cuff be for her?”

My eyes still hadn’t left the door. “Depends, but it could be really bad. It will probably end her season,” I said sadly.

Even though I wanted to focus my rage on Ryan, my overriding concern was for Lauren. I hoped it wasn’t a torn rotator cuff because for a pitcher that could be career ending, depending on the severity of the injury. Angie and I sat in the chairs in the room to wait. About an hour later, Lauren’s mom got there. They allowed her back she since was family. I stood up when she came in the room and introduced myself.

“Hi, Ms. Pierce, I’m Josh Walker,” I said, holding my hand out to her.

“Josh, I’ve heard a lot about you. Please call me Melissa. I just wish we were meeting under different circumstances,” she replied, returning my handshake.

“Me too.”

Ms. Pierce turned and greeted Angie. I guessed they’d met before. Not long after her mother showed up, Lauren was wheeled back into the room. Ms. Pierce immediately walked up to wrap her daughter in a hug. “Oh, Lauren, honey, you okay?” she asked.

“Mom,” Lauren started to cry again. “They think it’s torn.”

“What’s torn?” She pulled back looking confused.

Unable to answer through her tears, I answered for her. “They think her rotator cuff might be torn.”

Ms. Pierce held tight to Lauren in an attempt to comfort her, rocking her back and forth. “Let’s wait and see what they have to say before we stress over it.”

By the time the doctor came in with the results of her tests, Lauren had stopped crying and was sitting silently, staring at her hand in mine.

“Hello again,” the doctor said, turning to Ms. Pierce in confusion. “And you are?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m Melissa Pierce, Lauren’s mother,” she said, reaching her hand out.

“Ms. Pierce, it’s my pleasure. Lauren, we have the results of your tests.” He walked over to the light board on the wall to put up Lauren’s scans. “Your rotator cuff does have an acute tear. While the fall triggered it, there was degenerative wear of the tendon, probably from pitching, that made it easier to tear.” He turned the light board off and picked up her chart. “I’m sure your orthopedic doctor will want to schedule you for surgery as soon as possible. Looking at the tear, I believe they’ll be able to fix it with an arthroscopic surgery, but again your orthopedic doctor will be able to give you more information. I’m going to have Marie fit you with a sling to keep your arm stable, which will reduce pain and swelling.”

Ms. Pierce nodded her understanding. “We’ll schedule the appointment first thing Monday morning.”

“Good. I’m also going to give you a prescription for some pain medication and something to reduce the inflammation. You are in good hands with Marie,” he said gesturing towards the nurse.

“Thank you, Dr. Barrington,” Ms. Pierce said to the doctor, right before he left the left the room.

Marie watched the doctor leave and turned back to us. “I’ll be right back with a sling and your prescriptions.”

As the nurse was leaving I saw Lauren’s eyes begin to fill up with tears, but she tried to fight them. “Can I just be alone for a little bit,” she asked, a little too calmly given the news she’d just received.

I watched her every move, not wanting to push her, but trying to figure out what was going on in her head. Her mom and Angie started towards the door, but I stayed right where I was. Her mom was already out the door when Angie turned around to wait for me. I shook my head at her and turned my gaze back to Lauren.

Lauren’s eyes dropped to her lap. “Josh, I really want to be alone right now,” she said, the slight tremor to her voice belying the outward calm she was trying to display.

I stood up and brushed a wayward piece of hair away from her face, trying to see her eyes. “I’m not leaving.”

“Josh—” she started to say, but I cut her off by raising her tear brightened eyes to me and covering her lips with my fingers.

“I said, I’m not leaving,” I repeated. Bending down I looked directly into her eyes. “You don’t have to face this alone.”

She sucked her bottom lip in to keep from crying, but I could see the tears shining in her eyes. What little fight she had left evaporated and she nodded as I gently wrapped my arms around her to pull her into a hug. “I love you. We’ll do this together,” I whispered in her ear.

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she tucked her head into my neck and let me hold her. We stayed that way until the nurse came back with the sling and the prescriptions, plus some pills for Lauren to take before we left. Lauren continued to stay silent. I was getting more worried by the minute, but I knew she needed to work through this on her own. Once we had everything, I helped her down off the bed.

“Are you ready?” I asked cautiously.

“I guess,” she muttered, looking at her feet.

Stopping, I stepped in front of her and placed my arms on her shoulders. “Jersey, look at me.” Slowly her head lifted and I could see the pain and uncertainty in her eyes. I needed her to stay with me so that I could take care of her. “Come on let’s get you home to bed. Do you want to stay at my place or yours tonight?”

Her eyes searched mine. “I want to stay with you, but I’m not really sure I want to see anyone else right now.

I stroked my thumb across her cheek. “Jersey, you can have anything you want. I’ll make sure they stay in their room.”

“Not anything,” she said sadly, dropping her eyes to the ground.

We made our way out to the waiting room, where Morgan and Ms. Pierce were waiting. I looked around, but the rest of our friends were gone. “Where did everyone go?” I asked.

Morgan stood up and walked over to us, watching Lauren. “I sent them home. I figured we didn’t need them to stay,” she offered, shooting me a look. It was easy to figure out that she knew Lauren wouldn’t want to talk to anyone.

Lauren’s mom came over to join us. “How you doing, baby girl?”

Lauren raised her eyes to her mom’s. “I’m tired.”

“Then let’s get you to bed,” she said pulling her keys out of her purse.

Okay, well they sent our ride home, so I wasn’t exactly sure how we were supposed to get back. She must have noticed the confusion on my face because she continued. “I’m going to give you guys a ride home and then check into a hotel.”

“Thank you, Ms. Pierce,” I said. “I think Lauren is going to stay at my place tonight. That way, I can keep my eye on her.”

Ms. Pierce turned to me. “The only reason I’m willing to drop Lauren off to stay at your place is because I know your only goal is to take care of her tonight.”

I nodded, understanding her point. I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to let her daughter stay overnight with a guy, but she was right—this was different.

“And please, call me Melissa.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “Thanks, Melissa. Are you ready, Jersey?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled.

I watched Lauren the entire drive back to my apartment, not exactly sure what was going on in her head. She was so quiet. She wasn’t crying or yelling, or having any reaction at all. I didn’t know how to help her. Being hurt sucked no matter what, but for an athlete, being hurt during a season was indescribable. All I could hope for at this point was that she would open up to me when we were alone.

We finally made it back to my apartment, where Ms. Pierce gave me her number and made me promise to call her in the morning. When we got inside, I noticed Angie and Caleb were nowhere to be found. I figured they were probably in their room giving us space.

I helped Lauren out of the sling and her shirt, pulling one of my t-shirts over her head. Next, I sat her down on the bed and took off her shoes before slipping her pants down her legs. She moved back and lay down while I stripped down to my boxers.

Climbing into bed and leaning up on my elbow, I looked down at Lauren and the blank stare that was still present on her face.

“Jersey?” I started and waited. When her eyes met mine I continued. “Last year when Bryan attacked us and gave me a concussion, I worried about whether I’d be able to play again. Football was how I was able to come here in the first place and I was scared to death to lose what I’d worked so hard for because of someone else’s mistake.” I reached over with my free hand and lightly guided my fingertips over her arm. “The concussion I had was pretty severe. It was so bad I had headaches for months afterward. I’m not telling you this to make what just happened seem trivial, but I do want you to know that I understand how you feel and you can talk to me about it.”

She sat there in silence for so long that I thought my words had had no impact. Any emotion, even anger, would be better than silence. Finally she said, “But you got to play again.”

It was a start. “Yes, I did, and you might too. We have no idea what the doctor will say until we see them this week. So please stop thinking the worst, and try to relax.”

She nodded, but didn’t change the direction of her thoughts. “What if I can’t play anymore?”

I moved my hand from her arm to cup her cheek. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, why don’t you get some rest? It’s been a long night.”

“Okay,” she whispered and moved around a bit, trying to find a comfortable position. We ended up building up the pillows on her side of the bed so that she didn’t have to lie flat on her back. I turned the light out.

“Josh?” she called out quietly into the darkness.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for being there for me today. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jersey,” I said, sitting up to kiss her on the top of her head.