Invisible String

but nothing was easy between us

"Shan! Are you okay?" No. I wasn't.

I was lying in the middle of the court feeling the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life. I fell badly trying to block the opposing team's attack and twisted my ankle as soon as I hit the ground. I tried to move it but it hurt so bad that I was one hundred percent sure my foot was broke.

"It hurts, it hurts so bad." I was covering my face with my hands when Cari kneeled beside me.

"What? What does it hurt?" Her voice showed that she was also panicking.

"My ankle." When she touched it I almost screamed in pain.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." She said feeling guilty, holding my hand with hers.

"Girls, move." The coach said, trying to get to me. "How bad is it, kid? Can you walk?"

"I don't think so, coach."

"Alright, we're gonna take you to the hospital." He said carrying me like I was a feather. "Don't worry okay? You're gonna be fine." Minutes later I was being taken to the hospital and the game continued.

My suspicions were right. After all the exams and check ups needed, the doctor told my mom that my ankle suffered a lateral fracture and needed surgery right away. There I was, sedated on the bed, watching my foot grow in size by the minute, waiting for the doctors to start the surgery and all I could think of was that I wouldn't be able to play for months after this and all the specific treatments it would require for it to go back to normal and how I would hate that.

The surgery lasted about two hours according to my mom and as soon as I left the hospital with my brand new cast and checked my phone, it was filled with texts and missed calls from the girls, mostly Cari's.

"Hii, how are you? How is your ankle?"

"Broke." I texted back, sending a photo of the cast.

Two seconds later she was calling me.

"Hi." I answered from the car while my mom drove us back home.

"How bad does it hurt?"

"Right now not much, they gave me a lot of drugs, I think I'm almost high to be honest. It's the cast that feels weird. It's very uncomfortable."

"Where are you?"

"In my mom's car, we're leaving the hospital."

"Can I meet you at your house?"

"Sure. We're just going to stop at a drugstore to get the meds, but you can meet me there in fifteen."

"Okay, great, do you need anything?"

"I'm actually really hungry and craving some burger and fries."

"Shannon Nicole Beveridge!" My mom yelled by my side.

"What?" I said startled.

"Cari, don't listen to her honey, you don't have to bring anything."

"It's okay Debbie, don't worry, dinner is on me tonight."

After arguing a little with my mother I had to hang up because Jess was calling me to know if I was okay. I think I never mentioned before that Jess and Rachel turned into my absolute best friends during those years. We all knew each other since we were little, but, after I came back from Los Angeles, they were the ones that matched my personality the most, so I started hanging out with them all the time. Besides them there were the girls from the team, who I never thought that I would like, but turned out to be very good friends too, especially Veronica, who ended up being the only one who knew about my sexual orientation and my thing with Cari for a long time. All of them were really worried about me and my foot, which made my heart get a little warmer, especially after remembering that I would probably stay out of the team for the rest of the year, meaning not being able to do one the few things that helped me stay sane through high school. That made me tear up more than the pain coming from my ankle.