The Game Plan

22

The next morning, I woke up and stared at the ceiling.

Now if you woke up and your adorable boyfriend was on the couch with you and your football team won the championship you'd be thrilled, right?

Well, the knee brace and ACE bandages said otherwise.

"Morning." A voice said from the floor.

I looked over and saw Kenz sitting up, smiling at me.

"Come on." She said, grabbing my crutches and handing them to me.

We managed to get to the kitchen, where she grabbed breakfast and walked over to the table.

"Well this sucks." She said after a minute, looking at me.

"I agree." I said, picking at the blueberry muffin in my hand.

"I'm really sorry Britt." She said, looking heartbroken. I appreciated her support, but what could she do?

"Its fine. Things happen." I said, hearing the lack of emotion in my voice.

"We can fix this." She said.

"How? I can't play football again." I said, shrugging.

"We can fix this." She repeated, sounding more emphatic.

I was supposed to go to Nick's for dinner tonight. I was supposed to be celebrating my team winning states. I was supposed to be hearing from UNC in a few weeks. I was supposed to be going back to normal.

I couldn't help but feel angry and empty all at once - and I had every right to. I had worked so hard and overcome alot to get to where I was.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We don't know." She said, already knowing what I was asking about.

"Are they even in trouble?" I asked, tears brimming my eyes.

"I don't know." She said.

Once everyone woke up, a video game battle began with the guys, Kenz, and Cole.

Cole's girlfriend was sitting on the couch next to me, flipping through a magazine.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances." She said, frowning at me.

She had come to the game last night, and although she followed us to the hospital she stayed back and kept her distance. She got my parents coffee and played with Beau. I really appreciated her knowing what to do and how to help.

"You don't plan these things." I said with a shrug.

"But still, I was nervous to meet you. I wanted it to be perfect." She added.

"You were nervous to meet me?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Well yeah. Cole doesn't shut up about his baby sis. I know how important you are to him." She said.

I smiled my first real smile of the day and reached over to hug her.

"Well I completely approve." I told her, and caught Cole grinning at us from the floor.

After everyone left, my mom helped me get into the shower and I was able to clean up for the first time since the game.

I have always said, a nice shower can work wonders. But today, not even the clean feeling could change my mood. I knew it wasn't fair to be miserable to the people around me, but I couldn't help it.

"You stayed?" I asked, seeing Nick sitting in the living room.

"I hope you don't mind." He said, standing up.

"No." I smiled. I really didn't. If I had to be stuck on the couch it would be nice to be entertained.

"And since you couldn't come for dinner, my mom wants to come drop off food." He grinned sheepishly.

"She doesn't have to do that." I said, shaking my head.

"She feels like she does. She wants to save your parents the trouble with this on their plate." He said, helping me onto the couch.

"No pun intended." He added with a grin.

"I will lose my mind here." I groaned, staring at the television.

Nick grabbed the remote and turned the television on. The local news channel popped onto the screen, with a shot from last night's game.

He started to change the channel and I stopped him.

"I want to see it." I said, smiling at him for reassurance.
I couldn't blame him for trying to shield me, I was currently an emotional pressure cooker.

"Last night, hometown superstar Britt Manning was rushed to a nearby hospital with a knee injury during the final quarter of the championship game. There is no word on the injury, or what her future looks like. We took to the streets of Friarburg for reactions." The woman said.

"My heart just broke for the poor girl. The stadium got so quiet." A man said, shaking her head.

"The most amazing thing was the other team. The captain ran right over to see if she was okay, even followed her to the ambulance." A woman said, a knowing look on her face.

"She deserved to see the game finished. Its sad people didn't play fair." A boy from my high school said.

"Manning's family and teammates could not be reached for a comment, since all were at the hospital immediately following the game." The reporter finished.

"What happened?" I asked Nick, who looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not entirely sure. Coach is looking into it." He promised.

"Nick." I said, seeing how upset he looked. He turned to make eye contact with me, and I swear I saw tears in his eyes.

"It's not your fault." I said.

"I should have stopped them." He said.

"You were on the bench!" I laughed, trying to lighten his mood.

"Still..." He was cut off by a knock on the door.

"That's probably my mom." He laughed, jumping up to follow my mom to the door to greet her.

_____

The next update will be Monday February 23, in case you didn't see my status update. For more information check out the latest post in The Whitt Diaries.
Happy Valentines Day!