beautiful mistake - joe burrow

53

"Nick, can I talk to you for a minute?" Joe asked after he knocked on Nick's office door and Nick invited him in. Today was regeneration day again, which meant Joe and the players could schedule themselves what and when they worked out.

Joe had done strength training this morning, and after his lunch break it would be on to special exercises to strengthen his knee, followed by endurance training.

"Sure, Joe, what's up? Do you need a massage or anything? We still have appointments available for today" Nick looked up from his screen and smiled at Joe, but he shook his head.

"I'm not there for anything like that, it's....a private thing. Do you...do you have a minute anyway?" Joe asked nervously. Nick eyed him, then nodded and pointed to the vacant chair at his desk.

"go ahead and sit down. Let me guess, it has something to do with Elle. Did something bad happen to her?" Nick asked, clasping his hands as he eyed Joe critically.

"Yes, it's about Elle and no, nothing bad happened to her. It's just..." Joe sighed before continuing. "she was with me last night and we were talking about her tattoo, you know, the dagger with flowers on her arm..."

"I know the tattoo, yes" Nick confirmed to Joe and leaned back in his chair.

"Anyway, she explained to me the different ways you can interpret the tattoo. Among other things that something like betrayal and danger can be hidden behind something beautiful like love. I then asked her if it had anything to do with her ex-boyfriend, as she had explained to me the night before that he was also the trigger for her panic attacks and she didn't like talking about it. Yesterday she also looked like she was going to start crying at any moment...." Joe sighed again.

"Until she left, the mood was pretty depressed and I just...I don't know what to do, Nick. She won't tell me, but I feel like I need to know in order to understand her better, to be able to help her. So I thought for sure you know what happened with her ex and maybe you can help me" he looked helplessly at Nick.

Every bit of emotion had disappeared from Nick's face. His look was serious, Joe had never seen him so serious before. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and cleared his throat before looking at Joe.

"Yes, Joe, I know what happened with her ex, but I'm sorry. I can't help you with that. Elle should tell you herself. It's...it's one thing she has to be willing to tell you, because...because I just shouldn't say that. I'm really sorry. Do you understand?" Nick really looked like he would like to be able to do it differently.

Joe nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I understand that. And you're right, I...I guess I'll have to wait until Elle is ready to tell me" sighing, he stood up.

Before walking out the door, he turned to Nick again. "Can you promise not to mention to Elle that I was here asking? She's worried enough about everything as it is" he asked Nick, who nodded.

"Sure, I won't say anything to her. Take care, Joe. And feel free to come by anytime if there are problems, okay? Even if they are private and have nothing to do with injuries or anything else" Nick looked at him smiling.

Joe nodded. "Thanks, Nick. I really appreciate the offer and what you're doing for Elle" he smiled gratefully at Nick before saying goodbye and leaving the room.

In the evening, Elle met with Nick in his office after work. They had chosen Tuesday as the day of their weekly conversation, since work on Tuesdays was not as much as on the other days, after all, the players were not mandatory today.

"So, what do you want to talk about this week? What's been nice, what's been worrying you, and what do you just maybe need to say out loud?" Nick handed Elle a glass of water before sitting down next to her on the couch, crossing his legs and looking at Elle expectantly.

Elle chewed on her bottom lip as she considered what to start with. "best to start with the nice stuff. Why don't you tell me what your best experience was this week" Nick gave her assistance.

Elle immediately had to start smiling. "Joe slept over from Sunday to Monday on short notice. Monday morning was just...beautiful. I didn't realize how much you could miss not being alone after getting up. We straightened up together and then I drove here and he drove home" she sighed dreamily.

"Is that why you were smiling like that all day Monday?" Nick asked.

Elle noticed every week anew that Nick was really good at the unprofessional therapist thing. In fact, the only thing missing was that she would be here on the couch, Nick sitting in front of it with glasses on his nose, taking notes, besides what Elle was telling him. It really did her good to have him have these conversations with her.

She nodded. "That morning, everything just felt so good. It was like I finally realized that through all my worries and anxieties, I wasn't even noticing the beautiful aspects that come when I'm with Joe" she shrugged.

"I'm glad to hear that, Elle. That really sounds like good progress" Nick smiled with satisfaction. "Another good experience?" he asked afterwards.

Elle nodded and told him about the powerful impressions of the first season game on Sunday and about the game ball Joe gave her. Nick seemed genuinely pleased that Elle had so many nice moments to mention and also added with a smile that she had definitely earned the game ball.

"Now let's move on to the negative events this week" Nick carefully tried to change the subject. "was there anything you want to talk about?"

Elle took a deep breath. "I had a panic attack on Sunday night" she admitted quietly. Nick looked at her in surprise. "How did it come on?" "It was all triggered by your phone call".

Sighing, Elle told how after his call she had gotten more and more into the whole thing and before she could stop the thoughts, it had been too late. Luckily, she had had her pills nearby and was able to prevent the worst from happening before she had started hyperventilating badly.

"Then what were you doing? Why didn't you call me?" Nick asked, concerned. Elle sighed again. "I...I called Joe. After it knocked me out here at training camp, it was just so comforting to hear his voice, so I wanted to try and see if it helped again" she explained.

"he picked up, realized right away that something was wrong and without thinking too much he went straight to me even though his parents were still there" she added. "Did it help you that he was there?" Nick asked.

Elle nodded. "We talked about the issue and he calmed me down, tried to find a solution with me and just accepted that I freak out from time to time. And because I definitely didn't want to be alone after that, he slept in."

Nick had to smile. "So your worst experience last week turned into your best" he stated. Elle nodded in agreement. "I hadn't thought of it that way at all" she admitted thoughtfully.

"Elle, can I tell you something about that?" Nick asked her. Elle just nodded. "I think you can see through this event that Joe not only understands your fears and worries, but also makes you forget them. He shows you that he cares about you by dropping everything and going straight to you after a quick phone call, talking to you about your worries and just being there for you. Joe is like a really good book that just makes you forget your worries and problems for a few moments."

Elle agreed, nodding. She hadn't thought of it that way at all, but Nick was right. Joe was like a protective wall, a warm blanket that protected her from all the nasty stuff of reality as soon as she was near him.

"He really likes you, Elle. You don't find things like that very often. He's good for you. Promise me you'll let him get behind your facade. Little by little, let your walls down and let Joe in. Even though you may not want him to see the ruins. It won't drive him away. Believe me" Nick looked at her encouragingly.

Really busy today. Just wanted to post the chapter!
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