Breaking The Rules: Book 2

Chapter 39: Turning A New Leaf

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟻𝚝𝚑
Griffin POV

Dr. Gessels hands are freezing cold on my leg.

Hissing, I refrain from kicking out as he continues to bring his fingers over the bone— metal— part of my knee, occasionally digging his fingertips into the flesh. He adds a thoughtful hum here and there.

Watching him do his work is starting to make my eye twitch. If this son of a bitch doesn't take his hands off of me in about fifteen seconds, I'm knocking him into next week.

My tolerance for people touching me is bordering on zero. I've been in this hospital for nearly three hours, rotating through different rooms to go through different tests.

So far, I've been scanned, poked, prodded, timed, stroked, and tapped. Despite all of this, and despite the results of the x-rays sitting on the counter on the other side of the room right now, no one has said one word about my condition.

Gessel here is my last visitor. The final judge.

I'm about to making a fucking judgement for myself and walk my happy ass out of the hospital doors.

Near the door, Ira gives me a supportive smile. She's been my case nurse for so long that she definitely recognizes my aggravation rising to the surface. I'm not in the mood for her optimism, so I decide not to look at her.

"Alright," I finally break the silence. "Can I go home yet?"

Gessel chuckles and finally stands up, pushing his glasses further up his nose. He speaks as he walks over to the sink in the corner and turns on the water. "In a few more minutes, yes. I've already studied your scans and I've read the reports that the other nurses passed over."

"Okay, and?" I ask. As much as I try to keep the snark out of my tone, it happens to sneak in there.

Gessel takes his sweet old time to soap up his hands and rinse them off. Paper towels rip as he pulls them out of the wall. He discards them in the trash bin. "Truthfully? I am extremely impressed with how you healed, Griffin."

I don't know what I was expecting him to say, but I guess that it wasn't that, given the way my shoulders crumple with relief.

I've been waiting nearly six months to hear that.

He lifts his hand up to silence me when I start to open my mouth. "Now, while I'm impressed, it's still not perfect. My words from July still stand: you will never play sports again. There will be no strenuous activities or events that could put your leg in harms way. You may have bad days, but the worst of it is over."

"Holy shit," I breathe out. Those are the only two words I can remember right now.

Ira chuckles in the corner and shakes her head. Even Gessel grins, but he keeps speaking. "While you can get away without the cast for most daily things now, I would still wear it to school if I were you for the next four months. Wear it whenever you're going to be on your feet for a long time. But when you're at home, it can come off."

"And the cane?" I ask and point to where it's leaning on the table next to me.

"That will be at your discretion. You'll likely want to use it over the next few months while your knee truly finishes healing, but after that... it's up to you. You may find that you want it some days, so I wouldn't get rid of it."