Unexpected

The Injury

You had been with Arsenal for several months now and you'd settled in very quickly. You lived in your little apartment near the town centre and you couldn't be happier, except for one thing. You didn't get on with your captain. There had always been a rift between the two of you, ever since Leah spoke to you in a way you didn't like after losing a game and you'd bitten back. Ever since you barely exchanged glances with the defender and remained civil for the sake of the team. You always caught her glancing in your direction sometimes but as soon as your eyes met, she would look away and you didn't have the energy to wonder why.

It was the last game of the year against Everton, the pitch was slippy and your studs were struggling to grip on certain places of the field, especially in front of the goals. During the second half McCabe had sent in the most stunning cross, you scrambled towards the goal to get your head on the end of it when an Everton defenders boot made contact with your face causing you to fall sideways. You feel your body slam into the goal post with full force. You instinctively curl up into the smallest ball you can wincing in pain. You screw your eyes shut, breathing deep as you hear the referee blow her whistle. You hear lots of hustle around you, you can hear Katie and Viv telling people to give you some space. You can't tell where the pain is coming from, you can feel pain every time you breathe and your nose is warm. You put your hand up to your nose and open your eyes to assess. Blood trickles down your fingers and as you start to try and sit up slowly, it begins pouring down over your mouth and chin.
"Shit. Are you okay?" You hear an unfamiliar voice ask next to you. You turn your head to see Leah squatting next to you with a look of genuine concern etched on her face.
"I- I think so." You pull the bottom of your jersey up to your nose to wipe away the dripping blood and pretend not to notice her eyes wash over you as you expose your toned stomach to her.
"Let me help you." She held her hands out to you and you took hold of them to hoist yourself up. Your breath catches at the pain coming from your abdomen, Leah walks you slowly to the side lines and sets you down gently. The medics get to you and immediately start trying to plug the bleeding from your nose. Leah's hand remained on your shoulder the entire time. One of the medics pressed lightly on your ribs and you let out a groan of pain, your whole body tensing.
"They're not broken but you might have bruised ribs. You hit that post pretty hard." Said the medic that had just examined you.
"We recommend you come off now, we need to give you some treatment immediately." You nod as the medics gather their things back together.
"Are you going to be okay?" You turn back to Leah who is still holding onto you.
You wonder why she was so concerned all of a sudden. Her hand moves from your shoulder to wipe a tiny bit of blood trickling from your left nostril. She leaves her hand on the side of your face for a second before removing it.
"I'll be okay. I'm sure it's nothing." You wince and hold your ribs as the medics help you waddle slowly off of the pitch.

You lay down in the recovery room with something similar to a tampon up your nose and an ice pack on your ribs. Your head was spinning slightly and you couldn't help thinking about Leah. Why she was by your side so quickly. Why her hand had lingered on your face. Why she was speaking to you again.
You heard the full time whistle out on the pitch and hustle and bustle outside the room while all the players and staff made their way off the pitch. Katie, Viv, Beth and Stina came to check on you before they went off to get changed. After the four of them had left you sat up and tried to get your shirt off over your head, but trying to stretch your arms up was causing you pain.
"Did you want a hand with that?" You jump slightly not realising Leah had walked into the room. Your cheeks flush slightly as you nod sheepishly at her.
"You gave me a bit of a fright out there." Leah said as she held either side of your shirt and slipped it over your head gently.
"What? Why?" You felt your sarcasm hanging heavily in your words. Her eyes lingered on your bruised body as she handed your top back to you.
"I just- after I had a go at you that time, I didn't mean to, I'd had a shit day, which is no excuse and I took it out on you but after that I feel like you've been taking a lot more risks than you normally would. You knew it was slippery by that post, you should never have gone in from that angle and if I hadn't of shouted at you to do better then you might not have nearly taken yourself out on a goal post." Leah rambled all in one go. She breathed a sigh of relief after her words exited her mouth.
Her eyes met yours as she looked at you vulnerably through her long eyelashes.
"Leah, none of this is your fault. I went for it because I wanted to score, not because of what you said." You smiled weakly at her, your eye contact still holding.
"Do you hate me?" She whispered, finally breaking eye contact and looking down.
You reach out a single finger and curl it under her chin to lift her head up so you can go back to her bright blue eyes.
"I could never hate you. You were just being passionate and doing your job." You smile at her and she finally smiles back.
You sit back on the recovery table and pull Leah in for a hug between your legs.
"Never beat yourself up about being passionate." You mumble into Leah's neck.
She unwraps her arms and pulls back slightly from the hug, she leaves her arms on your shoulders but her face slowly levels with yours.
Your eyes meet and you watch as her eyes slowly dip to look at your lips. Your brain suddenly caught up with what was happening and before you could do or say anything Leah placed her lips softly on yours. Her fingers entwined themselves in your hair and you began to move your lips instinctively with hers. What felt like electricity was flowing through your body, making your back arc suddenly and you hiss in pain, breaking the kiss.
"Shit, I'm sorry." Leah leapt backwards in fear that she'd hurt you.
"Leah-" you began.
"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't of." She quickly exited the room and were left staring at the door in amazement. You didn't know what had just happened, all you knew was that you liked it, a lot.

You put your top back on and slowly gathered your things together. You stand in front of the mirror above the sink and pull the tissue clump from your nostril. Although it had stopped bleeding it still hurt. You wash your face as best as you can and head out to your car. As you make your way across the car park the bitter wind soothes your painful nose. You press the unlock button on the remote key and fling your bag into the back seat.
As you drive home you think about Leah, the kiss, the way she gripped you when she thought you were hurt. When you get home you get straight in the shower and rub some deep heat on your ribs to sooth the pain. You check your phone.

1 Message

Leah W

"Hey, I'm sorry I ran out on you like that earlier. Can we talk tomorrow? X"

You find yourself smiling slightly at the name on your screen. You reply with a simple "sure x" and head to bed. You looked forward to your recovery day tomorrow to try and get yourself on the mend as best as possible.