Sticks and Stones

Five: Challenge Accepted

And cue tension!

Another reminder to leave a comment on any thoughts you have with the story! Would love to hear what you all think :)

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Tatum was contemplating what she was gonna say to Coach Mercer as she watched the clock tick closer and closer to the hour. Brady had about one more minute before he was late again. She really wasn't sure if Brady was going to come to their session or not. Her hope was that their conversation had made him wary enough to show. Doctor Evans seemed on board with her plan to go to the hockey coach if he refused the plan. They couldn't exactly let him play if he was injured. Coach Mercer trusted Evans and the rest of them implicitly. Tatum knew him as an incredibly kind man, and he appeared to genuinely care for his players. He wanted what was best for them and helped many players make their way into the NHL.

It was common knowledge that any team would want to draft Brady when the time came. He had been playing hockey for as long as he could walk. Kinsley rarely talked about her half brother. However, when she did, it usually just shed light on how they grew up with people praising his name. Tatum couldn't exactly be surprised that he turned out to be a bit full of himself. When people treated you like you could walk on water, she couldn't be surprised by the fact that he started to believe it himself.

Genuinely, she couldn't imagine having gone through what he did. To live your entire life having one thing define your entire being, only to have that thing ripped away from you. Not even just taken away, but to have someone maliciously destroy that life. And then, to have that person face no consequences. To know they were still out there. It was eerie, especially since law enforcement didn't have any leads. It could happen again at any point. Maybe he thought there was no use in fixing his knee. Maybe he was scared it would just happen again.

But either way, his knee was in bad shape. Really bad shape. Tatum couldn't, in good conscience, say he was all right to play if he didn't at least try to do the plan. She knew she could help him if he let her. But that all depended on if he walked through those doors.

And right at the last second, the sound of the door opening filled the air. She turned her head as Brady walked in, a sour expression on his face. A wave of surprise passed over her. If she was being honest, she hadn't expected him to actually show up. She did her best to not look too pleased with the situation, but this was a first step towards talking with Doctor Ashford. Towards a future she had been working years for.

"You showed up," Tatum stated in surprise, a hand on her hip.

"Did I have a choice?" Brady asked sourly as he continued into the room with a huff. His brown hair was messy like he just rolled out of bed.

She scrunched her face. "Technically, yes."

"Yeah, well, Coach told me the same thing you did," Brady sighed out, dropping his backpack onto the ground.

"Smart guy," she quipped shortly, picking up the packet with his evaluation and plan.

"Stubborn guy," he corrected quietly. Tatum so badly wanted to retort with the fact that he might be one of the most stubborn people she ever met. But she was trying kindness first, per her mother's advice. And so, she kept things moving.

"Lay down, we're gonna do some stretches," she told him, gesturing loosely to the mat.

Brady let out another sigh, as if all of this was just such a burden to him. She bit her tongue, deciding to not call him out for the absurd amount of times he had sighed already in the last few minutes. "Stretch, huh? That's your great idea?"