Team Captain

Chapter 1

{Colin's POV} 

As I went in for the tackle, all I heard was a loud pop, and then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain shot through my body, radiating from my left knee. I tried to shake it off, but the moment I planted my foot, my knee buckled, sending another wave of agony coursing through me.

I've always had a high pain tolerance, but this? This was different. It was like my knee was on fire, and the only thing I could do was scream before collapsing onto the freshly watered grass, clutching my knee, desperate for the pain to stop.

The referee's whistle echoed through the stadium, halting the game. In seconds, my teammates, the opponents, the ref, and our medical staff surrounded me.

"I heard it pop, Murphy," I said to Dr. Murphy, who rushed over with the team's medics.

Murphy began twisting and examining my knee, each movement making me want to knock him out. The pain was unbearable. After a quick assessment, he and his assistant exchanged concerned looks, and without a word, his assistant signaled for the medical cart.

"Bennett, listen," Murphy said, his tone serious. "This doesn't look good. We'll get a stretcher and take you off the field, alright?"

A stretcher? Me? Colin Bennett, captain of the Royal Pythons, leaving the pitch on a stretcher? No way in hell.

"No! No stretcher," I snapped, forcing myself to sit up, pushing against the grass. "Just spray the knee. I'll walk it off." I grabbed the water bottle someone handed me and splashed it on my face, hoping to clear my mind.

"Bennett, I'm telling you, this is serious. You can't just walk this off!" Murphy insisted, but I ignored him, grabbing Luca, our right-back, as he helped pull me to my feet.

"You good, Colin?" Luca asked, his voice low with concern.

I nodded, patting his shoulder as the roar of the fans filled the stadium. The noise was deafening, but I couldn't focus on that. I tried to walk, but the pain pierced through me again. Luca quickly wrapped his arm around my torso, helping me take the weight off my injured knee.

"Colin, por favor," he whispered, pleading with me.

I sighed, finally accepting the inevitable. This wasn't something I could walk off. This was bad. Real bad. I ripped off the captain's armband, handing it over as the reality of the injury hit me.

---

"Hey, you okay?" James asked as he entered the locker room, moments after Murphy had left.

"Perfect," I replied sarcastically. "Never felt better, James. No, really."

James sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "I just spoke with Murphy..."

"And?" I asked, adjusting the ice pack that was starting to slide off my knee.

"He thinks it's your ACL," James said cautiously, like he was hoping it wasn't true.

The ACL. The ligament that holds everything together in the knee. If it's torn, you're looking at surgery and months of grueling physical therapy. Best-case scenario, it's a partial tear, but if it's a full tear... well, that's every player's nightmare. Careers have ended because of it.

I tapped my right foot impatiently on the floor. "He thinks? What the hell am I supposed to do with 'he thinks,' James?"

---

Last night, after the game, Murphy, James, and I went to urgent care to get an MRI. Murphy stuck me in a knee brace and told me to stay off it until we had the results. So now, here I am, stuck on my couch with an ice pack strapped to my knee.