The Player | SPORTS ROMANCE | 18+

Chapter 5

FOUR MONTHS LATER

TITUS REYES

"You can't stay cooped up in your room forever, you know." Mum sighed as she entered my room without knocking.

I had been home for two months now to recover under the love and care of my diligent parents, but very quickly I felt suffocated. My shoulder was long healed – it ached sometimes at night, or when it was cold, but that was more discomfort than pain – and even my spinal cord injury after the surgery. I was back to full mobility and had even thrown a ball around with my brother in the park a few times, but I was still long from returning to playing on the football field.

Doctor Caldwin and Coach – as well as the countless investors for the New York Eagles – were overjoyed that I had fully healed, physically at least. There was still another two months until the season started, and Coach was on my case about renewing my contract with the team for another four years, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not just yet.

I may have fully healed, but my right arm would never be as good as it used to be. It would never be as strong, no matter how hard I trained it, and I certainly wouldn't be able to throw the same way again. I would either have to settle for it only being as half as good as it used to be or train my left arm to do the job that I had trained my right arm to do.

It appeared to be an impossible task and while the old me would have jumped at the challenge, this new me could do nothing but revel in my own sadness and pity.

There were many eyes on me while I was injured, all of them wondering if I would heal. If I would ever be able to play again and while I had proved them all wrong, I knew it wouldn't be the same.

Whenever I would get on the field, the fear of falling and landing on my shoulder, or a rough jab to the back would always plague me. I may have escaped it once, but a second time wasn't guaranteed. In fact, a second time could be fatal but honestly, that was the least of my worries right now.

Instead, something else plagued my mind. Something that I didn't know I even wanted but now that it had been taken away from me, it felt like I couldn't go a single moment without thinking about it.

"Titus?" Mum called out to me. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Nothing." I denied quickly and shook my head. "I was just daydreaming."

"About anything particularly?" She continued to push.

I knew mum and dad only worried about me, but they were really smothering me and that did more harm than good. But I wasn't going to be the one to tell them that. It would break their hearts, and I already had enough pain to deal with.

"No."

Mum sighed, moving away from the doorway to venture into my room. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to her for me to join. I did.

"You can't keep pushing us away, Titus."

"I'm not pushing you away, mum." I sighed and ran a tired hand down the side of my face. "I'm just going through a lot of stuff right now."

"I know very well what you're going through right now, Titus." Mum exhaled deeply and placed her hand over mind, giving it a gentle, motherly squeeze that warmed my heart. Only a little.

Everyone thought they knew what was wrong with me. They thought that some fresh air and time with family would do me good and I would return to play football with my teammates at the beginning of the season.

But they didn't know. None of them knew the truth.

They didn't know what I had truly lost as a result of my injuries.