Redshirt Season

Chapter II

Eva's POV:

As I lay in my bed with my eyes closed, unwilling to let the day actually start, I hear a knock on my door. Knowing full well it's Chloe I tell her to come in.

"Hey babe, you ready for today" she asked me in a tone that was mostly caring, but some what pitiful.

I hated that now. The way that people have pitied me since the injury. The way I've been treated like I'm fragile, something that can break at any moment. My injury isn't a reflection of me, and my normally unshakable character, but some people don't understand that.

"Ready as I can be I guess" was my only reply.

Chloe then proceeds to help me get ready for the day in comfortable silence.

It's a weird shift to not be able to complete mundane tasks on my own. As of right now it's very difficult to put on my own shorts, and I can't even get my socks and shoes on myself. That's a job for Chloe. For the first couple of days I'm even going to need help using the washroom, my cast preventing me from properly sitting on the toilet. I know that the change isn't a permanent one, and I won't need such large amounts of support for very long, but it is still a hard situation to adjust to.

While pondering these thoughts in my head I've somehow managed to get through my morning routine with help from Chloe. Leaving me with my crutches in hand she walks into the kitchen.

"I've made you some breakfast. Just some quick eggs and a smoothie" she told me from the other room.

"Thank you so much Chlo, honestly don't know what I'd do without you"

"Uh... right now without me you'd probably be stuck in bed"

"You know what I mean. But yea you're probably right" I reply, chuckling at her quip.

"We'll leave to get in the car in ten minutes, you good with that" she told me while scrolling on her phone.

"Yep, thanks again for bringing me to my PT. I really appreciate it"

"I wouldn't make you go through the first one alone, don't even worry about it"

As I quickly eat my breakfast I think about what it's going to be like in the clinic. I've never really had a reason to visit it. My freshman year was blessedly injury free. Only a couple of tweaks here and there but they were quickly fixed by and on field massage or tapping. I guess I'm going to have to get used to the idea of visiting the AT Clinic. Honestly, I might just have to start paying rent for the amount of time I'm going to spend there.

The recover period for a torn ACL is six to twelve months. As much as I'd like to be back in six, my surgeon has made it very clear that I will not be cleared to play in full contact games until a year has passed. So for the next year I'll be in the clinic with Kathryn three times a week, and in the gym every day. It'll be long, and tiring but I'm prepared to put in the work. Or, at least I think I am.

Stepping into the car I put the address for the sports facility into the navigator. The Clinic is ten minutes away for our apartment, giving Chloe and I just enough time to listen to our favorite songs and relax before entering into a high stress situation.

Fifteen minutes of talking and singing later we find ourselves at the AT Clinic.

"Okay, I'll help you out of the car then we'll head on inside. It's 9:50 so we're ten minutes early but I thought that would be best incase you need to fill out any forms" Chloe told me, rationalizing her incessant need to always be early.

"Yea no worries, it's better to be early than late"

As we walk in I take in my surrounding. It is a beautiful facility. The room is lined with physio beds all in a row next to each other. Across from the beds on a large piece of rubber flooring is the huge gym. From tons of machines, to racks of weights, and even underwater treadmills, this facility had it all. In the far corner I can even see a long piece of artificial grass, adorned with foot balls, baseballs, and thankfully a couple soccer balls.