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CHAPTER THIRTY THREE: BROKEN
- 2018 - 📍Delbarton School
"OW, OW, OW!" Valerie threw her head back as two of her teammates, Haley and Alex, helped her sit up.
They were in the 5th inning of their softball game, and they were winning, as usual. Delbarton's softball team was one of the best, and they were undefeated thus far. They were always competitive, and were known for their aggressive defense and speed.
Val loved playing softball, and she'd always been a natural athlete. She played basketball and soccer as well, but softball was her favorite. She'd been taking a step to throw the ball to first base, something she'd done a hundred times before, when she felt a pop in her knee.
She'd immediately fallen, clutching her knee, her eyes squeezed shut. Haley and Alex were the first ones at her side, helping her to sit up. A couple moments later, her coach, Coach Cohen, was crouching next to her, checking her out.
"Can you stand?" he asked, his voice calm.
"I don't know," Val replied, biting her lip.
Coach Cohen nodded, and signaled to the dugout. A few seconds later, one of the school's nurses that liked attending their games for some reason, was jogging towards them, and Haley and Alex were pulling Val to her feet.
"Ok, try putting weight on it," the nurse said, and Val took a deep breath and put her right foot on the ground.
She cried out as pain shot through her knee, and a second later, her friends were lowering her back to the ground.
"Shit," she hissed, her eyes watering.
"Ok, let's get you up," the nurse instructed, and the two girls helped her stand.
Val gritted her teeth, and did her best to hide her discomfort, but when they started walking, a couple tears spilled down her cheeks. They got to the dugout before the nurse took over, somehow getting Val to her office, and sat her on the table.
She was in the middle of her initial exam when the door flew open, and Anthony burst into the room.
"Hey, hey, you can't be in here," the nurse scolded, her eyes darting from Val to the boy, who looked panicked.
"He's fine," Val muttered, giving Anthony a weak smile.
The nurse glared at him, but turned back to her patient, her hands still on her knee. Anthony took that as an invitation and walked over, his face pale.
