Football Boys

Chapter Nine

Speeding down the gloomy hall of the hospital, I quickly read through all of the names on the doors.

Ellison, Ellez ... Ellie.

Staring at the door in thought as I tried to catch my breath, I wondered if Ellie were asleep and if coming so late was a good idea.

Hesitating, I knocked softly, hearing no response.

I walked in after hearing a slight moan followed by a whispered "come in."

Gently closing the door behind me, I briefly grinned as Ellie's brown eyes darted over at me with an unreadable expression.

He looked as if he had already been up before I came in, a television remote sitting in his hand.

He didn't speak as I approached his bed, only staring at me with a slight frown.

I sat on a stool beside him and eyed his broken leg with guilt.

"Hey Ellie," I whispered.

He nodded in my direction.

"How are you feeli–"

"I'm fine," he said plainly.

A bit taken back by his tone, I almost didn't want to ask anymore questions as he glared at me.

Confused, I twiddled with my fingers.

"Well... I heard you were here and was a bit worried," I began apprehensively. "The trip to leave for our game is tomorrow morning... so... so I came here to check on y–"

"You weren't even at practice," he interrupted.

"Yea, but–"

"Stop," he sighed.

I was shocked to find him frowning at me now.

Chuckling incredulously, he stared up at the ceiling.

"All this time... and you pretend that now of all times that I'm all of a sudden your first thought."

Flabbergasted, I couldn't find the words to respond, my heart sinking into my stomach as he glared daggers at me.

"I'm tired Tyler. I'm tired..."

He chuckled again after shrugging his shoulders.

There was a long pause; silence overcoming the room to be interrupted by the faint sound of the television.

I sat there not knowing what to say or do, scared that whatever I did would get an unwanted outcome.

Suddenly, Ellie met my eyes and took in a breath.

"We used to be really close you know? You always cared about what was happening with me and always texted me when I needed a friend," he said firmly.

Beginning to wonder where this was going, I averted my eyes and clenched my jaw in remorseful anticipation.

"We've been through shit man. But ever since high school... you haven't treated me the same way. I don't care if I sound like clingy... emotional or whatever, but it hurts. It hurts to see someone who you thought was your best friend give all of their attention to someone else. And I don't mean Natalie," he frowned.