Page 19 of The Recovery Coach
They brought food with them and watched old episodes ofThe Officewhile they ate sad, cold burritos from his favorite food truck.
Hazy’s phone rang, and he patted around the bed, the vibrations coming from somewhere but getting lost in the sea of wires and sheets.Lover pulled it free and glanced at the screen before smiling and answering the phone.
“Hi, Mrs.Hale!How are you?”
Oh God.His mom was calling.Fuck.What could she be thinking?He had to be carried off the ice, and he hadn’t bothered to call.
Lover grinned and said, “Oh yeah, he’s doing good.He’s awake and eating lunch right now.Here, I’ll let you talk to him.”
He held the phone out to Hazy, who grabbed it and took a deep breath before pressing it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Connor!How are you feeling?”
“Oh, you know, I’m alright,” he lied.
“Livy told me you would say that.”
“God dammit, Livy,” he muttered, but he was relieved.At least someone contacted them.“Fine.I’m not alright.I’m going to have to have help at home for the next few weeks; I can’t walk; and Coach said I’m out for the season.And I’m missing the trip I’ve been excited about for months.”
Silence lingered long enough for him to realize his mistake.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.Your father and I can come and take care of you.We can be there in a few hours.”
“No!”Hazy shouted.He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.“Please don’t, Mom.The team will take care of everything.I’m just frustrated.”
“Don’t be silly.There’s no need to get by with hired help when we’re perfectly capable of taking some time off and visiting our favorite son.”
Hazy, panicking, searched the room for some reason his parents shouldn’t come stay with him.If he had to host them, he would never recover.His life away from his hometown was none of their business.They’d be disappointed if they saw his unglamorous lifestyle.His eyes flew past Lover and Beanie, who studied him with curious expressions, and landed on the overnight bag Livy had been nice enough to bring him.
“No, Mom, really.Don’t come.I’ll be fine.Besides.I’m not hiring anyone.Livy said she could help me,” he said, another lie slipping from his lips.He hated lying to his mom.But he could make it the truth.Livy was staying with him, anyway.
His mom hummed.“That’s a lot to put on Livy.The poor girl is going through enough as it is.”
Hazy latched onto the opportunity.“She is!And she’s working through it.We can help each other.”
His mother was a worrywart, but she would never intrude on Livy.If she thought Livy would benefit from spending some time with Hazy, she’d go with whatever was best for her girl.
“Okay.But I’ll be checking in with Livy, and the second she gets overwhelmed, we’re coming right on over.Don’t make her life too hard.”
“I would never,” he said in a serious tone, trying to convey to his mom that he meant business.They’d always agreed about Livy.She was to be protected and taken care of at all costs.
“Of course you wouldn’t.I raised you to be a nice boy.Don’t wait too long to check in.You need your rest, but a mother worries.Call us if you need anything.We can be there in the blink of an eye.”
“I know, Mom.I love you.”
“I love you, too.Focus on resting and recovering.”
“I will.Bye.”
“Bye.”
He ended the call only to be bombarded with questions.
“You’re out for the season?”Beanie asked, horrified.
“Livy is going to take care of you while you heal?”Lover wore an almost giddy expression.
