Page 60 of The Recovery Coach
He swallowed.This again.“But you have a job.I still need you.”
Livy rolled her eyes.“No, you don’t.Robbie is going to release you for limited activity as soon as we get home.You’re barely limping these days.”
“Well, yeah.I can mostly walk again.But I still need you.”
She smirked.“For what?”
Hazy stared at her, trying to come up with a single thing he still needed help with.Two and a half months into his recovery, he was almost entirely independent.He’d transitioned out of crutches weeks ago.He could shower unsupervised and stand for prolonged periods.“Like… who would count my PT exercises?”
Livy snorted and bumped her shoulder against his.“You learned how to count to ten in kindergarten like the rest of us.”She stuffed a bite into her mouth.
“C’mon, Livy,” he whined.“You can’t expect me to get better all by myself.I need you to coach me through it.Every step of the way.There’s still three months on your contract.”
They both knew he could get by without her.But her working for him meant seeing her every day.She was being well paid, taken care of, and had an obligation to deal with his shit.Hazy didn’t ever want her to find a different job.He wanted her to let him take care of her so they could hang out all the time.
Fuck.Was that best friend thoughts?Best friends want to monopolize their best friend’s time, take care of them, never let them stress, and snuggle them every night, right?He did all that with Lover, too.
“You are such a baby.I’m finding a new job.Deal with it.It’ll probably take me months of applying anyway.”
That lifted his spirits, despite his spiraling.She wasn’t backing out of her contract.Months.He could work with months.Maybe by then he would figure out what the fuck his problem was.He needed to talk to Lover.Lover would know what to do.
Chapter 23
Hazy
Hazyvibratedwithexcitementin his trainer’s office at the practice rink.He should have been able to check in with Robbie when they got home from Christmas, but due to a flu going around the locker room, Robbie needed to travel with the team for their one-game road trip to Salt Lake City.
Which meant Hazy had to deal with his brace and movement restrictions for two days longer than anticipated.Robbie agreed to come into the practice rink on his day off as a special favor to Hazy.AKA Hazy whined so much he’d bullied his care team into abandoning their game day routines.
He didn’t feel bad.After eleven long weeks, he would be free of his brace.Robbie held a steadying hand out as he took his first few full-weight steps in months.A smile spread across his face as he stretched his muscles.
His leg ached, but in a good way.
“How long until I can skate?”he asked.
“A couple of months still.But the good news is you can start with weight training and conditioning.You’ll be in physical therapy for at least six more weeks.There’s plenty for you to work on between now and then.”
They worked through half an hour of stretching and balance exercises, and then Robbie dismissed him with strict instructions to take it easy.Hazy resisted the urge to do ten miles on his stationary bike.
As he exited Robbie’s office, Livy greeted him with a bright smile.She gave him a round of applause and punched the air.“He can walk!”
Hazy laughed and playfully shoved her arm.“Shut up, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh whatever.For days all I’d heard is,”—she put on a bad impression of his voice—“‘only four days, then I can be done with this stupid shit,’ ‘in three days I’ll be running laps around you,’ and ‘two more days until I’m fully mobile.’You’re allowed to be excited.”
“Good, because I’m fucking pumped.I can’t wait for the game tonight.”
The Freeze would be celebrating the new year by hosting the annual winter outdoor game.They’d be taking on the Denver Peaks in a makeshift outdoor rink hosted in the baseball stadium.
Hazy took his time getting ready.With his newfound mobility, he’d be posing for pictures with the rest of his team.
When he’d walked out of his room in a suit, Livy’s eyes widened.
“Damn, I forgot you clean up this nice.”
His heart flipped at the compliment.“You’re one to talk,” he said.“Look at you!”
She did a spin and struck a pose, showing off the special winter edition jersey she wore.Seeing Valentine across her back caused a twinge in his chest.He rubbed it away.
