Page 15 of Dibs
“Based on what you’ve said and my exam, I think you’ve torn your ACL.”
My shoulders sagged. “Are you sure?”
“Well, I’m going to order an MRI, but that’s really to check the extent of your injury. Given what I’ve seen, I feel confident in my diagnosis. Someone will be in shortly to take you to imaging. In the meantime, I’ve ordered some pain medication to make you a little more comfortable while you wait.”
I went to pull my phone from my shorts, only to realize it was still in my backpack where I’d put it when we started to play football. I wanted to let the guys know what was going on. A torn ACL was not the news I’d wanted to hear. If that was the case, I’d likely miss a large portion of the season—at least—but I didn’t want to think about that.
As I waited to be taken for the MRI, a nurse came in and gave me some pain meds. “A few guys in the waiting room want to check on you. I can let one of them back if you’d like.”
I nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
I expected Chase to come back, but Coach Phillips entered my room a few minutes later.
“Uh, hey, Coach.”
“Don’t ‘hey coach’ me. What the hell were you guys thinking?”
“I’m sorry. We were just tossing a football around on the beach. I didn’t think I’d get hurt.”
He shook his head. “And what did the doctor say?”
“Possibly a torn ACL.” I grimaced.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
I let out a shuddering breath. Disappointing Coach, as well as my team, was the last thing I wanted to do.
Coach Phillips stayed with me until I was wheeled back for the MRI. “I’m going to let the guys know what’s going on and send them home. I’ll give you a ride back to your dorm once you’re discharged.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
The MRI took almost an hour, and Coach was waiting in my room when I returned. The tech moved my bed back into position and informed us the doctor would be with us as soon as they had the results, but it could take a little while.
“Your parents are on their way,” Coach said and handed me my phone. “Matthewson grabbed this for you.”
“Thanks.”
There were a few texts from my teammates, and I opened the one from Chase.
Coach Phillips updated us. Man, that sucks. Let me know if you need anything.
I typed out a quick response:
Yeah, it doesn’t look good. I’ll keep you posted.
A little while later, a text from my parents came through that said they’d made it to the hospital. Before I could respond, the doctor stepped inside the curtain.
“I have the results from your MRI,” she announced.
“My parents just got here. Can they come back before you tell me what’s going on?”
“Sure.”
She stepped out of my room and walked to the nurses’ station. She said something before the nurse nodded and picked up the phone. Less than two minutes later, my parents came rushing into my room.
“Gage, are you okay?” my mother asked as she bent down and hugged me.
“I’ve been better,” I murmured.
