Kulti(158)

I went for it; I jumped straight into the air as a version of my lifelong friend and enemy, the ball, continued its trajectory toward me. Someone elbowed me right in the boob, but I ignored the pain. I could sense people moving around nearby.

I was going to get it. I was going to get it.

Later on, I would realize that I didn’t get it.

The last thing I was aware of was the sharp pain that cracked the back of my head.

….

….

Sal!

Casillas!

Schnecke!

Goddamnit!

Schnecke!

SCHNECKE!

….

….

I didn’t even know I’d gotten knocked out until I opened my eyes and found myself on my back, staring up at Kulti’s face, whose eyes were maybe two inches above mine.

Kulti’s breath washed over my mouth, ragged and uneven. His face full of an expression I wasn’t remotely familiar with. And his eyes….

“Move back! Move!” someone yelled from nearby, and I found myself blinking, trying to remember what the hell happened.

A second before Kulti was pushed away by two paramedics, he squeezed my hand. I hadn’t even realized he’d been holding it.



* * *



“Overnight?”

The doctor smiled at me. “Yes, overnight. We just want to be on the safe side with your medical history.”

This wasn’t my first or my second concussion. It also didn’t help that the player who had elbowed the daylights out of me, was twice my size and had an arm that would have given a professional bodybuilder a boner. If I was going to get knocked out, at least it had been by a girl like Melanie Matthews, the second most aggressive defender in the WPL after Harlow. My concussion was practically a badge of honor.

“All right.” I didn’t sigh because it would have made me move half an inch and that was more than I wanted to. She really had knocked the shit out of me.

“Excellent. The nurse will be in here to check on you. The call button is to your left if you need anything.”

Unfortunately or fortunately, however you wanted to look at it, this wasn’t my first stay in the hospital. Knee surgeries, ankle surgeries and that one time I got pneumonia had all landed me an overnight stay. It wasn’t the end of the world.

“Your team rep is outside, I’ll let her in,” the doctor said.

“Thank you,” I called out to his retreating figure loud enough that it made my head buzz with pain.

By some miracle, they had given me a room to myself. My best guess was that it was the Pipers insurance that provided it, so I wasn’t going to complain at all.

A knock came at the door, but it didn’t open until I called out. Sheena’s head popped through the door before she swung it open and came in. “Sal, how are you feeling?” she asked, a small plant in her hands. She’d been the one who had ridden over in the ambulance with me after they’d carried me off the field like I’d broken my spine.

“I’m all right,” I told her. “I feel like I’ve been beaten with a sledgehammer, but it’s okay.”

She smiled and set the plant on the rolling table next to the bed. “I’m happy to hear that. What did the doctor say?”

“It’s a concussion, but since it isn’t my first one they want to keep me overnight to be on the safe side.”

Sheena let out a slow whistle. “You gave us a scare. That’s for sure. Is there anything I can get you?”

“I’m fine, but do you think you can have someone bring me my bag or at least ask Jenny if she can keep it for me? It’s in the locker room.”

“Sure, Sal. No problem,” she agreed.

Then I asked her the question I’d been wondering about for the last two hours. “Do you know if we won?”

“We did. Genevieve scored in the last three minutes.”

Well at least this crap hadn’t been in vain. “That’s great,” I said.

“It sure is. She’s the next generation, isn’t she?”

The next generation. She was only five years younger than me, for the love of crap. It wasn’t like I was about to croak or needed to invest in a wheelchair anytime soon, jeez.

“Yeah, she is,” I gritted out, annoyed. I wondered if she knew what Cordero was planning.

We looked at each other awkwardly, at a loss for what else to say.

She smiled and glanced at the door. “Well, if there’s not anything else, I should head back now. I wanted to make sure you were fine.”

“I’m all right, thanks.”

“I’ll leave my number on the pad over here in case you need me, and I’ll make sure your bag gets picked up,” she assured.

I somehow smiled using only the minimal amount of facial muscles. “Thanks, Sheena.”