Stronger (The University of Gatica #4) (2 page)

Chrissy was up next.

It was now or never.

A loud roar washed across the expanse of the indoor track stadium. Her brother, Jason, caught her attention. He and a few of the hockey guys had taken up a small spot at the bottom of the stands nearest her event. He yelled loudly, his arms waving above his head as his friends joined in the disruption. An official turned to walk toward them, the poor man only seeming to incite their excitement.

Chrissy shook her head, a smile lifting her mouth. Her older brother was all she had in the world. Their parents had divorced when they were younger, their mother taking custody of the two of them. Thanks to wild living and being too young to raise kids, she and Jason had raised each other. She walked to the edge of the thin path of Mondo that would lead to victory or failure. Turning over her shoulder to glance at him once more, she chuckled. Half of his face was painted in burgundy red. The rest was part white, part navy blue. He was in full school spirit if nothing else.

"Focus," she whispered to herself, turning and squatting up and down a few times.

"Okay, kiddo. Let's see if the hard work’s paid off." Coach Anderson stood beside Coach Maves, the older man more attractive than he should be. Chrissy turned her thoughts to the task in front of her, the world stilling for a moment.

Nothing else mattered.

It never did.

Chrissy pushed off. With laser focus on the path before her, she pumped her arms and legs as hard as possible, her speed being the propellant she would need for a proper jump. A soft voice counted her steps before she whispered in her head
now
as she approached the sand pit. Shifting slightly she lowered her center of gravity and lengthened her stride. Two long steps later she was airborne, her leg kicking powerfully as she had trained to do over and over.

A shift of her gaze to the left caused her to turn slightly, the ground coming too fast to right herself. A yelp escaped her as she plowed into the sand. Heat sprung up from her right thigh, her knee bending too far upon impact. This miscalculation caused her head to snap back, hitting the ground hard. She rolled over on her side, reaching down and forcing her legs to bend. Another cry left her, hot tears rushing to cloud her vision. The sand stuck instantly to the wetness on her face.

Something was wrong.

"Chrissy. What hurts?" Maves ran toward her, dropping down to kneel just beside her.

"I think I pulled something. It’s my quad, my hamstring and calf.” She spit sand out of her mouth. “It’s my knee." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, the tendrils of discomfort roaring to life as pain slammed into her. She pushed at the coach and turned onto her good knee, her other leg awkwardly out to the side. "I'm going to be sick."

She barely got her words out before her lunch ruined the small white pail sitting beside the pit, as if perfectly placed there just for her. The sound of Coach Maves yelling washed over her, but nothing registered properly. Closing her eyes for a minute and trying like hell not to roll in agony, Chrissy screamed as a large man pulled her into his arms. He lifted her from the ground and moved toward the sidelines.

"It's okay. I gotcha. It's probably a sprain. Nothing serious. Just hold on to me. I'm right here." Her brother pulled her closer, his large arms under her as he smiled down at her.

"It must be bad."

"Why d’you say that?" he asked, nodding toward the field doc that walked toward them.

Chrissy laid her head back and closed her eyes, dizziness washing over her. "You're being sweet."

"I'm always sweet."

"You're an ass usually."

"A sweet ass?"

She wanted to chuckle, but nothing came out. The scene before her faded as her brother laid her on a stretcher.

His hand pressed to her stomach as he leaned over. "You're going to be fine, okay? Just need to get an X-ray of that leg of yours. Too much adrenaline and the injury are causing you to feel like shit. Just go with it and rest."

"Don't tell me what to do." Her words slurred as Jason smiled.

"Never."

She tried to smile back as darkness rushed in and gave her rest.

"Hey, superstar. You finally waking up?"

Chrissy licked at her dry lips, her eyelids heavy with sleep. She turned toward the sound of Jason's voice and finally got her eyes to focus on him.

His grin was huge and cheesy as hell.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like creepy," she whispered, turning her head back straight and closing her eyes. "What happened?"

"Creepy..." he muttered. The sound of him moving caused her to look around again. A sharp pain ran down the base of her head through her back. She cried out softly, reaching up to touch the side of her head.

"Hey, take it easy." Coach Maves approached to her right. Chrissy turned her head slightly and worked to appear fine. "You hit your head pretty hard. No concussion, but you're going to be a little sore. You have the pleasure of taking it easy for the next week, just in time for exams."

"Sure, Coach.” Chrissy said the words automatically, knowing full well she planned on training as soon as she could. Like tomorrow. “How’d I do?"

"You came in second, but you've hyperextended your ACL. You're going to be out for a couple of months at best, the indoor season for sure, the outdoor season at worst."

"What? No. I can't do that." Chrissy moved to sit up, the world spinning. Maves reached out and Jason, on the other side of the bed, carefully pushed her back down.

"Chill out, lil’ sis. You hit your head. Just because the doctor’s not calling it a concussion doesn't mean you don't need to take it easy," he growled softly.

"What does that mean for my scholarship?" The small machine next to her beeped loudly as her heart began to race. Chrissy pulled up her left hand and tugged the small contraption off of her. The beeping got louder. Maves moved to the small box and hit a few buttons before scowling over her shoulder.

"Your scholarship’s fine. If the injury takes out your indoor and outdoor season, the Board of Athletics will look into it. But don’t worry. You can do it. Just need to follow closely the rehab regimen that the doc, physio and athletic therapist come up with."

"Two months of no meets? No training?" She sighed loudly, nothing making sense. It was one jump. First meet of the season. Pre-season really. Indoors didn’t officially start till January. “How far did I jump?”

Maves grinned. She knew Chrissy’s determination. “It doesn’t matter, but it was pretty close for qualifying for indoor NCAAs.”

“I’m not sitting out for two months. It’s too long.”

Her brother scoffed. "We're out for Christmas for some of that, so stop bitching. You need to get your legs stronger anyway. Remember when you did this in junior high?"

"So this isn't the first time?" Coach Anderson walked in, his voice loud and filling the small make-shift clinic.

"No!” She glared at Jason. “It was nothing, and it healed quickly. It wasn't a big deal at all." Chrissy reached for her brother. Jason moved in close and helped her sit slowly. Her right knee was swollen, like a grapefruit sat under the skin. Blue and puffy, it wasn't looking good. An ice bag sat under it. "Shit..." She reached down and touched the flesh, the doctor walking back in and clearing his throat.

He set another small ice pack down on top of the tender spot.

Chrissy sucked in air between clenched teeth.

"You're going to need to keep ice on it for the next three days. Rotate it every two hours. Even at night." The doctor shifted his gaze toward Jason. "Make sure you set an alarm and change your girlfriend’s ice pack. I'll give you three so you have enough."

"She's my sister, dude." Jason rolled his eyes and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Oh, sorry. Either way, someone is going to have to stay with her and help for three days. She’s off of it completely until Tuesday at the earliest. After that you're looking at crutches for three days. Maybe, possibly, by next weekend you can get around with one crutch. Do
not
overdo it. You're on the edge of a massive tear in your ACL. If you don't heed my warning and take good care of yourself, you'll be down for a semester or two with surgery."

Tears filled Chrissy's eyes again. She reached up and pushed them away as Maves reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "If I take care of it... will it heal?" She reached down, pulling her shirt up as she bent over and finished wiping her eyes.

"If you take great care of it and work hard to strengthen the muscles around it." He walked toward a long counter that ran the length of the wall. "I'm going to prescribe you something to take for the pain and to get some rest. Come back on Tuesday and see me. We'll talk about the progression of exercises that I'm going to prescribe."

"We have ice baths, ultrasound, and everything else at our disposal,” Coach Anderson said. “I assume you're going to want her in the weight room? Doing some non-weight bearing activities?" Coach Anderson slipped his hands into his suit pants, the look on his face pensive at best. He always wore a suit during home meets. It was a running joke with the student athletes.

"Yes. I’ll make sure everything’s all organized for you. I can let the weight room coach know.” The athletic doctor checked his charts. “I’ll tell Jamie that Chrissy will be coming his way."

“I’ve only got three exams so I can come in all this week and next,” Chrissy offered.

"It’s a good idea,” the doctor said as he nodded. “We have another student who will be involved in rehab for the winter season. It’s Coach Phillips’ son."

"Coach Phillips has a son?" Jason moved forward, pressing his elbows to his knees as the information grabbed his attention.

"Yeah. He doesn't talk much about him. The boy has a temper and decided to go to Boston for his hockey scholarship, which made no damn sense. He's an incredible athlete, but let’s just say he doesn't get along well with his dad. I think his choice of schools was a big 'up yours' to Phillips." Anderson shrugged and then straightened, probably surprised at himself for mentioning Coach Phillips’ son. He never said a word about other athletes.

"Wait a sec! So I'm stuck in the smelly gym over the Christmas holidays with this guy?" Chrissy reached up and pulled her hair out of her messy ponytail, combing her fingers through the dirty blond hair. She could feel sand fall over her fingers. She needed to shower.

"It would seem as such." The doctor moved up, ripping a few pieces of paper from his pad. He extended them to Jason and pointed to the door. "All right, you guys wait out there. I'm going to wrap her knee. I doubt she wants any of you to see her in pain."

"I'm staying." Jason stood and moved to the bed, reaching down and touching her hand.

Chrissy forced a smile. "Get out of here. I want to go home. Wait in the hall and I'll be right there."

"You sure?"

"Go, before I have him wrap you up too."

"Full body wrap for the hockey star of Gatica?" Coach Maves laughed and nodded toward the door. "Come on Jason. Let's wait out here."

"All right, but if I hear her scream..."

"Hush. Brute." Chrissy smiled again and relaxed against the table as the doc leaned over her.

"This is going to hurt like hell. Just grit your teeth and I'll work fast."

"Just do it." She closed her eyes, her back arching hard as he lifted her leg to wrap it. She had sustained a similar injury as a kid, but no way did she remember it hurting so badly. Slow shallow breathing helped. Diving into her imagination, she pictured the injured hockey guy, his name never being spoken. Hopefully he was hot. She could ignore his attitude if he was a bit of eye candy to enjoy. Boys were far from her list of things to do. After Jani, her best friend’s, troubles almost losing her scholarship over the campus bad boy, she was less than interested.

That didn't mean she wasn't willing to indulge in fantasies linked to what ifs. She just never had time… until now.

Chrissy's best friend, Jani, stood at the door to Chrissy’s dorm room, a frown on her face. Jason slipped by her, squeezing into the small space. Elizabeth, Chrissy’s roommate, jumped from her bed and rushed toward them.

"So, what's the word?" Jani asked, moving back from Jason as he toted Chrissy to her bed and carefully put her down.

She groaned at the pain and bit her lip.

Jason turned and sighed softly. "She's over extended her ACL. Looks like Christmas in the weight room."

"Ahhh, that sucks," Jani spoke and moved to sit down on the edge of Chrissy's bed. "You okay, pain manageable?"

"Yeah, just didn't expect to get hurt. It's three days of ice and then crutches for a few weeks."

"When do you think you'll be back up and at it?" Elizabeth moved around Jani, sitting down on her own bed and leaning forward, her elbows on her knees.

"I'm hoping by mid-January. I redshirted indoors my first year here so it’s not like I can redshirt it again. My luck, the scholarship committee will tell coach to scratch me. That would be the cherry on the shit sundae." Chrissy laid back and let her eyes move across her brother, her roommate and her best friend.

Elizabeth reached up and tucked a long strand of chestnut hair behind her ear, the concern in her dark blue eyes easy to recognize. “That’s not going to happen. They’d never do that.”

"Well, we're going to take it easy.” Jason’s hands went to his hips. “No rushing anything or you can kiss the rest of your athletic career goodbye." Jason turned to Elizabeth and extended his hand. "I'm Jason, Chrissy's brother. I don't think we've met."

"Elizabeth,” Chrissy said, her forearm resting against her forehead. “This is my older brother, Jason. He's a senior here at UG and captain of the ice hockey team. Jason, my new roommate Elizabeth. She just transferred in two weeks ago."

"Mid-semester?" Jason asked, his brow lifting.

"Long story. Leave it alone for now." Chrissy pointed to her bag on the floor, Jason having dropped it as they came into the room together. "Give me my phone and let me text Aileen. She'll be worried if I don't give her a heads up."

Jason moved to get the phone, his lithe frame stockier than she remembered. A fight a few months back on the ice had left him hurting, so it was no wonder he was hitting the gym more often. He needed to bulk up. Some of the other hockey players were extremely strong. Luckily he wasn't missing any teeth.

He handed her the phone and moved toward the door, pausing before opening it. "I'm out. You need anything else?"

A smile tugged at the side of her mouth as her brother's eyes shifted over toward Elizabeth. His last relationship had ended in a fiery crash. He had sworn girls off for a long time.

Guess that period’s up. Like a hockey period.
She grinned. "Nope. Thanks for your help today. I'll call you later. You can come tote me to dinner." She laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"You need a boyfriend. You're not a flower by the way."

"Sensitive and pretty?" she questioned.

"Light and easy to tote around." He laughed and slipped out of the room as a pillow came flying his way.

Chrissy grumbled and looked toward Jani. "Thanks. Should have thrown a dresser."

"I would have, but unlike you, I am a flower." They laughed as Chrissy settled down further in the comfort of her bed. Jani moved to work a pillow carefully under her knee, the slightest movement sending tendrils of pain down her leg.

"Did they give you some meds?" Elizabeth asked. She stood and walked to the small cabinet of dishes in the room, grabbing a glass. "I'll go get a bottle of water from the machine down the hall if you have something to take."

"I do. That would be great. It's in my bag."

Elizabeth left the room. Jani turned her attention back on Chrissy, her head tilting slightly.

"What the fuck? How did it happen? I know you, and making mistakes on your timing and rotation isn't likely."

"I saw something move in my peripheral. I glanced to see what as I was mid-air. It threw off everything. I knew it the minute it happened too. I just couldn't correct it." She shrugged, a shaky breath lifting from her.

"At least surgery wasn't the only option."

"Agreed, but it's next on the docket if I can't heal on my own."

"The doc’ll give you a good plan of action, just make sure you stick to it. Don't mess around with it at all. Do your workouts and strength exercises just like he prescribes. This freshman in high school a few years back had something similar happen to him and he overdid it, snapped the ACL like a rubber band under pressure."

"Thanks, Jani. Always the one to help ease my nerves." Chrissy rolled her eyes and snorted.

"What? I'm just saying. You need to be spot on with the doc's advice. No 'I can do a few more because I'm Chrissy Harris, a track goddess'."

"Yeah, feels like I'm something special right now." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I'm more nervous about having to spend Christmas here on my own than getting back on the track."

"The holidays will keep this place quiet. You can focus on healing then. You won't have to deal with anyone."

“Except sweet Jamie.”

“Who?”

Chrissy opened her eyes, her brow lifting. "The weight room coach, Jamie."

"Oh, yeah. He’s sweet, though."

"Sweetie isn't the name I would necessarily give him. He's a cool guy, but no teddy bear. He works with football players. He’s going to make sure I do absolutely everything I’m supposed to. No love."

Jani reached out and squeezed Chrissy's hand in hers. "He’ll give you tough love. He’ll push you, but make sure you do it on your own time. It's going to make you stronger so this doesn't happen again."

"Stronger? Why does that sound like a death sentence?"

"You're just tired. Let's talk about something else. I’ve some juicy news."

The door opened and Elizabeth walked in. She lifted the glass of water in the air and smiled. "I have victory. There was ice in the machine down the hall. First time since I got here a few weeks ago."

"Get over here. Jani has juicy info to share with us."

Elizabeth picked up the backpack and sat on her bed. Jani took the glass of water as Elizabeth dug out a small bottle of pills.

"There are only a few in here. Don't you need more?"

"The doc called them in. I'll get them later. I just needed a few samples to get through the weekend. Pharmacy on campus’ll open again on Monday." Chrissy carefully leaned onto her elbow, taking the pill and popping it in her mouth. A quick sip of water and the world would soon be right.

"Juicy gossip time!" Jani announced, bouncing on the bed. Chrissy growled and reached down to push at her friend.

"Watch the movement. Go sit with Elizabeth."

Jani moved, the smile on her face contagious. She tucked her long legs under her and tugged at a short strand of brown hair as a knowing giggle spilled from her lips. "So there's a new hottie on campus in the athletic department. And guess whose son he is?"

"Coach Phillips’?" Chrissy smiled, unable to help herself.

"What? You already know? Damn..." Jani's smile dropped and Chrissy immediately wished she had just kept the information to herself. "It's because of Jason, right?"

"Yeah, he was bitching about the new guy. He said coach’s son was coming here for a while, but he's injured too."

"So, you're going to both be working in physical therapy in the gym over Christmas?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sounds like a recipe for love..." Jani wagged her eyebrows and giggled again.

"Or disaster. I'm not interested." Chrissy picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Aileen to let her know she was beat up, but still kicking... with one leg… sort of.

"Chrissy, you need to get over Brent. It's been more than a year since you guys broke up," Jani spoke, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm over Brent." Chrissy shrugged and let the phone drop beside her.

"Who's Brent? Fill the new girl in." Elizabeth leaned back on the bed, her hands sliding behind her as she reclined.

"He's my ex-boyfriend. We were together for most of high school. He went to NYC and I came here. We made it through about three months and then I found him cheating on me."

"You found him or found out about it?" Elizabeth asked, glancing between Chrissy and Jani.

"She found him. She went up to surprise him for his birthday last October and he surprised her. He's a dick. Not all guys are like him." Jani sounded hopeful.

"Yes they are," Elizabeth and Chrissy spoke in tandem, Chrissy laughing at Elizabeth's quick agreement with her.

"You've had a similar experience, I take it?" Jani asked.

"I've had lots of horrible experiences with guys. I'm just glad to be away from NYC honestly. The guys there are trash, but most men are period." Elizabeth shrugged, the hardness of the comment and her reply not seeming to fit the tall, feminine girl.

"I think we could start a club for men haters just with the three of us." Jani laughed and moved to the edge of the bed. "I broke things off with Carter because he's a selfish ass, but I can't stop thinking of him. Not sure hate would be the right word."

"It's always the ones we're not supposed to want we end up craving." Elizabeth moved to recline on her bed, turning on her side and curling up.

"I don't crave anyone, and I'm keeping it that way." Chrissy smiled, sleep pulling at her. "I think this medicine is about to work its magic."

Jani moved to stand beside the bed, reaching over and brushing hair from Chrissy's face. "Good. Get some rest and I'll come over later tonight to see what you need."

"You okay?"

"I'm not the one that busted it in front of everyone at UG." Jani laughed and squeezed Chrissy's shoulder.

"I didn't bust it. I landed beautifully. It was the vomiting in front of everyone that's the issue." Her cheeks burned as she smiled, the memory washing before her vision.

"Vomiting is an MO for an athlete. No worries there. Get some rest."

"I mean with the Carter thing. You okay?"

"No, but we can talk about it later. Get some rest." Jani squeezed her shoulder softly and turned to leave. Chrissy closed her eyes, the soft mumbling between her friends getting lost on the fog that moved over her. Distant and growing warm with comfort she let out a slow breath and relaxed into the darkness as sleep took her under.