I Don't Want You Like A Best Friend

30

Y/N POV

My vision grew blurry and my head was pounding just like my pulse. Before Joe had a chance to go at me again, Ash and Tobin were were holding  him back, pinning his arms behind him. 

Taylor rushed over to me, along with the rest of my team, the Ireland team, Dawn, Jill, Mark, and Erica .

I tried to stay conscious, but it was growing hard to breathe, and my head hurt too badly.

Taylor's voice was the last thing I heard.

"Y/n, please!"

I shot up in bed, heart racing as I looked around frantically, feeling myself beginning to panic when I didn't recognize the room I was in.

A machine beeped loudly next to me, the beats going from a steady, slow rhythm to a fast, pounding one. 

The painful, heavy feeling in my body only added to my panic, and I found myself gasping for air. My ribs and lungs burned, and my joints ached.

In a split second, Taylor was right by my side, rushing into the room along with a dozen nurses, and as many of my teammates that could fit inside the small hospital room. The blond held my hand, hurriedly seeking my eyes.

"Y/n, Y/n it's okay baby. It's okay, you're okay, just breath. That's it. Look at me sweet boy. Look at me." 

I did as she asked, immediately starting to calm down with her presence. I stared into her loving blue eyes, and did my best to focus on nothing but her; the feeling of her hands holding mine, her thigh pressed against my leg, her soft smile.

I took a breath, in...out. 

In...out.

"There you go, baby. There you go." She nodded, breathing with me.

My racing pulse slowed, my blurred vision began to return to normal, and I didn't feel so panicked. 

"What happened." I croaked, mouth dry, still catching my breath. It was only then that I got a good look at Taylor and noticed that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess, but she was trying to hold it together.

"Joe attacked you. You guys fought...we didn't realize what was happening until it was almost too late." She winced, her voice breaking and a single tear sliding down her cheek. "Do you remember any of it?"

I closed my eyes and tried to recall what had happened, but it all came back in bits and pieces. "Sort of...not very clearly, though. Where's Joe?"

"At the police station." Ali answered, face stoic. "They're processing him now."

For a long, long moment, no one spoke. I had absolutely no idea what to say. The only thing I could really do was try to focus on anything but the pounding in my head and the waves of throbbing pain washing over me every few minutes.

"Y/n, you okay?" Alex asked, her eyes red just like Taylor's. 

Swallowing, I clenched my jaw, hating that there were so many eyes on me. "Can I go home?"

A nurse stepped forward. She had a friendly smile on her face that calmed me a bit. "We're going to check your vitals and take you in for some scans first. We want to make sure there is no internal bleeding or head trauma. It shouldn't be more than an hour, and depending on the results, you might be home before midnight."

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The clock struck 11:49 when I was finally cleared to go home. By that time I could barely keep my eyes open due to how tired I was. I had expected my teammates to leave much earlier since we were supposed to be on an airplane to Austin, Texas early tomorrow morning, but every single one of them stayed with me the entire time.

Taylor never left my side, either. She held my hand every second she could, and I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to have her.

The doctors said my injuries weren't too rough, just a minor concussion and a couple of bruised ribs. I had a feeling it was coming, but it still sucked butt to hear that I wouldn't be able to play for the next 2-4 weeks, nor was I allowed to go on a plane for one week while my concussion healed. 

"I'm sorry, Y/n." Jill said sadly. "I know how much you wanted to play in the victory tour."

I only nodded, not having enough energy to muster a response. It had been such a long day, and the last thing I wanted to do was have a full break down in front of my teammates. Taylor must have sensed me starting to detach myself, because she chose that moment to ask for the release papers.

My girlfriend, my team, and a few nurses helped me get to Taylor's car. I felt a little silly being wheeled there in a wheel chair with a brace around my mid section, but it was nice to breathe in the cool night air and be out of that stuffy hospital room.

After Taylor buckled my seatbelt for me, I smiled a half smile at my teammates, who all had disappointed expressions on their faces. I tried to lighten the mood, but it was hard to do when all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and die. "Don't have too much fun without me, guys."

Ash scoffed, shaking her head. "We could never, man. You're the life of the party."

"Get well, bro. We're gonna miss you. We need you back in tip top for Angel City." Tobin agreed.

Sam nodded her head. "When we get back, it's all hands on deck. If this team can dominate the national stage, we sure as hell can dominate the NWSL."

Ali, Christen, and Alex stepped closer to me. Ali offered me a small smile and squeezed my hand. "We're here for you, Honey. We all love you so much, and we're so sorry this happened. I hope your recovery goes well."

I squeezed her her hand back in reply, then let it go as Christen came up. "You have a good head on your shoulders, Y/n. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself, and I'm sorry none of us had gotten there earlier. It never should have happened."

While Christen stepped back, Alex approached, pressing a gentle kiss to my cheek. "Please let yourself heal. I'm gonna make sure that Taylor keeps your hyper ass in bed until you're fully recovered."

Even in my exhausted, painful state, I still managed to crack a joke. "That definitely won't be difficult."

The brunette rolled her eyes and gently nudged my arm. "Shut up."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?" I asked with a small smirk. 

Again, she rolled her eyes. "No."

The rest of my friends said their goodbyes, and just before Taylor and I left, Dawn and Jill came over. "Take care of yourself, Y/n. We mean it. No Funny business. If I hear about any activity happening that should not be happening while we're gone, you're gonna have a months worth of push-ups ahead of you." Dawn warned me sternly, though she had a smile on her face.

(A/n because I like the Jill-USWNT dynamic, I'm gonna have it so that Jill is also the coach of Angel City, and the USWNT players are all on Angel City)

Jill chuckled. "We'll see you real soon, Y/n. And don't worry about the press, we've got it covered."

And with that, Taylor closed my door, went around to the other side of the car, climbed into the driver's seat, and started the engine. 

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I was sitting on the edge of the bed, freshly showered and in comfy sweats thanks to the help of Taylor. The brace was back around my ribs, and I held an ice pack to my black eye.

Taylor came back into our bedroom, also in pajamas, and turned off the main light. She slowly walked over to me and sat down next to me. "Y/n?"

It was too much all at once. I felt the tears fill my eyes and could do nothing to stop them before they were streaming down my cheeks. A strangled sob sounded from my throat, and immediately Taylor's arms were around me, pulling me into her lap and pressing my head against her chest.

She held me as I cried, letting out all of my anger, my hurt, my sadness, and my fear. "It's okay baby. It's okay. I'm here."