All About You

Chapter Twenty Six

Present

"I need to get down there!" I say to Dora. My own voice doesn't sound like me. I keep repeating in my mind that Oliver's going to be okay. He must have gone through hits like that about a million times. It's just part of the sport. He'll walk up to me at any minute.

"India, come on. Let's go see if he's all right. Just don't worry. Oliver's going to be fine. Jacob has been blocked like that a few times and he always comes out of it in one piece," says Dora, looking anxiously at me. She's probably right, but I'm worried about him.

We both move down below the stadium, but a few people from his team tell me he's being looked after and we can't go in. Minutes pass and then all of us hear the ambulance. Dread passes through my entire body and gloomy thoughts keep rolling over my mind. Dora tries to calm me down, but her words only make me more agitated. Then I see Oliver being carried away, but no one is talking to me.

"What the hell happened?" I ask as Jacob appears from the changing room.

"Russell tried to block him, but he went too fast and chose the wrong tackle. Things like that always happen. Oliver will be fine."

"Are you freaking kidding me? He's unconscious. The ambulance is taking him to the hospital!" I shout. It looks like no one else realises the seriousness of this whole situation.

"India, calm down—"

"I'm not going to calm down unless I see him!" I shout. Jacob nods, not saying anything else. Seconds turn into minutes, and next thing I know, I'm on the way to the hospital. People speak to me, but I keep nodding, not responding. Once we all get into the ER, most of Oliver's teammates are there already. This whole situation seems like a nightmare. It was just a scrimmage, not even a real match.

I can't even gather my thoughts, but once I know Oliver's going to be all right, I'll deal with Russell. I'm certain this wasn't a coincidence. He couldn't forgive that I chose Oliver, so he wanted to hurt him. One wouldn't suspect anything during a rugby practise. My heart starts racing when Jacob and Dora try to find out more about Oliver's condition. I feel bad that I had a go on them earlier, considering Jacob took me to the hospital without getting changed. All his clothes are covered in mud, and he absolutely stinks.

Once I'm calmer, the receptionist tells us we have to sit tight and wait. At the moment, no one is allowed in.

"But he's going to be all right?" I ask the nurse, who doesn't seem to be in a hurry to give me a valid response.

"Miss, as I said to you already, you have to wait for the doctor," she repeats and gets back to her work.

I sigh and go back to my seat, pissed off because I have no idea what's going on. No one seems to want to tell me anything. We finally agreed to some sort of relationship, and now I don't even know if he's going to be all right. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Russell did this to Oliver because he can't stand the fact that I chose him," I say after a long moment of silence.

"He went a bit too far," agrees Jacob, who exchanges a startled look with Dora. I pretend I don't see it because I have more important things to worry about.

All of a sudden, I have this instant urge to confront Russell. I've never promised him anything. I was clear right from the start that I wasn't interested in dating.

After half an hour, Dora sends Jacob home to wash himself and brings me coffee. All my limbs are numb, but I drink it, knowing I haven't eaten anything since lunch. My stomach is in knots and I probably wouldn't be able to swallow food even if I tried.