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CHAPTER FOURTEEN:the truth can suck
She thought by now, it'd have gone away by itself. instead, after each practice, the pain only worsened.
it was particularly bad that day, even before she'd gotten on the ice. but coach bombay was going back to basics, with his fun practices.
and while it was silly and fun for most everyone, andrea tried her best to not make it obvious that her wrist was searing like she'd touched a hot metal rod.
she took her equipment off extra slow, hoping to hang back in the dressing room alone. here, she was never really alone, between practice and games and having roommates. she couldn't let anyone know about her wrist; they'd only make it out to be a bigger deal than it was.
as her team all stood, waiting for her to join them and leave, she pretended to search for something in her bag.
"come on, andy!" guy called, waving her on as the team stood by the door.
"um, you guys go. i just have to find something, and then i gotta use the bathroom. i'll catch up with you, though." she said, nodding towards the door as she encouraged them to leave.
they did, and she sighed in relief. she looked again, making sure they'd all left, before pulling a role of elastic bandage out of the hidden pocket in her bag.
she carefully begin to wrap it around her injured wrist, so focused she didn't hear the change room door open.
"now just think how you'd play with two good wrists."
she jumped, her head snapping towards the sound. "coach," she greeted him, trying to seem less panicked than she was. she hurriedly unwrapped her wrist, throwing the roll in the bag. "it's just a little sore, im okay."
coach bombay nodded, before making his way over to her. "i should have spotted this sooner. sorry, jones, i wasn't doing my job."
she frowned, standing up. "coach, i'm fine. i can play, i swear!"
coach raised his eyebrows and grabbed her hockey stick from its spot. "okay. here, let's find out."
he holds her stick out to her, and she huffs out of annoyance, reaching for it with her good hand. "the other hand." he told her.
hesitantly, she reached out and held the stick horizontally in the air. the weight of it made her injury throb, but she tried her best to hide any discomfort.
"now rotate it." bombay instructed.
she tried, she really tried. she kept her focus on the stick, refusing to meet his knowing gaze. it hurt bad, like someone had lit her bone on fire, and was simultaneously hitting it with a hammer.
tears pricked her eyes, and she didn't know if it was from the horrible pain, or what she knew was about to come from coach bombay. her throat felt raw as she tried to swallow her tears.
