The Lucky One

Chapter Fifteen

"Good times for a change

See, the luck I've had

Can make a good man

Turn bad

So please, please, please

Let me, let me, let me

Let me get what I want

This time"

- Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths

POV Noah

When Ryland hits the ground, I feel like time stops. 

I'm sitting on my couch, excited to watch Ryland play his sport. It's a nice change of pace, to be seeing someone you like playing a sport instead of playing yourself. I spot Ryland almost as soon as the game starts. As I'm watching him move, I can feel myself heating up. His face is slightly flushed, and I can see him breathing heavily. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting flashbacks to the other night. I wonder if this is how Ryland feels when he watches me play. I hope it is.

Ryland has been on fire the whole game, and I'm mesmerized. As the minutes count down, I can see the players getting more rough, and I'm hit with a pang of concern for Ryland, which I was not expecting. Is this what he felt whenever I was getting knocked around on the court? I really hope not, because this feeling sucks.

There's only a couple minutes until the game is over, and Ryland's team sets up for a corner. I see Ryland jump up to get the ball, but then I notice the other guy jump too. My heart drops as I realize what's about to happen. I can only stare at the TV in horror.

The other guy knocks Ryland to the ground.

I can see him reach out with his hand to stop himself, but the angle is all wrong. 

He hits his head on the ground. Hard.

He doesn't get up.

I can see him trying, but he falters and falls back down. I want to scream. I want to break something, but I can't peel my eyes away from the screen. 

A guy goes up to Ryland, and tries to help him, but I can see Ryland slipping away into unconsciousness. I rake my fingers through my hair and pray that Ryland can stay awake.

He doesn't.

I can see the exact moment Ryland passes out, and I think if I wasn't already sitting, my legs would have collapsed. 

I'm an athlete, and realistically, I know the injury is probably not life-threatening, but all I can think about is what this means for Ryland. Will he still be able to play? Will he get back to full health? Will he be okay? Will he still be the same Ryland?

I have no idea what I am going to do. I want to know if he is ok, but there's no way for me to get to him. I could try to go to a hospital, but I have no idea which one it would be, and they probably wouldn't even let me see him. There's no way for me to get in contact with him unless he miraculously wakes up and texts me. I send him a couple messages anyway.

Noah: that hit was brutal, are you ok?

Noah: hit me up whenever you can

I put down my phone, but that just causes me to become consumed with worry for Ryland. I wish I knew literally anyone from Ryland's life who could tell me how he's doing. I need something to distract me, so I go on twitter. My whole feed seems to be stuff about Ryland, though, so I end up clicking on news link.

@newschannelsixboston: RYLAND PARKS UPDATE!! "Ryland is awake", inside source says, "but we don't know the extent of his injuries yet." More updates to come...

I sigh in relief. At least he's awake. My chest still feels too tight, and I can't stop worrying about him. I want to hear from him , I want to see him, but more than anything I want him to be ok. I need him to be ok. I get a message on my phone, and my heart starts beating fast, but it's just Paul.

Paul: hey, saw what happened to Ryland. He ok?

Noah: no idea, I'm kind of stressing out

Paul: I'm sure he's fine

Paul: you need to come over?

Noah: nah, I think im ok here

Noah: ill let you know if I hear anything

I'm getting increasingly more agitated with the less I hear, and I feel like I need to do something. I decide to start cleaning, just so I can do something with my hands. I end up deep cleaning my kitchen, and I'm probably about 3 hours in when I hear a ding on my phone. I race to grab it and my heart starts racing when I see its from Ryland.

Ryland: hey person-i-don't-know, this is Layla 

Ryland: Ryland's sister

Ryland: he told me to tell you that he's ok because he's not allowed to be on his phone, doctors orders

Ryland: also he's getting discharged in like an hour and then I'm driving him back to his apartment if you want to go see him

Ryland: fair warning tho, I'm definitely interrogating you if you show up

Noah: alright, thanks for telling me

Noah: tell him I'll be there when he gets home

Noah: and I look forward to being interrogated by you

Ryland: such a charmer, I like you already

I smile, and take a deep breath. I can feel the tension seep out of my shoulders as I let the news sink in. Ryland is ok. Not only that, but he wants to see me. I want so badly to see him. I don't waste any time, changing and putting away my cleaning supplies before getting in my car. I gave it enough time that Ryland should be home by now, so I start driving over there. 

I don't start getting nervous until about 5 minutes away from Ryland's place. That's when I remember that I'm about to meet his sister. Shit. That's a bit scary. If this were under normal circumstances, I would probably be much more anxious, but my eagerness to see Ryland seems to be drowning my other feelings out.

I get to Ryland's place in record time, and I practically run up the stairs. I take a breath and collect myself before I knock on the door. 

After a second, it opens, and I'm met with a girl with curly hair like Ryland's. This must be Layla. 

We just look at each other for a second before she lets out a squeak.

"What the fuck?"

A/N: I am so sorry about the wait for the update, we were hosting family, and then I had to study for my APHUG exam, plus my teachers assigned me so much homework. My AP test is Thursday, so there may be another wait before the next chapter, but it is coming, rest assured. After Thursday, I should have much more free time, so I will get back to updating more often.

Also, I started watching Ted Lasso, and omg I love it. If I start writing characters in this story based on that show, I apologized in advance. 

Thank you so much for sticking with this story! I appreciate you, and remember to take care of yourself. Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!