Bounce Back

Chapter 57

Ryan's POV

It was a painful trip to Tennessee as we got delayed multiple times and everyone was exhausted. Coach didn't say much except to tell us to go to bed and to give us our room keys. Tyler and I were sharing a room again so we headed up together.

I had already called Alex to explain to him that I wasn't going to be in class for longer. He had been sending me his notes so I had read over all of them and we had talked a couple of times to go over them but I would have to do more when I got back to LA.

Our first game was four days away. Coach had already said that practice was going to be tough since there was a few days before their first game. Neither Tyler nor I wanted to talk much so we moved around each other to get ready for bed.

We still didn't say much as we climbed into bed together and I couldn't help but notice that he was holding me particularly tightly. I didn't question him about it because I liked have his arms around me.

The next time I opened my eyes it was morning and Tyler was already awake beside me.

"Morning," he mumbled.

I echoed him just before his alarm went off. We both groaned but slowly climbed out of bed. It didn't take us long to make it downstairs for breakfast. We were one of the first ones there but soon more of the team arrived.

I listened to the conversations around me until we headed out to practice. The arena was much like all the other ones and since we were the first team to use the courts we were the only ones there. The guys all headed into the locker room and I followed the coaches onto the court.

Coach ran a practice much like the ones back in LA and I added a few notes but there wasn't much to say. I mostly just went over my notes from the last game and said a couple of things to Coach when he asked.

I was focused on my laptop when I heard my name being called. My head snapped up and noticed that it was Coach calling my name so I stood up and joined him on the court.

"I heard a couple of days ago that you are in quite good shape so I was wondering if you would like to run a fitness set with them," Coach smiled.

"I would love it," I smirked.

The team looked very surprised but Tyler groaned which made them all turn to look at him. I didn't give them time to ask him anything before getting them to pair up. I then set up eight fitness stations and since there were fifteen of them I paired up with Tyler.

I made my way through every station and explained them to the players and the further along I got the more scared they looked.

"Each station is a minute and a half with thirty seconds between stations. We will complete the loop four times," I said and they gaped at me.

I laughed at them before telling to go to start at a station. Coach had a stop watch and was going to tell us when to stop and start. I was glad that I was wearing clothes that I could sweat it since I was going to be working hard.

After the first complete circuit everyone was gasping for air and no one was talking anymore. I still had my breathing under control and when I looked up I was glad to see that Tyler didn't look too tired.

People were starting to struggle part way through the third circuit and once we finished everyone collapsed on the ground. I was the only one standing and I couldn't help but laugh.

"When I can breathe properly again I want to kill you," Jackson moaned.

I laughed at him before grabbing a water bottle and started to drink. I offered Tyler a hand up and he grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"That's all for today," Coach laughed.

I heard a couple of curse words being muttered in his direction which made me laugh. I followed Tyler into the locker room and was glad when he handed me a change of clothes.

"It's mine so it'll be a little bit too big," he said.

I shrugged because it was better than my sweat soaked clothes and I liked wearing his clothes. I showered along with the rest of the team. It was nice to pull on Tyler's shirt since his name was now plastered on my back.

He was right in the fact that it was way to big but I wasn't complaining. I sat down beside Tyler as we waited for everyone else to get organised and I had laughed when I noticed that everyone else was moving slightly slower than normal.

Tyler wrapped an arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"You two are nauseating," Luke complained.

I laughed but didn't move. I listened to all of them walk as they got ready to leave. The whole afternoon was free so a few people were planning to get out and do something but neither Tyler nor I could be bothered.

We headed back to the hotel then Tyler and I headed up to our room. I was glad that no one asked to join us because I really didn't feel like it. Tyler unlocked the door and without saying anything we collapsed on the bed and curled around each other.

When I woke later I felt more relaxed. The nap had made a world of difference and I was feeling much better. I noticed that Tyler was still asleep and he looked younger when he slept. I wasn't lying there for long before I felt Tyler's arms tighten around me which meant that he was slowly waking up.

"God, I feel better now," he muttered.

I rolled over so that I was facing him because I decided that I finally needed to talk to him.

"Are you sleeping alright because you have looked really tired recently?" I asked.

He scowled slightly and sat up and I copied him so that were both sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed.

"I don't know exactly when it started but I was having trouble sleeping. I went to talk to someone and it's just classic insomnia. She is very surprised that I haven't had problems like this before. She thinks that I have had problems before but it was only short term and about a week so I wouldn't have really noticed," he explained.

"So, it is a long term thing?" I asked because I didn't know anything about insomnia.

"Not really. It should only last a month or so but it is likely to come back," he added.

"So, she is a therapist?" I asked.

"Yeah. When we get back to LA I would like you to come for a session because she is really good. She was one of the people that I talk about the thought of playing in the NBA next year."

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"Not really. She took me to a sleep specialist to make sure that she was right and they both talked to me about what I can do. Medication doesn't really help that much so it's just trying to try and sleep well."

I nodded before wrapping him in a tight hug.

"And sleeping with you really helps me and I think that it is because it calms me down," he added.

I smiled slightly and made sure to cling in him a little tighter.

"Thank you for talking to me about this," I said softly.

"Thank you for understanding."

For a long time we didn't move and stayed with our arms around each other.

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The Wise One