Checkmate (Sequel to Game On)

Chapter 33: Prince Charming

I tear Danny's arms off of me and within two long strides, I'm trying to push Nick out of balance and unintentionally get myself between him and Shane. I realize too late that it won't work and scream as the bat is already in movement, my hands reaching up to my face by an instinct to cover it. I expect to hear a crack, to hear my bones in my body being crushed, but I don't. Maybe the crack is drowned by the sound of my agonizing scream or maybe it isn't any. Either way, I fall to the ground, still with the pained scream on my lips.

"You're free to go now", a doctor tells me as I expectantly look up at him from the hospital bed I'm sitting on. Nick sits beside me, holding one of my hands in his own, rubbing circles on it with his thumb.

"Just remember to take it easy with your arm and shoulder for the next weeks as well as using the sling as much as possible", the doctor adds, "and we'll be in contact about your rehabilitation."

I smile weakly at him and thank him before I jump off the bed, Nick following me without releasing my hand, and walk outside to the waiting room.

The other guys, Will, Kirk, and Danny, left two hours ago when we figured out I would be here for a while. Nick is the only one who stayed with me and he hasn't left my side a single time.

As soon as we reached the A&E, with my crying uncontrollably because of an indescribable pain in my shoulder where the bat hit me, I was X-rayed and checked for any broken bones. Luckily for me, there wasn't any and they passed me on to a doctor who got my shoulder joint back in place again. I had got a dislocated shoulder and before the reduction, I was given some medication to sedate me and help with the pain.

Throughout the evening I have been spending here on the A&E, Nick has been extremely touchy and if I didn't feel his hand gripping my own, it was either around my waist or on my thigh, always rubbing the same circles.

Right now, I'm hungry, tired, sad and hurt. All I want to do is to go home and sleep but I know it will have to wait at least a little bit.

Firstly, I'll have to explain to Martha and Roland why I have my shoulder in a sling, I'll use the same lie as I told the doctor, that I landed in a weird angle during an exercise in my defense class. However, that's not the tricky part. The tricky part is to explain to them why I didn't tell them I was in the A&E, and that is just the first problem. The second problem, I figure, is that Nick seems to have completely other plans than I.

As soon as we step outside the building and into the car, which I guess the other guys didn't take when they left, Nick turns towards me with a serious expression on his slightly worried face.

"Don't be mad", he says in an almost apologetic voice, "but I won't drive you home. Now, before you object, I want you to know that I don't do it because I want to be mean to you. I do it because I want to make sure you're gonna be alright."

"But you can always watch me through your cameras", I say with a frown, shivering at my own voice, hating the fact that I even talked so carelessly about the cameras that are freaking me out.

Nick smiles at me and puts a hand on my cheek.

"I know", he says, "but I don't want to leave you alone tonight, not after what I did."

"Nick..." I start as I move one of my hands up to my face to remove his. He doesn't let me finish and nor does he let me take away his hand.

"No, Alex. Listen, I didn't mean to hurt you but I didn't see, I didn't understand, what was about to happen when I had raised the bat and started to swing it. You just showed up and I didn't have time to stop it, just slowing it down a little. I'm surprised you didn't break anything but as I saw you screaming your heart out right after you took the punch, I didn't know what would've been worse."