Testing My Feelings

Chapter 27

I sat there in the ambulance, still in my uniform, just staring at the poor boy that lay on the stretcher before me. Aiden was out of it now, the pain mustve been too much, even for him. I suppose its a good thing that he was unconscious. I dont think I'd want to hear Aiden struggling in pain. The bandages up and down his leg were seeping blood, despite the paramedics efforts to stop it. I was scared. I thought that I may very well loose a teammate...forever. Despite me absolutely despising Aiden, I stilled cared about him. He was still my teammate and I was his captain, but above that, teammates look out for each other, or at least thats what I believed. Some people would say that it's naïve to believe in something like that, but I disagree. I believe it's a fundamental part of what makes a team, a team. Not only that, it plays a vital role towards the success of the team.

Maybe this is why I was chosen to be captain, why I was even let on the team to start with. But how could Coach Lillian know so much about me, my personality, my beliefs...I couldn't focus on those kinds of questions right now. After all, Aiden was quite possibly dying in front of me for all I knew.

Yes, Aiden was an arrogant jerk. Yes, he was stuck up and acted entitled. Indeed, he was condescending and self-centered. He was a bully and he was a prick. And yes, he was intolerant and unaccepting of others. Aiden was an asshole. Even so, Aiden, didnt deserve this. What those guys from Central Valley did to him, was uncalled for and unsportsmanlike. Things between him, the team, and I were going really well during the game. I even thought I saw a genuine smile on his face. But what they did him, is unforgivable. Despite his flaws, he didnt deserve this. He didnt deserve to be in the back of the ambulance.

I felt the ambulance suddenly jerk to a stop and moments later, the doors to the back compartment swung open. Within seconds, Aiden had been whisked out of the ambulance and wheeled into the hospital. The doctors and nurses, and medics rushed ahead of the assistant coach and I, leaving us behind to go sit in the waiting room and wait.

I looked up from staring at the white tile hospital floor and asked Coach Skylow, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I dont know Andrew. All we can do for him now is wait," and thats all the Coach Skylow said.

And wait we did. We waited and waited and waited, for what seemed like hours and hours.

Finally, an older fair-skinned man wearing a lab coat, with a stethoscope around his neck and grey balding hair, walked over to us.

"Are you the ones that came in with a...um..." he began to ask us as he quickly flipped through the chart in his hand to find the name of the patient, "a Mr. Aiden Valez?"

I jumped from my seat and instinctively answered, "Yes, yes! Is he alright?"

He looked at Assistant Coach Skylow, who nodded, and said, "I'm Dr. Johnathan Farber. I wanted to inform you that Mr. Valez is going to be okay. I had a simple tibial fracture which will require him to be in a cast for several months. In addition, he had several minor scrapes and cuts on his leg."

"Can I see him?" I blurted out.

"Yes. He's lying in bed over there in room E304," the doctor answered.

"Thanks" I said as I bolted over to the room.

I swear that the roar of my cleats against the tile floor could be heard from the parking lot.

"Aiden! YOU'RE OKAY!" I yelled as I entered the stereotypical hospital room where Aiden sat propped up in the bed.

I ran over and hugged the boy, with tears running down my face.

He chuckled and said "Yea, I'm still kicking it."

"Does it hurt??"

"No. They gave me some goooood shit for the pain," he said laughing.

"Hey Andrew. To be honest. You're the absolute last person I expected to be here."

"Well...Why wouldnt I be here?" I asked.

"I kinda figured that you'd hate me..." Aiden answered.

"Oh, I certainly don't like you by any means..." I told him.

"Then why...?" he asked, confused.

"Why what?" I said.

"Why'd you stand up for me? Why'd you take that red card for me?! Why are you here for me now?!" he started shouting at me.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY TEAMMATE!" I yelled.

"YEAH? SO?"

"Despite who you are and what you've done to me and said to me and how you've acted, you're my teammate! And teammates look out for each other!"

Aiden didnt say anything. He just sat there with a look of disappointment, shock, and defeat. I think he was disappointed in himself, though I dont think he'd ever admit that.

"I'm the captain too. I have to look out for the team more than anyone. I have to set then example and lead the team," I continued, with tears now trailing down my red cheeks.

Aiden still didnt say anything. He just looked at me, hiding his eyes behind his brown hair.

"I thought that things were finally starting to change today. When I saw you play, I saw your eyes glow! I saw the passion and love of soccer in your heart, shine through! You smiled!! I didn't want to lose that glimmer of hope..." I explained to him, nearly crying now.

I looked Aiden and yelled at him saying, "Well, you going to say something or what?!"

The boy leaned over the side of his hospital bed and grabbed me in his arms. He pulled me close and said something to me.

"I'm sorry Andrew."

Those words snapped me out of my rant long enough to see the tears rolling down Aiden's face.