Higher, Faster, Stronger

My head was throbbing when I woke up. I know it feels like I left you in a cliffhanger last time but that's what happened. I didn't expect Coach to put me back in for another running play. I didn't expect any of this to happen.

I looked straight up and saw blue. Shifting to the left and right I saw an IV pole and monitoring machines. I groaned and laid back down flat, as best I could.

I was in the hospital again.

Honestly, this habit was one I really wanted to kick. It wasn't better than being dead but still…it was getting annoying. And besides, last time I was here I was spewing the equivalent of the Hoover Dam out of my mouth.

I had a morphine drip running through my arms, and it was slowly making it's way to my head. With my ribs, I couldn't feel a thing…kinda. When I tried to sit up in the dark room, it hurt, but in a dull way. I couldn't really sit up, it was a bit too painful.

I laid flat down again and a nurse came in, most likely to check in on the guy next to me. We were separated by a curtain. She smiled genially at me and I tried to return it but had a bit of trouble doing so.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Am I supposed to feel like I'm swimming in a sea of morphine?" She smiled and nodded and picked up my chart, making an adjustment.

"What was I admitted with? I know I hurt my ribs but what else?"

"According to the ER doctors, a category 2 concussion and 3 broken ribs. You were lucky to get here when you did. You could have either been passed out from the pain or from the concussion, we weren't sure which."

"Oh goody." I sat up as best I could. And by sat up I mean, slouch backward so my back is on the pillows instead of my head. "My family is probably thrilled."

"Your mother was here. She said to call home when you woke up."

"Wait, what day is it?" The beaver gnawing on my brain wasn't letting up. Thinking properly wasn't an option.

"Sunday the 15th. At 3:00 in the afternoon." I paled. My brain started racing.

"I've been out for a day!?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Honey, with a concussion and with all the medication we were putting into you, I'm surprised you still aren't asleep. Now, I'm going to ask a series of questions to make sure your brain is functioning properly." After I correctly told her my name, date of birth, location and such she let me use the phone. I got into contact with mom who was relieved to hear from me. Accompanying the "How are you feeling, sweetheart"s and "I love you"s came a very long lecture. To tell the truth, I didn't really know what happened. She told me that she had shown up in the third quarter and on the last play a smaller looking boy hit me in the end zone and it looked like I had hit my head on the ground. I couldn't really imagine what had happened. After I got to about the 5 yard line, I couldn't remember a thing.

In the ER, I was put on a breathing tube for the tests they had to do but when they saw I was breathing on my own, took it out. On my own was the key phrase, because honestly I was breathing pretty shallowly. Later, she showed me the x ray done of my ribs. Apparently I was lucky not to have punctured a lung…oh fun. The mistake I made was to wrap up my ribs. It lessened the pain but then I couldn't breathe as well. Not like I could breathe well in the first place.

It was about 4 or so. There was no used going to sleep and the nurses can only stick around so much to talk. A shadow graced the doorway.

Nate looked in and I smiled at him. His face lit up when he saw I was awake.

"SARAH! YOU'RE AWAKE!" I cringed.

"Nate, the guy next to me was asleep." He looked kinda sheepish but came in anyway. He was wearing his signature black pants and a maroon Kelowna Leaves t shirt. It was clashing but he's a boy! What can you do…?

"Ok. Who won and what happened to me?"

"In that order? We won. Narrowly. Once they took Gabe out of the game, and the other team saw our guys were pissed as all hell, they got kind of scared. Well…Ok, I'll rewind a bit. In the beginning…" he saw I wasn't pleased with his Adam and Eve analogy. "Ok fine. When you were running with the ball, Gabe somehow eluded our boys and made it down to where you were. Next think we knew, he had slammed into you, sending you right into the ground. The game stopped and everyone started running. I haven't seen el' bastardo so mad since that game you got groped."

He let out a hearty laugh at that one. I was somewhat less than amused by it.

"You're lucky my ribs are broken and I have a concussion or I'd beat you into another lawn pancake for that. "

"He rebroke your ribs?" Nate asked incredulous. I shook my head no.

"No, that's where I was at halftime. I got hurt during the game and couldn't breathe well so I asked Coach for some breather room. Now what else happened?"

"Well, our entire team flooded the field and went after the Saratoga guys. Personally, that Gabe freak is gonna have one black eye for a long time." He looked proud of himself. "So after the boss fight broke up, we realized your mom and Derek were gone. In the distraction, he called the ambulance to the front of the school and carried you the whole way."

"Oh great…please tell me that no one else was really hurt?" I was pleading on the inside.

"Well…Keegan tried to go help you and was swamped by guys and it took a few guys to get them off him. He's ok though." He babbled on about the game for a bit but something was not right.

"Nate…Derek hasn't been here. I asked the nurses before and they say that he hasn't been here." He gave me a puzzled expression and shrugged. "Maybe they just missed him? Anyway, I'm here for you Sarah!"

"Aw thanks big brother." I called him my brother and I was his younger sister. But as much as I had my brother there, I wanted to see my boyfriend more.

I got worried.

"Nate, did Derek get hurt?" He shrugged again with a small frown on his face. "I don't know about the bastard. I told you, he booked it out of there. With you."

Now, I'm sick with worry. I haven't seen my mom, I haven't seen Derek and now, he's telling me my boyfriend is MIA. I gotta do everything myself.

And I know what you're thinking. Serious times serious talking.

El grr…I don't know where he is, but he's gonna get a butt kicking when I can move my arm over my head…Did that even sound plausible? Chalk it up to the pain stuffs. I do.

A day passed and then the other most unlikely visitor came along.

Amanda Donovan walked through my door at 12:50 on that Monday. I was nearly jumping for joy.

No way. She hadn't come to see me in so long or more accurate, I hadn't seen her in ages. She was my former coach and I was off my crumpet to see her. Not that I know what that means. Yup, blame the meds. Again.

"Hey kiddo! Some game you played!"

Amanda was one of the few people I ever really talked about football with, the others being Dad and Derek. Mom only knew a few key phrases but she was in the dark, figuratively. Amanda was one of the people who got me started. It was an interesting thing. She had found me arguing with the boys in the back of school one day. I wanted to play but they weren't as thrilled. Some of the guys knew I had some background and didn't want me to play in order to be on equal footing.

Amanda pulled up a chair in her normal brash way. She was the type of coach kids needed; she'd kick your butt when you needed it but once in a while gave us a day off. Our players either blossomed or failed under her.

"You were actually there? But we're at least an hour away from the old school." She nodded and pulled out a newspaper clipping from her bag. It was of our team, after the last game, and it detailed where the championship would be held and what time. Then it listed players and positions.

"Now, imagine to my surprise, that I find little ol' Sarah down in the lists." She shifted easily and smiled. "I didn't think your high school had a football team for girls but wow, you proved me wrong."

"No, it was only after a strenuous double try out and a near court hearing that they decided to let me play."

She nodded sympathetically. "Who'd you have to blackmail?" When I gave a puzzled look, she laughed heartily. "Too soon for jokes then." I touched my head and rolled my eyes. But she did usually know how to make me feel better, unless I was running suicides until I keeled over.

"I meant to ask! How's the team this year?" She smiled and with a boasting, confident air, went to describe the games and the players. She poured out which ones were good, which needed work, which could send someone with Mr. Universe sized muscles flying downfield and such.

It felt good to talk to someone who wasn't related to Kelowna in anyway. Once she was done, she looked warily at me. "Are you alright? Tired?"

"Annoyed."

"What, over what happened at the game?"

"No, over what happened over the course of the year. Kelowna is the best and worst thing that ever happened to me."

She smiled triumphantly. "I smell a story." I glanced up at the clock and told her that I hope she had time, it was a doozy.

And just like a waterfall, it all kind of came out. How I never really fit in. My own teammates thought I was a freak. Most people hated the fact that I was on the team. That everyone hated me for liking Derek. That Derek gradually warmed up to me, if you can call it that. That people kept finding ways to pick at me. That practice and school was tough. That I worried about basically everything. That Derek, even though he delivered me to the hospital hadn't come to see me in days. That I broke my ribs and got knocked out by a red haired psychopath. That college worried me and I didn't think Mom would take it that well that I was away from her for so long.

When I said everything came out I meant everything. When I had finished, she leaned back looking passively apprehensive.

"Well kiddo, seems like you've got a lot on your shoulders." I threw her a pointed look, as if to say, "gee you think?" Then I actually said it.

"Well the best you can do is talk to your boyfriend, see what's wrong. As for your mom, you're not going too far away for college and you'll probably never again seen the kids in high school that ever made fun of you."

She was right to an extent. I probably wouldn't see them again. And that slightly comforted me. For all of the people that didn't like in high school, I'd probably never see them again. And that's the comfort to most people in the same position.

Once she left, I sat back in solitude. Mom visited later one and promised to spring me the next day. As long as I didn't do any strenuous activity.

I promised with little intention to keep my word. Loopholes, gotta love them.

She smiled up at me. I smiled back weakly.

I couldn't stand the thought of other people mad at me. Nate seemed pissed that I was worried only about Derek, Derek seemed pissed at me for reasons unknown and Mom would be pissed at me if I continued to hurt myself. So either way I'm in a pissing contest.

Fudge.

It didn't really hurt to walk, with the amount of medicine that they gave me, so first thing morning after I was free from the hospital and the man in the bed next to me who snores like a trucker, I walked evenly to Nate's house. He opened the door with a smile and moved to hug me.

"Bad idea! Very bad idea!" I pointed down at my chest. He nodded and backed off.

I explained my situation to him hurriedly.

"I was a jerk and I'm sorry. I was worried about you and the rest of the guys…." And I started babbling. He just smiled as I babbled on for another 3 minutes. When I'm nervous I rarely make sense. Even in my own mind.

After 4 attempted hugs, 3 thwarted attempts at ramen and 1 very narrow miss from a malicious looking squirrel with a pinecone and a death wish, I started my brisk walk to mon capitain's house.

After ringing the doorbell twice and rechecking the garage for his motorcycle and car (they were both there) I went around back to look in the gardens. There he was, looking moody, bloated and annoyed.

He was sitting with the dying flowers, wearing only shorts and a t shirt.

"You're going to catch your death out here," I called. It was true. Well okay you can't really die but you get my point. He even seemed freezing. The wind was whipping that day and the trees were losing their leaves in swirls.

He didn't even turn around. How could he not know it was me? He was sitting on a white marble bench overlooking the flowers and a koi pond. The water was ill prepared and seemed murky even on the nasty day.

"Thanks for bringing me to the hospital. It was a lucky save…" I kinda trailed off when it didn't seem like he was listening.

I just sat down next to him. He looked furious. I didn't know why. I couldn't even think of a reason he might be this mad. Something I did? Something at school?

My butt was growing colder as the minutes passed. He was up to 10 minutes not talking to me.

"I'm not leaving."

Another 5 minutes passed in silence.

I was getting colder and more annoyed. I'd out silence him if it killed me. Finally he turned to me. He looked dead inside and told me something I didn't expect to hear in a thousand years.