Are you watching the game???
Where are you? Austin’s hurt. I’m at home and I can’t get a hold of anybody.
Fuck. Tony just called. It’s bad. Where are you??
The fear that had wrapped around her during the call from Austin tightened its grip. She hit the button to call Claudia.
“There you are! I’ve been texting you for an hour! How’s Austin?”
“I don’t know.”
“What? Isn’t he home yet?”
“I have no idea, I just left work.”
“Girl, you have got to stop working these crazy hours. You’re gonna put yourself in an early grave. Get your ass over there and let me know how he is.”
“What happened? You said it was bad. How bad is bad?” Concern crowded out anything else as dozens of scenarios ran through her mind. It couldn’t be life-threatening since she'd just talked to him, but that didn’t exactly narrow things down.
“His knee. I don’t even know what happened. He was going for the ball like he’s done a million times before and then he was on the ground and they had to carry him off the field.”
Bad, but not as bad as some of the scenarios her imagination had managed to conjure in the past thirty seconds. “Has Tony talked to him at all?”
“He tried, but Austin isn’t answering his phone, which is why I called you. So get your ass over to his place and let us know how he is.”
“I can’t. He told me not to come.” The pain she'd felt when he’d called came flooding back and she had to blink back the tears burning in her eyes.
“At the risk of repeating myself—What?”
“He called and asked where I was and then he told me to go home. I just thought he was mad I stayed at the office so late.”
There was a beat of silence before Claudia snorted in disbelief. “You’re not going to let him get away with that, are you?”
“Maybe he just wants to be alone right now.”
“Well too fucking bad. If the tables were turned, do you think he’d let some temper tantrum keep him away from you when you were hurting?”
Despite the tightness in her chest, Kit giggled. “Never. Guess I’m not going home after all.”
“Atta girl. Text me and let me know how he’s doing.”
After ending the call with Claudia, Kit gave herself a minute to take a few deep breaths. The fear and panic eased a bit, leaving behind only the dregs of nervousness as she pulled back onto the interstate and finished the trip to his house.
Other than the glow of the television coming from the living room, the house was completely dark. Gathering the takeout she’d stopped to pick up from his favorite Chinese place, she grabbed her bags and made her way up the front porch. She didn’t bother to knock, and thankfully, he’d left the door unlocked so she didn’t have to juggle for the key he’d given her before he’d left for his last round of away games.
“Honey, I’m home!” she called out cheerfully as she bypassed the living room on the way to his sparkling kitchen.
The tightness in her chest returned as she heard the telltale thump of crutches on the hardwood behind her.
“I told you to go home.”
Turning, she forced a bright smile and gripped the counter behind her for support. “And I decided you need me here. You can spank me for it later if you want to, but I’m not leaving.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped and she wondered if he was considering doing exactly that. The blue of his eyes burned with a fury she’d never seen in him before and a coil of fear wrapped itself around her stomach, squeezing until she thought she might be sick.
“I don’t need you here, hovering over me like I’m some fucking invalid. I can take care of myself.”
“Fine, I won’t hover. But unless you can convince me those crutches are just for fun and not because you’re injured, I'm not leaving, either."