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KEVIN WAS STANDING by the window as Emma and I helped Gavin to the bed. We laid him down gently, but his arm was clearly in a tremendous amount of pain. Not to mention the bruises and scrapes and cuts that rumbling with those large men had brought. A slice that ran down his eyebrow and part of his cheek was still bleeding, though by the time we got back to the room, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. His eye was starting to swell, though.
“How bad does it look?” he asked as I gently wiped dirt and blood from his cheek and examined the cut.
“It’s not great,” I said. “Not going to lie, that’s going to hurt for a while.”
“Figured,” he said. “Way more worried about my arm, though.”
“Me too,” I said.
“So tell me why we came here, exactly,” Kevin said, peering through the curtain that was drawn over my room’s window.
“They don’t know me,” I said. “They don’t know who I am or what room to look for me in. If they decided to come into the hotel, they would look for him in his room. This is safer.”
“Fair enough,” he says. “It looks like they kind of collapsed out on the street a half block down.”
“Let me see,” I said, moving to the window beside him.
Sure enough, all three men were leaning against the side of a building a little way down the road. It was hard to see them at first because they were sitting in shadows, but eventually, a flash of a car headlight lit them up. One was standing, bent at the waist like he was breathing heavily, the bald one was sitting on the ground, his head rested against the wall, and the other one, the one with the tire iron, had his head in his hands and was seated with his legs splayed out in front of him.
“They look like they regret the fight a bit,” Kevin smirked. “We really worked them over, boss.”
“They worked us over too,” Gavin said. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to pitch tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I don’t see that happening,” Emma said. “Not with that arm.”
“Maybe I can be suddenly ambidextrous?” Gavin laughed, then moaned. The pain was probably starting to worsen now that the adrenaline was wearing off.
“I mean, you can try,” Kevin said. “You hit from both sides as it is. Maybe you’ll have better control of your curve from the left-hand side.”
“Har, har,” Gavin said. “Shit, this really hurts. Like a lot.”
I crossed over to him, still bothered by the story about what was going on. Something just didn’t make sense. If the biker guys wanted Gavin to pay up, wouldn’t they make sure he had the ability to do so? Why ruin his scholarship if that was the way he was going to be able to make the money? If they really messed up his shoulder, he’d be out of school and out of money.
“What’s wrong?” Gavin asked when he saw my face. I glanced at Kevin and Emma, who were now both looking out of the window together.
“I just... I don’t get it.”
“Get what?” he asked.
“Why they would do this. Especially if they said you had a week. Why attack you?”
He sighed.
“These aren’t rational people,” he said. “They don’t operate with logic. They want their money. They want it now. If they see me doing anything, and I mean anything, that doesn’t directly result in making that money, they think I don’t take them seriously.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head.
“They don’t deal with rational people, either. My dad is not a rational person. He would absolutely tell them he is going to get them money and then go directly to a casino or a club and blow more of it. This is what they are used to. And if they caught him doing it, they’d do much worse to him than what happened to me. Because he doesn’t have friends.”
He glanced over at Kevin, who nodded solemnly back.
“You know I’ve got your back,” he said. “Always, boss.”
“I know,” Gavin said. “And it makes me feel like shit that you had to step in tonight. Because none of this should be on me. This is my dad’s mess that I have to clean up now.”
He tried to sit up on the bed and immediately fell back, howling in pain.
“Your shoulder?” Kevin asked.
Gavin nodded.
“He needs a doctor,” Kevin said. “Like, now.”
“No,” Gavin said. “If this gets out, I’m put on the IL, and if I’m on the IL, it’s ten days minimum. I won’t be in any of the games.”
“Dude, you won’t be any good in any of the games anyway. Your shoulder’s fucked,” Kevin said.
“I think it’s dislocated,” he said. “It just needs to be reset. I just need someone who knows how.”
“What if we called Katie?” Emma asked.
Everyone in the room turned to her.
“Katie?” Gavin asked.
“Katie Pepper,” I said. “She’s our team doctor. She’s also really close with Emma’s family.”
“She and my sister grew up together,” Emma said. “I bet she’d keep a secret if we asked her to.”
“Call her,” Kevin said.
“No,” Gavin interrupted, but Kevin shook him off.
“Boss, I am doing this for you. You don’t get a say. Call her. If she can’t or won’t, you’re going to our team doc and the chips fall where they may. I’ll back you up on whatever you want to tell them, but you need to see someone,” Kevin said.
“What do we tell her?” Emma asked. “I hate lying to her.”
“We don’t lie,” Gavin said. “We were at a club, some guys got handsy, it got rough in the parking lot, and one of them hit me in the shoulder with a tire iron.”
“That’s... a simplified version of what happened,” I said.
“It’s the truth. Just missing some details. Call her. See if she can come over tonight. This hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Do it,” I said, looking to Emma, who nodded and pulled out her phone.
“Hey, Katie,” she said into it, walking into the little bathroom area. I could still hear her clearly. Kevin continued to monitor the window as I grabbed a bottled water and opened it, tipping it back so Gavin could get some. “Yeah, so, I need a really big favor. Like massive big. Like family big. Can you come over to room 316? Quietly?”
A few moments later, a light knock on the door indicated she had arrived. When Emma opened the door, Katie smiled, gave her a hug, then she saw Gavin, and her face went from happy to shocked.
“Oh shit, what happened?” she asked. “Gavin?”
“Hey,” he said. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve formally met.”
“Not really,” Katie said, coming over to the side of the bed. I could see her eyes going up and down Gavin’s various wounds, but they always came back to his shoulder. “We met once or twice, but it was in passing.”
“Ah, well, nice to really meet you,” he said. “So I kind of have a situation.”
“I’ll say,” Katie said. “What the fuck happened?”
“They got jumped,” Emma said, completely honestly. “Some guys got handsy at the club we went to and when we got back to our hotel, they were waiting for us. Kevin and Gavin defended us all.”
“You should see the other guys,” Kevin said, no longer watching through the window, lest he raise suspicion.
“I bet,” Katie said, looking Kevin up and down. “But Gavin, it looks like you did a number on your shoulder here.”
“They hit me with a tire iron,” he said. “I think it’s dislocated.”
“Hmm,” she said, coming around to that side and making me move out of her way. “Do you mind if I get your shirt off? As much as you can, at least.”
“No, that’s fine,” Gavin said. “I just... I might need some help.”
“I’ve got it,” I said, jumping into action perhaps a little more enthusiastically than was entirely necessary. I helped open the buttons on the rest of his shirt, doing my best not to stare directly at his stomach, and then peeled it out and over his still-functional left shoulder. Then he sat up, and I stuffed it behind him so Katie could get it off his right, very gently.
“There we go,” she said.
There were a few minutes where she looked over his various injuries and then sighed.
“That bad?” Gavin asked.
“That bad,” she said. “I’m assuming you called me as a favor because you want to see if you can get this all fixed without getting your coach involved.”
“That was my idea,” Emma said. “Sorry, Katie.”
“It’s fine,” Katie said. “I mean, no, it’s not fine, and I am extremely disappointed, but I won’t tell anyone. But here’s the problem. I think your shoulder is dislocated, but if I push it back in, it’s going to hurt like hell for a second. And after that, it will be sore for a week or two. You probably won’t be able to pitch with it during that time. Not effectively and not without risking injury, that is.”
“Shit,” he said.
“Yeah,” she continued. “Let me go back to my room and get some stuff. I’ll be back in about ten minutes, okay? You just stay here.”
Gavin nodded as she got up and headed for the door. As she went out, Kevin checked one last time out of the window and sighed.
“I think they’re gone,” he said. “I don’t see them anymore over there, and I don’t think they’re going to come back for round two tonight.”
“What if they come back to shoot us?” Emma said, clinging to Kevin’s arm. He patted her sweetly on the back of her hand.
“Not their style,” Gavin said. “They aren’t a shooting type gang. Not unless it’s the last resort scenario. They send messages through jumping people or shooting up a house, but not straight murder in a hotel room.”
“Still,” Kevin said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back to your room tonight.”
“That’s why he’s staying here,” I said. “With me.”
“Oh,” Gavin said.
“Oh,” Kevin said.
“Ohh...” Emma said.
There was far more to hers than the others', and I wasn’t happy about it.
“I guess that makes sense,” Gavin said. “Kev, could you bring me some clothes and stuff from my room?”
“Sure, boss,” he said.
“Are you going to keep an eye on his room tonight?” Emma asked, and I could sense the hidden question inside it. Kevin looked like he wasn’t sure if she was asking what he thought she was but was willing to find out.
“Well... I thought... it might be a good idea...”
“You shouldn’t be alone either,” Emma said immediately. “Why don’t I stay with you, and we can take turns keeping an eye on Gavin’s room. Since Gavin’s going to be here with Lila and all...”
She shot a look at me that I wasn’t entirely sure was conspiratorial, but I had a very, very good feeling was.
“Sure...” Kevin said, still not completely picking up on the giant neon signs that Emma was turning on. “You all right with that, boss?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Me and Lila are cool. She owes me one anyway.” He turned his head slightly toward me, wincing as he did, and grinned.
I felt like my stomach was suddenly full of bees.
“Why’s that?” Kevin said, still not picking up on Emma or really anything else going on in the room. He might have been an incredibly intelligent and sensitive giant, but he was a little dim when it came to picking up on signals sometimes.
“I was sick,” I said. “He came over to help take care of me. Spent a bunch of time making sure I didn’t puke my guts out.”
“Gross,” Emma said.
“Yeah, well, getting sick sucks,” I said.
“Well, you can do all that then. We’re going to head on up to Kevin’s room,” Emma said, then turned to him and lowered her voice a little. “Hey, do you mind if we stop by my room for a minute? Let me grab some stuff.”
“Sure,” he said. “I probably have anything you’d need, though. I went to the little grocery store down there and got some ramen and...”
“I meant like clothes. And other... things.”
“Oh, I mean I have some sweaters and stuff if you get cold,” Kevin continued, still not getting it.
“That’s nice,” Emma said, stroking his arm in a motion that screamed horny frustration. “I just have a couple other things I’d like to bring up. Say, what’s your favorite color between red and black?”
“Me? My favorite color is yellow, but...”
“Yes, but between red and black?”
“Uhh... red, I think,” he said. “I like them both.”
“Good,” Emma said. “I like both too.”
As their conversation continued, they left the room, briefly leaving Gavin and me alone for the first time since we had peeled off at the club.
“They’re going to fuck, aren’t they?” Gavin asked.
“If Emma has anything to say about it, yes,” I laughed. “Maybe not if he doesn’t figure it out, though.”
“Oh, he will figure it out eventually,” Gavin said. “She was practically peeling her clothes off by the door.”
“Yes, she was,” I said. “That’s Emma, though. She’s not particularly shy around people she likes.”
“People?”
“Mmm-hmm,” I said.
“Oh, then they’re going to get along splendidly,” Gavin laughed.
“Oh,” I said, then my eyes widened. “Oh!”
“Anyway, I’m sorry your only night of fun ended up babysitting me and my jacked-up arm,” he said. His eyes went to his shoulder, but mine were magnetically attracted to his chest. His stomach. The deep V-shape that led into his pants. It was the first time I had seen him shirtless, and it was driving me absolutely insane.
“Oh, no problem,” I choked out. “Seriously. I owe you. This is... this is just fine. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No,” he said. “I want to wait on Katie to get back. Figure out what I need to do.”
“Sure, sure,” I said, suddenly remembering that another person was going to burst this tiny, intimate bubble soon. I hated it. I wanted him all to myself.
Of course, that was a silly thought. He wasn’t mine to have, was he?
I swallowed that thought as fast as I could. There was no reason for any of that. It was just going to make things more difficult.
A knock on the door broke my train of thought, and I got up to open it. Katie swept in carrying a satchel and glanced around her.
“Just you two? Where’s Emma?”
“She decided to go hang out with Kevin for a bit,” I said.
“He the giant?” she asked.
“Yup,” I said.
“Sounds like Emma,” she muttered under her breath. “Been boy crazy since she was twelve. Likes ‘em tall. Not usually that tall, but, hey.”
“So what do I need to do, Doc?” Gavin asked.
“Well, for one thing, don’t call me ‘Doc,’ okay?” she asked. “It makes me sound like a character in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I’m Katie. You can call me that. I’m only like three years older than you.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Technically I am the team physician, but I am still in medical school. I have classes just like you guys.”
“Oh,” I said. “I had no idea.”
“Neither does Emma,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for softball, that girl wouldn’t be here. She’s only in higher education to get her M.R.S. degree. It’s a disgrace to womankind, if you ask me.”
I laughed.
“M.R.S.?” Gavin asked.
“Think about it,” Katie said. “Just take all the time you need. Meanwhile, hold out your arm by your side. Just like that. Now look to your left, and...”
There was a loud crack. Gavin started to make a howling sound and suddenly stopped.
“Hey! Hey... that worked! Oh shit, it’s sore as hell, but it worked!”
“Yup,” Katie said. “Now, you’re going to need something for pain, but I am not about to give you anything harder than Tylenol. If you want to see your own team doc and get something from him, that’s not my business, but leave my name out of it, okay?”
“Got it,” Gavin said.
“As for this mouse under your eye, the cuts and bruises... I don’t know what to tell you. It’s going to hurt. And you’re going to have a hell of a shiner in the morning. Good luck explaining that to your coach. Until then, I’d take two of those, once every four hours, drink water, no alcohol, and try to get some rest. Ice your eye. Now, if you will excuse me...” She stood up. “What room is Kevin in? I just so happen to have a pack of condoms in my bag, and I might find myself accidentally tripping and letting them slide under his door.”
“What about pitching?” Gavin asked.
She shook her head slowly.
“Sorry, Gavin. I don’t see that happening.”
