Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 34 ]

Once the guys left, and Rebecca went back into the room, the doctor explained safety measures for Colby and what to do versus what not to do to ensure his knee heals properly.

"Can we leave now?" Colby whined to Rebecca while the nurse left with measurements to bring him a proper knee brace.

"Yes, that's why we're getting your stuff now." Rebecca laughed, pointing to an already full bag of medicine with a schedule for when to take each one. "Now stop acting like you're my child or soon I'm gonna start believing it."

He squinted at her, "I'm not acting like a child."

"Can we leave yet is an equivalent to are we there yet." Rebecca rolled her eyes, keeping her laughs quiet. "So yes, you're acting like a child."

"Stop being mean to me, I'm hurt." He pouted, jokingly and Rebecca was glad that he seemed to be feeling somewhat better. "I hear that when you're injured, normally someone kisses you to make you feel better."

Rebecca laughed, "Once again, that would only happen if you were a child and I was your mother. Plus, they kiss the injury, not their child's lips."

"But I am injured on my lip!" He pointed to the stitches, "That counts!"

His sudden burst of energy was quickly gone as he started coughing, and his ribs were causing him bouts of pain again. "Alright, calm down, Lopez."

She gently ran her hands through his hair, placing a soft kiss on his forehead as they waited for the rest of his supplies.

"Not fair." He muttered, "I don't have an injury on my forehead."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Well, I assume you'd rather me kiss you there than cut your head open to give your concussed brain a kiss."

"Don't ever assume Quin." He replied, "You don't know what my kinks are."

"Kinks?! Colby, that's attempted murder." She laughed, "I'm not a surgeon."

"You should be." He turned his head towards her. "I'd trust you with my life."

"Okay, I think you've either had too many meds or not enough." She shook her head with a laugh.

When the nurse demonstrated how to put on the knee brace and take it off, she gave Colby some crutches, and he was discharged. He was instructed to ice it most of the day, and use his crutches heavily instead of walking on his own. If he was lucky, he'd be better in about eight weeks, and he was fortunate it was his MCL and not his ACL or else he'd be looking at having to go through surgery as well.

The nurse then went over the optimal times for him to take certain medications because some could counteract others. He had some to help him fall asleep, but he'd have to be careful when using them because he'd become super drowsy, to the point where he would have no choice but to sleep. Whereas another would help energize him through the day, and he had to make sure not to have it with any caffeine, or it could cause damage to his heart.

They also came with their share of typical side effects, like hazy memory, nausea, and the feeling of being lightheaded. But compared to the other pain he was going to have to endure, the side effects were going to be the easiest part.

Rebecca was right by his side as he learned how to coordinate his walking with the crutches. After a few stumbles and trying to balance himself, he got the hang of it, and they were off.

"My car?" Colby looked over at her as she rummaged through her purse on the sidewalk.

"Joseph brought it for us when he and Jonathan came by." She grabbed the keys and scanned the parking lot, seeing his car parked infuriatingly far away.

"This is what I get for abandoning the team." He joked, "An injured man has to walk halfway to hell to get to his car."

Rebecca placed her hand on his back as he started moving. "Come on, peg leg."

"Don't start making fun of me now." He smiled, wobbling his way to the car.

He stabilized himself by leaning against the car, and Rebecca opened the door, grabbing his crutches for him as she helped him get down.

Colby winced in pain, and when she closed the door to get in on her side, he let out a strangled breath. He didn't know whether to clutch his knee, head, or side. He just knew that every time his knee bent in the slightest, a shock of freezing cold pain jolted through the whole left side of his body. He couldn't take deep breaths because of his ribs, and his concussion was giving him a constant headache.

"You ready to go?" Rebecca hopped in the car and put on her seatbelt.

He raised an eyebrow, "Do you even know how to drive?"

"I have a license, Colby." She rolled her eyes as she smiled, "Not all of us can afford a car."

Rebecca looked over at him and noticed his blank expression attempting to hide tones of sadness, and she placed a hand on his thigh. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah... uh." He looked down and fidgeted with her hands before looking over at her. "Can we not go to my place?"

"Of course." She nodded, "Do you wanna go to mine?"

"Yes." He felt a wave of relief wash over him, "I just- mine reminds me too much of... everything."

"It's okay." She smiled, understanding this was going to be jarring for him and after making such a big confession, things were expected to be difficult. He re-lived his past trauma just to explain it all to her, and although she was grateful, she felt responsible for his solemn state. "Don't worry, it's fine. It'll be fun."

She felt slightly better seeing his expression fall back to its familiar state of slyness. "Promises, promises Quin."