Crosby

Chapter 2

•Sid•

I woke up late and checked my phone, seeing a few texts from Geno and one from Bylsma.

'Appointment at Riverside Physical Therapy at 1:30. Get well soon Sid.' the text from our coach said. I let a small smile slip across my face as I read the one from Geno in his broken English.

"1:30 eh? I've got some time to kill." I muttered, grabbing my crutches that I had been instructed to use and heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

My phone vibrated on the counter and I dried off and slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a Pens shirt as I read it.

'Ill pick you up at 1:15 to bring you to your appointment oh captain.' Neal's text said. I could hear the sarcasm in his voice and chuckled.

'Sounds great, thanks James.' I typed quickly and sent it while crutching towards the refrigerator to find something to eat for breakfast.

In no time, Neal was knocking at my door. I hobbled over and opened it, tugging on a jacket as it swung open.

"Ready?" he asked, twirling his keys on his middle finger.

"Let's just get this over with." I said with a sigh, following him out to his car as fast as I could manage.

We talked about the game last night on the way there. The Pens lost 3-1. I felt like a failure to my team. The only way I could get better was to do this physical therapy and hopefully they could work some sort of magic to quicken the healing process.

"Here we are." Neal said, parking in a spot that was close to the main doors so I didn't have to walk far.

I limped inside and Neal went to check me in. And that's when I first glimpsed her.

Long, dirty blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She was petite and looked fragile like she might break if you hugged her too tight. She was dressed in jeans and a loose sweatshirt but she still looked amazing. Her smile stretched all the way across her face and she looked so happy.

"Earth to Sid? Snap out if it buddy, they just called your name." Neal said, nudging my shoulder and making my face turn a deep shade of red.

"Sorry I just zoned out." I muttered, glancing one more time down the hallway, the blonde girl no where to be seen.

I followed an older woman into a room where she took my height and my weight and asked me what had happened and what some of the symptoms were.

"Your therapist will be right in." she said with a warm smile, walking out the door and leaving me in a room by myself.

I glanced around at the picture covered walls and grabbed and ESPN magazine off of a counter nearby. They barely ever had hockey stuff in it, but it was worth a try.

"Sports, huh?" a soft voice said. My head snapped up and I saw the door closing again and the petite, dirty blonde stepped into the room.

"Okay, it says here that you seem to have sprained your knee, is that correct Mr.....Crosby?"

I waited for her to freak out, but it never happened. "Uh yeah I sprained it." I said slowly, still staring at her button nose and her stormy gray eyes the color of the ocean during a storm.

"Alright. Let me see your leg please?" she said softly, walking towards me as I lifted up my pant leg to reveal my bandaged leg.

"When did this happen?" she murmured, moving my leg gently.

"Last night. I was playing hockey. I never caught your name." I said before I could stop myself.

She looked up at me and gave a small, breathtaking smile. "Tyler Lincoln."

"So when do you think I can skate again?" I asked nervously, watching her face turn into a frown.

"Not for a few weeks, maybe more. It depends on how well you respond to the therapy."

"When will my therapy be?" I said, anxious to start so I could be back on the ice in no time.

"We can start today if you'd like. I'll be helping you through it. We've been a little shorthanded lately." She stood up and brushed her jeans off.

"So Tyler," I said as she held open the door for me as we headed into the hallway to head down to the therapy room. "How long have you been working here?"

"About two years now. I moved from Maine down here and lived here ever since." she said with a slight smile, almost as if she wasn't happy about Maine. "What about you?"

"I'm originally from Canada but I moved down here like you." I said with a smile as we headed into the therapy room.

"Canada huh? What made you move to Pittsburgh?" she asked curiously.

"My job." I said quickly, wanting to keep her in the dark about what I actually did. I hated when people treated me differently because I played for the Pens.

"That must be hard for your family." she murmured, making me step up onto a mat as she begun to bend my leg slowly.

"Yeah it's difficult on my parents and my sister. But I'm happy here so it makes it a bit better for them." I said with a fond smile. My family has always supported all of my decisions.

"That's really cool! Stretch your leg out for me?" she asked, her small hand grabbing mine to help me balance as I stretched out my leg.

I could see her cheeks turn a slightly darker shade of pink and I tried not to smile at the cuteness of it.

"It looks like you're gonna have to come back tomorrow Mr. Crosby. You're not ready to move it quite yet so we'll see how it feels tomorrow." She stood up and the disappointment hit me.

"Don't worry, I'll have you up and running in no time." she assured me, holding open the door for me as I hobbled out.

"Sid." I said as we reached the end of the hallway.

"Huh?"

"You can call me Sid. Mr. Crosby is way too formal." I said with a laugh.

"Oh. Right! Come back tomorrow at 12:30, if you can make that." she said with a grin.

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Neal had started walking towards me. "Everything alright Sid?!" he asked nervously.

"Yeah." I said spacily, watching Tyler walk away. I let out a small sigh as she began to talk with a guy about my age.

"Let's get you home buddy." Neal said, tearing my attention away from Tyler and the other guy who was flirting with her. I didn't stand a chance anyway.