His Harvard Girl

Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke the next morning having forgotten that we'd been at the hospital. The rigid, plastic bedside chair alarmed me, and I woke with a start.

"What the-" 

The sound of my voice was unfamiliar - raspy and tired. Quickly, I looked over at the nearby bed and remembered the night before. Of course.

Elle's sleeping body was mesmerising. Her peaceful face was serene. Her chest rose and fell as I watched her: something I could have done for hours.

Instead, I glanced at the analog clock and sighed. It was only five a.m, and I was already bright as a bird. For a moment I considered waking Elle for company, then decided against it. She needed the rest.

Quickly, I picked myself up off the chair and landed my heavy feet on the cold, vinyl floor below. I leaned over Elle's body and gave her a light kiss on the forehead before leaving. Thankfully, she didn't stir.

"Leaving so soon?" One of the nurses asked in the hallway, her half-joking smile doing nothing to hide the bags under her eyes. I liked her good spirit, but nothing would mask the post-night-shift expression that found residence on her face.

"I'll be back," I promised. "Just heading out for some exercise."

"You're a good man," she added. "Most boyfriends don't stay the night."

I didn't want to admit that I'd seen the no overnight visitors sign and completely ignored it, but clearly the nurse wasn't about to start enforcing that rule.

"See you later," I said happily, hoping she wouldn't rouse on me.

As I weaved my way out of the hospital, I hoped dearly that Elle wouldn't wake up and think I'd left her during the night. I just hoped, instead, that she'd understand I was just heading to football practice. Or, better yet, that she'd stay sleeping and only wake once I was already back.

I stopped by the dorms on my way to the field and grabbed my favourite pair of joggers, determined to get in a good run before training started at six-thirty. Jimmy was already at the field when I arrived, and all hope of running went out the window immediately. Jimmy wasn't really the running type.

"Hey man," he said. "Where were you last night? I came knocking at your door for kick-ons. No answer."

I shrugged. "Sorry," I replied. "Elle had a stomach bug. We went to the hospital."

I didn't feel the need to explain that Elle's illness was worse than a mere bug. I didn't want to share her personal issues, and I didn't want Jimmy to worry unnecessarily.

"Oh, damn," he said. "Oh well. Hey, we leave tomorrow for camp. Keen, or what?"

Through the glare of the sunrise, I could barely see the excitement on Jimmy's face, but I sure as hell heard it in his voice.

Truthfully, I'd almost forgotten about camp given last night's events. Why would I let football filter into my mind when I had so much else to worry about anyway? It seemed like a no-brainer to me: take care of Elle, football could come later.

"Yeah, I dunno," I replied eventually.

"What's with you?" Jimmy asked. "Your attitude all year has been...well, disinterested, honestly."

"That's not it," I said, although I couldn't deny I hadn't been a stellar team player. "I don't know. I love football, man. It's always been my thing. But something tells me it will ruin my relationship."

Jimmy scoffed as he outstretched his legs and reached for his toes. "Elle's awesome," he said. "She'll be fine without you."

I nodded as I joined the warm up. "I know she will, but that's not it. It's just - we work better when we're together. Does that make sense?"

I cast my mind back to our first few weeks together. We'd had so much fun keeping our relationship a secret - always getting up to no good. "It was just awesome at the start, and I want that again," I continued, thinking about the gazebo where we kissed, the Hollywood sign, and hiding Elle under my bed...

"That's just the honeymoon phase," Jimmy explained. "It doesn't last forever. Plus, maybe some time apart will bring you closer when you get back."

I tried to see his point of view, but all I could think about was the time we spent apart the year before, when I was doing my first semester at Harvard and Elle was still finishing high school. Distance - physically 0 had caused a rift. I was worried that might happen again. 

Plus, now Elle was sick.

The timing just wasn't right!

"Nah," I said, reaching for my toes. "I think I need to be here. Maybe I can get to camp late?"

Jimmy raised his eyebrows. "Maybe you should discuss that with Coach. Anyway, enough chit chat. Let's do this."

With that, we leaped off the damp grass and burst into our favourite warm up: suicide sprints. 

The early morning sun was fierce as it burned our exposed skin, and the grass quickly dried in the heat. 

When Coach arrived, I was covered in sweat. I could feel it rolling down my forehead as I approached him.

"Hi, Coach."

"Flynn."

"I have a question," I started.

He only grunted in reply.

I took a moment to search for my words. "I was hoping you might allow me to join camp late. Maybe a couple weeks after the official start date. It's just, my girlfriend is here and our relationship might now work while I'm away."

I immediately realised my argument was less than convincing.

Coach looked me dead in the eye, his eyebrows furrowed. "Really?" He asked. "Do you know how many people would kill to be on this team and to be going competitive? Do you know how many students would jump at the opportunity for a fully-funded two-month camp where classes are online and you don't see the teachers' annoying faces for eight weeks? I could replace you in an instant, Flynn. Don't test me."

"But, she's sick-"

"Boo-hoo," he said. "Pick, Flynn."

"What?"

"Pick between the two. It's football camp or your girlfriend. What are you gonna choose?"

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Author's Note:

Hi all! Sorry for the slow update. I hope you like this chapter! Tell me in the comments what you think Noah's reply will be!

I love hearing all your theories.

xo

Hayley