Hopeless, Devoted, Unrequited (ACE CLAWS Trilogy #1)

Chapter 11

If I were to battle Usain Bolt in a marathon, I would gladly take the trophy for winning first place. Which very much explains my disheveled state.

The moment Ambrose sent me those texts, without hesitation I bid my goodbyes to both Claudia and Mimi. Then I rushed off to where Ambrose was located and kid you not, he even insisted going to me instead when he clearly forgot that he's injured. That's why I had no choice but to press the call button and tell him to stay where he was at.

And by entering this random hall, I ended up in a small lounge. My feet stop running upon seeing a figure sitting down on a white couch with his back turned to me. I let out an exhausted sigh, laying both hands on my thighs.

I'm guessing Ambrose heard me, as he turned around and met eyes with me.

"DON'T STAND UP!" I couldn't help but yell the moment I saw him about to get up from the couch. "Stay seated."

He quietly follow my instructions and sat back down. I let out another sigh which had a mix of exhaustion and relief. And maybe stress.

I walk myself towards the couch and sat about two feet away from him. I fix my messy state; most especially my hair as it was getting all dangled despite it being curly. Then I turn to look at him and saw how he was just looking at the floor.

His hands were just laid on his lap, with thumbs fiddling with one another. His wavy golden brown hair drooping yet again neatly down to his forehead, and lips all pressed into a thin line. Ambrose seemed tense.

"How's your ankle?" I break the silence.

He stops fiddling his fingers. "It's fine. It doesn't hurt."

Hopefully he doesn't think I'm that gullible to buy whatever he said. And even if he was indeed fine, he still needs to let it recover or he won't be able to play properly in the next games.

"May I check?" I ask him. He looks at me, unsure if he wants to. "It's totally fine if you don—"

Ambrose removes his shoe and carefully adjusts his entire body to stretch his leg on top of the couch. Then his foot was a few centimeters away from me with a sock covering it. I look at him dumbfounded but he just nods.

Obviously, I wasn't going to remove his sock, that'd just be weird. Instead, I scooted a little closer, elevating his foot then laying it on my lap. Then carefully, I rotate his foot, but suddenly heard a wince from him.

I lift my head up to him in panic. "Oh gosh, sorry! Was it too much?"

His furrowed eyebrows soon switched back to normal, shaking his head in response. I gently remove his ankle off my lap and stood up. His eyes not leaving me.

"I'll go to a nearby pharmacy to buy an ankle wrap! Wait for me here!"

He puts down his leg back down and got up in an instance, reaching for my wrist. "I have one!"

My eyes widened at the volume of his voice. That was the very first time I heard him talk this high and it's nothing but revolutionary! This definitely has to go on history books.

I blink several times in utter disbelief, and couldn't help but gape my mouth. His eyes were slightly widened too but it softened after, looking away from me.

Ambrose clears his throat. "I mean... I have one. An ankle wrap. It's inside my bag."

"Ri—right. Um, but I still need ice, though. Un—unless you also have one inside your bag," I murmur the last part. I then notice him sitting back down the couch, slowly letting go of my wrist.

"That's the staff room. Inside, they have a refrigerator. You can get ice from there," he points to a certain direction. I shoot him a hesitant look. "It's fine, there's no one there. And if there is, tell them I told you to enter."