"Odell is approaching the twenty yard line," one of the announcers said as Odell ran with the ball towards their side of the field. Demi wasn't an expert in football yet but she knew that Odell was on his way to make a touchdown, their winning touchdown. Everyone was wildly cheering for him, including her, until one of the players on the other team tackled him down and it looked like it hurt. Demi's heart stopped for a second when he didn't immediately stand up and she could hear the gasps around her. It had been more than a minute and he still wasn't getting up. She couldn't see what was happening because people were beginning to crowd around him and she found herself moving from her seat, pushing past people to get down to the sidelines.
"Demi, stay here, they've got him," one his teammates said, gently holding her back but she shook her head and fought against his grasp until she was free and running across the field to where Odell was. He had to be okay. Everything had to be alright.
She pushed through the crowd of players and coaches and knelt down next to him. Someone was moving his knee around and he was crying out every time they even touched it.
"Can you stop? He's obviously in a lot of pain!" Demi exclaimed before focusing back on Odell. She reached down and cupped his face as he wrapped his big hands around her wrists.
"You're gonna be okay," she whispered as if it was just the two of them in this moment. As if no one else mattered.
"You're gonna be okay, Dell. Everything is gonna be fine." But Demi saw the concerned looks on everyone's faces and she saw how his knee was swelling up and she knew that things weren't gonna be okay.
He was taken on a gurney to see a doctor and he was wincing in pain the entire time. Demi didn't let go of his hand and she refused to leave even they told her that she needed to. They took X-rays and ran tests and did every medical procedure that she could think of, and hours later they finally figured out what was wrong.
"His ACL is definitely torn," the doctor unceremoniously announced as Demi furrowed her eyebrows while Odell groaned.
"What is that? What does that mean?"
"It means I can't play football for a while and I'll be recovering for months," Odell huffed before the doctor could answer. The doctor launched into a whole speech about what a torn ACL was and what the treatment options were but Demi zoned out because she was too focused on Odell. His face was in his hands and she could see his shoulders shaking.
"Could you please give us a minute?" She politely asked, interrupting the doctor. He nodded and stepped out of the room so Demi made her way over to Odell.
"Baby, I'll be with you every step of the way. You'll be healed in no time," Demi promised, wrapping her arms around him in the best way that she could as he cried into her shoulder.
"We're in this together. You're gonna be back on that field in no time," Demi consoled, but her mind was running a million miles per minute. She had a world tour to finish out and she had an album to finish and singles to promote and music videos to shoot. But suddenly none of that mattered because she wanted to be there for Odell every step of the way. She couldn't just leave him while he was injured. He needed her. And she was gonna stay with him for as long as he needed.
Two days after they had diagnosed him he went in for surgery. Then a week after that he was finally allowed to go home with his knee bandaged and in a brace and crutches under his armpits. He'd barely spoken a word no matter how much Demi had tried to get him to talk. He didn't talk to her or his teammates or his friends or his parents. He was just silent.
"Phil, I can't attend a meeting right now. Odell is coming home and I have to be here," Demi said as she finished cleaning up his house. It had been all set up for a party for after the game but Demi hadn't been there since the game ended so it was still a mess. Party decorations was probably the last thing that Odell wanted to see. His mom had already cooked his favorite meal before she went to the hospital to pick him up so Demi had reheated it and put it on a plate for him. Everything was ready for him to come home and hopefully since he was coming home he would talk to them because she couldn't stand his silence when he always had something to say.
