state of grace ✦ leon goretzka

d r e i

in the hospital

LEON WOULD BE LYING if he said he hadn't looked forward to seeing her at dinner for the rest of the afternoon. It was the only thing on his mind, and he was going kind-of crazy thinking about how it'd play out.

How was he going to act? Confident, macho, suave? No, she'd hate that. So, what about the sensitive, soft footballer? No, she'd figure me out too soon. He was thinking as if he knew her, and knew how she thought, but he didn't and he had no clue if she even liked him or not from their lunch. How did he even act at lunch? He could hardly remember what he said and did; he was too busy staring at her to realise the words spluttering from his mouth.

Leon couldn't stop thinking about her for the sole reason that she was just intriguing. Her face was not one he'd seen- it was so unique and even her eyes were fascinating. They were pearly grey and the kind you'd love to get lost in. He had a million questions to ask her too; he just didn't know his fo bring them up casually into conversation, so between the lunch and the dinner, he had spent most of the time creating scenarios in his head of 'what's if's' and 'buts'. What if she gets offended if I ask her why she's at the hospital? But she was going to tell me anyway.

It was crazy how his mood was completely changed in the matter of a single half-hour excursion down to the cafeteria. He wasn't wallowing in anger anymore because he had her to distract him.

His next thought was to text Max, which he did.

to Max🤙🏻
maaaan, i met a girl at the hospital

Leon waiting for a few minutes to get a response back. Unlike him, Max was good at texting back unless- unless- oh. Leon's chest deflated with a sigh. Max wasn't getting that text any time soon since he obviously wasn't in Germany. He was saddened; there's nobody else he'd have loved to share that news with other than his best friend. Sure, he could mention it to Max when he next called, but that would be a whole day from then, and he could send it again on Messenger, but when Max receives the original text when he comes back, he'll think of Leon as super psychopathic and obsessed.

He was left to his laptop, his phone and his moving monitor for the rest of the afternoon. At around 4, the same nurse came by and asked how he was doing, and if he wanted to have his dinner brought to him again. He answered with nonchalance and refused the dinner. At 6, the physio doctor checked up on his leg, and asked him to show his walking around the room. He felt incredibly stupid doing it, but it was certainly nothing new to him since he had been injured many times before.

The doctor took down some notes on his clipboard, unnerving the footballer, before looking up at him with an encouraging gaze, "It's looking good, Leon. You're right on track for Phase 5 in 9 weeks."

Phase 5 was the phase of returning to sport, and with grade 2 tears, it was usually around the 8th week after the injury, but Leon's was a little more severe than grade 2 injuries, but was not completely torn to warrant grade 3. His estimated recovery time was 11 weeks, thanks to the tear combined with his chronic bowel inflammation that meant he recovered a little more slowly than the rest.

"I heard you walked yourself down to the cafeteria at lunch," the doctor commended, "That's good. Heading down there for dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Wow! Most patients at your stage aren't as enthusiastic. Not a big fan of this room?" his doctor was beginning conversation, which Leon was a little irked by since he just really wanted to be left alone.

"Not really, no," his eyes flashed quickly to the football match on his monitor that had been moved over his bee. Schalke were playing a large-scale friendly with Athletic Bilbao at the Veltins-Arena and were so far winning 2-0. He had asked the previous day if he were able to attend, but was refused for caution.