Preath: Head In The Game [Complete]

13: An Unexpected Family Reunion

Christen went to give her father a shaky hug. I saw his lips move, but I wasn't sure what he said. Then Chris stood next to her mother. Tentatively, I approached.

"Nobody told me she was on life support," Christen whispered.

I was going to say 'I'm sorry', but I didn't think that was what she wanted. I placed a hand on her back and turned to Tyler and Channing. I was half-expecting them to swoop in, comforting each other and holding Christen in a sort of sisterly sandwich. But for right now, they each took it in individually. Suddenly, Christen turned and wrapped her arms around my waist. When she pulled away, her father stood behind her.

"So you're... Tobin, right?" he held his hand out for the shake.

"Yeah," I said, accepting it.

He put his other hand on my shoulder, staring me deeply in the eyes. "This really wasn't the way I was expecting to meet you. I regret that."

"I'm glad to be here to support Christen," I said. "I know how close she was with Stacy."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Wow, look at us. One's on crutches, Channing just got over her bronchitis, and one is... you know." He glanced back at the bed. Now it made sense why Channing was so quiet, too.

"Have you been here all night?" Christen asked.

"I went back to Grandma's for a bit," he said. "She wanted to be sure we weren't living off of hospital food."

"That sounds like her," she said, wiping the tears away. "I think I need a break. Tobin? Want to go to the food court with me?"

"Sure," I said.

We walked back out to the main court. A man with red stubble and a baseball cap eyed me from one of the tables as if he knew who I was, but he didn't smile. I took my phone off airplane mode and faced away from him. I'd remembered to text my mother before leaving, but now I had texts from everyone.

Alex 👶🐎:
Hope you feel better, Tobs <3

Harry:
Are you making use of the Nintendo Switch? ;)

Linds:
Came by the hospital at about noon and they said you'd been discharged. They really throw people out fast, huh?

Ash:
So I talked to Cindy... YOU'RE GOING TO CALIFORNIA?? GIIIRL take me with you!

Christen was coming back to the table, so I shut my phone off. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I think so." She set a gigantic cup of New York fries in front of us and picked out a handful. I distinctly remembered Sonny, Lindsey and me eating an entire one of these after we and the rest of the Thorns won the NWSL Championship in 2017. We timed how long it took to eat them all. We managed it in two minutes.

Suddenly, the man with the red stubble stood up and approached the table. "Tobin Heath!" he said, pointing with both fingers. "I know you!"

"That's me," I smiled politely.

"What happened to you?"

"Just a small ankle injury. Do you watch the games?"

He ignored my question. "Wow, women really get hit hard with these things, right?"

I wasn't sure if he was trying to be sympathetic or insulting. Christen shot me a look. "Well, I don't spend my time thinking about stuff like that," I said.

"Right, because you love the sport," he said. "Do you find that your teams change so much from game-to-game?"

"Well, we always try to get better, if that's what you mean."

He shook his head. "Like, I don't understand how a second-last place team could beat a first place team. I'm not saying it's your fault, but I always thought it had something to do with periods."

I clenched my teeth as I imagined how good it would feel to clock him. I turned my body away, but he tapped me to regain my attention.

"I mean, it must suck, right?" he said, flashing a smile full of perfect teeth; perfectly clockable, that is. "Even for decent players like you." He stared at me eyebrows raised, eagerly awaiting my polite plea of peacekeeping.

"Shove a Cheeto up your butt, jackass," I said without thinking.

My teeth quaked in shock at what my tongue had just said. My taste buds were gossiping about it. So, I slammed my lips together, closed as if a deadbolt were keeping them that way to hide the mass confusion within my mouth.

The man lifted his hands like the character without a gun would in the movies. Then, he took his coat and left.

"As much as I wasn't expecting that," Christen said, handing me a fry, "I just want you to know that I'm really proud."

I took the fry and ripped a bite off like it was a carrot. "Wow," I said. "I can't believe I just quoted Kelley."

"I know," Christen smiled mischievously. "His shit's going to be orange for weeks, mate."

Once Christen and I had binged on most of the fries, we started heading back. A doctor with brown hair and highlights swerved around us like a police car. A button on her belt beeped as she glided through the crowd - not quite running, but definitely on a mission - and a tag next to it said Dr. Shea. It took a second for it to dawn on me where I'd seen that name. I turned to tell Christen, but she was already staring at me knowingly.

"Excuse me?" Christen said. "Are you Stacy Press' doctor?"

"Are you a relative?" the doctor asked. Her face was so blank and serious, it worried me.

"I'm her daughter," Christen said, matching her pace to Dr. Shea's while I tried to stay close. All the hospital bustle was enough without the clicks and clacks of my crutches getting in the way of my hearing.

"I have to go do some tests with her," Dr. Shea said. "She-"

"Tests on her?" Christen cut her off. "Are you going to find out wh-"

"With her," the doctor spoke louder. "Your mother's waking up."