Joe and I had almost spent the entire week together. Or at least the best that we could with our schedules. More like his.
When we weren't alone with each other, we were with Ella and Tyler, who were both overwhelmed with the baby stuff.
Ella was the first person I told that Joe and I were dating. She, not surprised because she knew about the whole thing, was happy for us anyways. She also quoted me from a few months ago.
"I guarantee you nothing will come of it," she said in a high-pitched girly voice.
"Okay!" I melted into my hands, "You were right, you win!"
She just smiled and nodded proudly. Ella had a way of always being right about everything.
Which was basically a prompt for a song. It was done in 30 minutes.
But it wasn't going on the album. It was for her. And Tyler, I guess.
The wedding inched closer and she'd finally made a decision on her dress, waiting a little longer to get it altered due to her growing belly bump.
The wedding was set for November 11th, a bye week for the team.
However, first I had to get through the trip to Paris. Ella was dropping me off and I was shaking with nerves. She was going straight to the game afterwards.
"Take pictures of the Eiffel Tower for the baby," she smiles.
I chuckle, slinging a back pack over my shoulder, "Oh yes, I will."
"I love you, Cam!" She sings and I smile.
"I love you too," I look over to see a guy carrying my bags onto the plane, "Will you tell Joe good luck? I don't know if I'll have service."
I already told him good luck this morning and last night. Four times, if you know what I mean.
"I will," she nods reassuringly, "go have fun, for me and for baby."
"Okay," I nod, "bye!"
She waves and Olivia comes up next to me, "Planes leaving in 15."
I nod and let her direct me onto the plane. There were a couple other girls that I quickly got acquainted with. They were all so sweet and they seemed genuine.
The plane ride was 7 hours long, which, didn't seem like much because of how excited I was. Paris was one of my favorite cities, and the agenda seemed even more interesting.
When we landed, I was the first person off of the plane. I was so happy, until I saw 15 missed calls from Ella, 5 from Tyler, 12 texts from Ella, along with a video.
I opened up the texts as soon as I could and watched the video. It was a clip of Joe at quarterback. He snapped the ball and threw it to Ja'Marr, but he was hit. Really hard.
I could tell when he stood up, something was off. He wasn't a clumsy guy, but he could barely keep his feet under him. I figured they would have stopped the game, but he took another snap, but got sacked in the backfield.
This time, he didn't get up. He laid on the ground, unmoving. Medical staff came running up and eventually a gurney was pulled out. They transferred his limp body onto it.
On my end, I had to cover my mouth discretely to keep from crying. It had happened, my literal biggest fear. And I wasn't there to help him.
"Oli-Olivia," I croak out and she stops her conversation to speak with me, "Joe, he's- I don't know- but I need to go home."
"Camden, you can't go home already, you just got here," she tries to level with me, but I already have my mind made up.
"My fucking boyfriend was unconscious on a fucking football field, I'm going home," I whisper sternly.
Olivia sighs and nods, "I didn't know it was that bad. Of course, I'll see what I can do."
"I'm sorry for snapping at you, it's just," I take a breath, "this is my biggest fear, and I need to be with him and his family."
"I understand," she puts a hand on my shoulder and leaves me alone.
I press on Ella's contact and call her. She picks up immediately, "Cam."
"Is he awake?" I ask quickly.
"Yeah, he's not supposed to fall asleep yet," she sounds stuffy, like she's been crying for a while.
"Is it just a concussion?"
"Yeah," she says, and starts talking to someone on the other side of the phone, "he wants to talk to you."
"Joey," I whisper, and a drowsy voice answers me.
"Cam," he sighs, "how's Paris?"
"God, Joe, you're on your death bed and that's all you care about?" I chuckle, wiping some stray tears.
"I've never been to the Eiffel Tower before," he says, and I can hear how out of it he is.
"It's pretty cool," I smile, "but I'm headed back as soon as I can."
"Noooooo," he whines, "eat a baguette. That's a funny word. Baguette."
"I can eat a baguette at home, with you," I try to convince him about my early return.
"Good," he sighs, "because I really want some of your cookies, oh my god, they're so good, Cami."
I laugh, "I'll make some as soon as I get home. Just for you, sickly."
"Great," he sighs, "I can't wait."
"Me neither," I say, but my voice clearly changes. I was trying to be as energetic as possible, but I was scared.
"Ella wants her phone back," he groans, "bye Cami."
"Bye, Joey," I whisper and Ella gets back on the phone, "that's not permanent, right?"
"God, no," Ella chuckles, "he's on some pain killers because of his head. The doctor said he should be out of the hospital by tomorrow afternoon. He'll miss two weeks of games."
"Shit, he's not gonna be happy about that," I wince.
"Yeah probably not, but it's not up to him."
I laugh, "Hallelujah for that."
She laughs with me and Olivia taps on my shoulder, "The pilot said he can take us back tonight."
"Okay," I nod, "Ella we're flying back right now."
"I'll tell Joe, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you in person," Ella says, "bye Cam."
"Bye, Els," I hang up and Olivia and I board the plane while the pilot is doing more checks. The company that I was here for understood immediately. They gave the okay to the pilot.
The ride back to the U.S. was longer than the ride there. On the way to Paris, I was feeling excitement and anticipation. But on the way back, dread and sadness. Not only for myself, but for Joe.
He didn't want to sit out just as much as everyone else didn't want to watch him sit out. But it's for his health.
Another thing about Joe, he doesn't like other people's sympathy, so I had to get out all of the emotions right now.
When we landed, my phone showed 4:00 a.m. No words were spoken between Olivia and I as we rode in an SUV to the hospital Joe was at.
Security lets us in and I turn to Olivia, "You can go to my apartment or get a hotel. I can do this on my own."
She puts a hand on my face, "Okay darling. I'll be praying for him."
"Thank you," I smile and she nods and walks away. I take a deep breath and open the door.
The air was cold and the florescent lights were bright. A man, who I recognized as Joe's dad, was sleeping on the small couch.
His mom was sitting next to the hospital bed, holding Joe's hand. She looks up to me and smiles solemnly, "You must be Camden."
"Yes ma'am," I say quietly, "I wish we didn't have to meet like this."
"Me too," she stands up and walks over to me, "you can call me Robin."
"Alright," I nod and look over to Joe. He was sound asleep. My lip trembled and tears took over my vision.
Robin takes me into an embrace and I let my emotions out. She's gently rubbing my back and shushing me.
"I'm sorry," I say while taking in ragged breaths.
"Don't be sorry because you care," she says quietly.
I take in a deep breath and compose myself, pulling away from her.
"Trust me," she smiles, "I know how you feel. Helpless, guilty, like somehow it's your fault."
I nod.
"I was like that when he was in college, I still am," she looks over to Joe, "but he's resilient and the toughest kid I know. So, I try to just be there to support him."
"You don't get scared?" I wipe my eyes with my sleeve.
"Honey," she chuckles lightly, "I'll be scared for the rest of my life. But I find ways to not show it."
"How?"
"I pray, and I knit, and I've gotten into painting. Anything to distract my mind."
I nod, "So I'm screwed?"
We both chuckle and Joe groans.
"Cami," he shifts in the bed, "you got here fast."
I look to Robin and walk next to Joes bed, "Some jerk cut my trip short."
"How rude of them," he holds his hand out and I take it, and with the other, I brush some hair out of his face.
"How are you feeling?" I whisper, not knowing if sound made his head hurt worse.
He shrugs, "Like a bus hit me."
"One basically did," I grin and he chuckles, but winces as he does so.
"How's the outfit?" He uses his free hand to motion down to the hospital gown.
"Solid 9.5," I nod seriously, "maybe you should wear it to your next game."
"Great idea," he nods with me.
"We're going to the house to get some clothes," Robin announces over where Joe's dad was on the couch, but this time, he was awake.
"I'm Jim," the man nods to me and I smile.
"Camden. It's nice to meet you."
He nods back, obviously out of sorts from Robin waking him up out of nowhere.
The pair leaves and it's just Joe and I.
The first thing I do is lean down to kiss him. He puts a gentle hand on my cheek.
"I hate you," I say when we pull apart.
"For what?" He questions.
"Not going out after that first hit," I sit on the bed and he moves over so that I have more room. He puts an arm around me and I lean into him. He stunk, but I didn't even care.
"I could barely feel it," he argues.
I shake my head, "I saw you stumbling."
"I thought the grass was slick," he raises a hand in defense.
"It's okay," I sigh, "I don't want to fight."
"Me either," he puts his other arm around me and squeezes me into him, "I'm so fucking happy that you're here."
"You know that's my biggest fear," I sigh and snuggle into his neck, "you getting a concussion that can cause permanent problems."
"I know," he whispers.
"You should have just become a chef," I whisper and he kisses the top of my head, humming in agreement. Or dismissal. I couldn't tell because of how tired I was.
✧
Robin, Jim, and I took Joe back to his house. The plan, okayed by everyone, was that I would be his care-giver for the next few days since I didn't have anything scheduled. It was actually his dad's idea, which shocked me, because I didn't think he liked me.
Jim was intimidating, but I've met a lot of intimidating men before.
Him and Robin left after getting Joe settled in. I could tell Robin didn't want to leave him, but she knew that Jim stressed him out, and he needed to be as relaxed as possible.
"I'm baking cookies," I rub Joe's back and he settles into his bed, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
He says, "Okay," but it's muffled by the pillow he's laying on.
The cookies, which I had memorized down to the amount of chocolate chips, didn't take very long. That's why my grandma's recipe is the best, because they're quick and easy and they taste good.
I grab a plate full and pour a cup of milk and sneak into Joe's room. He was out like a light. I put the cookies in a jar and saved the cup of milk for later, and I crawled into bed with Joe.
Immediately, he rolls over to me and wraps himself around me. As tired as I was, I couldn't fall asleep.
Because what if we fell asleep, and he didn't wake up? So I kept a hand on his chest the whole night, counting the seconds between every beat.
Maybe it was excessive, but I know how bad concussions can be. My dad taught me that.
A few hours later, when the sun was setting, texts from his teammates started rolling in. His coach was supposed to come over sooner than I thought, so I told Joe to get in the shower.
He did so, but he made me take one with him so I could "make sure he didn't slip like an old man." I think he thought he was going to get lucky. He didn't.
Once we were both refreshed, we went into the living room. I grabbed the cookies from before and brought a couple with us.
"You're trying to make me fat," he bites into his second cookie.
"Your last meal request were my cookies, so blame you 4 hours ago," I chuckle and pull out his phone, which, he wasn't supposed to be on so I was on the lookout for a text from his coach.
"Ah ha," I nod, "Mr. Taylor will be here soon. Like he's pulling into the neighborhood, soon."
I move the plate of cookies onto the coffee table and wipe off any crumbs. The doorbell rings and I stand up to get it.
"Hey, you must be Camden," the man on the other side of the door smiles, "I'm Zach Taylor, but you can call me Zach."
"Okay, it's nice to meet you, come in," I nod and direct him through the house, "he's in the living room. There isn't much that he can do right now."
"Yeah, concussion protocol is strict," he nods as we enter the living room where Joe is reading a book.
I leave the two of them alone and wipe down the counters in the kitchen, trying to find something productive to do.
At some point the conversation gets louder, both men not agreeing on Joe's return date.
"Medical says three weeks, that's the bottom line," Zach says.
"Pitt is in three weeks, just let it be two like it was before," I could hear the desperation in his voice, "I need to be ready for that. And I feel fine right now, barely a headache."
"I know, I know. I want you to stay home and rest for a few days. If you'll come up to the facility and get looked over again, we'll see if they'll give you two weeks, but if one person says three, then you won't play for three weeks. End of discussion."
"Yes sir," Joe responds, sounding more hopeful than before.
"There's some guys waiting outside for you," Zach says, and he opens the front door. A flood of huge men come into the house, and I quickly walk back into the living room, where Joe is now standing.
"How you doin' Joe," Ja'Marr is the first one to Joe.
"Never better, man," Joe responds, and Ja'Marr pulls him into a hug. Tee is the next one to him and he hugs him too.
Several other guys dap him up in greeting.
"Miss Conners," Ja'Marr turns to me, "he better not be a dick to you. We'll have words if he is."
"Hey Ja'Marr," I smile and pull him into a hug, "you manifested it."
"Hell yeah, I was right," he pulls away and we both smile, "I know he can be a pain in the ass, so thank you for being with him."
"It's all for you, J," I wink at him and Joe clears his throat from a few feet away.
I chuckle at Joe and he smiles back at me. The guys were definitely helping.
There's a tap on my shoulder and I turn to see Tee, "Oh, hey, Tee."
I give him a quick hug. He was a sweetheart through and through.
"Hey Cam," he smiles, "how you been?"
"I guess I'm a full time caregiver now," I motion to Joe.
"Joe appreciates you, a lot, you know," he says, almost like he's not supposed to be saying it.
"Yeah, I hope so," I say, and we both chuckle.
"Sunday's gonna be trash without him," he turns to look at Joe messing around with some guys, "Jake's good, but none of us really know him like we know Joe."
"Yeah, a lot of it is probably trust," I shrug, "you'll do great, though. I have no doubts that you'll win."
"Thanks," he nods.
Eventually, all of the guys had left. A few lingered for a bit longer, but everyone was gone by eight.
Joe plopped down on the couch, looking defeated.
"Joey," I walk up next to him and put a gentle hand on his forehead, pushing back some hair, "what's wrong?"
"Other than a concussion?" He grins up at me, "I feel like shit for leaving them."
"You can't control that," I sigh, "it's not your fault."
"I know," he leans against my body.
"Let's go to bed," I step in front of him and put my hands on his shoulders, "in the morning, I'll take you to get checked out. Then we'll get take-out and then I'll work. I'm behind on the album."
"Sounds great," he smiles up to me.
⇜⇝
Hey hey hey queens (or kings)!
Again, another long chapter, but oo the drama!
I love you all! Mwah!