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“Hi,” Aspen replied.

The doctor put her scans up on a computer monitor, sat down, and examined them without a word. Aspen sat up, trying to look herself, as if she understood how to read them, which she didn’t. After a long minute, the doctor finally spoke in Italian and pointed at the image on the screen. Aspen’s heart pounded as she had to wait for the nurse to translate for her whatever he’d just said.

“You have a very minor sprain here.” Beatrice pointed to where the doctor was pointing. “A mild tear. See?”

Aspen leaned up more, but she couldn’t see anything. The only thing she did know for sure was that he wasn’t pointing at her Achilles, which was what she’d been worried about.

“Okay. What does that mean for my playing?”

“Your friend,” Beatrice began and motioned to the trainer, who Aspen hardly knew. “Said you hurt it before and again?”

“It was a bit swollen after a match a few days ago, but it was fine. It got bad again today.”

“Probably very, very mild tear then, and it got worse today,” the nurse replied with a smile.

“What do I do? Can I play?”

The doctor said something, and Aspen looked at the nurse.

“A week with all rest, no playing, and it should be wrapped. Go to your doctor at home for more X-rays and scans after that, but he said he can barely see the tear. Between you and me, I can’t even see that it’s there; it’s so small.” The nurse smiled and winked at her. “It’s probably just too much for the ankle this week with your playing.”

“A week?” Aspen asked.

“To start,” the nurse clarified. “Then, talk to your doctor at home. If you follow instructions, you might be able to play, but you will check with your doctor to see if more rest is needed. You must wrap it when you do play and take the pills to help with swelling. Ice it and receive treatment.”

“Okay.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Aspen, I don’t want to get your hopes up,” her trainer said once the doctor and nurse were gone and they were getting her paperwork together so that she could leave. “It could be a week if you play it right, but you know a sprain can be tricky. You could be out six to eight weeks if you overdo it.”

“I know. And I’ll listen. I’m not risking DJ’s chance to qualify for the Games. I thought I could handle it today. I should’ve just stopped, like she asked me to.”

“She’s outside. Want me to get her?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

He nodded and left the room. A minute later, DJ walked in.

“Hey. How are you?”

“Very mild sprain. They said it’s barely there on the X-ray, so it’s okay.”

“That’s good. How long?”

“A week of doing nothing and staying off it, along with all the basic stuff. Then, I need to have it looked at to see if it’s repairing itself or if I need more time.”

“Okay. We can do a week,” DJ replied with a nod. “You’re going to listen, right?”

“Yes, I’m going to listen. I’ll hardly move if it means we can get me back out there in a week or two. DJ, I don’t want to spin it too much; it’s a very mild tear. But you know that there’s a chance–”

“I know,” DJ interrupted. “We’ll see, okay?” She patted Aspen’s leg. “Just listen to the docs, and we’ll see.”

Aspen nodded at her.

“Do you know where my phone is?”

“In your bag. Want to call your parents?”

“Oh, right.”