Page 13 of Courting Trouble

Cassie was there before she’d even cursed. One knee down, hand on Delilah’s shin, eyes scanning with that same dispassionate focus she had during training, but with something else under it too. Something worried.

‘Don’t move,’ Cassie said. Already rolling up her sock, testing the ankle gently but with precision. ‘Where’s it worst?’

‘It’s… It’s fine. I just went over on it.’

‘Which is how a sprain starts. Or worse.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Can you put weight on it?’

Delilah tried. Wobbled. Sat back down with a muttered, ‘Nope.’

Cassie exhaled sharply and stood up. ‘We’re going to the hospital.’

‘What? That’s dramatic.’

‘Trust me. If it’s more than a tweak, you’ll want to catch it now. Come on.’

Delilah wanted to argue. But there was something about Cassie’s that made it pointless.

**

The waiting room was grey in that special institutional way. Half-dead fern in the corner, water cooler with no cups, a sad vending machine that offered only still water or prawn cocktail crisps.

Cassie had parked her beside a laminated sign about infection control and fetched her an ice pack.

They sat in silence. Delilah was starting to feel embarrassed by the whole thing as she iced her ankle.

‘It’s not that bad,’ she said.

Cassie didn’t look over. ‘We’ll see.’

‘You always assume the worst?’

‘I’ve lived it.’

Delilah glanced at her. Cassie’s gaze was fixed on the fern.

‘This happened to you?’

‘I ruptured my UCL,’ Cassie explained evenly. ‘Didn’t realise until I’d made it worse.’

Delilah blinked. ‘That’s a big one, right?’

‘It’s the one that ends careers.’ Cassie didn’t say it with bitterness. Just a cold fact.

So, that explained why Cassie didn’t play now, if Delilah had wondered. Which she had. ‘Sorry,’ Delilah said.

Cassie gave a brief shrug. ‘Don’t be. It happens.’

Before Delilah could ask anything else, a nurse called her name. Cassie stood before she could, hand offered wordlessly. Delilah took it and was surprised by the careful way Cassie helped her into the exam room with a gentility Delilah didn’t know she had.

**

The doctor poked and prodded, made her do some mildly humiliating flexes, and finally pronounced it not serious.

‘Mild sprain. Bit of swelling. You’ll be back at it in a couple of days. Just ice and rest.’

Delilah grinned. Cassie did not.

‘Two days,’ Delilah repeated, already planning a sofa marathon. ‘Doctor’s orders.’