Page 51 of Full Court Crush
“Sorry. Yeah, it was alright. I err, stayed over at a friend’s place. Someone from the team. We ordered pizza.” She smiled, remembering the warm memories of that night, most of which she wouldnotbe sharing with her father. Yet his chuckle sounded knowing.
“Amelia, by any chance?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
“How did you know?”
“You do talk about her a fair bit, Keira. Even I can see that you two are…goodfriends.”
Her cheeks warmed.
“I’d like to meet her, at some point,” he said quietly.
“Why?”
“She’s the first new…friend, you’ve had for a while. At least that you’ve told me about. She must be special.”
“We really are just friends, Dad,” Keira said, though she felt her blush deepening.
“But you like her, don’t you?”
Keira thought ‘like’ didn’t do it justice. It didn’t describe the way her heart filled with light whenever Amelia was around, or how her smile warmed her to the tips of her fingers, even in the freezing winter air. Or how her touch electrified her skin.
“Yeah, I like her. But it’s complicated.”
“How so?”
“She’s my teammate, and my captain, and has her own stuff going on…” she trailed off. She didn’t need to tell him how stressed she’d been since his diagnosis, and how she had her own ‘stuff’, too.
“I understand why you’d be cautious, but, you deserve to be happy, Keria. My illness has taken so much from you already. Don’t let it take this as well.”
She nodded, but her eyes stung with unshed tears. She didn't want to acknowledge how vulnerable putting her heart on the line would make her. And, if it went wrong, how vulnerable it could make them both.
Her dad gingerly lifted himself out of his chair, and before Keira could ask what he needed, he plopped himself down next to her, put an arm around her shoulder and embraced her. She put an arm across his stomach and squeezed him as tightly as she dared.
“Shhh, it’s okay.” He rocked her lightly. “This Amelia really must be quite something,” he said, sucking his breath in through his teeth and making her laugh.
“She certainly lives up to the name of being a force of nature.”
“Well, now I definitely have to meet her.”
She laughed again, before looking up at her father. “Thanks, Dad.”
Her dad just smiled and returned to hugging her. For the first time in a while, she was his little girl again, safe in his embrace, protected from the rest of the world. She thought of all the chores she still had left to do, plus sorting out his evening medications and planning their meals for the next few days based on Frank’s shopping.
But, for now, she wanted to be his little girl for a while longer.
Chapter 15
Amelia
Afewdayslater,Amelia sat at the nurses’ station desk, updating patient information on the computer. She was a couple of hours into a twelve-hour day shift. This being her first winter doing bank work, she couldn’t decide whether she liked night or day shifts better. Normal sleep patterns were great, obviously, but night shifts had meant she was able to make more of the limited winter sun. She missed the summer and playing basketball with her friends outside, or going for runs in anything other than freezing rain and wind. When she was younger, it didn't matter as much, but she wasn't also a professional athlete back then.
Some eager members of staff had put holiday decorations up around the ward where she was working. A small, faux Christmas tree had appeared at the nurses’ station, and many of the internal windows had tinsel or lights draped over them. Amelia couldn’t blame whoever put up the decorations — hospitals were often scary, daunting places to be, especially for children. Anything that might lessen the imposing atmosphere was a positive.
“We’re ready when you are, Dr Preston.” One of the junior staff members approached, carrying a small stack of patient files.
“I’ll be with you shortly,” she replied, finishing up her notes.
As she typed the last sentence, her personal phone vibrated in her pocket. She glanced up at the small crowd of medical staff waiting for her to begin rounds. Once they started, it might be hours before she had another chance to sit down, let alone have a break long enough to check her notifications. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her mother had called twice, a few minutes apart, and there were a few texts from Keira. Her mother had been trying to get hold of her for a couple of days. Amelia had sent her mother her current scheduled shifts, but she still rang in the middle of them. The messages from Keira made her feel lighter, though, but just as she was about to open them, her screen got taken over by yet another phone call from her mother. Amelia rolled her eyes and rejected the call. Her mother would take that more personally than just letting the call go to voicemail, but she didn’t care. She put her phone on ‘do not disturb’ and went back to work.