Talia clutched her thigh as a burning pain arced through it.
"Talia? What's wrong?" Mark had gone upstairs to get water and was coming over from the stairs.
She ground her teeth. "It hurts." She limped over to a chair, trying to massage it.
Mark stooped down in front of her. "Talk to me."
She gasped as it throbbed. "I was doing free squats and… ah! I felt it pull." Just shifting in her seat caused it to hurt terribly.
"You think you tore it?"
She shook her head vigorously. "It used to pull all the time." Thanks to her mom and dad.
Mark stood and went over to the cabinet on the far wall. He handed her two wide Ace bandages before lifting her in his arms.
She cried out when his hand pressed upward on the back of her thigh.
The pain was blinding! She tried gritting her teeth as he carried her up the stairs, but couldn't stop the tears as he sat her on the couch.
He tugged the sweats down her legs, leaving her in workout shorts and a hooded sweatshirt. Straightening her leg and draping it over his lap where he sat on his knees in front of the couch.
"Just a minute, sweetheart. I'll make it feel better." His voice was soothing as he wrapped the bandage tightly around her aching thigh. He used both of them, then put a pillow against the arm of the couch and laid two at the other end.
He laid her back on the couch and propped the two pillows under her knee.
She was still in tears, hastily swiping them away when she saw Mark looking at her. "I'm such a baby. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." He was quiet for a minute, then, "Why did you always strain muscles, sweetheart?"
She bit her lip and looked away. "My mom and dad wouldn't let me eat right, so I didn't get enough protein and vitamins."
"That's what I thought." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be right back." He stood, coming back a moment later with an ice pack. She winced when he laid it on her thigh.
She sat up after a minute, trying to struggle out of the sweatshirt.
He helped her sit. "Lift your arms." She did as she was told and he slipped the hoodie over her head. Laying back with a sigh, she got comfortable.
Mark studied her for a minute. "Will you be okay if I head back down to the gym?"
She nodded. "Just hand me the remote."
He smiled, giving her the little black remote. "Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine."
He turned to leave.
"Mark?"
Facing her, he lifted his brows a little. "Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Chuckling, he shook his head. "You're welcome, little girl."
Talia sat for nearly an hour before she started to squirm. She couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes and this was stretching it.
She knew Mark would be downstairs for at least another hour and she was getting really bored.
Biting her lip, she eased her leg to the floor, using her other leg and her arms to lever herself off the couch.
This routine was nothing new. She'd torn her quadricep more times than she could count and her parents wouldn't get her a glass of water, let alone something really important, so she'd learned to survive and grit her teeth against the pain.
She limped to the kitchen, making a sandwich and getting a glass of milk. She mixed some protein into her milk and carried them to the table. She sat in a chair and propped her leg on the one across from her.
After she'd finished her lunch, she racked her brain for something to take away her boredom. She had no chance of getting up the stairs to her room.
But she was going to try.
The first few steps were not so bad, but then her leg started to throb. She'd made it almost to the top, hissing in pain with every step, when her toe caught on the next step up and she jarred her injury.
She yelped in pain, letting out a loud, angry curse before she could stop herself. She hated being weak, depending on someone else. She'd learned long ago that people used a weakness against you.
"What the hell are ya doin'?!"
She jumped, nearly toppling down the stairs.
Mark was just below her on the step, catching her easily. "You should be downstairs."
"I got bored."
He made a disgusted sound. "Come here." He lifted her.
"I don't wanna go back downstairs," she pouted.
He moved up the steps. "Relax. Where are we going?"
"I wanna take a shower."
"Okay. I'll take you to the bathroom. Can you handle yourself while I take a shower in my room?"
"Yes, but I need to get clothes first."
He carried her easily into her room and sat her on the bed. "What do you want?" He went to her dresser.
She had no interest in letting him get her bra and panties, so she stood and hobbled to the dresser, pushing him out of the way. "I got it." Grabbing her undergarments first, she balled them up very tightly, then grabbed workout pants and a zippered hoodie. "Done." She was lifted and carried into the bathroom, taking time to glare impossibly at him. "Stop doing that!"
He frowned, then shrugged, leaving the bathroom, shaking his head.
"Men," she muttered, sitting on the edge of the tub to unwrap her leg. She showered, her leg throbbing with the loss of compression the bandages offered.
She limped into Mark's room, bandages in hand, waiting for him to emerge from the bathroom.
He came out in a towel stopping when he saw her. "Sorry," he said, grabbing clothes out of his closet.
"It's my fault. I should've told you I was in here." She absolutely had to drag her eyes away from him. It was wrong for her to stare at the exposed flesh of his firm chest and stomach. It took all her willpower to keep her eyes from perusing it all, taking him in as he was.
He disappeared back into the bathroom and she had to stop from fanning herself as the room temperature shot up a few degrees.
She was suddenly embarrassed and stood, heading for the door. He caught her arm as he came out of the bathroom.
He was wearing black jeans and socks when he turned her to face him. "I didn't mean to embarrass ya, little girl." He smiled, making his eyes twinkle. "You need me to wrap your leg?"
She nodded, averting her eyes.
What had possessed her to come into his bedroom? It was his private space and she stepped into it unasked. She'd be sure not to make that mistake again.
