Febuary 2016
Tris had been promoted in January. Instead of working at the front desk, Tori decided she was ready to work with patients. By the time February rolled around, Tris didn't even need a supervisor to watch over her work. She wasn't getting paid, of course, but she was doing what she wanted. That definitely counted for something.
Tris worked with every kind of college athlete there was. Football, soccer, tennis, volleyball, golf, they were all there. She loved it. The kids were her age and some of them knew her from classes they had together. She could have done it all day she enjoy it so much. It was a relief, too. Some of her friends hated the internships they took and had to change their entire course major. Tris couldn't even imagine.
"Tris, this is Tobias Eaton's sheet. He tore is ACL last week. He'll be sent in in a sec'." Tori said to her, passing the paper into Tris' hands.
"He's the soccer player that signed to D.C. United, right?" She asked.
Tori nodded, "Yeah, that's him. I would take him, but I'm swamped right now. Make sure you do a good job."
"Always do." Tris whispered, rolling her eyes when the door shut in between them.
A few moments later, the boy walks (wheels) into the room to meet her.
Tris bent down to shake his hand with a smile. "Hi, Tobias. I'm Tris. Take a seat."
He nods, climbs out of his wheelchair, and pushes himself on the cushioned doctors table in front of her. Even in the dead of winter, his skin is a tan golden brown. And his hair is dark, short, and tidy, unlike most of the guys his age who just let it grow out into waves around their ears. He's handsome, Tris knew. Her cheeks heated up at the thought.
"How is everything?" She asked him, motioning to his knee.
"It's fine I guess. I got surgery on Thursday. Doctor said I'm out for a year." He sighs, looking to the floor.
Tris smiles knowingly. "We get like fifty of these cases a week. If you do everything your supposed to, you'll be back on the field in about eight months." She told him reassuringly.
He glances up at her, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. "Seriously?" She watched his Adam's apple bob with a taste in her mouth that she couldn't describe.
Tris smiles again. "Yeah. The doctors give a larger number than what's accurate so if the estimate is wrong, nobody can be mad at them."
He grins, "Sounds like cheating if you ask me."
She mocks seriousness. "Those bastards."
He laughs, loudly, teeth shining in the pale white of the sterile room. "You're funny."
Tris just smiles and shrugs, ignoring the flip in her stomach at his words. "Alright. Lay back."
He does, groaning a little when he accidentally bangs his knee into the side of the table.
"On a scale of one to ten," Tris starts the memorized question, "How bad does it hurt usually?"
He stares at the ceiling tiles above him. "When the brace is on and I take my meds? A two."
"And without?"
"Like what I'm doing right now? A seven."
She gapes at him. "You didn't take your meds? And where is your brace?" She asks, suddenly realizing its absence.
He grins at her. "My apartment. I hate the brace… it itches. And the pills make me crazy tired. Which is not good for driving."
"It's illegal to drive on prescription pain medication. Did you know that?" She can't help but smile at him.
"Oops." He keeps flashing his grin at her, making it impossible for Tris to keep a straight face.
"Okay. Don't drive anymore. Wear the brace; I don't care if it itches. You aren't going to get better if you don't wear it." She scolds.
He smirks, saluting her. "Yes, mam."
Tris stops herself from rolling her eyes at his gesture. With a small smile, she refocuses. "I'm going to move your leg around a little and you're going to tell me what hurts, okay?" She asks. "If it's too much, just tell me to stop."
"Okay."
She does little movements that don't bother him and large ones that cause him to hiss in pain, clenching the side of the table.
"Sorry." She amends.
"Mhm." He grunts.
"Does this hurt?" She grips the inside of his knee lightly.
She doesn't see him clench his jaw or notice his dark eyes staring at her, face heating up. "Um, No."
She moves her hand to the top of his knee and squeezes. "How about that?"
He smiles, watching her hands on him with a sudden chill. "No." His voice is low.
She does a couple more tests like that, until she finishes. Tris moves away from him. "Alright, you can sit up. Everything looks normal. I'm sure my supervisor will need to look over you before you leave. I'll call her in."
He sits up and raises his eyebrows at her. "Supervisor?"
Tris gives a tight smile, "I'm an intern."
"Huh." He smiles at her, impressed. "I've never had an intern work on me like you just did. Are you like… some kind of physical therapy genius or something?"
Her cheeks turn pink. No one else had ever said anything to her about the advancement she got at the clinic. "Ha, no. I just think they like the free labor-"
He interrupts her. "You don't get paid for this?" He asks in awe. "That's bullshit." He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. It probably is, to everyone but Tori.
She meets his eyes. They are a dark blue, almost black. "Shh. My boss is going to hear you." She doesn't mean it, though. Tris knows its bullshit. Complete bullshit. And sometimes it makes her so angry that she doesn't get paid for this that she can't think straight.
"It's like slave labor!" He shouts in jest. His words echo off the walls and Tris is sure that the rest of the clinic can hear him. He's grinning, waiting for her to yell at him.
"Oh my God, shut up!" Tris whispers, not being able to hide her smile. "You're going to get me fired."
He just laughs, climbing off the table and plopping down into his wheelchair. "I don't think I need a supervisor. I'm sure you did exactly what you were supposed to do."
Tris flushes, looking away from him. "Your next appointment is next Wednesday at nine."
He nods, wheeling out of the room, "Bye, Tris."
She shuts the door after him, hiding her giddy smile by biting the inside of her cheek.
"I'm not staying later than 11, Chris. I have clinic tomorrow morning." Tris whined. It's not that she didn't like going to parties, but there was way to much to do at home, and she always ended up standing in the corner, avoiding a drunk guy who wanted to sleep with her.
"You have clinic every morning."
"Well… sorry." She fought lamely. "Where's Will? Shouldn't you be spending Valentine's Day with him?"
"He has work. Tris, please?"
Tris sighed in defeat.
Christina was Tris' roommate freshman year. They had become instant best friends and the only reason they weren't living together now was because Tris couldn't afford the apartment in uptown Chicago that Chris wanted to share.
Christina's long fingernails pinched into Tris' wrist harshly as she dragged her inside the house. The music was loud and it made her ears ring. A few Valentine's Day decorations hung inside the house, including pink hearts and cartoon cupids. Tris glanced around curiously. The last time she went to a sorority party was Halloween the previous year. She couldn't understand the Greek letters decorated on everything, so she had no idea what house it was.
"I'm going to get us a beer. Be right back." Christina smiled gratefully, as if to say, Thanks for coming with me.
When she stalked away from her, Tris found a corner to hide into. She fished her phone out of her back pocket and pressed the home button to light up the screen.
"Tris!" A low voice calls out. She glances up and spots Tobias Eaton struggling to hobble over to her, his crutches trembling with each of his steps.
She is too surprised to go and meet him or reach out to steady him, so she just watches as he makes his way toward her.
"You look different." He says, his words slurred. She usually wasn't wearing makeup around her eyes like she was now, he noticed. And the shirt she had on was much more flattering than the uniform she wore for clinic.
Tris looks down at her outfit, and shrugged. "So do you." And she meant it. His eyes look brighter than they did at the clinic last week. She wishes she didn't notice. "When did you get out of your wheelchair?"
"Yesterday." He cracks a grin and moves closer to her. She wishes she didn't notice that, either.
"That's good." Tris isn't sure she likes Tobias like this. There's a level of uncertainty to him.
"I didn't know you had a tattoo." He inclines his head to her collarbone- the three ravens in flight across her skin.
Her cheeks heat up as she feels his eyes move over the rest of her body. She touches her fingers lightly to the birds. "Yeah, um-"
A group of guys laugh boisterously from the general area he came from. One of them shouts "TIME'S UP, EATON!" Tobias rolls his eyes and mouths something to them that Tris can't decipher.
"They made a bet." He admits, turning back to her, the corner of his mouth raised into a smirk.
"That?" She lifts her eyebrows, amused.
He chuckles, the sound making Tris want to melt. "I couldn't get your number in less than a minute."
"I'm guessing you just lost?" She bites her lip, too stunned to be silent.
"Yeah," He scratches the back of his neck. "And now I'm not allowed to talk to you for the rest of the night."
They both looked back at his group of friends. "SHE'S NOT INTO YOU, TOBIAS!"
"YEAH TAKE A HINT, EATON!"
Tobias faced her, a red tint to his cheeks. "I guess I'll see you Wednesday."
How did you guys like chapter 2?
i already have 13 followers this is wild:))))
-riley
