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“Hey, babe,” I say, collapsing on my bed as Lis answers my FaceTime call.
“Hi, are you okay?” she asks, a worried look on her face.
I scrub a hand over my face, before shoving it back through my hair, pulling it free of the band. “Got back on skis today,” I tell her, settling back against the headboard.
“Oh, how’d it go?” she asks and I can hear the worry in her voice.
I blow out a breath. “I don’t know, it was tough. My knee is sore and it felt like the coach didn’t give a shit.”
“Nick,” she whispers, and I know she’s even more worried now.
“It’s okay, Lis,” I say, not wanting her to worry about me. That’s the last thing she needs. “Anyway, how are you going? Still puking?”
She frowns and I know she doesn’t like me deflecting. “A bit,” she finally says. “But I’m okay. Maybe you should speak with the doctor again?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I’m gonna ice it tonight like Mandy said and hope that also helps.”
She nods, watching me through the screen, the worry still there. “I hate this. I hate that they are forcing you to be out there, it feels dangerous and too early.”
“I know, babe, me too,” I admit. “I’m still waiting to hear back from the lawyer though, but hopefully not too much longer.”
It’s been a week since I handed over copies of my contracts to the Holden family lawyer and while I get he’s busy and doing me a huge favor, I wish things could move faster. The problem is, it isn’t just my signing contract that needs to be looked at, but all my sponsorship ones too.
Even though Holden is my biggest sponsor and Jeff has already told me I have nothing to worry about with them, there are still other companies that have banked their money on me. And then there’s the team too, and all the conditions tied to that contract.
There’s a lot of money at stake and I get that me quitting is going to affect a lot of people. But there’s only one person I care about.
“You’re still planning to come out next weekend, right?” I ask, trying to focus on the positives.
Before I left, Lis and I made plans for how often we would catch up with each other, promising not to go longer than a month at a time. Right now, with me not traveling with the team, that’s easy to organize, but I know if I’m still here when the coach decides he wants me competing again, it’s only going to get harder and harder to spend time with each other.
And that scares me more than the pain in my knee.
“Yes,” Lis says, finally smiling. “I’ve already put in my leave. I’ll fly out Friday morning and spend the weekend with you.”
“I’ll book your tickets,” I say, knowing this is the best news I’ve had since coming back here.
“Nick, no, I can get them,” Lis says, even as I’m opening my laptop.
“Nope,” I say, flashing her a grin. “May as well spend some of this money they’re holding me too. I’m booking them now, babe, I’ll send you the details.”
“Ugh,” Lis groans. “Why are you such a pain in my ass?”
Chuckling, I glance at my phone to see her roll her eyes at me. “Why are you so adorable when you’re trying to be mad at me?” I tease. “Okay, what name am I booking you under?”
Lis smiles now as she says, “Well, seeing as I am now Elissa O’Connor, you better use that.”
My smile grows as I stop and turn back to her. “Elissa O’Connor. I fucking love that.”
“Me too,” she whispers.
“Okay, let me book these tickets and send you the details. I’ll call you later tonight?”
“Okay,” she replies, nodding. “Thank you.”
“Easy, babe. Love you.”
After we hang up, I finish booking her flight, flicking all the details through to her. Then I head to the bathroom attached to my room, knowing I need a shower before I head out to grab some dinner.
