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I felt Rove’s arm reach around and push the icepack away.

“She didn’t injure it. She has a hormonal condition,” Rove said. It was almost a growl.

“Should we call EMS?” One of the women AT’s asked.

“Do we need to take you to the hospital?” Rove asked abruptly.

“No.” I panicked, looking up from his shoulder, which caused the pain to shoot through my back and hips again. I whimpered. “Please, just stay here with me until it passes.”

His jaw clenched, his green eyes wide with an emotion I’d never seen before.

Guilt.

He turned to the AT’s and gave them a curt nod. “I’ve got it from here.”

They nodded, concern still on their faces. They all seemed confused by what was happening, but they listened to Rove and soon it was just the two of us in the locker room.

“Don’t you dare,” I growled as soon as they left, shaking my head.

“Don’t what?” Rove asked, his brow furrowing.

“Look at me like you feel guilty,” I snapped, the pain setting my sharp tongue free. “This is not your fault.”

“Oh, but it is. It’s all my fault.” His jaw clenched. “If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t even be here.”

I shook my head again, then winced. My head fell back on his shoulder. “I made the choice to keep going.”

“Maybe I shouldn't have let you make it.”

The pain was sort of going away, but it was still bad enough that my fingernails were making prints in my palms from clenching my hands so tight.

“Shut up. Please just shut up.”

One of his hands still cradled the back of my neck. The other braced against the bench beside me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to focus on my breathing, using the techniques he’d taught me to regain some control.

“That’s it,” he whispered, noticing the shift in my body. “Just breathe.”

We sat that way for a very long time. He let me lean against him as I slowly caught my breath and waited for the pain to pass.

“You’re okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”

The guilt was still heavy in his voice, and it made my chest ache.

The tears filled my eyes now and I let them fall. I just didn’t have it in me to fight them.

Rove didn’t say anything. He simply stayed kneeling in front of me, letting the tears soak the fabric of his hoodie, anchoring me until I found the willpower to sit up again.

When I did finally look up, he reached to wipe away my tears with his fingertips.

His eyes searched mine, and when I didn’t say anything, he simply nodded.

“Let’s go. We’ll leave out the back doors.”

“What about the rest of the meet?”

“You did what you came to do. They don’t need anything else,” he said, his jaw clenching. “You need to get back to the hotel and rest.”