"In December."
"I became an athletic trainer because I wanted to fix the version of him that no one bothered to fix," I continued. "And then I got here, and everyone told me to stay in my lane. Tape ankles. Hand out ice. Don't look the players in the eye."
"Then I'll die annoying you. Fair trade." The thing about being sidelined is that you learn who you are without the thing that defined you. Searching For- Sidelined The QB And Me In-
He sat on the edge of the treatment table, one leg dangling, the other—his throwing-side knee—wrapped in a brace the size of a small car. His practice jersey was off, leaving him in black compression shorts and a sleeveless hoodie. His jaw was set so tight I could see the muscle ticking beneath his stubble.
Some things you find when you stop looking. "In December
"You're not supposed to be nice to me," I said quietly.
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
After the last whistle, he jogged over—actually jogged—and stopped right in front of me. Sweaty. Grinning. Alive.
And Dallas Fielder, for the first time in his charmed life, was sidelined. Hand out ice
"Because you're Dallas Fielder. And I'm nobody."