Kiss and Don't Tell(116)

The boys file in behind me. Hornsby and Taters both sit next to me, while Holmes and Posey stand behind.

Hornsby reaches out to hold my hand and I swat him away.

“No,” I say.

“Seemed like the thing to do.” Hornsby shrugs.

“Can I conclude that you’re comfortable with the boys hearing what I have to say to you?” Doc asks.

I would prefer to be alone, but they won’t let that happen. They’ve been attached to my side ever since they arrived. Plus, it might be good to have an extra set of ears—or four extra sets of ears—to hear whatever Doc has to say.

“Yeah, I’m good with them knowing.”

“Very well.” Doc lets out a deep sigh, folds his hands on his desk, and looks me in the eyes. “The scans all came back negative.”

I expel a sigh of relief as the boys all clap it up.

“That’s right, our boy is a healthy motherfucker,” Taters says.

“Dude, settle down,” I say, even though I feel the same juvenile urge to yell at the top of my lungs. “Does that mean no tumors or anything like that?”

“Correct,” Doc says, “but we did notice something on the X-rays.”

“Fuck.” Posey punches Taters in the arm. “You celebrated too early, you fuck.”

Taters rubs his arm as he looks at me, concerned.

From his desk, Doc pulls out a skeleton’s head and sets it on the desk.

“Is he missing part of his cranium?” Hornsby asks.

“His jaw is inverted,” Taters throws out.

“A loose fragment in his brain,” Posey shouts.

“Can you not guess?” I ask. “Just fucking listen to what Doc has to say.”

“Thank you,” Doc says, the corner of his lips tilted up. “Have you ever heard anyone talk about the atlas? The first bone in your neck. You might have heard it referred to as C1 before.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“The atlas is ring-shaped and has the important task of supporting the head. It’s also responsible for facilitating movement in the head and neck. When you nod, that’s the atlas at work. It serves as a pivot, and it allows your head to move forward and backward.” He points to the skeleton and shows us the bone. “Right here—you see how the general curve of your neck looks like a banana facing out?” We all nod together, the boys leaning a little closer for a lesson in bones. “This is what we’d call a healthy spine. Now, over the course of time, our spines have their fair share of wear and tear, getting out of line, flattening, and in your case, curving in the opposite direction.” Doc cranks the neck of the skeleton in the opposite direction and we all groan from the sound.

“Oh Jesus, that made me nauseous,” Posey says from behind me.

“This is what your neck looks like.”

I study the skeleton.

“It’s farther forward than it should be. This is what I was wondering about yesterday. I believe you’d already developed poor spinal health from being a professional athlete. It’s common, especially with all the heavy lifting you do and lack of spinal care. But your injury we believe worsened the abnormality. You suffered whiplash from how you fell on the ice, and it did more damage than we expected. And when your atlas and neck are misaligned, this can cause the debilitating migraines.”

“That makes sense,” I say. “So, there’s nothing seriously wrong with me?”

“This is still serious. If we don’t treat the problem, then your pain will increase and your days on the ice will be shorter.”

“But there’s a plan to take care of it?” Taters asks. “We need this guy in front of the net.”

Doc nods. “Yes, we have the best medical staff in the league, and I’ve spoken with our exercise physiologist and physiotherapist to start you on a treatment that stabilizes the muscles in your neck. They’ve devised a physical therapy routine with the aim to have you ready for next season, but it means staying here and going through physical therapy.”

“If it’ll get me ready for the season, I’ll do anything.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He places a piece of paper in front of me. “We want to start you off with an ART therapist.”

“Art therapist?” I ask. “How the hell is that going to help?”

“Painting can be very soothing,” Posey offers.

Doc laughs. “Not that kind of ART therapist. I’m talking about active release technique. All the teams in the league are starting to hire them and the Agitators just brought one on staff.”

“What do they do?” I ask.

“They work on individual pain zones by releasing the tension in the muscles while moving your body. It’s extremely successful and there have been great results worldwide. We’re going to start loosening the ligaments and muscles in your neck first so we can make the proper adjustments, then we’re going to pair that with chiropractic work and physical therapy to strengthen you the proper way. We’re very confident you’ll no longer experience migraines and be feeling brand new by the beginning of the season.”

“That’s what we like to hear,” Hornsby says while patting me on the back. “Our boy is going to be on fire this fall.”

Relieved, I ask, “When can I get started?”