Chapter 18 — The Injury Secret
856 Words
Lena Carter
The next week became unbearable.
Not because Lena and Ethan stopped talking.
Worse.
They kept talking like nothing was wrong.
Small conversations.
Quick kisses.
Late-night texts.
Pretending everything between them wasn’t slowly cracking underneath the surface.
And Lena hated pretending.
Especially because Ethan looked exhausted lately.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
She noticed it during every swim practice now:
the stiffness in his shoulder
the way he winced after turns
how often he rubbed his arm when he thought nobody noticed
Something was wrong.
And Ethan was hiding it.
Again.
By Thursday afternoon, Lena finally snapped.
She found him alone in the empty training room wrapping athletic tape around his shoulder carefully.
The second he noticed her standing in the doorway, his expression changed.
Too quickly.
Like he’d been caught.
“There you are,” he said casually. “You disappeared after class.”
Lena crossed her arms immediately.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?”
Ethan looked away.
Nothing good ever happened when Ethan Hayes looked away.
“It’s fine.”
“That’s not an answer anymore.”
He sighed softly.
“Lena—”
“How bad is it?”
Silence.
The kind that answered everything.
Lena’s chest tightened painfully.
“You’re injured.”
“It’s manageable.”
“Ethan.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Stop lying to me.”
The sharpness in her voice echoed through the room.
Ethan flinched slightly.
Not because she yelled.
Because he knew she was right.
Lena stepped closer slowly.
“You’ve been hiding this for weeks.”
“I didn’t want you worrying.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
The frustration between them rose instantly.
But underneath it—
fear existed too.
Because suddenly Lena understood why he’d been acting distant lately.
The scholarship.
The pressure.
The exhaustion.
He was terrified.
And instead of leaning on her—
he shut her out.
Classic Ethan.
“You should’ve told me,” she whispered.
Ethan looked genuinely tired now.
Not arrogant.
Not defensive.
Just tired.
“I didn’t know how.”
That answer hurt more than excuses would’ve.
Lena stared at him for several seconds before walking closer carefully.
Then she gently took the tape from his hands.
Ethan went quiet immediately.
“I can do it,” she murmured softly.
He let her.
Of course he let her.
Because somehow Lena Carter had become the only person Ethan trusted when things fell apart.
She wrapped the tape slowly around his shoulder while he watched her quietly.
The room felt too intimate suddenly.
Too honest.
“You know what your problem is?” Lena asked quietly.
Ethan smirked faintly. “I have several.”
“You think carrying everything alone makes you stronger.”
His expression shifted slightly.
“And you think controlling everything makes you safe.”
Fair.
Very fair.
Lena finished taping his shoulder before looking up at him.
Too close.
Again.
Always too close.
Ethan’s hand slowly settled against her waist.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
Lena rolled her eyes softly.
Then her expression softened again.
“You scared me.”
The honesty in her voice wrecked him instantly.
Because Ethan realized she genuinely cared.
Not casually.
Not temporarily.
Deeply.
And suddenly the fear inside his chest became overwhelming.
Fear of losing swimming.
Fear of disappointing everyone.
Fear of failing.
But worst of all?
Fear of losing her.
His hand slid gently against her cheek.
“I’m trying to fix things.”
Lena leaned into his touch before she could stop herself.
“I know.”
Ethan kissed her slowly after that.
Different from their desperate fights and heated arguments.
This kiss felt softer.
More emotional.
Like both of them were trying to hold onto something fragile.
Lena’s fingers curled lightly into his hoodie while Ethan deepened the kiss carefully, forehead resting briefly against hers afterward.
Then quietly—
“I haven’t accepted the scholarship.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
“What?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Hope flickered painfully inside her chest.
“Ethan…”
“I’m serious.”
The vulnerability in his eyes terrified her.
Because suddenly she understood:
he was considering staying.
For her.
And that felt almost too big to handle.
Before she could answer, the gym doors suddenly opened loudly.
Both jumped apart instantly.
Coach Daniels entered carrying folders before freezing slightly after noticing them standing suspiciously close together.
The silence became deadly.
Lena looked horrified.
Ethan looked amused.
Coach Daniels narrowed his eyes slowly.
“…Should I ask?”
“No,” Lena answered immediately.
“Yes,” Ethan answered at the same time.
She kicked his leg hard.
He barely reacted.
Coach Daniels sighed deeply like a man who regretted his career choices.
“Just don’t get caught making out in my training rooms.”
Lena wanted the floor to open beneath her immediately.
Ethan, meanwhile, looked seconds away from laughing.
“This is humiliating,” Lena muttered once the coach left.
Ethan grinned. “A little.”
She glared.
Then kissed him again anyway.
Which honestly felt like proof she’d completely lost her mind.
- Writer
