Page 12 of Platinum Pressure

“Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, Frieren Beyond Journey’s End, Assassination Classroom, and Akame ga Kil.”

A whistle slid from my lips. “Solid list. Akame ga Kil is one of those hidden gems most folks don’t know about.”

“What’s yours?”

“Demon Slayer, One Piece, Solo Leveling, Hunter x Hunter, and Attack on Titan. I love Hunter x Hunter so much I have a Killua tattoo on my leg sleeve.”

“You know ball too. I have some jibbitz with One Piece on my crocs at home.”

“I don’t wear Crocs, but that’s fire. I guess you’re not too bad.”

She laughed deep in her belly, and the sound made me feel . . . special? I wanted to be the only person to make her evoke a sound like that. The thought caught me off guard, which made me look away and swallow hard. Now wasn’t the time to confuse her purpose in my life. They hired her to help get me back on the field. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“There are a few things I want to do with you leading up to surgery.” She explained to me several things I would focus on. She said the biggest thing is to put as little pressure on the injured leg as possible while also strengthening the muscles affected by the injury.

“Let me take your brace off and wrap it in the compression bands. This will help keep the swelling down as we go through three sets of four exercises. You will only need to give me five reps of each set. We want to make sure you don’t lose strength in your other leg and upper body. Rest is important, but you’re a man who has conditioned your body to work hard in stressful situations most of your days.”

The team trainers and medics who worked with me over the years were cool, but no one was like Meadow. She was gentle yet firm. She followed my pace with encouragement while also doing the exercises with me. She held me up and let me take breaks as needed. I pushed through the aches and pains because her presence comforted me.

“Give me three more,” Meadow encouraged.

I inhaled. As I exhaled, I finished the set.

Three.

Two.

One.

I collapsed onto the couch, and Meadow slowly lifted my leg up onto the pillows. I grabbed my water bottle and downed it all before throwing it onto the couch beside me.

“You did great, Platinum.”

Pride filled me for only a split second before guilt and the weight of my injury rested on my shoulders again. I couldn’t escape my thoughts, no matter how hard I tried.

“Thanks.” My voice betrayed me. All the guilt I felt rested on one simple word.

“That doesn’t sound like a happy thanking. Everything okay?” Meadow inquired as she grabbed her iPad and tapped the screen.

“You gon’ call a lady with a couch and a padded room on me if I say I’m depressed?” I asked. The humor in my tone didn’t ease her concern. She stopped her current task to give me her full attention.

“Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind? I’ll be a safe space if you need one.”

“Fuck it. Ain’t no use in bottling this shit up. I wanted to be optimistic about my recovery and healing. I wanted to think I was indestructible and could bounce back with no problem . . . But today showed me this shit gon’ be harder than I thought. I let my team down. I let myself down. I let the city down.”

I didn’t expect to dump all my feelings off on her, but she gave me her undivided attention. Shit like that meant something to me. Most folks listened to respond, or because they felt they’d gain something in return. She listened like my thoughts and well-being mattered. Like she cared about the human being with feelings Porter Jones and not the superstar asshole Platinum.

“Just to make sure I don’t cross any boundaries you have set up, I have a question before I respond. Do you want me to give you the real or the professional response?” she asked after a long moment of silence.

“Give me the real.”

“Okay. I got you.” She set her iPad on the table and sat beside me on the couch. “You want me to hold your hands while I say this?”

I laughed. “Nah. I’m good.”

She giggled but kept the soft expression on her face as she spoke to me. “Respectfully, fuck them folks. Fuck your team. Fuck the world. Fuck your parents. Fuck the doctors. Fuck everybody who isn’t you or God. You hear me?”

“Not fuck my mama and daddy?”