The room was completely shaken by Jason's sudden confession. Both Dr Mors and Liberty were puzzled by the declaration they just heard. Liberty hardly knew the man and their interaction barely add up to a romantic one - she didn't feel the sparks to say the least, how could he so easily claim her as his first love.
"Y-you are not serious? Right?", she stammered
For the life of her, she couldn't possibly understand where it was coming from, to say she was shocked would be an understatement. After a long second of silent, Jason suddenly burst into a laugh leaving everyone in even more awe.
If Liberty could read minds, at that moment she would know that the laughter was his defence mechanism to mask the turmoil of shame and humiliation he felt inside. He may have not known what it was, but he couldn't deny that his heart reacted pleasantly at sight of her, talking to her put his mind at ease and a smile always effortlessly found its way to his face - all of these were the things that he only felt when she was around. Even at that moment, against the small voice that warned him against the foolish words that left his lips; he wondered if perhaps, just perhaps, there was a small part of her that shared the same sentiment. Lo and behold, in front of him stood a woman who didn't even harbour the faintest of affection for him and whose reaction unknowingly put him to shame for even hoping. Grabbing on to what was left of his ego, he had to turn the tide around,
"You should see your face Liberty...", his laughter echoed even louder through the corridors, eventually succeeding in making her doubt her sanity. Liberty began to wonder if perhaps she wrongfully took his words to heart,
"Of course it was joke", she blurted out, "there's absolutely no way that I could be your first love...".
Her words shoved the knife even deeper to his heart, "and why is that? Because I'm out of your league?", he joked with a bleeding heart
Blind to his efforts to ease his aching heart, Jason's words found a hidden room of desire in Liberty's mind. She may have not shared the same affection, but there was no denying that she did find him appealing and pleasing to look at - especially his eyes. She never considered him out of her league, but hearing him smugly state that bruised her pride,
"Oh please....", she scoffed, "...you clearly don't know me. This has nothing to do with leagues.. And you're not my style to be honest...apart from your eyes, you have nothing else going-", she rambled anxiously causing Dr Mors to give in to her need to laugh.
Unbeknownst to them, their faces told a story only a third person would see, and she was amused by their interaction, "Someone's ego is bruised...", they both turned to her with their sharp gaze,
"Never!", they denied in unison making her flinch,
She chuckled, "Geez! That gave me goosebumps....", she took the tablet from Liberty, "Now that we are done with the game of shame. I think we can carry on with the check up.", Jason nodded shyly with a smile, and she turned to a red Liberty, "Okay, you can start-"
She took a deep breath, before putting on her examination gloves and under Dr. Mors, she began caressing the injured area,
"It doesn't look like you'll need surgery but you'll have to take it easy before and after the physio. Just until you are completely healed...", Dr. Mors said with relief,
"How long will it take for me to play again?" he asked hopefully
"Judging by the impact... I'd say 8 - 12 weeks, but we will make sure to get you back in shape in no time - what matters is that we don't put a strain on it...", she answered gently trying to rest his concerns.
His heart clenched harder upon hearing the number of weeks he had to sit out, and Liberty saw the sadness in his eyes and she smiled warmly at him, "Look... It's not a lot, I assure you. Everyone has the same look and before they know it, they are out of here. You will be on the field in no time. Let me tell you, time flies within these walls-"
He sighed sadly, "That's not what I'm worried about..", he muttered, "I know for a fact I'll be behind by a lot in terms of physical ability. There's already a number of best players that joined the national team...one more better than the previous - the competition is getting fiercer and fiercer. It's hard enough as it is to keep up with the fresh players. I have been playing professionally for 8 years without a glitch...now suddenly this, it will definitely throw me off my game -I can't even begin to mention my stats. Let's just say I'm not sure if I can make it to 15 years - "
"So you're scared of losing your position?", she asked,
" Yes, exactly...", he iterated
She sighed, "Jason... I don't know much about Cricket-"
"Wow! You said my name!", he cut her off excitedly, "Oh my! We made progress", he mocked and she shook her head, "If I knew this was the reaction I was going to get... I wouldn't have bothered -", she face palmed,
"Well... too late for that-", he laughed, lightening the gloomy mood, once again, his heart was at ease, something only she could do
"Anyway...", she chuckled, "As I was saying - I don't know cricket rules, but I don't think a few weeks will knock you out - that's if you are the best player, as you claim to be", she smirked,
"Oh wow! Is that your pay back?", she nodded and they both snickered pleasantly, "That can't be your best", he scoffed.