Hoop Dreams Read online

  Chapter 9

  The trickles of sweat ran down Darius’s forehead and the t-shirt he wore was now soaked, but he gritted his teeth as he forced himself to finish the exercises.

  “Excellent,” the physiotherapist said as she watched him drop to the floor afterwards. “The improvement in the last couple of weeks is nothing short of amazing. You should be proud of yourself.”

  Darius nodded his head as the woman handed him a towel to signal the end of another session. He dried his face with it and reflected on the comments she just made. It was now seven weeks after the accident, but the fact that the metal braces were already removed from his legs seemed to take everyone by surprise. His muscles were still weak from the inactivity of being laid up in bed at the beginning of his recovery, but he could feel the strength returning to them and was making progress with every session.

  Dr. Sinclair explained that the accelerated healing was partly down to the daily EPO injections, but even he appeared slightly taken aback by the speed of recovery. Darius’s mental toughness was putting him well ahead of the expected schedule for fully regaining his health and he was already walking unaided. It meant his recovery period at the hospital was nearing an end, and he was looking forward to getting onto a basketball court after so many weeks of being unable to.

  He’d already signed the contract that now tied him to Kent Carmichael’s new team and while it was lonely to be separated from his friends and family for the first time in his life, it was something he was gradually becoming accustomed to. As far as he was aware from the couple of occasions he asked at the main reception counter of the hospital, no one had even tried to track him down. He knew there could be no contact even if they did, but the fact that nobody even bothered pissed him off more than he cared to admit and made things a bit easier to cope with. All he planned to do now was concentrate on completing his rehabilitation and playing basketball.

  “That’s enough for today,” the physiotherapist said. “I’ll see you at the same time tomorrow.”

  “Sure,” Darius said when he got to his feet and walked across to the door of the small treatment room.

  He stepped out to the corridor and was only around halfway to the bedroom he now used when his legs began to weaken and shake. The quiet curse slipped out of his mouth as he leaned on the wall to steady himself, but there was no choice but to wait until the power returned to his limbs. It wasn’t the first occasion it happened and probably wouldn’t be the last, so he brought the towel up to hold it on his forehead and it partially covered his eyes.

  “Darius?” a feminine voice said and he heard the astonishment in the tone.

  He lowered the towel and the shock registered on his face when he saw who it was. There was no stopping the disbelieving laugh coming out, but he choked it off to speak.

  “What are you doing here, Phaedra?”