Tom's POV
"Hey. Sorry about that. How was your afternoon?", I sit down next to Fabio.
"Yeah, we had fun. What happened here? What's with the tears?", He questions immediately. It's a little tricky, I know he will understand and support Julie. But it's her story. Plus he needs to focus on the race this weekend.
"She's going through a lot. It really means a lot, she can stay here this weekend. But if it's bothering you, you tell me right?"
"It isn't. If she's important to you, she is to me as well. Plus, she's cute. It's better than looking at you all day", he jokes, but I can't laugh about it.
"Fabio, don't. Please don't. Not right now", I almost plead.
"You sound like an overprotective brother. I've never seen you like this. Is what happened with her that bad?", Fabio asks in all seriousness. He's very sensitive with these things.
"Yeah, it was terrible. And I feel bad I wasn't there for her. She was all alone. She may be a strong and independent twenty-two year old woman, but she shouldn't have been so alone", I can't stop thinking about how she should've been feeling yesterday. It must've been so lonely. And maybe she still feels that way.
"She isn't. Not anymore at least", Fabio crooks a small smile, "oh, do we have any ice? I made a bad swing and now my wrist is hurting. And my physical therapist isn't here this weekend, is he?", He asks looking down at his wrist. I get up and get an ice pack.
"No, Julio isn't coming this weekend. I can set you up with one of the others. I know you don't like changes. They are trying to find a replacement for when he's quitting permanent"
"Yeah, you can set it up. I can't afford to be injured", Fabio sighs.
I grab my phone and sent a message.
"I'll try for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is media day as well, you h", I'm interrupted by a high pitched scream.
Fabio and I look at each other and get to my room. Julie is still asleep, tossing and turning.. screaming and talking.. "don't.... Stop... Please stop..."
"Juul.. hey, wake up. It's just a dream", I shake her arm lightly. She opens her eyes and jerks away from me. "Juul, it's okay. It's me, Tom. You are safe", I sit on her bed slowly, "can I hug you?"
She nods slowly and let's me hug her. She's still wearing the same baggy shirt and sweatpants as earlier. I understand now why she's wearing it. But it's a shame. She doesn't have to hide her body. It's not her fault. I don't understand why she's thinking it is.
"You hurt?", She asks with a small voice. It takes a few seconds before I realize she's looking at Fabio, who's still holding an ice pack.
"It's nothing", he dismisses.
"Yeah, well if you want to be world champion again, it's not nothing. If you don't, then it is nothing. You choose", she tells him. She stands up and walks towards the living room. "Can I see it?"
"Yeah?", Fabio says, more like a question. He looks at me and I nod.
"What happened?", Julie asks, while carefully inspecting Fabio's hand and wrist.
"I made a bad swing in golf today"
She smiles a little, " 'Fabio Quartararo no 2022 world champion because of golf injury', it's a good headline". When she's done inspecting and moving his wrist and fingers, she asks "squeeze my hand as hard as you can", Fabio squeezes, "come on, you won't hurt me, squeeze.. yeah that hurt doesn't it?"
"Yeah. I'm going to the physical therapist tomorrow morning"
She crooks a small smile, "you are seeing a physical therapist right now. And I'll promise you, tomorrow morning you can squeeze his hand as hard as you really can without pain"
"You are a physical therapist?", Fabio asks surprised. He looks at me and I know what he's thinking. They are looking for a replacement here. She would be a great fit.. but is she ready for something like that.
"Yeah, and you're in luck. One of my majors is motorsports and I have all my equipment with me. So hold on. I just need to grab some tape and gel", she walks away and Fabio turns to me.
"You didn't think of this before? That would be great", he tells me.
"Yeah, she would be the perfect fit. But maybe not right this second"
Julie walks back in, "the ice pack can go back in the freezer, I have some warming gel to relax the muscle. If you're okay with it, I'm going to apply that on your forearm. And I want to tape your wrist, you'll have to sleep with it and tomorrow morning, you can take it off. And I promise you won't have any problems. Okay?"
Fabio nods, "yeah sure. But why is the gel going on my arm and not my wrist?"
"The end of the muscle is in the finger. so the taping is to limit movement of the muscle. the gel goes on the biggest part of the muscle, the belly, it's the part that does the most work. And we want to relax that part", Julie explains while starting to work. She carefully tapes Fabio's wrist and applies the gel on his arm.
It's nice to see her so passionate about her work. No doubt she'll be working like this again soon. She's so strong, she can do this, she just needs to believe in herself again.
"So what are your other majors?", Fabio asks, looking at her handy work.
"Well after the basic physical therapy education, I did a sports master with major in motorsports and tennis. After that a master in oncology. And right now I'm doing a psychology course", she tells him.
Fabio whistles impressed. "Really? All that at your age? What's your goal?"
Julie looks down, taking a long time to answer. "Right now? I don't know anymore. I don't have a goal I think"
"Are you serious? You achieved so much so soon and now you don't have a goal? What happened?"
"Life happened", she bitterly answers before walking away.