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Homecoming was long gone. Halloween had come and gone, and Thanksgiving was fast approaching. It was on a cool and crisp autumn afternoon that Mindy and Duke were once again making out in Mindy's room. While the two were still virgins, technically, they came so close at times that some religions might even classify them as married. But everytime Duke hesitated, Mindy told him that it would be okay, as long as they didn't have sex it would be okay. Until that cool afternoon when she changed her mantra.
"Come on, baby, as long as we love each other, it doesn't matter. Ad as long as we're careful, and use protection, it's okay. I love you, and I want to be with you forever, does it really matter?" And as Mindy held out the condom, Duke made the decision that would change his life. Kissing her firmly, he took the condom.
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Matt was worried. The day before Halloween he'd fallen while running and banged his knee. It hurt him, so he kept it wrapped and put ice on it, but it wasn't getting better; in fact, the pain was just getting worse. But he was afraid to go to the doctor, afraid that he'd be told he could run anymore. Track was his life, as long as he could run, he was okay. So he tried to ignore it, that same cool autumn day when he was limping up the stairs.
"Matt, is your knee still bothering you?" Isaac asked him. "You're limping."
"Just a little, dad, I'm sure it'll go away soon, I just need to keep icing it."
"Matthew, it's been over two weeks, I'm calling the doctor and booking you an appointment for tomorrow." Grudgingly, Matt agreed and the appointment was made for the next afternoon, after school.
The doctor poked and prodded and took X-rays, and then finally showed the X-rays to Isaac and Matt.
"Matt, this right here is your ACL, which is a ligament necessary for proper functioning of the knee. Right here is a tear in the ACL." Matt knew another boy who had torn his ACL and he knew what that meant, but Ike didn't.
"So, doctor, what does that mean?"
"Well, basically, we need to surgically repair the tear. You can schedule the surgery for any time, preferably when he can have a week without missing too much school. You'll need to wear a brace, Matt, before the surgery, for support, and for a while afterwards, especially during physical activities, which you need to refrain from until then. And it also means physical therapy, but eventually you'll be as good as new." Matt took a deep breath and choked back his tears.
"No running?"
"Sorry, bud, no running. Not for a while at least. I'm sorry, but you're gonna be benched for the rest of the school year." Matt breathed in sharply, not wanting to believe it. But, to his dismay, it was true. He was fitted with a knee brace and a pair of crutches and then set home. Ironically, he crutched into his house to see Cosmo with his prosthesis off and his crutches next to him.
"Hey look, we match again," Cosmo laughed. The combination of his prosthesis needing to be resized, and a sore on the end of his stump led him to his crutches for a few days until his sore healed. Sores rubbing against plastic aren't the most comfortable things in the world.
"Yeah," Matt said glumly, "We match." He sat next to his triplet on the couch.
"So, bro, what's the deal, you sound rather down. Bad news?" Cosmo asked, gently.
"Yeah. Tore my ACL and need surgery and PT. No more running for the rest of the school year." Matt sighed again.
"Dude, I'm really sorry. I know how much you love to run."
"Nasty sore." Cosmo pulled up the leg of his shorts and showed his brother the open blister on his thigh.
"Ow." Matt said, wincing.
"Yeah. I'm used to them by now, though, that's what happens when skin rubs against plastic and you sweat. Even with socks, it still chafes."
"So it looks like we're the crutch twins for a while. Hey, maybe we should beat up Duke so all three of us match." Matt said, laughing. They joked around for a while, about how Duke was going to feel left out when the previously mentioned triplet walked into the livingroom, after slamming the door.
"Yo, dude, what's up?" <
"Nothing, just a little out of it."
"Bad day?'
"Not at all, pretty good actually. What's with the crutches?"
"Oh, I busted my knee falling on a rock, and Cosmo here has a gross blister; Show him, dude." He did, and Duke reacted the way it was expected.
"Dude, that's sick. Why haven't you put some salve and a gauze bandage on that yet? It'll keep it from getting infected." Cosmo smacked his forehead.
"I knew I was forgetting something." Grabbing his crutches, he hobbled off in search of the First Aid Kit. Matt looked at his other twin.
"Hey, dude, wanna help me hobble up the stairs?"
"Sure." As soon as they made it up to his bedroom, Matt flopped down on his bed and cried.