AllFreeNovel
Share Us
See you soon.
Dado
Be safe, love you.
Aurora
I will, love you back.
“I’m grabbing an Uber. My dad’s on concussion watch,” I tell the girls.
“I can drive you,” Hemi offers. “Tally needs to be home soon, anyway.”
I leave my drink half full and hug the girls. Rix ends up staying with Tristan because Flip is in full-on self-flagellation mode and also drunk—which isn’t something he does often. He clearly feels like a giant bag of shit. As much as I don’t want to play the blame game, if he’d kept his shit together and not let Grace get under his skin, maybe Hollis wouldn’t have a concussion. But I don’t know Flip’s history with Grace. And there clearly is one. Two people don’t hate each other that much for no damn reason.
Hemi drops me off, and once I’m in the elevator, I message my dad to let him know I’m on my way up.
He meets me at the door, dressed in his typical bedwear: a pair of plaid flannel pants and a white T-shirt. “Hey, kiddo. Sorry I missed your message earlier.” He looks tired as he opens his arms and I step into them, wrapping mine around his waist. He’s never had a serious injury in his twenty-year career, and until last year, Hollis had been the same way. It’s terrifying to see someone I care about get hurt, especially a second time.
“How are you? How’s Hollis?” I ask.
He gives me a squeeze, then steps back and runs his hand through his hair. “I’m fine. I hate to lose, but it’s part of the game. Hollis though? The aches will hit him tomorrow. I rewatched that hit when I got home. He went down hard.”
“What about the concussion? How serious is that?” If it’s severe, it could impact more than being able to play. Not being on the ice with his team and having to stay back when they traveled after his injury affected more than Hollis’s body last year. For a while, he was depressed. I spent a lot of time at his place, tidying up, making sure he was okay, that he was eating properly, and that he didn’t drown in worries and what-ifs. Especially when he was stuck in his place, and the team was away. We were together more then. Spending all that time with him fueled my crush.
Dad rubs the back of his neck. “The team doctor suggested we wake him every few hours.”
Concussions aren’t as rare as we’d like them to be. “How long has he been out?”
“Not long. I’ll check on him around three, and then again at six,” he says.
“I can take the six o’clock check. I’ll be out the door by seven-thirty, anyway. That way you can sleep a bit longer and check on him before you leave for practice,” I offer.
“Are you sure that’s enough sleep for you?”
“I’ll be up around that time anyway, and I can stay in my old room tonight to make it easier.” I can’t wait until tomorrow evening to see for myself that he’s okay, but I can’t tell my dad that, especially not after what I did. I worry he’ll see right through me. He has a strict no players rule, and I can’t stand the idea of him being disappointed in me.
“If you’re sure you don’t mind,” Dad concedes.
“Not at all. I’ll run down to my apartment and grab what I need.”
“Okay. Thanks, kiddo.”
I return to my apartment, fill an overnight bag, and head back up to my dad’s place.
“It’s nice to have you here for the night, even if the circumstances are less than ideal.” Dad hugs me. “We’ll have dinner together tomorrow?”
“That sounds great, Dado. I can make my special homemade mac and cheese.” It’s his favorite after a big loss.
“That’d be amazing. Hollis would appreciate it, too.”
I send him off to bed and stop in the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water and put the few dishes on the counter in the dishwasher. I peek in the fridge and note he’s low on a few essentials. A list sits on the counter. I’m constantly trying to get him to use an app, but he can be old school about stuff like this. We’re a team of two, even with his paper lists.
Once the kitchen stuff is handled, I pad down the hall to my old bedroom and sigh as I slide between the hot pink sheets. How upset would Dad be if he knew what I did at Hollis’s? How angry would he be at Hollis for giving me permission to use his place for self-gratification? I don’t even want to imagine his reaction. No hockey players is the only real rule he’s ever enforced. We didn’t really need them otherwise. I am his girl, and he is my dad. We’ve always been a unit of two. I take care of him, and he takes care of me. He’s so protective. All his energy has been put into hockey and me. I love him, but sometimes I wish I wasn’t the only woman in his life. He has a big heart, but sometimes all that attention can feel a little overwhelming. I’m compelled to be perfect all the time, always wanting to make him happy.
I set my alarm, then settle in to get some rest. At two fifty-two, I wake to the sound of the apartment door opening and closing, and the alarm being punched in. At six, my alarm goes off. I quickly brush my teeth and hair and head across the hall to Hollis’s. Postie and Malone meow their excitement as I key in the alarm code. Before I check on Hollis, I give them both a generous helping of wet food.
My palms are suddenly damp and my mouth dry as I approach his bedroom door. My stomach rolls with shame, while my lady parts zing at the memory of what I did the last time I was in here. I’m frustrated that I can even think about that at a time like this. Hollis has a concussion. He needs to be taken care of, not ogled.
