Page 99 of Something Like That

“I came to see the game. I mean, the team. And to see you.”

“Why?”

She didn’t like the way he kept his voice level, almost robotic. It made all of her muscles tighten, dread and disappointment sitting like weights in the pit of her stomach. She was too late. Had waited too long to tell him.

“Nicky, the ambulance is ready.” The medic from the ice walked through the door, but stopped when he saw her.

She gave him a small smile. Even that took all her energy.

“I’ll just be a minute.” Nick pushed to his feet and nodded at the guy. The guy nodded back and slipped back out the door.

Nick moved toward her. She swallowed and tilted her head to look up at him. Her fingers tingled, needing to touch him. She curled them into her palms.

“It’s over, Alex.” His voice was low, the words pained.

Her heart tumbled out of her throat and onto the floor. She was surprised there hadn’t been an audible splat when it hit the ground. Two little words, and yet they gutted her.

“What?” There was a tremor in her voice she couldn’t help.

“My career. It’s over.” There was a rawness to his voice, a sadness in his eyes, that made her entire body ache.

A small, secret part of her was relieved he wasn’t talking about them, about their relationship, but she ignored it. He was clearly in pain and his pain was so much more important than her fear.

She knew she shouldn’t touch him, but she couldn’t help herself. She lifted her hand, cupped his cheek. “Don’t say that. You don’t know that.”

He closed his eyes, leaned into the touch. His skin was hot and made her palm tingle.

And then he opened his eyes and stepped back, out of her reach. A sob rolled up her throat, but she swallowed it down.

“I lost consciousness, Alex. As a precaution, they’re going to do a CT scan, but with my concussion history…” He blew out a breath and looked down, rubbing the back of his neck.

She closed her eyes for a second, understanding coiling through her. Depending on how bad it was, he’d be out of the lineup for at least the rest of the season. But she knew it was worse than that.

His medical records had included a number of concussion instances throughout his career. Depending on the severity, he might not be cleared to play ever again. And, even if he was, he’d probably need to be insured and the insurance would most likely be astronomical. It was incredibly likely that no tam would be willing to take that on.

He looked up at her. Sadness and defeat made the blue of his eyes deeper, like the ocean during a storm. She wanted to rage and scream on his behalf, rail against the universe. Hadn’t he been through enough this week? Hadn’t he suffered enough?

But, most of all, she wanted to wrap him in her arms and hold him. Protect him. Let him know she was here, that he didn’t have to go through this alone, that if she had her way, he’d never have to go through anything alone, ever again. She took a step forward. “Nick…”

He took another step back and shook his head. “I can’t do this right now. I’ve got to go. They’re waiting.” He stepped around her and out the door, without looking back.

The click of the door latch was loud in the silence, like a gunshot right through her soul.

Alex wandered out of the medical room and into the hallway, numbness seeping through her. The third time was supposed to be the charm, and yet somehow the universe had conspired against her again. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe she and Nick were a mistake, and she was being saved from something worse.

But then, why did it hurt so damn much? And what if something happened to him? There was no guarantee he was okay, even though he’d seemed fine in the room. He could have a cracked skull, or a brain bleed… Would she ever forgive herself if something happened and she hadn’t told him how she felt? Her fingers tingled, her skin turning icy.

“Alex?”

She looked up. Tyler was walking toward her, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat. She tried to smile but she couldn’t muster the energy. “Hey, Tyler. What are you doing here?”

“I’d ask you the same question, except I just watched him getting into the ambulance.”

She nodded, her chin feeling awfully wobbly all of a sudden.

He wrapped her in his arms and gave her a squeeze. It felt so nice to have someone hold her. She hugged him in return. He patted her on the back, the move so brotherly, she wanted to laugh. But she couldn’t, because she was afraid if she opened her mouth, she’d sob. So, she just held on and tried to stop her insides from shattering into millions of pieces.

After a few minutes, Tyler pulled back, holding her upper arms and looking down at her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He linked his arm with hers and ushered her down the hall.