Page 78 of Playing the Player

I feel like a piece of my heart gets shut behind the doors when they slam shut. I meant what I said to Liv. I do love Conor, but not in the way she thinks. He’s become one of my best friends, someone I tell everything to, someone who would never judge me or ask me to change anything about myself. He’s an amazing man and I am so lucky to have him in my life, as my friend.

I know it doesn’t make sense that I’m also sleeping with him, but we both know the deal we made. So what if I have started to get feelings for him? He doesn’t feel the same way. I just have to remember that at the end of the day, none of this is real.

Coach walks out through the exit doors, spotting Olivia and me off to the side and makes his way over. His expression softens the second he sees my face. “I think it would be best for you to follow the ambulance to the hospital.” Coach sighs, shaking his head slightly. “He’s gonna need you when he wakes up.”

32

Sasha

This has been the longest four hours of my life. I followed the ambulance to the hospital and have done nothing but sit in this waiting room ever since.

Conor has a mild concussion, thankfully, with strict orders from the doctor for rest and minimal screen time for the first forty-eight hours.

The real problem is his shoulder. It was dislocated pretty badly and the ortho team couldn’t reset it manually, so he’s been in surgery for the last two hours. I haven't even been able to see him and it’s killing me.

Coach and a few of the players came down to the hospital straight after the game ended. It was a tied score by the end, and the player who hurt Conor didn’t even get penalized. According to the ref, no one saw it happen so he can’t do anything about it. It’s bullshit and everyone thinks so.

“I’m so sorry we’re late.” Olivia rushes to my side, pulling me into a hug before I can even stand. “We had to stop in with Diane and Charlie and tell them what happened. We’ll pick Bella up later.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I sigh heavily, slumping back in the uncomfortable chair. “I haven’t heard anything since he went into surgery.”

“I brought his stuff back to our place.” Josh steps forward, holding out Conor’s phone. “Someone should probably call his parents.”

My stomach drops. Shit!

This whole time I’ve been sitting here, thinking about Conor and wondering if he’s okay and not once did I think about letting his parents know! God, I am such a dick. “I’ll do it.” Taking the phone from Josh, I slip into a quiet corner of the waiting room and switch it on. The screen explodes with notifications. Dozens of missed calls. Hundreds of texts. Most are from people I don’t even recognize, but right at the top are the repeated calls from Mom and Dad.

Using Conor’s painfully unoriginal passcode, 0000, I pull up his mom’s contact and hit call.

She answers on the first ring, “Oh my God, Conor. Are you okay?” My heart breaks at the panic in her voice. I swallow hard, blinking away the tears that are threatening to fall.

“Hi, Mrs Matthews. It’s Sasha.” I haven’t met Conor’s parents yet, or even spoken to them before for that matter, and I wish it were on different circumstances. “Conor’s okay. He has a mild concussion but right now he’s in surgery.” I try my hardest to keep all the emotion out of my voice and stay strong. “He dislocated his shoulder and they couldn’t get it back in manually. He should be done soon though.”

“Oh, thank the Lord.” I hear another shaky breath in the background, followed by what I assume is Mr Matthews letting out a sigh of relief. “We were watching it when it happened. Of course, we didn’t see what had happened but we saw everything after.”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t call sooner.” I say in a quiet voice, the guilt twisting painfully in my stomach. “I didn’t have your number. I only just got Conor’s phone now.”

“Don’t be silly, love.” Her voice is soft. She sounds exactly like I imagined. Warm. Kind. Comforting. It makes something ache deep inside my chest.

I haven’t spoken to either of my parents since Liam left. He says they’re making more of an effort now, and I’m grateful for it, but I can’t help wishing they’d tried a little harder before I had to ask them to.

Maybe, once Conor gets home, I’ll call them.

“We’re on our way to you now. We were staying in Georgia, road tripping but we’re cutting it short. We should be there in about two hours.”

“I’ll see you both soon.”

“Don’t worry about him too much, sweetheart.” She laughs softly. “My boy is a fighter.” For once, the name ‘sweetheart’ doesn’t make me want to throw up. It makes me smile.

After we hang up, I go back into the main waiting room where more of the Flames have come in.

“Do you want a coffee or anything?” Liv asks me as I sink back into the chair beside her.

I shake my head. “I’m okay, thanks.” I smile up at her as she pulls me close to her, hugging me tight to her body in a comforting embrace. We stay like that in silence for another hour.

Every time the theatre doors open, my heart jumps into my throat. Every time it’s not news about Conor, it sinks again.

Finally, Conor’s doctor walks through the doors. I’m on my feet before I even realize I stood up. Coach is beside me in an instant. “The surgery went well.” The doctor says with a reassuring smile. “We’re expecting a full recovery.”