Page 64 of Back in the Game (Pride in the Game #1)

He walked around the room three times before he decided that he had everything, then went to the bathroom to check in on Jett and grab their toiletries.

Harrison found Jett standing in front of the open door of the walk-in shower, still dressed and holding onto the stuffed animal while the room filled with steam.

“Jett?”

Jett turned and looked at him, and oh fuck, Harrison knew he was suffering without having to hear the words.

“Sunshine.” Harrison came closer, pulling the dragon out of Jett’s arms and setting it on the counter. “We need to get in the shower. It will make your shoulder feel better, trust me.”

“Okay.” Jett latched on to his dress shirt. “Join me?”

Harrison had a feeling Jett was expecting him to reject him, but it wasn’t going to happen.

“Yeah, get in and I’ll help you wash. I don’t want you using that arm too much until I can get some cream and ice on it.”

Jett scrunched his nose. “You want to put ice cream on it?”

Harrison chuckled and slid his hands under Jett’s hoodie to trace along his abs. “You know I didn’t, smart ass.”

A bench was inside the shower, which made it easier for Harrison since he didn’t have to bend far to wash Jett’s hair. He was fast and gentle, scolding Jett whenever he tried to take over.

“My shoulder will seize up if I don’t use it,” Jett grumbled. “Which in my opinion, is worse than pulling something. ”

“Stretch it while I rinse my hair.” Harrison finished rinsing Jett off and moved the spray away from him. “Five minutes. If it starts to hurt, give it a rest.”

Jett bit his bottom lip, looking up at him through blond lashes.

“Five minutes, Fraser. I’m going to start counting down.”

“Fine,” said Jett. He was lacking his normal level of brattiness, but again, that was to be expected.

Five minutes was all Harrison needed to wash, dry and get dressed. It gave him enough time to pack their toiletries and bring everything to the door. He would need Jett’s help if they only wanted to make one trip, but that’s where suitcases with wheels came in handy.

Jett appeared to be in a moderate amount of pain as he got dressed and sat on the bed so Harrison could push some pills into him.

He applied the cream Danny had given him to the bruised skin of Jett’s shoulder and helped him put it into the sling.

They grabbed every icepack they could out of the freezer and shoved them into the pockets of Jett’s hoodie on their way out the door.

“It’s a long drive,” said Jett. “I can—”

“No.” Harrison corralled them through the hallway toward the elevator. “You’re going to sleep, and I’m going to drive.”

He didn’t want to talk about how driving that long with Jett in the car made him nervous, not when it was his job to get him home. But he would be lying if the thought of having the person he loved in the same vehicle with him for a prolonged time didn’t make him feel panicky.

What a fucking shit show.

Jett blatantly refused to lie down in the back seat, so they stacked their suitcases in the back, and Harrison got Jett as comfortable as he could in the front seat with a blanket and a hotel room pillow that he had stolen.

Jett smiled softly as he got into the driver’s seat and put Fenwick in his arms. “You good?”

Jett picked at his seatbelt. “I’m as good as it’s going to get, my dude. I would rather be playing hockey.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Harrison pulled out of the parking spot and gave the GPS one last look while he waited for the garage door to open .

Despite the warm clothes and blanket, Jett’s teeth were chattering again. It was a mix between pain and adrenaline wearing off, and the mental exhaustion he had to be feeling was the perfect cherry on top.

Harrison placed a hand on Jett’s arm and rubbed it like he could warm him with the friction. The affection had Jett tearing up again and snuffling loudly, his body trembling like a leaf.

“Sunshine, get some sleep if you can. I promise things will be better once we’re home and you feel safe.”

Jett snuffled again. “I always feel safe with you.”

The admission had Harrison’s heart tripping in his chest.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to drive at some point?”

Harrison shook his head. “I’m going to get a coffee and zone in on the task. We’ll get there quicker if we make fewer stops.”

“Okay.” Jett picked up his phone out of the cup holder, and Harrison could see him making a face out of the corner of his eye.

“Everything good?” Harrison asked, moving the car onto the road. “Who’s messaging?”

“Jin,” said Jett. “Probably to tell me that he doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore.”

That made no sense. He knew that something as tragic as having a family member commit a horrendous act like a shooting could easily fuck someone up, but the fact that Jett seemed to believe that it would make people hate him…

Jett had never hurt anyone. He often put his own safety on the line to avoid hurting anyone, like he did with Mike.

If Jin was calling Jett for anything, it would be to check on him and make sure he was okay. Park acted like a hard ass, but an act is all it was. He was quickly becoming someone who Harrison and Jett enjoyed texting and exchanging Tiktoks with.

“He’s our friend,” said Harrison. “He’s worried about you.”

“He’s only been our friend for like…three days. A friend I had for fifteen years is the one who told the press.” Jett turned his head away from him to look out the window at the passing scenery, and went quiet.

Harrison checked on him when he could, but the second he was sure that Jett had fallen asleep, he felt himself relax. Even if it was for an hour, he would take it. Jett needed all the rest he could get .

Luck was on his side because Jett didn’t wake up, or even move for the eight-hour drive home—which ended up being nearly ten hours after traffic was factored in, toll sections were passed, and borders were crossed.

Harrison only stopped when he needed gas because he was too scared to wake his sleeping boyfriend up. The drive wasn’t the worst he had ever done, but his eyes were burning, and he felt like death when he stopped in front of Jett’s building.

He was surprised to see Max outside waiting, bundled in a warm winter jacket and holding a glorious cup of coffee out to him when Harrison rolled the window down. The look on his face must have said something, because Max smiled awkwardly, and his cheeks went red.

“I was tracking you guys on the app Jetty and I use,” said Max. “Ryan told me you might need help getting stuff up to the penthouse and taking the car to the nearest rental place.”

Harrison nodded gratefully. There weren’t many people around, but the few who were had stopped what they were doing to look their way. “I appreciate it. We should get Jett upstairs first and then worry about the car.”

It was early morning in Toronto. The press had to be on to what had happened by now, so he was half-expecting one of them to pop out from behind the nearest bush and shove a camera in their faces.

“We in Canada yet?” Jett asked sleepily beside him, his eyes squinted shut as he shifted into a sitting position.

“We’re outside your apartment,” said Harrison.

Jett’s eyes flew open, and he gripped the armrest. “What? You’re fucking kidding me.” He glanced around, his eyes landing on Max, who waved. “I thought I was only asleep for an hour.”

“Let’s get you home, Jetty,” Max said with a cheerful smile. “I’m going to order us breakfast.”

Jett had looked almost back to his old self when he first opened his eyes, but Harrison watched as reality quickly crushed the light out of him, turning him back into the sullen man from before. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt, getting out of the car without another word.

It was easier to deal with the suitcases between the three of them. They could have asked the service workers for help, but the less people who knew Jett was home, the better .

Harrison was too tired to talk, but Max chatted quietly with Jett as they rode the elevator to the top. He didn’t seem phased when Jett refused to engage in the conversation, content to keep things as normal as possible.

Harrison checked his messages and saw that Jett’s dad was about to land in Toronto and would be there by lunch, and Park had messaged him no more than a hundred times. Which was almost as obnoxious as Arlo’s two hundred messages.

He gave Mr. Fraser a quick update and then texted Park and Arlo, giving a brief description of Jett’s mindset so they would stop pestering him. Arlo would understand, but Park texted back and was less than pleased.

Harrison wanted to see if he could coax Jett through this gently first before he tried using Park to snap him out of it. At least he could pocket the tactic as a last resort.

The second they were inside the penthouse, Jett took Fenwick and disappeared to their bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

Max shot Harrison a look and said, “It’s bad, isn’t it? I mean, it looked horrible on TV…”

“It’s worse,” said Harrison. “It’s so much fucking worse.”

“Ryan said that Coach Adams wants to release a statement, but he’s okay with doing it for Jett if he wants.”

Harrison felt defeated as he handed Max the keys to the rental. “I think he might have to. Jett isn’t thinking clearly. I feel like he’s been fighting against himself since it happened. He might need a few days.”

“He’s your star player. He’s going to get all the time he needs.” Max took the keys and gave Harrison a kind smile. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes, so just think about what you want to order for breakfast, and we’ll see if we can get Jett to eat something.”

Harrison shrugged defeatedly and went to sit on the couch while he waited for Max to return. The second the sound of the front door closing hit him, he slumped into a puddle of exhaustion.

He didn’t know what to do now.

The obvious answer was giving Jett some space, waiting for his dad to get there so he could talk to someone who understood, and trying to be there for him when he needed him .