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Chapter forty-seven

Danae

T he world stops.

Time freezes in the stadium as every mouth is covered by a hand, as every voice is stilled in an unfinished gasp. Hearts cease to beat, bodies halt all movement.

“No!” I rasp. “No, no, no!”

The images of the video I watched of Griffin’s injury flash through my mind, heightened by the image playing out in front of my eyes. The man I love thrashing on the ground, stomping a foot, wildly clenching Drew’s jersey next to him.

“How do I get down there, Samantha?” I ask, frantic. She’s still frozen, mouth gaping and eyes like saucers. “Samantha!” I scream. “How do I get down there?”

The tears blurring my vision spill over on my cheeks, and suddenly Jason is crying and shouting and the entire suite is chaos. Lily’s hands come to my shoulders, and her firm touch grounds me back into myself.

Turning to Jason, I hug him and say, “Bud, I need to go down and see Griffin. Sammi is going to stay right here with you until I get back.” Jason’s eyes are pools of terror.

Kneeling down, I tell him, “Mr. Griffin is going to be okay. He’s not leaving us.

But he is hurting, so I’m going to go be with him for a little bit, okay? ”

Jason nods slowly, and Samantha takes his hand. Her own eyes are brimming with tears as she places her other hand on my shoulder. “Get down there. He’ll need you. He’ll need the person who loves just Griffin,” she whispers.

Lily leads me out of the suite to the elevators, through a series of hallways I never would have navigated on my own.

I tune out the sound of the speakers throughout the stadium broadcasting Griffin’s pain.

Surely, they’ve gotten him off the field by the time we finally make it to the hallway outside the locker room.

Pounding on the door, Lily yells, “Someone open up! Let Danae in there with Griffin!”

A few seconds later, the door opens, and an unfamiliar face appears. Likely someone from the training staff I haven’t met yet. He grimaces at me. “I don’t think you really want to come in and see him like this, ma’am. Wait a little while until we’ve got his pain better managed.”

My chest nearly explodes as I inhale, the oxygen fueling the fire building there. “No! I’m not waiting until his pain is under control—I’m going to stand by him through it. You let me in there right now!”

The man looks taken aback. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he says as he holds the door open.

Once inside the locker room, I don’t need a guide to find the room where Griffin is.

The rest of the locker room is deathly quiet, and I follow the sound of his agony, tears endlessly flowing from my eyes with each step.

As I enter the room, Griffin spots me, and the pain on his face crumples with relief.

“Danae,” he says, more a sob than a word.

I rush over to the training table where he’s propped up and grab his right hand.

Training staff buzz around the room, assessing and gathering supplies and creating the atmosphere of a bee hive.

“Griff, I’m here, babe,” I say, cupping his face with my free hand. “I love you, Griff.”

Tears have streaked paths through the dirt on Griffin’s face, and he grunts in pain as they shift his position. I try to stay out of the way yet locked by Griffin’s side as they discuss the course of action.

“We’re going to give you a shot to manage the pain, West,” one staff member says, approaching with a tray of disinfecting wipes and a syringe .

“He’s afraid of needles,” I say, voice quivering. “We need to elevate his legs first.”

The shadow of a smile crosses Griffin’s face. “Needles are the last thing I’m worried about right now,” he says. “Just stay here with me while they give me the shot.”

I trade hands so I’m holding his with my left hand, using my right hand to shield his eyes toward me as they clean the area for the shot. “I love you,” I say. “I love you, and I’m going to be here with you through every step of this recovery. We’re going to get through this together.”

He grimaces, and I don’t know if it’s due to the immediate physical pain or the memories of the arduous rehab process.

“What if I can’t do it again?” he whispers.

I know that there are a dozen other people in the room around us, yet it’s only the two of us as we stare into each other’s eyes.

Griffin swallows hard. “What if this is it for me? If the Wizard doesn’t make the comeback this time?

” His voice is a shadow of his usual self.

A tear slips past my lips as I smile. “You’ve never been the Wizard to me.

You’ve always been Griffin—the man who makes people feel special.

The man who takes time to value everyone, from the bartender at the restaurant to the book club ladies ambushing him to the kid at camp whose world was turned upside down.

” A tear skates down Griffin’s cheek as his eyes search my face, and I wipe it away with my thumb before it hits his beard.

“You’re the man who got me to open up about some of the most painful parts of my past on our first date.

Because you ask real questions in the most inviting, unassuming way.

The man who broke through all of my prejudices against people with financial wealth because you don’t use it to manipulate the world.

You’re the man who opens up his life to people who need him—to Samantha, to Jason, to me.

You might be the Wizard of Defense to some people, but not to me.

You’re my safe place, Griffin. And I’ll be yours too, now and long after the Wizard is gone. I’m with you .”