Page 24

Greyson

Every muscle i n my body is crying out in pain, and it’s not even the type of pain an ice bath could fix.

Matteo sends the puck flying to the right, and I leap, stretching my limbs out like a lion pouncing on its prey. My muscles protest, silently screaming. But once my gloved hand smacks the edge of the puck, knocking it from the goal, a satisfied sigh escapes me.

Coach has us practicing like there’s no tomorrow for our game against Victron State on Saturday. A game I’m not looking forward to, mainly because we’re staying at “Blaine Heights” aka, my biological father’s hotel.

Victron is an hour and half bus ride, and I did ask Coach if I could drive there so I could drive back home afterward instead of staying in the hotel. But because we have interviews scheduled early the next morning, he said no.

We’re only sleeping there , that’s what I’ve had on repeat in my mind ever since I found out. And it’s a low possibility that I’ll even see Sebastian, seeing as h e now owns several hotels and probably won’t even be there. But what if I do somehow bump into him?

I can’t think about it. If I think about it, I’ll get pissed. And if I get pissed, I’ll be grumpy…and I really haven’t got the energy for any emotions right now.

“Jenkins!” Coach blows his whistle, scolding Theo. “Stop fucking around and do your drills.”

“Yes, Papi!” Theo grins in Coaches’ direction.

Coach rolls his eyes before turning his attention back to Keegan and Logan, pointing animatedly at the clipboard in his hand.

My eyes glance around the stands once more to see if Lilly has arrived yet, and much to my disappointment, she hasn’t. It’s odd, her not being here during practice. Usually, she’s sitting in the stands in her own little world, notepad on lap, and pen in hand before we even step onto the ice. But instead, Lakelyn is alone and has used the opportunity to stand behind the boards, flirting with the guys as they skate by.

Sighing, I give up looking when suddenly a loud bang reverberates across the ice. My eyes trail over to the commotion to see Felix on the ground, clutching his helmetless head, and groaning.

Not wasting a second, I push off my feet and skate toward him. Once I’m close, I see speckles of blood dripping down the side of his face. “Are you okay?” Stupid question to ask someone who’s clearly bleeding.

He looks dazed, and when he tries to sit up, he sways and clutches his head, groaning.

Evan, his twin, reaches us and collapses to the ground, throwing his helmet to the side as he grabs hold of Felix’s head and inspects it.

“Fuck, Fe. Fuck, fuck, fuck !” He hisses. Felix tries to stand, but Evan grabs his shoulders and pushes him down. “Don’t you dare fucking move, you idiot.”

“My head hurts.” Felix grumbles, lifting a hand to his head.

“Someone go get Abigail!” Coach hollers.

Bending down, Chase inspects Felix’s head and curses under his breath. Looking at me, he signals me to help him. Nodding, I grab hold of Felix and drag him to his feet. Draping his arm over my shoulder, and Chase does the same on the other side as we slowly guide him off the ice.

Once off the ice, we place him onto the bench at the same time Abigail, the team’s medic, comes running in with Theo not far behind her. Crouching down on her knee, she opens a medical bag beside her, snaps on a pair of blue gloves and begins her inspection on Felix.

“Is he going to be okay?” Evan kneels beside her.

“Hernandez,” Coach hisses. “Give the girl some room.”

Evan curses under his breath, and slides to the left…an inch.

Softly placing her hands on the side of Felix’s head, she tilts it down. “I’m gonna ask you a few questions, okay?”

Nodding his head, he winces.

“Can you tell me where we are?” She asks, leaning to the side to grab a cloth.

“R-rink,” he stammers. “Hockey rink.”

“Okay, good. You’re doing great Felix.” She smiles, pulling the cloth from his head, the once white cloth is now soaked red.

“You didn’t have a helmet on?” She questions him.

“He unstrapped it to tighten it, but then he tripped on his stick, his helmet knocked off, and he tripped on his helmet, slamming his head against the board.” Evan answers for him.

Nodding, she grabs another cloth and presses it down onto his head. “Can you hold this and keep pressure on it?” She asks him.

Nodding, he fumbles, trying to hold it. Cursing, Evan stands and pushes his hand away, and then gently presses the cloth against his head, careful not to hurt his brother more than he already is.

“Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?” Abigail asks, holding three fingers in front of his eyes.

“Is this a trick question?” Swaying, he slams his palms onto the bench to keep upright. “Because you’re holding up about twelve.”

“Right, okay…” grabbing a bandage from her bag, she unravels it slightly before gesturing Evan to help her while she wraps it around Felix’s head.

“There’s so much blood.” Evan’s voice is shaky as he stares at his brother's head.

Standing, Abigail removes the blue gloves from her hand and turns toward Coach. “I’d feel more comfortable if he went to the hospital and got it checked out,” she admits. “Head injuries always seem worse than they are, but with him being concussed too, having the doctors monitor him will keep everyone’s mind at ease.”

“Greyson and I will take him,” Chase announces, sitting on the bench beside Felix. “Fox, go get our shoes from the locker room.”

Sitting down beside Chase, I untie my skates and begin stripping off my gear. Hunter returns not even a minute later, severely out of breath, with all the shoes. He bends down, unties Felix’s skates, and then places his shoes on him.

“Thank you, Abigail.” Coach smiles at her as she texts on her phone .

“Just doing my job,” smiling, she tucks her phone in her pocket. “I’ve texted a friend of mine who’s a doctor at the hospital, he said he’ll be waiting for you to arrive.”

“You’re really an angel sent from above, Abigail.” Coach places a hand on her shoulder and squeezes.

Standing, Chase and I pull Felix up and place his arms across our shoulders. Making sure he’s secure, and not going to trip over, we begin walking toward the door.

“Kingston,” Coach shouts as we push the double doors open. “Keep me updated, okay?”

With a grunt, Chase nods his head as we navigate our way out of the doors, down the corridor and out into the parking lot toward his truck.

“Wait, I’m coming!” Evan shouts, chasing us in his sock clad feet.

“Evan,” Chase turns to look at him after strapping Felix into the backseat. “Best thing for you to do is go back inside, change, phone your parents—if Coach hasn’t already, and then meet us at the hospital, okay?”

“But I want to come now.” You can hear the worry in his voice.

“He’s in safe hands with us, I promise,” Chase assures him. “But we need to go, now . Change, phone your parents, and meet us at the hospital, okay?”

“Fine,” Evan lets out a shaky breath. “Take care of him, okay? He’s all I’ve got.”

“We’ll keep you updated until you get to the hospital.” I assure him, patting his shoulder.

Nodding, he rakes a hand through his hair and runs back toward the a rena. Sighing, I jump into the backseat, and deciding it’s best if I sit beside Felix, I scoot over to the middle and strap myself in, just as he leans his whole body weight against me.