Page 87 of Boarded Hearts

Me

Ask them to make sure you get back to the hotel okay. I don’t know when I’ll be back.

I repocket my phone and head back outside to join Coach.

“Any word?” Jensen comes to sit next to me; it’s been hours since we last saw the neurosurgeon and still no update.

“Nope,” I reply, disinterested in conversation but I do note the absence of Amie. We haven’t heard from her at all and have no idea where she is. In love with Zach? Give me a break.If anything happened to Felicity, I’d be glued to her bedside from the minute she arrived.

“My parents made sure Felicity got back to the hotel okay.”

I nod, bending down to face the floor, my forearms resting on my knees. “Thanks.”

“She’s worried about you, man; says she’s barely heard from you since you tore out of the stadium.”

“I’m worried about my best friend. She’ll understand I’ve got to prioritize him.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable, buddy, but at least text her back.”

“I fucking did!” I snap.I’ve barely made contact because my headspace is so fucked up right now, in this state, I’m enough to drive anyone away. I just need to be on my own.

“Barely.”

“You know what, Jensen, if you haven’t got anything useful to add then fuck off. I’m not in the mood.”

“Don’t do this, Jon.” He’s witnessed me at my worst, and I know he can sense what’s coming, the road I’m on. I can too. I know my behavior is erratic and my emotions are spiraling, but I’m powerless to stop it. With every passing minute, I feel my grip on rational thought slipping and the voice telling me I’m not enough getting louder. The temptation to give in and let it pull me under is getting stronger.

I don’t reply. I just sit back and put my hood up, blocking everyone around me out while we wait for someone, any fucking one at this stage, to tell me if my friend will walk again.

FELICITY

I lie in our hotel room, staring absentmindedly at the episode of Friends I have on the TV.

I know something is very wrong with Jon. Aside from the fact his best friend is lying in a hospital bed and we’re uncertain what spinal damage he’s sustained, the look in his eyes when he left the rink scares me, like something inside him had died. His only text reply to me tonight was cold at best and while I totally get this is hard for him, I can’t help the gnawing concern that this is all to do with a decline in Jon’s mental health. His lack of self-esteem leads to anxiety and possibly depression. I know little about his medical history other than he has been seeing his therapist, Ben, long-term but seeing him tonight tells me he’s in a dark place.

I pull up my phone again, desperate to know what’s going on, and thankfully Jensen gave me his number earlier. I get the feeling he’s not just concerned over Zach’s well-being, too.

Me

What’s happening? I’m going out of my mind here.

Three dots appear quickly, and a reply comes through.

Jensen

He hasn’t told you?

I haven’t heard a thing. He’s gone dark on me.

For fuck’s sake. It’s good news. It's a spinal concussion. Docs hope the feeling in Zach’s legs and arms will return in a few days. He has a broken tibia, two broken ribs, a broken jaw, and he needed stitches to his eyebrow, cheek, and lip due to the impact with the boards.

I don’t know what to feel. There’s relief that Zach’s spine isn’t seriously injured, but he’s looking at a long time out of the game. At least the rest of the season, even I can tell that.

Schneider has a broken jaw, broken nose, three missing teeth (courtesy of me), and a concussion.

I hope they throw the book at him.

We’ll have to wait to hear an official ruling, but he’s looking at a twenty-five-game suspension and a heavy fine. With a pre-meditated hit like that, he should never play again. He could’ve fucking killed him.

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