Page 35 of The Promise

The hospital is pretty dead for a Saturday night, the only disruptions to our checking in was a couple of drunken hooligans that tried to grope Callie’s ass. They were swiftly greeted with a fist in the stomach from Sean, before they were quickly removed by the nurses. Kyle had a scan about an hour ago and luckily for him it's only nerve damage to his neck, nothing that won’t heal in three to five weeks. But of course, he’s now sulking because Coach has said he’ll have to be benched until his neck is fully healed. He can’t be playing hockey with a neck that doesn’t twist, without making him keel over in blinding pain. But of course Kyle is as stubborn as anything and has been almost nonstop arguing with his coach on the phone since the results of his scan came through. He’s been trying desperately to negotiate his time on the bench down to two weeks, but with no luck. Callie’s dad won’t budge and is insistent that Kyle listens to the doctor’s advice. I have to say, I'm relieved that his coach isn’t as much of a push over as I originally thought he was. I want Kyle to rest too, but I understand better than anyone how fucking infuriating it is to watch your teammates compete without you, as you sit on the sidelines, injured.

After about half an hour of quiet huffing to himself, Kyle finally admits defeat and sits up to drink his coffee and chat to Sean. My mind drifts to the last time I was injured, my calf muscle tore mid race and I fell to ground, writhing in pain. The first thing I did was call my mum, who came speeding down the motorway to get to me that night, hugging me close as the doctor examined me and determined that I couldn’t run for at least a month. I was devastated, feeling like the one thing in my life that I loved had been snatched from me cruelly and that I had nothing to live for. I know that’s dramatic, but what can I say, I have a flair for the arts.

But the memory of wanting nobody but my mum by my side to comfort me in only the way she can, has me thinking right now, maybe Kyle’s mum would want to know her son was hurt. I know Kyle said she doesn’t give a shit about him, but surely she must care at least a tiny bit…right? Should I call her and let her know? I don't know, am I over stepping if I do that? Or is that just what any good girlfr—

Woah, what the fuck was that invasive thought that just burrowed its way into my skull and took full control of my brain?

Jesus Christ, I'm really loosing it. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep, or the extra heavy mental load I'm carrying right now, or maybe it’s the fact my best friend is pregnant and extra hungry all the time, or maybe it’s—it’s…urgh. Maybe it’s the fact I'm falling so deeply in love with this guy that I can’t fucking think straight.

I don’t want this, I don’t want these feelings and I wish they’d all piss off and leave me alone to be a cold hearted witch like I’ve always been, avoiding love and all it brings, but remaining perfectly happy alone. Or maybe I'm not happy alone after all, I don’t fucking know. All I know is I think I should call Kyle’s mum and let her know what’s happened tonight, just in case she does worry and want to see or speak to her son. “Can I borrow your phone Ky? Mine’s dead,” I ask and he nods without hesitation, gesturing to where his phone sits on the side table. I drop a light peck to his cheek, before ducking out with his phone safely pocketed to find Callie. She disappeared to the toilet about ten minutes ago, but when I step out into the evening breeze, I see her sitting on a bench outside the hospital entrance, her lungs expanding slowly on repeat. I plant a hand on her shoulder and she jumps a little, giving me a whack to the stomach as I sit down beside her. “Jesus Mol, don’t scare me like that. The baby nearly jumped out of my womb.”

I stifle a chuckle. “Sorry, what are you doing out here on your own?” “I just needed a moment of fresh air to get rid of the nausea and Sean won’t let me out of his sight, so I had to say I needed to pee.” She breathes a laugh, “It’s the only time he’ll let me do anything on my own nowadays.” “He looks after you doesn’t he? He’s a big teddy bear.”

“He is that. Sometimes he holds me so close to him at night though, I feel like I'm in a fucking sauna with The Rock, smothering me to death.” I bark a laugh, reaching into my pocket for Kyle’s phone and scrolling through his contacts.

“I’m just gonna call Kyle’s mum and let her know what happened tonight, she might want to speak to him if she knows he’s hurt,” I mutter, about to press the call button when Callie’s hand stops me and her eyebrows come together with uncertainty.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea Mol, you know they don’t have a great relationship right?”

I nod, finger hovering over the green button. “I know, but maybe she’d like to know if her son was hurt,” I shrug, “no harm in calling her right?” Callie holds her hands up in defeat. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she stands up and makes her way back inside, leaving me in the silence of the quiet evening.

I tap call and press the phone to my ear. “Hi, I'm Molly, Kyle’s…” Why the fuck have I got stuck on that label twice in one evening? Come to think of it, what the fuck am I? Kyle’s friend? Doesn’t seem right, but whatever.

“What do you want?” Squawks an unfriendly, croaky voice on the other end of the phone and my heart gallops faster.

I clear my crackly throat. “I just thought you might want to know that Kyle was injured during a game tonight, he’s damaged a nerve in the back of his neck.”

“Ha,” she barks, a cold, uncaring undertone in her voice making the red seep into my vision. “And why would I care about that? Does he need me to kiss it better or something? Oh no, I guess you can do that for him, can’t you?”

What the fuck is this woman’s problem? Maybe Kyle and Callie were both right about her, she really doesn’t give a shit about her son.

My claws come out then, needing to protect the person I care about the most. “You fucking bitch,” I hiss and her startled gasp rockets through the phone speaker.

“Who the hell do you think you’re—?”

I end the call before she can spit any more venom at me, her icy tone has made my legs shaky and uneasy. The way she really doesn’t give a shit about Kyle, forces the bubble of tears to rise like bile in my throat. But I swallow them hard, knowing I have to gather my strength tonight, for him. He needs me and if I'm all he has then I’ll be there for him, not just tonight, but always.

Chapter 25

Kyle

Molly and I haven’t had sex for nearly three weeks, as per doctor’s orders. When she pushed me off her, turning down my advances the day after my fight on the ice, my jaw almost broke in half from gawking at her. She’s never turned me down before and I can’t pretend my ego didn’t shrivel up and die momentarily at the thought of her not wanting me anymore. But more to the point, I couldn’t believe Miss sex maniac wanted to go three whole weeks without my cock rearranging her organs. To be fair to her, she made it crystal clear that she didn’t want to go without sex, but that it’s for the best, so I can heal quicker. Plus, her bright pink pocket rocket has had a lot more action than usual, so props to him for keeping her busy these past few weeks. I wasn’t having any of it when she initially told me I was on a sex ban for three weeks, and I’ve been sure to lay out some ground rules of what I am allowed to do. Basically that includes anything other than putting my dick in her, but doesn’t mean I haven’t been able to keep her satisfied in other ways and receive the same treatment back. We’ve still seen each other practically every day, probably more than we usually do. When my head isn’t between her legs or my cock down her throat, we just lay together in bed and cuddle. Sometimes we go for dinner or see a movie, I just love being around her, the beams of sunshine that spring from her when she smiles, simply light me up from the inside out. And now she’s totally herself around me, I get to see the real Molly every single day, she lays her vulnerable self in my palm and just lets me hold her, care for her. The strong, independent mask has completely gone and I know she feels she can be her full self around me, I feel the same about her. She’s still independent don’t get me wrong, but I also get to see the softer side to her. The side that can run to me when she needs comfort, or simply a long hug after a shitty day. We’re so damn comfortable around each other, it’s a little terrifying and thrilling all at the same time.

I’m back on the ice tomorrow thank god, but for tonight, I'm in the crowd with Molly and Callie, like I have been for the past three weeks of torture. Watching my guys out there without me causes me physical pain. There’s an aching in my unused muscles and as the puck whips across the ice towards Jones — who’s temporarily taken my place in goal — my fingers tingle in anticipation. But it’s short lived, the opponents snatch the puck back and Sean yells a loud curse when they score, again. Redwood are three nil down now and it’s like a fucking horror movie out there. Molly is up and down from her seat like a god damn yo-yo and my still recovering neck can’t keep up with her incessant bobbing.

“Come on ref, that was a fucking penalty!” She shrieks, hands in the air and on her feet, again. “Are you fucking blind?”

I chuckle to myself at her passion, I love to see it and I can’t pretend like it doesn’t massively turn me on, watching her get sassy like that. Also I'm in the perfect position down here when she stands up, admiring a front row view of her perky ass. My hand not-so-accidentally finds it occasionally and Molly gifts me a sultry smirk each time.

She sinks down into her seat, brushing a loose hair off her face with a huff. “Did you see that?”

“What?” I murmur, studying her face. My favourite splattering of freckles, her defined jaw, the rosy tint to her cheeks from yelling across the arena. She wafts a hand wildly towards the ice. “That! What just happened with Sean and that fuckwit from the other team.”

“No, I didn’t see, I was looking at you.”

She purses her pink lips, tilting her head with an eye roll. “You’re always looking at me Davis.”

My fingers trace her thigh and her bright eyes follow their movements. “Yeah I know, I can’t help it, you’re just…” I catch her gaze, the sass faltering, “beautiful.”

---