Page 4 of Mind Pucked

I slam my fist on the desk. “But what?”

I’m dying here, and I think he knows it.

“I can’t make this decision for you. But if it was my wife, you know where I’d be. Team, game, be damned.”

I look back at the officer. “Can you give me just a few minutes to think? I just need a few minutes.”

The officer nods and makes room for me to leave. I go back into the locker room, where everyone watches me as I punch my locker over and over again until my knuckles split open.

Dean and Benjamin come up to me and push me down onto the bench. They sit on either side of me, Dean watching me as Benjamin questions, “What’s going on? Is this about Preston or Lyla?”

I’m barely even thinking about Preston at this point. For all I know, he’s blown hockey off entirely, sick of being my rival or some shit. Maybe I offended him somehow, or Coach did. I really don’t fucking care. “Lyla,” I manage to croak out.

“What did they say?” Dean asks, trying to coax it out of me. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us.”

Normally I’d say something shady about not needing their help, but this is not the time for that. “There was a car accident. Really bad. She’s in the hospital, and the officer wants to know if they need to send his colleague now or later to talk to me when I get there.”

Benjamin nods. “So, you’ll have to leave the game.” Not a question, but a statement.

“Yeah, but can I really do that? You need me. And Preston’s not here either.”

I clench my fists and tighten my jaw, but it’s Dean who pulls me out of it.

“Look, we’ve got this. Kai or Andrew, they can fill in. Kai’s been dying to show off. You know we won’t lose this game. What the team needs is for you and Lyla to be okay. We all love her.”

I feel a damn tear escape my eye and roll down my cheek.

No, I can’t think negatively. Lyla will be fine.

“Look, I’ll go tell Quinn what’s going on before we go back to the game,” Dean says. “She’ll take care of Hayden as long as necessary. We’ve got this. You need to go to your wife.”

I look at Dean, grateful for the brothers I have on the team. People who have become family to me. I don’t have that much, outside of Lyla and Hayden. But these guys, they make up for it.

“Thank you,” I manage to croak out, and then I’m grabbing my things and taking off in a run.

When I get to the hospital, I feel incredibly lucky that I wasn’t pulled over or in a car accident myself. I was going much too fast for anyone’s comfort, weaving in and out of traffic. Because of the accident, and all the traffic from the game, it was a nightmare.

This whole thing is a nightmare.

I don’t even bother locking my car, rushing into the emergency room and telling the lady at the desk my name and my wife’s name.

“Sir, you really should wait your turn.”

I shake my head. “I just quit playing in a finals hockey game because a police officer told me my wife was in a bad car accident and I needed to get here immediately. So, I think it’s my turn.”

She purses her lips at me and then types something into the computer. At least she’s doing what I’ve asked.

“She’s still in triage. All I know is that she’s in critical condition right now. You need to go to the waiting room. Over there.” She points to a room down the hall behind her, just next to the restroom.

“Someone will come tell you what’s going on as soon as they can. But be warned, it’s been a busy night.”

I scoff, lurching off to the waiting room. Even the tiny room smells like the hospital. There’s some kind of talk show rerun on the television that hangs in the corner, and there’s some sludgy coffee and tea sitting on a tiny table with one of those dollar-store tablecloths.

I sit down in one of the chairs, barely fitting with my stature, and I wait.

I bite my nails, my leg bouncing up and down with anticipation.

Come on, come on.

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