Page 126 of Saving the Halfback

Before I could process what was happening, she’d jumped up onto the bed, mindful of the IV in my arm and wires on my chest.She laid her head on my chest and draped her arm around me, and I fought to keep the tears at bay. She likely already thought I was a loser; crying in front of her would only seal the deal.

“Don’t you ever be sorry. Ever. I am the one who is sorry. I’m sorry you felt so much pain that it came to this. I wish I had known sooner.” Feeling her warmth melt into me was something I had dreamed about in my final moments. It felt wrong enjoying it after what I had done. I pushed Bailey away, but she smacked my hand lightly. “Stop it.”

“I don’t want you feeling guilty over me, Bailey. I messed up, bad.”

“I don’t feel bad for you, Chase. I don’t feel guilty. I wish I had known. I wish we were close enough that you could’ve told me. So, now”—she wiggled down, wrapped her arms around my sore chest, and held on tight—“I’m going to make sure we are close enough so you will tell me. This isn’t your fault. This isn’t my fault. This is just something we have to do to make sure we get to keep you. I want to keep you, Chase.” She looked up at me with those large amber eyes, and I was done for. “Please let me keep you.”

I took deep breaths to control my emotions. I was a six-foot-tall football player with a muscular build. I couldn’t get overwhelmed like this. I couldn’t let the mess that was building inside me spill out. But Bailey was my kryptonite, she was my safety when I knew I should be hers. She’d just asked if she could keep me, like I was some dog, and I was ready to sit down and beg.

Nolan came by again, pushing the same damn stretcher and flashing his smile at everyone who looked at him. “Going to need coffee after tonight, am I right?” he said to a nurse passing by, and the nurse actually agreed with him.

This time, it was Lachlan who was crouched behind the stretcher. He popped up and hopped on the other side of thebed, lying next to me. “Move over, I need more room. Fuck, you’re cold, we need more blankets in here.” Nolan walked by again, carrying a pile of towels. “Nurse!” Lachlan called out.

“Oh, sorry, ma’am, I’m a porter.”

“Fuck me,” I whispered, running my hand down my face. Nolan was so professional and serious, I could actually believe he worked here.

“Can we get some of those warm blankets? The big fuzzy ones,” Lachlan continued.

“Big fuzzy wuzzy blanket coming up.” Nolan stepped away.

“Okay, how did Nolan find a pair of scrubs?” I asked.

“They keep spares in the locker rooms,” Bailey answered sleepily as she buried her face in my bare chest, as if all this chaos wasn’t happening around us.

Nolan was back a moment later, pulling Ethan with him. Ethan didn’t even bother to hide. “One fuzzy wuzzy blanket.” They both stepped into the room, Nolan closing the curtain behind him.

Ethan looked more somber than the others. “You good, man?” he asked, holding his fist out to me. I bumped it with mine.

“Yeah, a bit of a cough, but I’m okay,” I reassured him.

“For real, though? Because that was scary as hell. Nolan and Bailey were doing CPR on you, and you were blue.”

“And cold,” Lachlan added, taking the blanket and spreading it over me. It did feel nice, especially when Bailey put her hands under it and kept them on my chest.

A middle-aged man with a white jacket and clipboard came walking in. He paused and did a double take at Lachlan and Bailey, then looked over at Ethan and Nolan. “Aren’t you the porter?” the doctor as Nolan.

“We’re family,” Lachlan said immediately, and fuck if that didn’t hit me right in the feels.

The doctor sighed, like he didn’t have time for this shit, and turned on a light on the wall, hanging up my chest X-ray. “I really think you should be admitted and watched for tonight, but physically, you will be okay. Your ribs are bruised, and you stopped breathing once that we know of, according to the nine-one-one call. You had a near-drowning experience,” the doctor stated bluntly. “There’s no simple way to put it—you are very lucky. See this here.” He pointed to what I could only assume were my lungs. “This is water in the alveoli sacs. Judging by the amount, we believe it will absorb fine into your lungs, however, we are going to put you on some antibiotics to prevent infection. Your throat will be sore for a while, since we did need to intubate briefly in the ambulance. Don’t be afraid if there is some bleeding, but if you continue to bleed or get sick, come right back. You will feel sore and tired, however if you feel short of breath, or if it becomes more difficult to breathe, also come back in.”

“I play football,” was all I could manage to say. The doctor was talking so fast, I wasn’t sure if I’d absorbed any of it.

The doctor shook his head at me. “Don’t do it. I don’t recommend putting any extra strain on your lungs. That includes more exercise than normal daily functions. Now, there is another matter to talk about.” The doctor leaned against the bed. “Boys, Bailey, time to leave.”

Bailey gripped my hand and gave it a squeeze.

Lachlan patted my shoulder before standing up. “We’ll be right outside.”

I nodded.

Ethan stayed for a moment, his eyes only on me before I nodded to him, as if giving him permission to leave.

Once the room emptied out, the doctor sat on the chair next to the bed. “There are two ways we can do this. If you have good home support, I can make an outpatient appointment witha therapist and mental health doctor. I highly recommend this. If there is no home support, we do have a room available in the hospital. I do want to prescribe an antidepressant. Have you ever heard of SSRIs?”

“Yes.” My voice croaked. I got the volume down, though, since I didn’t want the others knowing. “I’ve been on them before.”

The doctor nodded. “I saw that in your chart.” His eyes met mine. “You’ve been battling this for quite some time.”

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