Page 157 of Suck My Puck

“Wow. It’s like a can of sardines in here,” Xander says as he walks into my hospital room. He moves through the crowded space to my bed.

I chuckle and nod hi at him.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Really good,” I say.

“I thought I’d get brownie points for coming to see you before your surgery, but I guess everyone had the same idea.”

The whole room laughs, including me. Today is New Year’s Day—the day of my surgery to donate bone marrow to Lucas. The whole Bashers team and a bunch of the staff stopped by to wish me well before the surgery. Coach Porter did too, along with Coach Sadler, the goalie coach.

“Bella gets the most brownie points,” I say to Xander. “She’s the one who got up at the crack of dawn to drive me here. She’s my ride home too.” I turn to look at her sitting next to my bed.

She chuckles and looks up at Xander. “He’s kidding. It means so much for you and everyone else to be here.”

Xander smiles at her, then he pats my shoulder. “In all seriousness, we love you, man. We’re here for you. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“And even if you don’t ask, we’re going to pester you until you think of stuff that we can do for you,” Theo says.

Del, who’s standing next to Theo against the wall nods. “Yeah, dude. Get ready. We’re gonna annoy the hell out of you with how helpful we’re going to be.”

I laugh. “Thanks, guys. I’ll try to think of stuff. I’m pretty well covered though with Bella. And my mom.”

My mom, who’s sitting in the chair next to Bella, smiles at me. She glances down at her phone and holds it up to me. “Nana and Pop Pop just texted to say they love you and they’re so proud of you for what you’re doing.”

When I called my mom and told her that I was donating bone marrow to Lucas, she insisted on coming to Denver to be with me. Even though I assured her that it was a simpleprocedure and that I’d be able to go home the following day and wouldn’t need extra help, she still wanted to come.

I guess I understand. It doesn’t matter how old I get, I’ll always be her kid. She’ll always worry about me and want to be there for me.

For a split second, I think about my dad.

I didn’t tell him what I was doing. I almost did. I pulled up his name in my phone and was about to call him.

But before my thumb could tap my phone screen, I talked myself out of it.

Because I knew he’d be pissed at me for putting my hockey career on hold, even for just a few weeks, to help a kid in need.

I imagined exactly what he’d say.

Are you stupid? You’re in the prime of your career and you’re taking time off to help a stranger? What is wrong with you?

I push aside the thought and glance around my hospital room. My teammates are standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder in my hotel room. Sophie, Maya, Ingrid, and Dakota are here too. Warmth puddles in my chest when I see just how many people care about me and want to be here for me.

“Everything okay?” Del asks Ingrid. She’s frowning at her phone.

“Um, yeah. I think so.” She’s quiet as she studies her phone screen. She looks up at me. “You haven’t looked at sports news lately, have you?”

I shake my head.

“News just broke about you donating bone marrow to Lucas,” Ingrid says. “It’s on every sports news outlet. My notifications are blowing up.”

The guys look worried as they check theirphones.

“How? I didn’t tell anyone other than the team and my family about what I was doing,” I say to Ingrid, my anxiety kicking up. I don’t want Lucas and his family to be bombarded by reporters or paparazzi scumbags when he’s going through so much already.

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of this.” Her tone is determined. “And I’ll let Alanna know too. We’ll get this under control, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Ingrid.”

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