Page 31 of Defensive Zone

“Hi, I’m Dr. Bradley. Are you Mr. Reid’s family?”

“Uh, hi, I’m Carter Lockwood, and, uh, no, but we live together.”

She looks down at her chart, then nods. “Great. You’re listed as Mr. Reid’s emergency contact,” she informs me.

I am? I look down at Zach’s spaced-out expression, and my chest tightens. He has no idea how much this means to me. He’s listed as my emergency contact too.

“We’ll be taking him for a CAT scan shortly, where we’ll check if there’s any swelling and any potential bleeds. Afterward, we’ll take him for an X-ray to assess the state of his other injuries. Depending on the results, we may need to operate, but we’ll get a better idea of where we stand once we get the results of the imaging back.”

“Thank you.” I chew on my bottom lip, my eyes flicking to Zach as he struggles to keep his eyes open. “Will he…” I swallow. “Will he lose his memory at all?”

“He’s most likely going to have some memory issues, especially short-term. It’s called post-traumatic amnesia. I’m unable to determine how long it will last, though. Sometimes it’s minutes, hours. Sometimes it can be days or weeks.”

Fuck. Okay. Well, there’s no way in hell I’m leaving in the morning, that’s for sure. If Zach wants me to go back to Denver, he’ll have to physically push me onto a plane because I will not leave him.

Not now. Not ever.

“I’ll come find you as soon as we have more news,” she says after doing a quick check of his pupils, and I step aside as people come in to take Zach for his scans.

Stepping out into the hall, I watch as his bed is wheeled down the corridor, and it’s only when it disappears around a corner that I allow all the emotions of today to come to the surface.

His confession that he’s in love with me. The knowledge that I’ve been breaking his heart over and over again. The fact he thought he was a bad friend because he had feelings for me, and the only way to fix that was to get over me.

The hit. Seeing him lying there motionless on the ice. Being wheeled off on a stretcher.

Gripping my hair, a choked sound escapes the depths of my chest as tears fill my eyes, blurring my vision.

The thing is… I don’t want him to get over me. I know it’s probably selfish of me to think that, but… What if this is what Raegan was talking about when she said to keep an open mind and an open heart?

Did she know?

It’s not like I haven’t thought about Zach in more than a platonic way, especially after the time in Hawaii when I got jealous about the couple hitting on him. There have been times since where I was jerking off and found myself thinking about him instead of Raegan. But I chalked it up to us being such close friends. To the fact that Zach is always on my mind.

I just didn’t realize, it’s always been him.

My mind spins as things start to make more sense. Why my relationships never worked out, and they would always bring up my friendship with Zach as if it were an issue.

It’s like I’m finallyseeinghim. The blindfold is off, and he’s there, clear as day, and I don’t really know what to do with it all.

I don’t want him to think I’m only feeling like this because I don’t want to lose him after he told me how he truly felt.

I have the opportunity to make things right. A second chance. A do-over.

I slump down into the plastic seat in the waiting area and pull out my phone. I send a quick text to Ethan, letting him know what the doctor said so he can relay it to the rest of the team, then pull up a new text thread with Zach’s mom, Laurie. She and Kian, Zach’s father, are currently on a cruise around the Mediterranean, so they’re at least seven or eight hours ahead, and the chances of them seeing it right now are slim. But I know if the roles were reversed and it was Zach in the hospital, she would text me to let me know regardless of what time it was.

Carter

Hey Laurie. I know it’s the middle of the night there and I hope this doesn’t wake you up. Zach took a nasty hit on the ice tonight. We’re currently at Northwestern Hospital. He’s got a concussion and potentially a broken wrist. He’s having a CAT scan now, and once they’ve assessed his head, they will do an X-ray. I’ll let you know when I hear more, but I’m here for him, Laurie. I promise you, I’m not going to leave his side.

I don’t realize tears are falling down my cheeks until one splashes against my phone screen. Fuck, I’ve got to get myself together.

He’s going to be okay.

Hehasto be okay.

Time seems to go by painfully slow. People come and go, but I don’t pay them any attention. Eventually, I close my eyes andrest my head against the wall behind me. I must doze off as I jolt out of my seat when someone touches my shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s just us,” Ethan says, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Has he come out yet?”

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