Page 178 of Falling Offsides

He pulls his phone from his ear and checks it. Meanwhile, I’m straight in my thread with Courtney.

Auguste:What’s going on? Are you okay?

All I keep going back to is her remark from this morning,Something feels off today.

“Shit,” Coach spits, cursing at the screen and tapping it like mad as our assistant coach approaches him.

“Everything okay, Bobby?”

“My ex-wife’s been in an accident.”

“Fuck, do you need to?—”

“No, Courtney’s on her way.” Coach blows out a frustrated breath. “Everything’s still so complicated with Catherine and her husband…”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Catherine’s in surgery. Skull fracture and lacerated spleen.”

Fuck.

My body goes ice cold—I told Courtney I’d be here for her. It was a promise…

I pace to the tunnel, checking the status of the message I just sent and the one before that. Both sitting unread.

Walking farther down, completely out of earshot, I call Courtney.

Straight to voicemail.

I call again.

Again.Voicemail.

She’s on a plane. On the way to her mom’s side. After yesterday, last night…

Fuck.

Coach is barking directions to the assistants as I pace up and down the tunnel, vibrating out of my fucking skin as I attempt to figure out how to fix this. How to keep my promise to his daughter.My girl.

“Broussard,” he snaps. “You plan on playing the puck with that phone?”

My eyes flash to him, and the pasty color of his skin makes my stomach turn. I feel physically sick.

“I… I need to go.”

Coach stops right in front of me. “Excuse me?”

“There’s been an emergency.” His face loses any color it had left. “It’s a… aah… a family thing. I need to leave. I have to go.”

For a second, I think he’ll fight me. But something flickers across his face—understanding, compassion and I don’t wait for more. What he’s giving me in that one look, I owe Courtney. She is mine and I am hers, and she will not hurt alone.

I rush to the locker room and change into my sweatsuit from this morning. There’s another change of clothes in my kitbag and my ID is in my wallet. It’s all I need.

The moment I’m in the car, I’m calling Étienne.

“Auggie, what’s up?”

“I need to get to D.C. today. No delays. I don’t have time for questions. The next commercial flight is tomorrow morning and I need to get to D.C. ASAP.”

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