Page 120 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
“We hope so,” Jonas replied.
The team hadwalked.Forfeiting not only the game for the team, but possibly getting fined. For Grif.
The owner and GM might think Grif was expendable and not worthy of being a Knight, but clearly the team felt otherwise.
Now, we just needed for Grif to be okay.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Grif
Agroan escaped my lips as I opened my eyes. I felt like shit. Hair covered my face. Not my hair. Long, dark hair that smelled of coconut conditioner. I pulled it away.
“Grif, you’re awake. Thank fuck.” AJ moved into view.
“Where am I?” I looked around the dark room. This wasn’t my room. It didn’t smell like our place either. It reeked of antiseptic and unhappiness.
“The hospital. You collapsed during the game.” Worry tinged his voice and scent.
Verity and Dean snuggled into me on the hospital bed. Jonas slept on the couch. A chair sat next to my bed. There was a table with some flowers and balloons on it and a couple of containers that might have food.
“I wasn’t about to fight them for bed space.” AJ stood, closing the distance between us.
“How long have I been out?” I frowned. I remembered collapsing on the ice in the first period, not long after Dean gave Verity his jersey.
AJ reached out and stroked my hair. “It’s morning. You spiraled, but once they moved you up here, they pulled you out pretty quickly.”
“Shit. How bad is it? Was it my kidneys or my heart? Did I have emergency surgery?” While I felt tired, I didn’t hurt. But I was hooked up to all sorts of monitors and an IV.
“You were so fucking lucky. You collapsed because of an infection, which meant they caught it, and could treat it. Fortunately, you woke up before Dean needed to give you a kidney or Verity tried bonding you to save your life.” AJ continued to run his hand through my hair.
“I would’ve been okay with both of those. Did the doctor suggest us bonding?” I looked down at Verity. A soft blanket covered us, but it looked like she was still wearing a jersey.
“That was a Mercy idea.” AJ shook his head. “Anyhow, you’re on antibiotics right now. You’ll be here a couple days, both for the IV drip, and to flush the blockers out of your system so they can run more tests. They’re keeping you on suppressants, so you don’t go into heat right now.”
Which was the last thing I needed.
“Wait, blockers? You had to tell the hospital.” Panic sliced through me. If they knew, it would go into my file. If it was in my file, it was public.
If it was public…
“Hey, hey, Gumdrop, it’s okay. We needed to get you the best care. Dr. Arya’s here, too.” Dean purred.
“Everyone’s going to know. Coach hasn’t helped me come up with a plan yet.” The purr wasn’t enough to stop me from hyperventilating. My designation was now in my file. But I didn’t blame them. Especially AJ.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” AJ’s purr, a rich tenor, added to Dean’s.
Another purr hit me right in the chest as Verity purred for me in her sweet, quiet way.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re alive, and with a couple lifestyle changes can continue to be healthy and live a full life, complete with hockey.” Jonas joined us, shoving himself on part of the bed by Dean. His basso rumble joined the purr ensemble.
Their purrs were sweeter than the finest string quartet, and I let them soothe me.
He was saying what I expected.
Still, I wanted to have control.
I wanted to play hockey.
