Page 134 of Full Tilt
“You. To feel you.”
Leaning forward, I brush another kiss across his mouth. Blowing softly against his lips. “That’s all you’re getting for now.”
He smiles like he already knows.
I go to hit Call on the button next to his bed, but he squeezes the one hand that’s still wrapped around his.
“Zach Evans.”
I cock my head to one side. He’s definitely confused, but I decide to play along.
“What about him, Tommy?”
He rolls his lips together, squeezing his eyes shut, like he’s trying to find words. “In my dream.”
“You dreamed about Zach Evans?”
Since he’s still in a neck brace, Tommy can’t nod. “Yes, and a table.”
I lean forward and run my hand through his hair. “You have had some crazy dreams.”
Tommy takes a deep breath, fighting to push out a sentence. “He told me I would be okay.”
I squeeze his hand. “And he was right. You are, and you will be.”
When Tommy closes his eyes and drifts into a sleep, I replace his oxygen mask and hit Call next to his bed.
But before I pick up my phone to text everyone and let them know he’s awake, something settles over me.
Was Tommy dreaming?
My gaze scans the room, searching for clues that Tommy’s dream was real.
Rounding the bed, I come to a full stop when I set my eyes on the low table we haven’t used on the other side of Tommy’s bed.
A puck sits alone. It has the Scorpions logo in the center, along with words and a name scrawled underneath.
Get well soon, Tommy.
—Zach Evans
“Holy shit,” I whisper to myself, turning the puck around in my hands.
A small tap rattles against the glass of Tommy’s door, and I spin around, expecting it to be his medical team.
It isn’t.
Zach Evans, dressed in a black Scorpions cap and jacket, stands on the other side of the door.
He smiles through the glass at Tommy and then gives me a quick salute before he’s gone.
I knew he was in town to watch the game, but I had no idea he was still in Brooklyn or how he got a chance to visit Tommy. I guess Coach Morgan or Jack could’ve signed him in, anticipating that he wanted to privately reach out to my boyfriend. I guess if there’s anyone who would understand what he is going through, then it’s Zach.
Another bridge rebuilt, Tommy.
When the doctor arrives and pushes through the door, I tell him that Tommy is now awake and set the puck down on the mattress next to his hand, retaking my usual spot beside him.
Leaning forward, I know he’s in a deep sleep, but I’m certain he can hear me better than ever before.
