I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She clawed the shit out of her throat, trying to breathe in the middle of her panic attack. That was the blood Braxton must have seen.”
“Jesus. And I thought it was bad when we flew to Florida, and they almost had to make an emergency landing for her.”
Ah. Spring break. It made sense now.
“Can I talk to her, please? Just to know she’s okay?” There was a desperation in Dakota’s voice.
I pulled the phone away from my face, addressing Bristol. “She wants to talk to you.”
Dr. Sanders had just finished placing the last of the bandages. He squeezed gently on Bristol’s shoulder. “Make sure to keep them clean and dry. There will be a pharmacy down the block from our hotel. I suggest picking up a tube of antibiotic ointment. Should help minimize any chance of scarring.”
Bristol ducked her head. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to do that.”
He stood up straight before removing his gloves. “I’ll see you on the bus, you two.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I moved out of his way so he could leave the building.
As soon as he was gone, I held the phone in Bristol’s direction. “Do you want to talk to her? Or should I tell her you’ll call her later?”
Resigned, Bristol raised her palm, curling her fingers in agimmemotion. Our fingers brushed as I transferred the phone into her grasp, and I felt the connection travel up my arm, settling over my heart. I knew then that I couldn’t walk away from this girl if I tried. There was something deeper to be discovered between us, and I was curious to find out what that was.
Bristol placed the phone to her ear. “Hey, babe. I’m fine.”
She sighed while listening to whatever her best friend had to say on the other end of the line.
“Yeah.” Her baby blues shifted to peer up at me. “Actually, Maddox was able to settle me.”
I congratulated myself on the small victory of hearing her say my name, but it was short-lived when I saw the defeated expression on her face.
“No. You don’t need to come out here. I’ll be home tomorrow night.” She nodded. “I’ll figure it out. I have to.” There was no doubt she was trying to quell Dakota’s concerns about how she would complete the season with all the air travel required by the team and the press. “Okay. Love you too. Bye.”
Bristol’s lungs filled with a deep breath, which she held in for a moment before slowly releasing as her eyes slid closed.
I sat on the coffee table as Alyssa had done not long ago, pulling her hands into mine. That shocked her enough that her eyes sprang open before they narrowed in distrust. Hadn’t I shown she could count on me back on the plane? I guess I would have to keep showing up, proving my worth, until she believed I wasn’t going to let her down.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Have you ever tried something aimed at taking the edge off? You’re not the first nervous flyer to ever take to the skies.”
Bristol pulled her hands away, and I mourned the loss of her touch. “Simple anxiety meds aren’t enough. They don’t touch my extreme level of panic. A stronger sedative would have left me incapacitated on such a short flight. It would seem I’m caught between a rock and a hard place as most of our travel is two hours or less in the air.”
She was right. Even on our West Coast trips, the longest leg was the first and last, but we usually hunkered down, hitting multiple teams that were close together before returning home.
“Did talking to me—letting me distract you with conversation—and having a hand to hold help?”
Pink spread from beneath her bandages and onto her cheeks. “Yeah.”
I threw my arms wide. “Then I’m happy to offer my services when we travel.”
She let out a puff of air in exasperation. “I can’t ask you to do that. Besides, what would everyone think?”
“Fuck everyone else.” She gave me a disapproving glare. “I’m serious. Is sitting beside me and having an innocent conversation more embarrassing than having a large crowd watch you inflict bodily harm on yourself as you struggle to achieve the most basic human function of breathing?”
Dropping her head into her hands, Bristol’s response was muffled. “No.”
“Then it’s settled. You’ll be my new seat partner for as long as you remain with the team.”
