CHAPTER 44
Hutch
It’s beena week of sitting in this chair, watching as medical staff come and go, assessing, assuring, worried. Barry’s been by several times, but he hasn’t said a single word about me missing practice or the three games the team has played since Daisy’s attack. I think he understands I’ll quit before I leave her side.
There’s been a revolving door of visitors. Collin made me take a shower a few days ago. The clothes I have on are starting to stink. I need a new change of clothes and another shower, but the thought of moving my ass out of this chair and her possibly dying while I’m off showering or getting food is debilitating. I can’t do it.
Collin has been going to practice and all the games except the first one we both missed. I made him get his ass there. One of us needs a job after this to pay for shit. And he needs to get his family back to the states. Can’t do that without money. If he’s not at practice or at a game, he’s here. Which I appreciate.
“Who are you?”
My head turns to see a man wearing jeans and a t-shirt standing there. His hair is dark, but his green eyes are on the lighter side with a hint of gold in them.
“I’m Hutch. Who the fuck are you and how did you get in this room?”
“I’m Senior Airman Robert Canton and I think the question remains, who the fuck are you?”
“Daisy’s brother.” I let out a long breath, letting my muscles relax. I’d been prepared to beat his ass if he was in any way related to asswipe. “Sorry about that.”
He studies me but says nothing, waiting on an answer to his question.
“I’m Jonathan Hutchinson, her boyfriend who the hospital thinks is her fiancé so I could be in here and not leave her alone.”
“She told me about you.” He comes into the room and stops next to the chair I’m sitting in. “What the hell happened? They told me she was in the hospital and in critical condition, but no one said she was like this. I assumed she was in a car accident or something.”
“You remember Joseph Ayers?”
The calm and confusion washes away at the sound of the name and Robbie’s eyes go hard and his expression downright lethal.
“Are you telling me he did this?” His tone is so soft, I almost don’t hear him.
“Yes. She filed a restraining order under seal, but we think someone at the courthouse leaked it to the NFL and they asked him to withdraw from the draft. This was his response.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Get in line,” I mutter. “They charged him with first degree attempted murder, kidnapping, and a whole bunch of other charges related to Daisy, Will, and Lucy. Given who he is, they did give him bail, but it was three million dollars. As far as Iknow his ass is still sitting in jail because his parents don’t have the three hundred thousand necessary to bail him out.”
“Lucy?” Robbie frowns. “Lucy’s in California.”
“She was here for a charity basketball game. He surprised them all in the parking garage across from Lucy’s hotel while I was still in a game at the arena. He almost killed them all.”
“Lucy still in the hospital?”
I shake my head. “She went home with her parents a few days ago.”
“The cops here decent?”
“So far. No one’s let him just walk out, which is more than the fuckers in West Virginia did.”
“Tell me what’s wrong with her.”
I give him the rundown of all her injuries, including the surgery she underwent yesterday to repair her hand. “There’s fifteen pins from her fingers through her wrist to hold the bones together in places. They won’t know about nerve damage until the hand is out of the cast, and she tries to use it. Right now, the biggest worry is neuro. We don’t know how long she was without oxygen and blood to her brain. It’s up in the air until they bring her out of the medically induced coma.”
He scrubs a hand across his face. “Fuck me. Is she any better at all?”
“She’s still breathing man. That’s all I can ask for right now, but her vitals are steady and they’re talking about taking her off the vent today to see how her lung functions.”
He goes and drops into the other chair. “How did she even fucking survive all that?”
