“He'll be okay,” Piper reassured me, but even I could hear the doubt in her voice.
Please get up, so you can keep being a jerk your whole life. I won't even complain about it anymore. Please, just be okay.
The Blizzard team doctor ran along the ice, dodging fist-fights and discarded equipment along the way, until he knelt next to Beau.
“I can't watch, it's too awful,” I said, burying my face against Piper's shoulder. “I'm a monster.”
She hugged me. “It's not your fault.”
Moments of agony passed. Finally, Piper broke the news.
“Hey Cammy, look. He's okay, he's getting up.”
I took a peek. There he was—climbing to his skates. He looked shaky, like a newborn calf trying to stand for the first time. A river of crimson flowed from his face, splattered his jersey and spilled to the ice. The doctor thrust a towel into Beau's face to stop the bleeding.
Doubled-over at the waist, Beau glided slowly to the bench. Once he made it there, the doctor escorted him down the tunnel and away from the game.
Beau didnotlook alright.
“Serves that asshole right,” a fan nearby us said.
The person next to me wanted a high five. I gave that fan a dirty scowl instead.
Chapter 15
Busted Open
Beau
“Hurry,” I growled at the team doctor, Jordan, as he worked a needle in and out of the skin just above my eyebrow. “I need to get back out there.”
“Be still. I'm going as fast as I can,” Jordan reprimanded me. “But no matter how soon I get this done? No one's letting you out there until you pass a concussion screening.”
“What the fuck for? I'm fine.”
“You looked awfully shaky out there, Beau.”
“Yeah, I just got myfacerammed into the glass.”
“Which is why the league will make you pass concussion protocols,” Jordan answered.
“But I'm telling you, I'm fine.”
Jordan shrugged.
In his eyes, it wasn't up for debate. And maybe that was a good thing. Because the truth was? The hit from Leroux fucked me up, and yeah, I was still a little dazed. But I've had my bell rung enough to know this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
The worst part of that hit was that it happened right in front of Camille. I'd just spotted her for the first time tonight—and my heart jumped into my throat. Not only did she come to the game after all, she dressed a little gothic, like she used to way back when.
Surely that wasn't a coincidence. Was she sending me a message? Did she wanna hook up again tonight?
Then I noticed that middle finger she held waiting for me, right between her boobs.Welp. Guess not.
And then, well, the next thing I knew, my face was plastered into the glass, everything went black, and I woke up on the ice. When I finally got up again, I was seeing double. But even that wasn't so bad—I sawtwoCamilles behind the glass.
Jordan finished sewing me up and gave the wound a healthy dousing of iodine. “There we go. All patched up. So the league's sending their concussion-spotter down to check you out. Gonna be a few minutes before he gets here, andifyou pass all his tests, you'll be good to go back out there.”
“Alright. Hey, Jordan, you mind getting me my cell phone? I should probably tell my Mom I'm alright. She watches every game and she's probably freaking out right now.”
