Right as Raine (Aster Valley 1)

My entire body flooded with fear until I gagged with it. “Mikey, I croaked. “My… my Mikey. Is he okay? Is he…?”

“Sir, two hit-and-run casualties are being taken to Aster Valley Emergency. That’s all I can tell you at this time.”

“Is he—” The call cut off so quickly, I grunted in surprise. I tried calling it back, but there was no answer. “Fuck!” I shouted, wanting to hurl my phone across the room in helpless frustration.

Suddenly, I realized I was wasting time. I shot to my feet and grabbed my bag out of my locker cubby before bolting toward the door. A shout of “Where the hell are you going?” rang out as I sailed by. Markus tried to stop me, to tell me I needed to dress out in my uniform for the game, but I shoved him away. “Stop!” he tried again, so I spun around to face him.

“I’m going to Colorado. If you think this game is more important to me than that man, you’re mistaken,” I hissed at him. “And if Coach wants to fight me on this, I’m happy to trot out all of the medical specialists who advised me against playing. Now, go get Coach and tell him his son has been in an accident.”

Antone’s eyes were big. He stepped up next to Markus and shook his head. “No fucking way, man. We’ve been through this before. When we were in the playoffs against the Broncos—this was before you—his boy Eddie was in a motorcycle accident. Broke his tibia and needed surgery. We interrupted the game to tell Coach about it, and he still hasn’t forgiven us. We lost by one point. He made it very clear that as long as Eddie was in good hands with the right medical care, there was no reason to interrupt the game. Fretting at his bedside could wait. Those were his exact words. Mikey understands that. He understands there’s nothing Coach can do to help him in a hospital. He’s no doctor.”

Markus nodded. Even our kicker, old-timer Trace Elliott, nodded aggressively over Markus’s shoulder. “He’s right. Coach will fuck you up if you bring him this shit right now.”

I stared at them, unable to grasp not wanting to know if my child was okay or not.

Markus continued. “What I’m saying is, Mikey will understand if you get to his hospital bed at midnight instead of eight. What’s the difference?” He frowned and reached for his phone. “I’ll find someone to go be with him.”

I yanked his phone out of his hand and was about to throw it on the floor when I had an idea. “Not necessary. There’s nothing you can say to stop me from going to see Mikey right now.” I tried to say it in a calm voice, but I didn’t feel one speck of calm on the inside. I felt terrified and angry. Terrified for Mikey and so damned angry that his parents wouldn’t feel the same sense of urgency to get to him.

I hoped he never found out. My heart broke for him. He thought my dad placed too much emphasis on football, but it was nothing like this.

I made eye contact with Markus as I handed him back his phone. “You need to do whatever it takes to get me on a private jet from Buffalo to Aster Valley, Colorado, ASAP. If you do this for me, I will forgive you for telling me not to do this.”

His jaw ticked for a beat before he nodded and took the phone.

I bolted out of the stadium while arranging for a ride on an app. As soon as that was done, I dialed Winter Waites.

“Hey, Tiller. I hope this means they’re not playing you tonight.” He sounded happy and relaxed which meant he didn’t know what had happened.

“I need your help. Mike—” My voice cracked. I swallowed and banged the phone against my forehead before trying again. “Mikey was in some kind of accident in front of Truman’s shop. He’s being taken to the hospital. Can you… can—” I sucked in a breath.

His voice was all business when he cut in. “Yes. I’m on my way there right now. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what’s going on.”

“Thank you.”

“Hang in there, okay? He’ll be in good hands. It’s a regional hospital, but it’s top-notch. And they have a helicopter if he needs to go somewhere else.”

I nodded and hung up before dialing my mom. Meanwhile, my car pulled up and I hopped in, grateful the app already told the driver where to take me.

“Honey, I thought you were playing in the game tonight?” Mom asked when she answered. “Your father’s all set up in the den already, watching the pregame.”

“Something’s happened. Can you go to Aster Valley? Mikey’s been in some kind of accident.”