But the only thing I can see is that Baylor still hasn’t moved.
Ugh.
My head is throbbing.
What’s that beeping noise?
Shit, am I dead?
I feel like death, that’s for sure.
Blinking awake, I look around to find that I’m in a hospital room. Why am I here? Groaning from the pain in my head, I find my dad sitting by the window, chewing on his nails. A nervous habit of his. The noise I made must have gotten his attention because his eyes fill with relief as he looks over at me.
“Little 50,” he says softly before coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Dad,” I say as he leans over to kiss my head. “Ugh, my head hurts so bad. What the hell happened?”
“Wilkie took you out, Bay,” he says softly, pushing my hair out of my face. “They think it’s a concussion.”
Oh yeah, that’s right. Dude is a bull, and I loved having on my team. But playing him, yeah, that sucks. Okay, a concussion, that’s curable and I’ll heal, but that isn’t the issue anymore. “How long am I out?”
“They said it depends on you. They’ll probably come in to examine you soon. They wanted to wait till you were awake. I’m saying a week though, no matter what they say.”
Figures, and I know better than to argue with him. “Okay. It just aches right now. I’m not dizzy or anything.”
“That’s good.”
Next important thing. “Did we win?”
“Nope, couldn’t finish the game, so they called it a tie. But the whole team did get suspended, well, except you. But let’s be honest, you can’t win it on your own, so we have to forfeit the next game.”
“What?” I ask incredulously. “How?”
“They all jumped off the bench after Wilkie, but then Arkansas came off the bench too, so that’s why it’s only one game.”
“Seriously?” I ask, completely shocked. “Why in the hell?”
“For you, is the answer I got.”
“Huh?”
“I know, it’s crazy. This team, they are different,” he says softly. “They really are a family.”
That sends chills down my body, and I honestly can’t believe it. I’ve never had a
group of guys want to protect me like this, and I’ve been on a lot of hockey teams. “Wow,” is the only thing I can think to say.
“Yeah, I’m over here screaming at them, and the little Sinclair stands up and says, ‘She’s our sister, what do you expect?’” Dad then shakes his head. “I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even punish them. I let it go.”
Smiling, I decide that I want to keep Jace around. He’s good people.
“They are all outside. Waiting to make sure you’re okay.”
“All of them?”
“Yup,” he says, a grin pulling at his lips. “I’ll let them come in after the doctor comes in.”
And on cue, the doctor walks in and then I’m being examined. I want to say that I was paying attention, but I can’t stop thinking about the fact that my whole team is waiting to make sure I am okay. It’s just so mind-blowing to me that they care enough to not only get suspended but also to wait to make sure I am okay. I know that they’d do it for any of their other teammates, but I was so damn sure they all hated me.