Page 78 of Between Control and Chaos
If it’s supposed to be an inspiring speech, it’s clearly lacking. The assistant coach whispers something into his ear and any light in his eyes vanishes when he stares at me. The bottom of my stomach drops, based solely on the ghastly expression.
“Luca, a word,” coach says, and between his tone and the fact he’s calling me out by my first name, it’s like spiders crawling along my spine.
The rest of the team heads out of the locker room for the ice. Ashton glances back at me. I nod for him to go.
“What is it?” I ask. “Is it Harper? Zeke?”
Coach rests his hands on my shoulders. “Take a minute to breathe. It’s probably nothing, just precautionary, but your wife is being taken to the hospital right now.”
“Since when is going to the hospital precautionary?” I pull out of his grasp and start stripping out of my gear. If he’s expecting me to play right now, he’s sorely mistaken.
“Go be with your wife,” Coach says and pats me on the back before he heads out with the team.
My helmet, skates, that sort of stuff, I leave beside my locker. I chance a glance out into the hallway. Thankfully, Bristol, Kensley, and Sophia are waiting.
“What the hell’s going on?”
“Daddy!” Zeke says and reaches for me out of Bristol’s arms.
I take him and he makes a face. “You stink.”
“I need to shower,” I grumble, turning my attention to the girls, waiting for them to inform me on what is going on with Harper.
“She’s bleeding,” Bristol says, her voice soft, tentative, almost like she’s afraid to break the news.
“What? Where? How’d she get hurt?” I race with the questions, needing to know what we’re dealing with. Did some asshole in the stands pick a fight with her? I hadn’t seen anything happen, but I’d been in the locker room, what had I missed?
“She’s pregnant,” Sophia voices.
It hits me like getting the wind knocked out of me on the ice. I hand Zeke back to the girls, and he chooses Bristol to climb into her arms.
“I’ve got to shower real fast and get out of my jersey. Give me five minutes.” I don’t wait to hear their response as I hightail my ass back into the locker room.
I’m done with my shower in three minutes, the water chilly when I jump in, but I don’t care. I don’t wait for it to warm before I soap up my body and wash my hair. I towel dry and dress, slipping on my tennis shoes as I’m walking out of the locker room a second time in a matter of minutes.
There’s only one hospital near the university. I don’t have to ask any of the girls where Harper was taken.
Bristol and Sophia offer to watch Zeke for me. I’m not even sure if they’ll let me bring him into the emergency room with me.
It feels like forever with the uncertainty and worry. I jog back to the house to pick up my car. At least we played at home tonight. Guilt ebbs at me for abandoning the team, but my wife, Harper, she always comes first.
I park outside the emergency room in the visitor lot and hurry in through the double doors, demanding to know where they took my wife. There’s a lot of confusion and being told to sit and wait for someone, which doesn’t help my fraught nerves.
“No!” I demand, needing to see her. “Was she brought in yet? She was coming via ambulance.”
“The hospital doesn’t have her name yet, but she could still be in the back being admitted,” the woman at the front desk says.
“I’m her husband. Can’t you go look?”
They don’t buzz me back and the doors have security locks, so I can’t just walk in against orders, because if I could, I’d already be in the back with Harper.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you’re going to have to take a seat in our waiting area. As soon as we have more information, we’ll let you know.”
“Please, she’s pregnant,” I say, pleading with the woman at the desk. “Can’t you get up and check to see if she’s here? Please. I’m sure she’s frightened and scared to be alone.”
An officer stalks up to the desk. “Everything all right here?” he asks, glancing me over.
Is it that obvious I’m frazzled? The last thing I want is to get kicked out of this place.
