Best Of Both Worlds (Colorado Black Diamonds #4)

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

NOAH

“ I s there anything you need?” Mom asks, not for the first time this week.

“I’m okay.”

I lean back, trying to adjust my pillow, but moving my arm makes my entire body ache. I try to hide the pain, but Mom is better than that. It’s like she has an eagle eye for any kind of physical pain her children might be in.

“You’re not. Do you need more pain meds?”

The last thing I want is to be in a drug-induced stupor. I was in and out of it all last week, and I don’t want to feel like that again. Even though my shoulder and head are down to a dull throb, I’d rather suck it up and deal with it than be on more meds.

“I don’t want them, Mom.”

“Should we check with the doctor?”

Mom is pressing the buzzer on the side of my bed before I even have a chance to tell her no. Dad is still sitting in the corner, trying not to laugh.

It’s not like I can blame her for fussing. I’ve only been given a brief recap of what happened out there on the ice and that’s it. From the sound of it, I don’t want to see the footage of me going down.

The nurse, Kyla, strides into the room with purpose. She’s been one of my main nurses during the day, and has kept me sane. Hopefully I’ll only be here a few more days.

“Everything okay in here?” she asks, checking my stats.

“I’m fine.”

“He’s in pain.”

My mom and I answer at the same time.

“Do you want anything, Noah?” Kyla asks.

“I don’t.” I adjust ever so slightly to face my mom. Her face has been showing nothing but worry for the last however many days I’ve been in the hospital. Trying to count the days is too much. “Mom, do you think you could maybe go to the cafeteria and get me something to eat?”

“Is that okay?” she asks Kyla.

“That’s more than fine.” Kyla shoots a wink in my direction.

“Okay. I’ll be back.” Mom drops a kiss on my cheek before leaving the room.

“Just buzz if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Kyla.”

“And for what it’s worth, the team is going to miss you.”

“Wait, what?” I do a double take at her words, a fierce slice of pain cutting through my head.

She looks chagrined. “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?” I look to Dad, and he’s scrubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Crap,” Kyla mutters. “I thought someone would have told you by now.”

“Told me what?”

“The team put you on IR,” Dad tells me, walking over to my side of the bed.

“Fuck.” I close my eyes, thinking of the implications of this.

I hear the door click shut and peek one eye open. It’s just me and my dad in here now. I hate that I’m in the hospital. For the second time in three years, my playing time has been cut short.

Am I jinxed? Am I not meant to play? Why the hell does this keep happening to me?”

“Look at me, Noah.” Dad’s voice is hard, telling me I better listen. Even though I’m over thirty, if I don’t listen, I still feel like I could get grounded.

Is that a feeling that ever goes away?

“It’s not the end of the world. I promise you that.”

“Why does it feel like it is?” My voice shakes.

“It happened to me. Trust me, it wasn’t.”

“But this is the second time this has happened to me. What if?—”

“Hey.” Dad clasps my forearm that’s resting on the bed. “You can’t play the what-if game. It’s not going to get you anywhere.”

I want to bang my head against the pillows, but I can’t. It seems like I can’t do much of anything these days except lie in a hospital bed.

And I fucking hate it.

“What good am I to the team if I’m on IR? My knee injury and now this? It fucking sucks, Dad. All I want to do is play and I can’t do that. So sorry if I can’t see the bright side right now.”

Dad smirks. “It’s a good thing your mom isn’t here to hear you say that.”

“Well, it does.”

“Injured reserved means the team doesn’t want to risk you hurting yourself any more. They care about your future with the team and want to make sure you come back better than ever next year.”

“Really?” I scoff. “And what if I can’t come back next year? What if this is the injury that finally takes me out?”

The lights are starting to become too bright. This is what sucks. I’ll be feeling okay for a little while, but then the headache will come back and knock me on my ass. The doctor said this could happen for at least a few weeks.

Then why am I surprised I’m on IR?

I only hope these mood swings won’t last forever. I’m tired of feeling like this.

Dad nods. “I know it might not be the easiest thing to hear, but you need to take this time to heal. To get your head and your body in the right space to be able to rehab and come back next year.”

“I want to tell you you’re right.” I sigh.

“It can be hard to admit. When all we want to do is play the game we love, it can suck to be sidelined.”

Some of my earliest memories are of going to the games to watch my dad play. I wasn’t around for when he was injured, but after the Mountain Lions Super Bowl when my sister was born, he retired. Said it was time. He wanted to put family first. It was around the time that I took to hockey, and he became my biggest fan. Just like I was for him out on the field. My dad could do no wrong in my eyes. Having that support system made it easy to adapt to the NHL.

But for how much longer?

“You know,” Dad starts, “IR was the best thing that ever could have happened to me.”

“You don’t need to try and make me feel better about it.”

“I’m not. If I hadn’t been injured, your mom wouldn’t have come to help me rehab and keep an eye on me, and I never would’ve realized that we were meant for each other.”

“Really?”

Dad nods. “Really. Best fucking thing to ever happen to me. If it weren’t for that asshole who took me out again during the game, I might never have realized how much I love your mother. You and Piper wouldn’t be here, and that’s not a world I want to live in. You, your mom, and your sister are everything to me.”

Closing my eyes, I try to hold back the tears. I knew that my dad’s injury brought them together, but hearing how much he loves her? Loves us? It’s more than I can stomach right about now.

My heart is bruised and battered more than my head and shoulder. Because in my moment of need, the man I was falling for pushed me away.

I have no idea how he’s feeling because I haven’t seen him since that fateful night. Sure, I’ve gotten a few texts checking in on how I’m feeling, but that’s it.

Or so I’m told. Because Mom took my phone away and won’t let me have it.

Even though he pushed me away, I still want him here for the exact reasons my dad just said. I want someone to hold my hand and tell me it’s all going to work out. That I’ll be able to rejoin the team next season without missing a beat.

Even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. Everything is too raw and uncertain. Taking a deep breath, I try to push down those feelings and give my head a break.

“I think I need sleep,” I mumble, not opening my eyes.

“We’ll be here when you wake up.”

The warmth of my dad’s hand covering mine is the balm I need to keep my frayed nerves in check. Everything about these last few days has stirred up more inside me than I ever cared to admit.

I was falling for Graham. Hell, I fell harder for him than any man I’ve ever met. So much for keeping it to a friends-with-benefits situation.

Muffled sounds hit my ears as the room door opens and closes.

“Is he sleeping?” Mom’s voice is there, but I don’t hear the answer. Only my dad’s words to her.

“I love you, Tenley. More than you’ll ever know.”

Those are the last words I hear as sleep once again takes me under.