Chapter 20
Despite how manytimes I watch Ralphie play, I still haven’t gotten used to the fighting. I don’t know if I am overly sensitive from the last few days or if the game is rougher than usual, but I am on pins and needles watching Ralphie and another player face off.
They have been in each other’s faces since the puck dropped and haven’t let up. It’s near the end of the second period, and the pair are pressed into the boards, fighting for the puck. I sigh in relief when another Crush player joins, but they are quickly met by someone else from Vegas.
I watch as Ralphie”s helmet flies off at the exact moment the puck flies out of the fray. Instead of ending the fight, though, the opposing player brings up his stick and hits Ralphie in the head.
My heart stutters as everyone freezes on the ice. When Ralphie hits the ground, all hell breaks loose. Connor pushes the offending player away from Ralphie as players from both teams barrel toward the action, dropping their gloves on the way. As a fistfight ensues, refs struggle to break it up as they signal for the medic team to come onto the ice.
I hold my breath as they load Ralphie onto a gurney and whisk him back to the locker room or wherever the hell they take injured players. My heart beats wildly in my chest as I consider my next move. If I had gone to the game, I could go down and see him, but I don’t know what to do now.
He wasn’t moving or seemingly conscious the last time he was shown on the screen. The ice was engulfed in chaos, but I heard the announcers state his status as unknown. He has to be okay, right? Hockey is dangerous, but it isn’t life or death. At least, it isn’t supposed to be.
Jolting from my spot on the couch, I scramble to get on my shoes and grab my keys. As I run out my door, I realize I don’t know where to go. Getting to the stadium at this time of night will take forever, and for all I know, they’re sending him to the hospital. My frantic Googling of ‘what happens when hockey players pass out’ is interrupted by a call from Tabby.
“Morgan, did you see?”
“Yes! Is he okay? Have you heard anything? Is he still there?”
“Take a breath, girl. They’re taking him to USC Medical Center. That’s where I work. I’ll meet you there.”
“Is he awake?” My voice cracks as I ask.
“I don’t know. But he’ll be okay. The team doctors are fantastic.”
I arriveat the hospital in a panic. After driving in circles for fifteen minutes to find parking, my hackles rise as Veronica’s unwelcome face greets me in the waiting room.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m the captain’s wife. It’s my job to ensure all the players are cared for, especially when they don’t have partners or family nearby.”
“He has a partner.”
“So you say. I’m honestly surprised you made it. Since I didn’t see you at the game, I assumed you were gallivanting across the midwest or serving shots to B-list actors.”
I am momentarily shocked by her outright vitriol. I don’t know what has made her turn from passive to cruel, but I do not have time for her mean-girl antics.
“I don’t know what your problem is with me, nor do I care. I am in a relationship with Ralphie. Not the Crush. Not you. How I spend my free time is not anyone’s business but his. I am not going to let your bitchy attitude influence how I spend it.
“I understand your apprehension of letting a new girl into your little club, especially one that doesn’t fit your mold. But I also don’t care. I am here because my man is hurt, and no one is going to stop me from checking on him, least of all you.”
Her mouth gapes open, but my worry over Ralphie supersedes my ability to enjoy the sight. “If you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to do than defend myself to a wannabe First Lady, pick me girl.”
With that, I turn on my heel and search for the trauma unit. I finally reach the right place, only to be stopped by the charge nurse.
“What do you mean you can’t confirm or deny if Radek Nokavik is awake?!”
“Exactly what I said, ma’am,” the nurse calmly explains. “We are only allowed to update next of kin on a patient’s status.”
“Can I see him?”
“Unfortunately, we can’t allow anyone to see him who isn’t on the team’s approved visitors list.”
“But I’m his girlfriend,” I argue.
“You might be, but there isn’t a way to prove that for sure or that he would want you here.”
“He doesn’t want me here?”
“That isn’t what she’s saying,” a familiar voice interrupts. Turning, Tabby engulfs me in a hug. “Hi, Mary.”
“Tabitha, what are you doing here on your off day?”
“I came to check on Radek. I believe I’m on the approved list?”
“You are?” Mary and I say at the same time.
“Yep. His agent is the emergency contact, but he isn’t always available. Considering his friends are all on the team and still playing, that leaves me. It helps that I’m a nurse, too.” She runs a soothing hand down my arm and addresses me directly. “I’m sure he will switch it to you after this.”
Mary studies us both apprehensively. “I was told specifically not to let Ms. Becker through.”
“By who?”
“Mr. Svoboda.”
Fucking Andre. Why would he want to keep me away from Ralphie, especially when he’s injured?
“I understand,” Tabby replies.
“You do?” My mouth parts, shocked my friend isn’t taking my side. The wide eyes she shoots be silent further protests.
“Of course, she is not going to tell you where Ralphie is. But she is going to tell me. If you happen to follow me to the room, there is nothing she can do about it. Right, Mary?”
“Absolutely. As his backup emergency contact, Tabby has every right to visit Mr. Nokavik in 802.”
When we reach his room, we hear raised voices from the other side. I move to enter, but Tabby stops me.
“Wait. This sounds important.”
“Who is it?”
“One guess,” she replies with a scrunch of her nose. Andre, of course. Pushing the handle lightly, she cracks the door enough for us to hear an epic blowout where Andre all but admits to not only sending a naked woman to Ralphie’s hotel room but also planting stories about me in the press.
Ralphie may have thought he shielded me from the tabloid hit pieces, but I saw them. They didn’t affect me nearly as much as the shit going on in my own head. I let him think I didn”t know about them because the way he tried to protect me from them made me realize how deeply I love him.
I’ve never been in love before. I thought I loved my high school boyfriend. I said I loved the guy I dated for six months when I was twenty, but none of my past relationships compare to what I feel for Ralphie. His devotion and care split my heart and put it back together every day. I know we haven’t been together long, but there is nothing I wouldn’t do for this man, including putting up with a lifetime of his slimy agent, but it sounds like I won’t have to.
When things get too heated, Tabby charges in like the boss bitch she is. Andre storms out, but my gaze is locked on Ralphie. He looks both fragile and mighty in his hospital gown. All I want to do is go to him, but I’m afraid of making his injuries worse.
He says something to me, but my mind replays seeing him hit the ice. When I can’t take the visual anymore, I slam my eyes shut and whisper, “You got hurt.”