22. Nicole
NICOLE
I’m nervous. Not about the game but about being here.
I keep telling myself I made the right decision and that coming to San Antonio to tell Guy I love him too makes sense.
I didn’t get a lot of sleep because I kept thinking I was going to call him and tell him, but I thought this was something I should do in person.
I didn’t call and tell him I was coming because I wanted this to be a surprise. My stomach is doing flip-flops as the game gets started. I’m wearing my Jasper Bears jersey with my last name on the back of it, and I’m sitting in the very back row of the family section.
I’m holding my breath when I see Guy come up for his first at bat, and I can see he’s still wearing my hair tie on his wrist. I lean forward in my seat and watch as he steps into the box.
He adjusts his gloves, taps the bat once against the plate, then looks toward the pitcher.
The first pitch is way inside, and he has to step back to avoid getting hit.
Ball one. My eyes round when I see the speed was a hundred miles per hour.
From here, it looks like the second pitch is on the corner of the base. The umpire yells out, “Strike!”
Guy steps back out of the box, does a few practice swings, takes a breath, then gets back into position. The pitcher throws the next pitch, and it’s so fast, I barely see it. I hear the crack, and it’s like one big gasp as the stadium reacts. I’m on my feet, hands to my mouth, watching in horror.
It all happened so fast, I’m not sure where exactly the ball hit him, but he’s on the ground, and he’s not getting up. I have never in my life been somewhere with so many thousands of people and there be no sound.
I scream his name. “Guy!”
He still isn’t moving, and then all of a sudden his team and coaches are running. I search for the team doctor, and he’s sprinting across the field. I hear the sirens for an ambulance, and I hold my breath. Oh my God! He’s hurt. Guy is really hurt… and I didn’t tell him how I feel.
I wrap my arms around myself and whisper, “Get up. Please get up.” But all I can see are people hovering over Guy. I tilt my head backwards and close my eyes, pleading, “Please, Guy, I need you to be okay.”
My heart is racing so hard it feels as if it’s coming out of my chest. It feels like I’m standing here for hours when it’s probably only a few seconds. When two men carrying a stretcher come onto the field, I shake my head. “No.”
People start talking all around me, but I can’t take my eyes off Guy lying on the field.
They lift him onto the stretcher, but his face is turned the other way, and I can’t see if he’s conscious or not.
I know it’s bad, and I start moving. I push my way down the row, mumbling apologies as people shift out of my way.
By the time I reach the concourse, I’m running.
I run down the stairs and lean over the fence to the bull pen. “Dad!” I scream.
He rises up and looks at me. He’s surprised to see me, and he waves at the security guard to let me closer. “What are you doing here, Nikki?”
I’m shaking. “Dad, I came to see Guy. Where are they taking him?” When he doesn’t answer right away, I ask him again, “Where? Where are they taking him?”
He puts his hands on the fence. “Calm down, honey.”
“Where are they taking him?”
Dad shakes his head. “I don’t know yet.”
I plead with him. “Find out. Please, can you find out?”
“Nikki—”
“Please,” I beg.
Dad nods. “Do you have a car?”
I nod.
He sucks in a breath and lets it out. “I’ll find out. Go to your car. I’ll text you as soon as I know.”
I nod. “I love you, Dad.” Then I run and don’t stop until I’m at the car. My hands are shaking, but I finally get the key into the ignition, and just as the car starts, my phone dings with a text.
Antonio Baptist. I’ll send room info when I have it.
I put the hospital name into the GPS, and as soon as the car starts saying the directions, I pull out of the parking lot.
It feels like it takes hours to get there, and I’m sure I hit every red light.
All I can think about is Guy lying on that stretcher, and it takes everything in me not to pull over and start bawling right here.
Why didn’t I tell him how I felt yesterday when he said he loved me?
Why? The thought hits me hard, and I know it’s something I’m going to regret forever.
By the time I pull into the emergency room parking lot, I’m barely able to hold myself together.
I run inside and go straight to the registration desk.
“Guy Brody. He was just brought in from the Bears game.”
She stares back at me, unconcerned. “Are you family?”
I hesitate and shake my head. “No.”
She goes back to looking at her computer, already dismissing me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any information.”
“Please… he’s my boyfriend and—”
She looks at me up and down and then shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”
I close my eyes and slowly back away from the desk. I move to the chairs and sit down. I keep checking my phone, but there’s nothing from my dad. I send him a text. Have you heard anything? I’m here and they won’t let me back.
I check my phone every thirty seconds, but nothing comes through. I try searching online, and all I can find are videos of the hit and word that Guy was taken to the hospital. An hour passes before my phone dings with another text from my dad.
Room 814. The trainer says concussion and they are checking the eye.
I’m on my feet before I finish the text.
The nurse at the registration desk is talking to someone with her back to me.
I move to the opposite wall and stand next to the door that has been opening and closing since I’ve been sitting here.
I wait for my move, and as soon as the door opens and someone walks through, I slip into the back.
With my head down, I walk down the hall, and when I find an elevator, I push the up button.
It opens almost immediately, and I push the button for the eighth floor.
When the doors open, I step out and look up and down the hall.
I see one of the trainers down the hall talking to a doctor, and I tip-toe closer, looking at the room numbers.
I stop outside room 814, and then as quietly as possible, I push open the door. The room is dim, and I see Guy, but he’s not alone.
Guy is lying completely still with his eyes closed, and a woman is standing next to the bed.
I walk closer. A machine is beeping in the corner, and I stop when the woman moves.
She lifts one finger to her mouth as if she’s telling me to be quiet, and it hits me, she’s not a nurse.
She picks up Guy’s hand that she is holding and brings it to her mouth.
I’m stunned when she kisses his knuckles and then gently lays his hand down on his stomach.
She comes around the bed and stands between Guy and me. “Can I help you?”
It’s then I realize that I’ve seen this woman before.
When I searched Guy online, this is the model that he was seeing before me.
It’s like a gallery of pictures go through my head.
The two of them at a charity benefit. Walking out of a hotel.
Sunbathing by the pool. My chest tightens. Why is she here?
I look past her to Guy, and he still hasn’t moved. “Is he going to be okay?” I ask.
She looks me and up and down, and she doesn’t even try to hide the disgust on her face. “Who are you?”
I ignore the question and ask her again, “Is he going to be okay?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and stares at me. She must realize I’m not leaving until I know something because she tilts her head and says, “The doctor said he has a concussion and needs time to heal, but he’s fine.”
I blow out a breath and search over what I can see of Guy. He has bandages over his left eye. “And his eye?”
She huffs impatiently. “No internal bleeding. It should be fine. Who are you?”
I wrap my arms around myself. I feel unsteady like the shock of it all is just now fully hitting me. “I’m… a friend.”
She holds her hand out and looks at her nails like she’s bored. “Well, I’m Katelyn. It was lucky I was at the game so I can be here for him.”
I’m clutching at straws, trying to figure out what she’s doing here. “Okay, well—”
But before I can get anything else out, she says, “Yeah, we had arranged to get together after the game.”
My mouth drops open. “Oh.”
She doesn’t seem to notice that my world just tilted on its axis. “But seriously, he doesn’t need to be bothered right now.”
I nod. I should tell her something, maybe say who I am and why I’m here.
Heck, I could tell her that Guy told me he loved me just yesterday, but I don’t do any of that.
I look at Guy lying on the bed, and it feels as if my heart is being ripped from my chest. It’s too late.
I should have confessed to him how I felt.
But now I’m wondering if it would have made a difference.
Was he planning to meet her before yesterday?
I start to sweat and feel hot all over. I cannot pass out here. How embarrassing would that be? This is exactly what I was afraid of. I knew that Guy Brody could break my heart, but I didn’t know it would be like this.
I take a step back. I look at Guy one more time and then take another step backward. Katelyn smiles at me, and I can’t take it. I leave before Guy even knows I’m here.