Chapter 26
Thayer
Professionally, I needed to stay out there for Tommy. I needed to be at the player bench and be there for him if he needed something.
But…I needed to be with Ash.
It didn’t matter if I was there for the kid in the net–Ash was hurt, and I needed to be there for him.
I stayed long enough for play to start again before brushing past Reed and down to the tunnel, ignoring his call of my name. I should have been there for Ash when he first got off that ice and started crying, but that would have meant breaking our deal.
Fuck–I still should have done it.
He was probably so scared and sad.
Finding two of the three trainers I left him with outside the door was not a comforting sight. They were supposed to be in there and assessing him–making sure nothing else was hurt, so why the hell were they out here just talking?
“What’s wrong?” I asked harshly, surprising both of them enough to give me their full attention. “Why aren’t you assessing him–that’s your job?”
“He won't let us,” one of them answered, shrugging like that was just a perfectly fine answer. “He’s showing clear concussion symptoms–we’re sending him to the hospital.”
My stomach dropped, twisting the longer they spoke so casually about Ash being in pain.
“What do you mean he won't let you?” I asked angrily, my glare locked on him. “If he has a concussion, then he has no way of fighting you off–”
“We’ve tried– he panics every time. He’ll hurt himself more if we keep trying,” the other one interjected, a hand between us, like he was worried I’d put my hands on his buddy…
He wasn’t wrong to think that.
“He’s all closed off and crying anytime someone touches him– we have one guy in there just watching him to make sure he doesn’t choke on his own vomit, but he’s inconsolable,” the guy finished, scoffing when I moved through them and into the door.
Because an inconsolable Ash– that I could fix.
When I walked in, I wanted to cave in on myself.
Ash was hugging himself and crying, his face all twisted up and red–he looked miserable. I quickly turned around and found the light switches, turning off most of them until just one light at the far end of the room remained on.
“You didn’t think the light might be a problem?” I asked irritably, grabbing a stool and moving it to the end of the bed Ash was lying on, next to his head.
“We tried turning off the lights already–no change,” the trainer sighed, pushing off the wall he’d so casually been leaning against to take a seat next to Ash. “I’ve never met a kid with strong enough will to fight off help while concussed–it's almost impressive.”
“He’s an impressive guy,” I mumbled, taking a seat and resting my hand on Ash’s head.
Ash let out a whimper that caused a new crack in my heart, reaching up to cover my hand with his like he was scared it would go away. “You’re okay, baby,” I whispered, kissing the side of his head that didn’t get smacked into ice.
From the corner of my eye, the trainer went a little stiff, clearly unprepared for what just happened. I couldn’t have cared less what he thought, gesturing at the ice on the counter to hold it against Ash’s head while he unfurled slowly.
Slowly, but surely, Ash let the trainer look him over and found no more injuries. He would still have to go to the hospital, but at least there were no broken bones to worry about.
Ash settled more the longer I was there, only getting worked up again when it was time for him to go to the hospital. I would have stayed with him and gone, but the way Reed was eyeing me had me staying behind.
And the doctors wouldn't let me near Ash until they got him looked at anyway.
“Hey, I-”
“It’s Ash, right?” Reed asked quietly, pulling me into his office quickly to talk. “The man you’re dating–it’s Ash.”
It wasn’t a question anymore.
My heart stuttered in my chest.
I was fine with accepting the consequences of this–I decided that the second I left the bench to go find Ash. Ash was worth more to me than a job I only took because I was bored with being retired.
My only concern was Ash.
And Ash’s reputation, so if this was where my role as his coach ended, so be it.
I wasn’t letting my boy be marked as a victim or an opportunist–he was just a man who fell in love, and I was just a man with the wrong job when we collided.
“It is,” I answered, stiffening my spine to even just fake confidence now. “I’m sorry I lied to you about that, and I understand what this means now that you know–”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Reed asked, almost seeming more hurt than angry with me. “I just. I thought we were friends–I mean, I know we’re coworkers, and we have our own age gap…but I still thought we were friends.”
The worst part was that we were.
I hung out with Reed all the time–it used to make Ash really pouty when I’d get home late from hanging out with Reed. He never complained because he'd be out late with the team and come home drunk, horny, and handsy, but still.
Reed was very much my friend and the only person in my life I'd even slightly talked about Ash to. I wouldn't even tell my own mom more than just that I was dating someone because I didn’t want to explain that he was so young…
Or how I met him.
“I couldn’t,” I huffed, half-laughing at how easy that seemed to him. “You were his coach, too, Reed–I didn't want him being looked at like a victim or like he was trying to get a leg up on anyone. We are friends–I feel that, too, but you have to see why I couldn't tell you this.”
Reed just scoffed, shocked that I wouldn’t just buckle and apologize for betraying our friendship.
“Look, fire me, don’t–I really don’t care. Ash is hurt, and that’s my priority.”
Reed opened his mouth, then closed it again. Without another word, I turned, left, and didn't look back.
We may have been friends, but Ash was everything.
The love of my life, and he needed me.