Chapter 33 Ava
AVA
“Mmm, bacon.” The sweet, smoky scent fills the air, and my mouth begins to water.
I open my eyes to see Knox standing at the foot of the bed.
His joggers ride low on his hips, revealing the V-cut abs and bunny trail that regularly star in my fantasies, but it’s the wooden tray in his hands that gets me.
“If that’s breakfast in bed, I’m going to kiss you so hard. ”
He chuckles. “It is indeed. I made blueberry muffins.”
I sling an arm over my face and groan. “How do you do it? You played sixty minutes of knockdown, drag-out hockey, you spent half the night at the hospital, and somehow you still managed to get up before me and make breakfast? You can’t be human.
” I lift my arm to peek out at him. “Are you a robot? Because I feel like that would explain your stamina.”
“Sadly, no.” He moves around the bed and sets the tray down next to me. “But just imagine the possibilities.”
He pinches my thigh playfully, and I swat his hand away, gesturing to the tray. On it sit two glasses of juice and two plates, both of which are piled high with fluffy yellow eggs, crispy bacon, and golden-brown muffins that still have steam rising from the center.
“I love you, but nothing is getting between me and this meal. I’m famished and this food smells divine.”
Knox sits on the edge of the bed, and I take his hand in mine. “How’s Ollie?”
He gives me the rundown, and I struggle to process conflicting emotions. I’m relieved to hear Ollie’s in recovery, but his injuries are even worse than I thought, and the prospect of his career coming to an end makes me sick to my stomach.
Especially when there’s every possibility the accident could have been prevented.
“I have the two o’clock shift today,” Knox says. “I thought you might like to come with me.”
I’m nodding before he even finishes. “Of course. Even if he’s too tired to see us, it’ll be good for him to have people there who care about him. And I’m sure it will be a comfort to Frank too.”
“My thoughts exactly. We don’t play again until Wednesday, so I figure we can take the afternoon shift for the next few days to give him some relief.”
Knox hands me a fork and plate, but despite my earlier enthusiasm, I can’t seem to muster my appetite.
“Are you ready to talk about what happened with your father?” he asks, voice gentle.
Not even a little bit. Memories of last night come flooding back with a vengeance, and I rub my chest, trying to soothe the growing ache that’s taken up residence behind my ribs.
“I’d rather bury my head in the sand, but since that isn’t an option, we might as well get it over with.”
He lifts a forkful of eggs as if he’s making a toast. “That’s the spirit.”
“I don’t know how you can make light of this,” I say, pushing my own eggs around the plate.
“Sorry.” He lowers the fork. “I don’t actually think any of this is funny, but when things get too heavy, I have a tendency to use humor is a defensive mechanism.”
Of course. I should have guessed.
“It’s okay. It’s just…everything is such a mess, you know?
In just two months, I’ve managed to screw up my career and my family. That’s got to be some kind of record.
“Not everything is a mess.” Knox looks into my eyes, and the sincerity of his words nearly undoes me. “You and I are doing great, and we’ll get through this together.”
He’s right. Things with my dad may be rocky, and I may be unemployed, but I’ve still got Knox.
No, we still have each other, and that just might be the most valuable thing of all.
“It’s a long story,” I warn.
“I’ve got nowhere to be.” He picks up his plate and fork. “Let’s hear it.”
I tell him everything. About my ongoing trouble with Banks, about the good girl trap, about how I was concerned for Ollie and asked Banks to talk to him.
He listens patiently, never interrupting or offering suggestions, and when I get to the part about Banks firing me, he’s apoplectic.
“Are you shitting me right now? He turned Ollie away and then he had the audacity to fire you? At the hospital?”
His eyes look like they’re about to bug out of his head, but it’s probably not the best time to mention it, so I offer him a wry grin instead. “Evidently, he’s not receptive to feedback.”
“This is wrong on so, so many levels. I’m going to call Jonathan myself and—”
“There’s more.” I square my shoulders. “Banks saw us kissing in the parking lot a few weeks ago. He said that if I didn’t leave quietly, he’d let everyone know that I’d broken my contract by fraternizing with a player.
As luck would have it, my father walked out just in time to hear the part about us sleeping together. ”
“Fuck.” He shoves his fingers through his hair. “Did you tell him we’re serious about each other? Surely it would make a difference. It has to.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t get the chance. He said he couldn’t deal with me and that the team needed him.”
Knox stills, and the color drains from his face. “He said that to you?”
“Yes. And then he turned his back on me and walked away.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it. He was upset. There was so much going on with Ollie and emotions were running high.”
“It doesn’t matter, I—”
“Ava, it absolutely fucking matters. You matter. You’re his daughter. You should come first.”
A bitter laugh spills from my lips. “Try telling him that.”
“I’m going to fix this,” he says resolutely. The color returns to his face, a swath of crimson cutting a path across his cheeks and nose. “You’re going to get your job back, and I am going to fix things with your father, and then I’m going to fucking destroy Banks.”
My heart skips a beat, the fierceness in his tone doing unholy things to my body.
I push my plate aside and take his hand in mine.
“I love that you want to defend me, but maybe this is for the best. Working for the Gliders has been a dream come true, and I know the progress we’ve made is just the beginning, but I can’t go back to work for Banks.
Not after the things he’s said and done. ”
He nods slowly. “Okay, that’s fair, but we can’t let him get away with this.”
I throw up my hands. “There’s not much I can do. It’s his word against mine, and I’m not about to drag Ollie into the middle of this shitshow.”
Knox closes his eyes, thinking.
Or, maybe he’s counting to ten to calm himself down. It could be either.
When he opens his eyes, the warmth has returned. “Okay, let’s put Banks and your job aside for a minute. What about your dad? I think we should go see him today and talk this out. The longer we let it fester, the worse it’ll be.”
I spent a long time thinking about this last night, and Knox is right, the longer it drags on, the more likely it is to leave permanent scars, but the thing is, I don’t care.
No, that’s not right.
I care, and I still want to have a relationship with my father. It’s why I moved to Atlanta. But I’m tired, and I’m done chasing people and things that weren’t meant for me.
I’ve done everything I can to cultivate a relationship with my father, and at the first sign of trouble, he bailed.
He’s the one who wouldn’t hear me out. He’s the one who walked away.
Now, the puck is in his rink.
“You’re welcome to go see Adam, but I won’t be joining you.”
Knox’s face goes slack. “Why not?”
“He knows where to find me if he wants to talk.”
After all, he literally pays the rent.
The corner of Knox’s mouth twitches. “You’re just as stubborn as he is, you know that?”
I force a smile. “I guess that means I get it honestly.”
He eyes my untouched plate. “You need to eat, darlin’.”
He’s right. I’m emotionally drained and it’s going to be a long day, but I just don’t have it in me right now. “My appetite seems to have vanished.”
“If you want me to make you something else, just say the word.”
I lean forward and press a gentle kiss to his lips. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m just going to shower and get dressed. Two o’clock will be here before you know it.”
The trauma ward is busier today, more alive. The sharp tang of industrial cleaner still hangs in the air, but doctors and nurses move through the corridor with purpose, their wrinkled scrubs and tense whispers a testament to their life-saving work.
We pass a few other visitors as we make our way to Ollie’s room, and my unease grows with every step, anxiety twisting my belly.
Knox must sense it because he reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just nervous.”
He nods, understanding without needing further explanation.
When we reach Ollie’s room, Knox knocks softly on the door before pushing it open. “Hey, man. You up for some visitors?”
The sight that greets us stops me in my tracks.
Ollie looks so small.
It’s the first thought that crosses my mind, and I can’t shake it. Just days ago, he was a powerful athlete with a commanding presence on the ice, but now he’s been reduced to this fragile state.
He’s propped up in the hospital bed, surrounded by machines that beep and hum, doing god knows what.
His face is pale, almost gray, and there’s a bandage on his forehead that doesn’t quite cover the bruises on his temple.
There’s an IV in his arm and someone—probably the nurses—has tucked him in under a white knit blanket.
It’s only been two days since I last saw him, but he looks like he’s aged years.
When he sees us, he tries to smile, but the movement makes him wince, and the expression dies before it can fully form.
“Hey,” he manages, his voice rough and barely above a whisper.
I move to his bedside, my heart breaking at the state of him. “You don’t have to do that, Ollie. You don’t have to talk and smile, okay? Right now, your only job is to rest and heal.”
Schultz rises from the visitor’s chair on the other side of the bed. We exchange greetings, and he says goodbye to Ollie, promising to return tomorrow.
When he’s gone, Knox steps up beside me, his hand finding the small of my back. “You gave us quite a scare there, Davis.”
Ollie’s eyes flick to Knox, and this time when he speaks, his voice is even quieter. “Gave myself a scare too.”
The admission hangs in the air between us, heavy with meaning.
I can see how tired he is, how much effort it’s taking just to engage with us. His eyelids keep drooping, and he has to force them open again.
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” I tell him, reaching out to touch his arm gently.
The gesture feels inadequate, but anything more is likely to cause him pain.
“You don’t have to respond or say anything, but I just…
I want you to know that I’m sorry. I should have done more, pushed harder to get you the right support. ”
Ollie’s brow furrows, and he shakes his head slightly—a movement that clearly costs him. “Not your fault,” he whispers. “You did what you could.”
The words should comfort me, but they don’t. If anything, they make the guilt worse.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he continues, each word seeming to require monumental effort.
“I was just…tired. Distracted. Driving to the arena and then…” He trails off, his eyes going unfocused as he relives the moment.
“Boom. Woke up here.” He pauses to draw a ragged breath. “Just glad…no one else was hurt.”
Knox shifts beside me, and I can feel the tension radiating off him. When he speaks, his voice is thick with emotion. “I’m sorry, man. I should have noticed that you were going through a rough patch. I’m your captain, and I failed you.”
“Knox—” I start, but Ollie cuts me off.
“No,” he says, his voice gaining a fraction of strength. “Not on you, Cap. Not on either of you.”
But Knox isn’t having it. He steps closer to the bed, his jaw set with determination. “I’m going to do better. I promise you that. Is there anything you need? Anything I can do?”
Ollie’s eyes drift closed for a moment, and I think he might have fallen asleep, but then they open again. “Just need to focus on recovery. Get better.”
“You will,” Knox says with absolute certainty. “You’re a tough bastard, Davis. You’ll be back on the ice before you know it.”
The ghost of a smile touches Ollie’s lips. “Hope so.”
“Is it okay if I check in on Frank and Molly in the meantime?” Knox grins. “Just until you get back on your feet?”
“Yeah, that would be good. Dad’s too proud…”
Ollie drifts off, sleep finally claiming him, and as I watch his chest rise and fall, I’m struck by how fragile life truly is. How fleeting. I don’t want to waste another moment trying to mold myself into the perfect daughter, the perfect employee, the perfect anything.
I want to live my life on my terms, and I want to do it with Knox by my side, damn the consequences.