37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I rush through the hospital doors with the guys following close behind. The ladies at the front desk look up in alarm as they see a woman with nine guys behind her enter.

"Um... ma'am is everything okay?" one of them asks.

I nod. "Yes! We're here for Mac Oliver."

She looks at us all before saying, "Alright. Well, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm..." What the hell am I supposed to say? His girlfriend? No, maybe they'll let me go back if I explain I am his athletic therapist?

Dean steps up beside me as he twines his fingers with mine, giving my hand a squeeze. "We're family. But if you want something more specific, we are his teammates."

One of the other girls quickly stands up with a wide smile. "Oh my god! You guys are the Washington Wraiths!"

He gives her his fake smile, the one all photographers and fans get. "Yes. If you wouldn't mind showing us where our brother is at that would be great."

She nods enthusiastically. "Of course!" Rushing around the desk she waves for us to follow.

"I don't think what she's doing is allowed," I whisper to Dean.

He smirks. "I don't think it really matters when we are getting what we want right?"

I hum in reply, too distracted for an argument. The nurse pulls the curtain separating the room from the hallway, and my eyes immediately zero in on Mac. He looks up at us with a grin. "Hey guys."

I release Dean's hand and rush over to him. He chuckles when I cup his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. "Are you okay? What did the doctor say? Can you focus on me? Did they say you had a concussion? What—"

Mac presses a finger to my lips with a chuckle. "That's a lot of questions for my rattled brain to follow, Chérie ."

My eyes burn as I ask the only question that matters. "Are you okay?"

He sighs and wipes a few stray tears I didn't realize escaped. "I'm okay. ?a va aller ."

"I don't know what that means."

He cups my cheek, pulling me closer so our foreheads touch. "It's all right."

I bite my lip before whispering, "That really scared me."

"I'm sorry I scared you," he whispers.

A throat clears, and I look over my shoulder, finding the guys blocking the doctor from coming in. I can't help but smirk as I pull away and stand beside Mac. He slips his hand into mine before saying, "Sorry doc. You can let him in, boys."

The guys glance over before parting to let the doctor in. He nods to the others before looking at us. He gives Mac a smile before saying, "Your test results have come back. You do have a mild concussion, but other than that, you should be good to get back on the ice in a few days. But try to take it easy."

"Great," Mac huffs out. "Can I go home instead of staying here, doc?"

The doctor looks around the room and says, "Well, it seems you'll have enough eyes on you for the next twenty-four hours. You should be fine to head home. I'll make sure to send some information with you, so everyone knows what to look out for in case you need to come back."

"Sounds like a plan." Mac releases my hand and begins to sit up. "If all of you would be so kind as to leave, so I can change into something less revealing that would be great."

Dean snorts. "It's not like we haven't seen it all before."

"Not the point," Mac huffs.

"I can go get the car," I volunteer.

The guys' immediately yell, "No!"

I flinch at the barrage of ten men answering ‘no' at the same time. "Someone can come with me, sheesh. I was only going to pull it around and wait."

Dean looks between Mac and me before huffing out. "Fine. I'll be down in a second. We'll help get Mac ready to go and make sure we have everything we need." He begins directing the others on what to do as I slip out of the room.

Walking back the way we came, I follow the signs to the exit. I know going outside by myself is a bad idea, especially since I still have the niggling feeling that something else is going to go wrong. So, I wait next to the door and pull out my phone.

I scroll through the posts on social media, most of them about the game tonight. Someone managed to get a photo of the rookie hitting Mac. How they got the photo? I'm not sure, but the sports photographers' are amazing at their job.

At the sound of someone shouting my name, I look up and see Dean heading down the hallway. I lift a hand in acknowledgement, then spin and begin making my way out the door. He yells my name again but more panicked this time. "Liz!"

I turn to look at him again in confusion and see the panic written all over Dean's face. He's screaming my name, but before I can figure out why he's yelling, I feel a sharp pinch in my neck.

My last thought before my vision darkens is, well fuck. The image of Dean running my way, panic clouding his face is the last thing I see before I'm pulled under.