Chapter Seven

It took a bit of searching, but Pierre managed to snag two seats behind the bench for the rest of the season. While he didn’t imagine he could go to every game, nor could Travis go with him every time, it was worth the cost. Travis insisted on driving so Pierre could ride home with Lennox. He secretly thought he fished for an excuse to hang out after the game and meet Lennox, which was fine with Pierre. The pair never seemed to be at the house at the same time. In four months of dating, things had just never worked out for Travis to meet him. When he got to his seat, a smile exploded across his face when he flipped it down. A purple rose waited for him. Fuck. He was just in so much love. Pierre hadn’t seen Lennox coming. Now he couldn’t see life without him.

Travis’ smile matched Pierre’s when he saw the flower. “This guy is really over the moon for you, isn’t he? I’ve never seen anyone get so many fucking flowers.”

Pierre took his seat. “He’s really pretty great.”

Travis nodded while watching the guys warm up on the ice. “I like that. It’s always good to know the star of your hometown team isn’t a prick.”

“Agreed.” Pierre sniffed his rose. He wanted to crawl under Lennox’s skin and live there. That was how much he loved being with him and wanted him every second. Too many times, he had come close to saying the words, but he always choked. Despite how easy Lennox was to talk to, and even after a million reassurances, he was absolutely certain he would die if Lennox said he wasn’t quite there. Pierre couldn’t withstand the “I like you a lot, but” speech.

The music got louder, and the guys headed for the locker room. Lennox spotted him. Their gazes met and Lennox smirked. Pierre melted inside.

“Goddamn. I’m one hundred percent straight and that was hot.”

Pierre hid a smile at Travis’ claim. Fuck. Sometimes he thought he would explode from the too-big emotions. Once the game started, Pierre’s focus turned to watching Lennox’s every move. He winced each time Lennox took a hit and cheered every time he triumphed. Pierre knew from listening to people chat around them that Lennox had beef with one guy on the other team. The pair took every chance to check each other. Lennox looked like he was having fun, though. Pierre supposed that was part of the appeal for intense people like Lennox. He gave everything he did his entire heart. It was the sexiest trait Pierre had ever seen.

The game was tied, and the rivalry ramped up. Pierre felt the way everyone collectively sat on the edge of their seat. He was so focused on Lennox moving across the ice with the puck; he didn’t miss a thing. Pierre took in every nuance. In fact, he knew what would happen half a second before it did. He was already on his feet when Lennox got dirty clotheslined and went flying backward. It was like life turned into slow motion. The back of Lennox’s head hit the ice with such force, Pierre swore he heard his helmet crack before his head snapped up and back down again. Lennox didn’t move. A whistle blew. Travis grabbed his arm, as if showing his support. Pierre barely felt it. He couldn’t even blink. Lennox’s arm moved. Pierre took a breath, but then he saw it: the panic on the other players’ faces. People were calling for medics. Pierre looked around, searching for any way to get to him. Travis held him in place, reminding him he couldn’t go onto the ice. Everything inside him screamed he had to get down there. Time moved to a crawl as Lennox was carried off the ice. Pierre couldn’t breathe. He worried his heart might explode. It felt like forever passed before a guy in a yellow jacket with the team’s logo on the chest appeared at the end of their aisle.

He waved for Pierre. “Let’s go.”

Pierre scrambled from the aisle with Travis in tow. “How is he?”

The guy spoke over his shoulder as he led them through a door and into the tunnel toward the locker room. “They need to do some tests, but he won’t cooperate. He’s asking for you. We need you to keep him calm.”

Pierre realized the guy’s jacket had medic written beneath the team’s logo. He picked up the pace. Pierre wanted to run the man down to get to Lennox. Then his heart shattered when he heard him before he saw him.

“I can’t see. Where’s Pierre? Find Pierre.” The panicked-sounding shouts came from within a group of men trying to keep a flailing Lennox still.

Pierre ran, shoving his way between the men. He gave no fucks. Pierre would get Travis to fight them if need be. “I’m here.” Pierre grabbed Lennox’s hand and held on. “I’ve got you. Okay? I’m here.”

Lennox looked terrified. His gaze was locked on the ceiling, unmoving. “Oh, my god, baby. I can’t see. They won’t tell me why I can’t see.”

Tears sprang to Pierre’s eyes. His heart couldn’t take seeing Lennox like this. He was the strong one. His gaze shot to the man across from him, seeking answers.

“We need to get a head scan, but we can’t with him flailing like this. We can’t tell him anything without scans.”

Pierre rubbed the arm of the hand he held. “It’s going to be okay, baby. You have to let them run their tests so they can fix whatever is happening. Okay?”

“Don’t leave me.”

Pierre held tighter. “I’m not.”

“You can’t—”

Pierre shot the man who dared speak a death glare, challenging him to keep talking. “I’m not going anywhere.” He vaguely heard someone explaining to Travis in which hospital he could find Lennox after transport. Pierre gave Lennox his full attention.

“I love you, baby. I won’t let you be alone. They won’t make me leave.”

A tear rolled from the corner of Lennox’s eye, breaking Pierre. “I love you too.”

Pierre dropped his forehead to Lennox’s chest for a second. He didn’t want to cry, but he felt dangerously close. This wasn’t how he pictured this conversation. This wasn’t how he wanted to confess his love. He wouldn’t take it back.

“Please keep talking to me. I’m freaking the fuck out. Everything is totally black.”

Pierre kissed his hand. “You’ll be all right. This is probably just a horrific concussion. I’ve never seen anyone hit their head as hard as you did. Fucking dirty-ass play. Travis is here. Do you want me to send him to kill that guy?”

“I will,” Travis said nonchalantly.

A few men laughed, obviously unaware Travis was completely serious.

“That’s Travis,” Pierre said. “He was looking forward to meeting you tonight.”

“I wish it had gone better.”

At Travis’ claim, and to Pierre’s surprise, Lennox smiled. “Hey, man. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Pierre hid a smile. Even in the worst moment of his life, Lennox was nice. He was such a light in Pierre’s life. Pierre couldn’t let anything bad happen to him. It wasn’t fair. “Shit. I forgot my flower.”

“Nah, I got it,” Travis said behind him, pulling it from his back pocket.

Pierre flashed him a grateful smile. “Thank you.” He went back to staring at Lennox, willing him to see. “I’ve never seen a purple rose. Thank you.”

“You’re beautiful. You deserve to get flowers every day.”

That did it. The first tear fell. Pierre kept his crying silent, refusing to let Lennox know he broke. He focused on what needed to be done. “I’ll have someone drop your truck off at the hospital. Do you want Travis to grab your personal belongings?”

Lennox swallowed. “Yeah. If you don’t mind. My locker is marked. Everything is inside my bag.”

“On it.” Travis moved to find Lennox’s stuff.

A machine rolled into the room with a man who looked vaguely familiar. “You should be safe to stay at his side.” The guy touched Lennox’s shoulder. “Lennox, it’s Andy. I have the portable MRI machine here. Will you cooperate if Pierre stays?”

Lennox nodded.

Andy looked his way and held out his hand. “I’m Andy, the team’s physician.”

Pierre shook his head. “ Bonjour .”

Andy went to work, plugging in the machine and wheeling it into place. Pierre had never seen anything like it. He had gotten MRIs in his life, but this looked like some sort of robot. Andy explained as he went. “As soon as this is done taking all the pictures we need, you’ll be transported to the hospital, but this speeds up the process. We’ll have your images ready by the time we have you in a room. I don’t want you to have to wait for answers any longer than necessary.” Andy sounded calm, but he looked panicked. That didn’t give Pierre hope.

“Okay. Pierre is riding with me.”

Andy smiled. “Of course. Now don’t move.”

Everything felt like it took forever, even though Pierre knew realistically it only took minutes. Paramedics already waited to roll Lennox into the ambulance.

Travis spoke close to his ear. “I have your man’s stuff. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Thank you.” Pierre mouthed the words over his shoulder, hoping not to contribute to Lennox accidentally moving.

Lennox’s eyes closed.

Andy stopped trying to pretend he wasn’t worried. “Don’t go to sleep, Lennox. I need you to stay awake.”

Pierre rubbed Lennox’s arm. “Stay awake, baby. Keep your eyes open.”

Lennox didn’t respond. Pierre wondered if he would collapse. Then they were rushing into an ambulance and Pierre’s brain couldn’t keep up. All he saw was Lennox declining. His heart couldn’t take it. Lennox meant more than everything to him. He wanted this nightmare to end.

Lennox was so goddamn sleepy. There was nothing but darkness. He couldn’t tell if his eyes were closed or open. People kept shouting for him to stay awake. His head pounded too hard for him to respond. He stayed focused on Pierre, squeezing his hand. Pierre had said he loved him. That was all Lennox needed. Whatever life threw at him, Pierre would be there. Fuck. He didn’t want to be blind. Lennox couldn’t even fathom a lifetime of this nothingness. He would go insane.

“Pierre.” He needed comfort.

“I’m right here.”

Lennox’s chest hurt at the fear and pain in Pierre’s voice. “I love you. Don’t be scared.”

A watery chuckle met his claim. “I love you too. You’re not supposed to be reassuring me. I’m the one who’s supposed to be doing the comforting.”

“I can’t tell how much time has passed.” And that scared him. He felt adrift in a way he never had before. Lennox had never realized how much security he drew each day from only the ability to navigate his surroundings. Now he was trapped in the dark.

“It’s been about an hour. They’ve got us waiting in a very dreary-looking hospital room. We’re just waiting for the doctor. The fact that they’re not rushing gives me hope.”

Lennox needed more hope than that. “They could rush a little.”

He swore he heard Pierre smile. Pierre kept kissing the knuckles of their joined hands. “Agreed. I can’t baby you properly here. They need to fix this so I can take you home.”

He heard the door open. “Hey, guys. I’m Dr. Riley. This is Dr. Green.” Fuck. There were two of them. That was never good. “I have some good news, some bad news, and some somewhat good news, depending on how you look at things.”

He couldn’t look at anything. He was blind.

“You can give it to us in that order,” Pierre said, sounding every bit as impatient as Lennox felt.

The sound of wheels rolling moved close to the bed. The guy was obviously getting settled in. Lennox’s nerves were ready to snap. “Well, the blindness should be temporary and should let up soon. Your brain is swollen from the concussion, and it’s pressing on the optic nerve. Unfortunately, the problem isn’t just the head injury.”

“What do you mean?” Lennox couldn’t help but interrupt. They weren’t getting to the bad news quickly enough for him.

“While the impact on the ice was severe, your helmet mostly took the blow, doing its job. However, it was enough of a blow to inflame a small, previously unseen brain tumor.”

“What?” Pierre sounded horrified.

Lennox couldn’t speak.

“The other good news is, without this head injury, you might not have known about it at all until it was too far gone to treat. Now we know. With your consent, Dr. Green is here to go straight into surgery with you to remove the tumor and help alleviate the brain swell. Once the tumor is out, we can see from there if any other intervention is needed. Do you have any family to speak on your behalf once you’re under?”

Lennox went into a full-blown panic. It was out of his control. He couldn’t breathe. It happened too suddenly for him to stop. “Pierre.” It was all he could choke out.

Pierre squeezed his hand. “I’m his solicitor. I can have documentation here within an hour.”

“That’s not good enough.” Lennox was beyond reason. “You know my parents. This has probably already hit the news. They’re probably already on their way. You know they’ll do whatever it takes to get my money. Maybe even let me die. Marry me before they take me back for surgery. Don’t let my parents push you out.”

He had never been more thankful for Pierre and his wonderful heart. Even in the face of altering his life for Lennox, he didn’t let him down. “I can have a judge here in fifteen minutes. Is that okay?”

“Yes. Please?”

“That’s fine,” one doctor answered, proving the question had been for them. “We’ll prep the OR and send someone up with the proper paperwork. Congratulations on your marriage.”

With each word, Lennox breathed easier. Still, as soon as he heard the door close, he chanced they were alone. “I’m so sorry. You do so much for me. I hate that I’m putting you in this position.”

Pierre was silent for a moment. When he spoke, he sounded calm. “What position is that? Marrying the man I love? Protecting the man I love? From the moment you told me you’d choose me over a bigger contract, I’ve known I would marry you someday. This is just a formality. If you want, we can do a big wedding later and pretend it’s the first. Unless you’re saying you didn’t really want this, but it’s necessary.”

Lennox’s forehead furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I want this? I’ve been practically biting my tongue off every day to stop myself from screaming, I love you at the top of my lungs. Being with you is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. Baby, I’m scared shitless right now. I don’t want to be blind. I don’t want to die. But you’re here with me, keeping me sane. No matter what, that’s what I want for the rest of my life. No matter how short that may be.” Lennox hated to tack on that last part, but he needed to be realistic. They wanted him to have someone to speak on his behalf for a reason. He might not survive this. That part wasn’t lost on him.

Pierre kissed him. “We’ll get through this, gorgeous. Whatever happens, we’ll still have us at the end.”

Pierre sounded so sure, Lennox believed. He had to. The alternative was unthinkable.

“Don’t let my parents near me.” The whispered plea was out of his control. No one truly understood the fear he felt at the idea of being under his parents' thumb again. He had fought too hard to get away from them.

“I swear it. You can count on me.”

Lennox knew that. Pierre was the only person he trusted completely to have his back. They were a set. That was why he had to live. No matter what. He had to come back to Pierre.