Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

KAYDEN

T his game was brutal. Boston was aggressive as fuck—tripping, shoving, high sticking—and these guys were nasty. There was always trash talk on the ice, but this was next level. Anytime there was a line change or a penalty called, they'd start in, and we gave it right back.

Axel looked like he was about to have a stroke. Dane too. Our captain was known for keeping his cool, but his patience was being tested. In fact, everyone on our team looked as pissy as Maddox on a good day.

By the time we hit the second period, it was still 0-0. Without a goal on the board, we were frustrated as fuck.

"Kayden, Moss, Lund, St. Pierre, Rowland, let's go!" Banning barked.

I rushed out onto the ice, bracing myself for battle.

Axel faced off against Blaine Reswell, Boston's center. The guy was fast, but with a nasty habit of playing dirty. He'd gotten away with a tripping call against Axel in the first period that everyone, especially Coach, was still seething over. Axel hit the ice hard and was shaken up. Plus, he got a nasty cut on his chin that had to be superglued. He'd be bruised as hell tomorrow, for sure. But the hit didn't stop Axel; he was adamant about staying in the game.

"Let's shut these fucking losers down," Axel bit out as he skated by me.

I couldn't agree more.

Another puck drop, another possession for Reswell. Goddamn it. I blinked and he was already taking off down the ice. Was there any stopping this guy? He deke'd around Dane, but Axel and Jace were hot on his trail.

Suddenly Reswell's elbow snapped up, and Jace got rammed in the shoulder, pushing him into the boards. Coach was screaming, but it was white noise at this point. Jace recovered and took off down the ice. Reswell wasn't slowing down. If anything, he'd picked up speed.

I staked out the blue line, ready for him.

Until Reswell passed to his teammate, Mika Lasler. Lasler took the shot, the puck whizzing past Silas and right into Maddox's glove.

Holy shit, no goal…

The whistle blew, but Reswell kept coming. The forward slammed into Silas, who, in turn, collided with Maddox. It all happened so fast I could hardly believe my eyes.

"You fucker!" Silas shouted and shoved Reswell back.

Reswell threw the first punch and all hell broke loose. I skated over to intervene, but I got a hit to the side of my helmet. Motherfucker. Both teams jumped into the fray, crowding around Silas and Reswell, whistles blowing, refs yelling, fans screaming, and chaos erupting.

Someone grabbed the back of my jersey. I whirled around, readying to defend myself, when I realized it was Jace.

"You gotta get him off the ice!" Jace shouted and pointed to the net.

Maddox was lying in his net, face down, shaking.

What the fuck? How badly was he hurt?

"Mad! Mad!" I yelled as I skated over to him, stopping short and getting down on my knees. "Are you okay?"

"Don't touch me!" he screamed back.

"It's me. It's Kayden."

"Leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped.

"Let me help you get up."

"No!" he shouted and finally rolled over, face up.

The only thing I could see were his eyes. He was terrified. How badly was he hurt? I didn't notice any obvious signs, but maybe he was in shock? Getting injured was a horrifying reality for any player.

"Come on. Let's get you up," I offered.

Maddox hesitated for a moment and then lifted his right arm. I hoisted him up, but with all his gear, it was awkward. He shook his head, continuing to swear up a storm.

When I looked around, the fight was breaking up, refs and coaches were on the ice, but everyone was still yelling. What a fucking disaster.

"I'm fine," Maddox snapped and pulled his arm away. "I got hit hard, but I'm okay. It's over. Get lost."

No way was I leaving him alone. He didn't look okay at all. In fact, I thought he might puke and suggested he take his mask off.

"Don't tell me what to do," he bit out.

Then he shoved his mask off his face, his skin sweaty and pale, almost grey. He was breathing fast and hard. Was it the adrenaline or was he hyperventilating?

"You don't look good. Get to the box, and have Johnston check you out," I demanded.

"I know what to do, alright? I don't need you or anyone else helping me!" he snarled and skated away.

"You're welcome!" I yelled out.

I rested my hands on my thighs and shook my head. There were helmets and sticks lying on the ice. There was blood, too. Fuck, I hoped like hell we weren't all going to get suspended for the rest of the season. There'd go our hockey careers…

A ref yelled about a five-minute major and game disqualification. That better be Reswell he was talking about.

I watched Maddox skate away. He made it as far as the boards and bent over, throwing up. Shit, did he hit his head? A concussion? Since the coaches were still arguing with the refs, I followed Maddox, not caring if he'd yell at me again. No matter what he said, he was obviously not okay.

The medic, Johnston, stepped forward and guided Maddox off the ice and into the gallery. Without thinking, I followed them.

"Is he all right?" I asked Johnston.

"I'm right fucking here," Maddox hissed. "I'm fine."

"You're not a doctor," I bit back and looked expectantly at Johnston.

"I need to check him over," Johnston replied, then motioned for Maddox to sit on one of the benches. "Did you hit your head? Any dizziness?"

"I don't think so. I don't know. It happened so fast," Maddox replied. He was still shaking. "One of the guys slammed into me, I hit the net, and that's all I remember."

Johnston took out a small penlight and checked Maddox's eyes and asked him question after question.

"Are we done here? I'm fine. I threw up. I feel better."

Maddox didn't look better. He was trembling. Still pale. Still breathing fast.

Johnston looked at me. "You better get back out there."

Reluctantly, I nodded.

"Is he out for the rest of the game?" I asked.

"Hey!" Maddox bit out. "‘ He ' is right here. And I'm fine to go back and play. I'm good."

Johnston raised one eyebrow at me. Maddox bent forward again, his head between his knees. The medic looked at me and mouthed ‘ No .'

"Sorry, Maddox, but the answer is no," Johnston announced. "We should get you to the hospital."

"No way!"

"Johnston!" Coach called out. I turned to find him jogging towards us. "What's going on?"

"I think Maddox may have a concussion. He was hit pretty hard, threw up, and he's still shaky."

"I had my mask on. My head doesn't hurt," Maddox muttered. "I'll be fine."

"Kayden, head back out," Banning replied. "I'll put Sean in for the rest of the game. Johnston, get Maddox to the hospital."

"I'll text Groeling to see if he can stand in for me for the rest of the game," Johnston added as he pulled out his phone and started typing.

"Is everyone else okay?" I asked Coach, then glanced at Maddox. His hands were shaking.

"Bruises and scrapes. Reswell's out of the game. But honestly, what the hell was Silas thinking by getting up in Reswell's face? The last thing we needed was a goddamn bench brawl. We're lucky he only got a five-minute penalty."

There was nothing I could say. If I was Silas, I'd probably react the same way. Being hit hard like that, and after the whistle, was uncalled for.

"Call me when you're done at the hospital," I said to Maddox.

He still had his head down. No response.

"Move it, Kayden. We still have the rest of the game to play," Coach warned.

I headed back out to the box, where all my teammates were gathered.

"Where's Maddox?" Axel asked.

"He's going to the hospital with Johnston," I replied. "Possible concussion."

"Fucking hell!" Ethan shouted. "Reswell gets a game misconduct, and that's it?"

I glanced across the ice at Boston. They were like us, gathered around in their box, and giving us the stink eye. Fucking assholes.

"We still got one period left," Dane added. "Let's stay calm and focus on what we need to do to win. Then we can rub their faces in it."

"Dickheads," Finn snapped.

"Like Dane said, let's do this," I called out. "The best revenge is winning."

At that moment, though, I was thinking more about Maddox than the game.

Maybe it was the frustration from that clusterfuck of a period, or maybe it was knowing one of our own was injured, but when the intermission was over, the guys went all out.

Dane scored within the first three minutes of play. Cougars 1, Boston 0.

It was still anyone's game, but we hung on. And when the final buzzer sounded off, there was relief and pure exhilaration. But I hardly felt like celebrating. I wanted to get out of here and go to the hospital to see Maddox.

Everyone was joking around as usual, but I wasn't in the mood. After I'd showered and changed, I was ready to haul ass.

"I'm out. See you later, maybe?" I said to Dane and Jace.

"You coming to the party?" Jace asked.

"Not sure. Probably. I want to see how Maddox is doing first."

Dane nodded. "I'll go with."

"Thanks, Dane."

I pulled out my phone and texted Maddox, but I didn't get a response. My stomach clenched hard. Then I spotted Johnston entering the building as we were leaving.

"Where's Maddox?" I asked him. "Is he okay?"

Johnston nodded. "They checked him over. CT scan. No concussion. He'll be discharged soon if he isn't already."

Kayden: Where are u?

Maddox: Back at the dorm

Kayden: Me and Dane are coming over

Maddox: Don't

Kayden: I want to make sure you're okay

Maddox: I'm responding to your message, aren't I?

"Ugh, he's driving me crazy," I grumbled as I showed Dane the texts. He rolled his eyes.

"Let's go. He's on the second floor, right?"

I nodded. I'd ferreted out Maddox's room number. Or, he'd given it to me after I asked a bazillion times.

When we arrived at room 222, I knocked twice.

Waited. Knocked again.

Dane's phone buzzed. "It's Jackson calling. I'll be back in a sec."

Dane answered his phone and walked down the hallway.

When the door finally opened, Maddox looked like his usual self, in worn jeans and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. But when I glanced at his face, I knew he was anything but okay. His eyes were red and swollen, and he was still pale. Something was really fucking wrong.

"Just you," he mumbled and opened the door wider.

I nodded, texting Dane to let him know, and entered Maddox's room.

"What really happened out there?" I asked him.

Maddox sighed and ran an agitated hand through his hair.

"The past caught up to me."