Chapter 17

Stephanie

I race to the car and climb inside, hoping Sebastian’s okay. “Sebastian,” I say urgently, shaking his leg. He blinks his eyes several times, and relief floods me. He looks around, his eyes still dazed. “Hey, you’re going to be okay. The medical staff is on their way. Speaking of...” I look up to see them headed our way. Aiden and Rico are with them.

A guy I don’t recognize opens the door. I slip out of the car, so they can do what they need to. Aiden and Rico walk over to my side of the car. “Hey, Stephanie,” Rico calls out.

“Hey, Rico,” I say to the goalie, surprised that he knows me.

“What happened with Sebastian?” he asks in concern.

“He’s been having a headache all morning, and it seemed to be getting worse. And then by the time we got here, he seemed dazed and confused. And his speech was slurred.” Rico’s expression matches the one Aiden had inside.

“How’s Hart?” a new voice asks.

I turn my head to see Gunner, the team captain, walking toward us. I repeat everything I told Rico. “He won’t be able to play the next game,” he says in a low voice.

“Must have been that hit from Jarvis in the third period,” Aiden says with a scowl. “I knew he was a little dazed after that hit, but he shook it off.”

There’s a commotion from the side of the car, and we all turn to look that way. “What’s happening?” I ask.

“They’re going to take him in and evaluate him and if he does indeed have a concussion, which I’m sure he does, they’ll put him through concussion protocol,” Aiden explains.

We watch as Sebastian climbs out of the car. One of the guys puts a hand on Sebastian, but he pulls away. We can’t hear what’s being said, but I can only imagine. Sebastian turns and locks eyes with me for a moment. It doesn’t last long because the medical staff urges him inside. “We need to get back to practice,” Gunner tells the guys. “Thanks for getting Hart here,” he says to me.

I shrug. “I had to come home anyway.”

“Let’s go,” Gunner says to Aiden and Rico.

“Oh, here’s his keys.” I try to hand them to Aiden.

“Didn’t you come in his car?” he asks.

I pull back my hand. “Yes, but I’ll just call an Uber.”

“Just take his car,” he says. “He won’t be driving it.”

I frown. “I don’t know if he would want me to.”

“He won’t mind,” Aiden assures me. “He’ll be more upset if he hears you took an Uber.”

“Okay. I can come back and pick him up whenever he’s done.” I glance at Sebastian’s car again. “You sure he won’t mind if I drive his car?”

“No,” they all three say in unison. Just as I’m about to go to Sebastian’s car, I see a woman coming my way.

“Is that Chloe?” Rico asks.

“Yes,” Gunner says in a low voice.

“Stephanie,” she calls out. I turn back to her, wondering what she wants. “Sebastian definitely has a concussion.”

“That was fast,” I mutter.

She joins our group. “Shouldn’t you guys be in practice?” she asks. She doesn’t wait for an answer. “He’s going to need a place to go for a few days while he recovers. Can he stay with you?” Her question is blunt.

“You know Sebastian and I aren’t dating for real, right?” I hedge.

“Yes,” she responds without batting an eye.

“But he’ll need to go somewhere for a few days, and it will look a lot better if he goes home with you than if he goes somewhere else.”

“Why does it matter where he goes to recover? Who cares?”

“His fans, the press, anybody who follows him closely. And isn’t the whole point of this to make your image better? What better way to do that than to have him heal up at your house.”

“Are you always this pushy?” I ask.

“Are you always this difficult to get along with?” she asks without skipping a beat. “You asked for Sebastian’s help, and now you don’t want to help him when he needs it?” She lifts an eyebrow and waits.

“Fine,” I grit out. “He can stay at my house for a few days.”

She smiles. “Perfect. I’ll go tell the medical team. He should be ready to go home with you within the hour.” She turns and strides away, and we all watch her go.

“She is the most annoying, infuriating woman on the planet,” I mutter when she’s far enough away she can’t hear.

Rico and Aiden chuckle, but Gunner watches her go. “She’s good at her job,” he sort of grunts out. I turn to him in surprise, but a look from Aiden keeps me from saying anything.

I sigh. “So, I guess I’ll be babysitting a hockey player for the next...” I pause and frown. “How long does it take to heal from a concussion?”

Rico grins. “Sebastian’s probably hoping like a month.” Aiden elbows him.

Gunner turns to me. “Thanks for helping with Hart. Let me know if you need anything.” I nod, but I don’t know what in the world I would need from the stoic captain. “Let’s go, Guys.”

“I guess I’ll go in and wait for Sebastian,” I say more to myself than to them. I follow the three of them inside. Rico and Gunner go straight to the ice, and I follow Aiden back to where Sebastian is. I sit and pull out my phone, preparing to get some work done while I wait. I don’t end up waiting long. The door opens, and a guy sticks his head out. “You must be Sebastian’s girl.” I don’t even bother correcting him. “You can come in.”

I follow him into the room. Coach Seers sees me and walks over. “Stephanie, right?” He must see my look of surprise. “Chloe filled me in.” Because of course she did. “The medical staff will give you all the information you need. Thank you.” He leaves the room, leaving me with the medical staff.

“Where did you park?” one of the guys asks.

“I’m in the player parking lot.”

“Okay. We’ll help you get him out.”

A back door opens up, and Sebastian walks out. He’s frowning, but at least he’s standing. I can tell from here that he has a doozy of a headache. He doesn’t see me because he’s listening to one of the medical staff explain a few things to him. After that, they take him out to the car. He walks on his own, so that’s another good sign. I follow behind them. Finally, we get to the car; and he gets settled. The medical team talks to me and tells me what to worry about and when to take him to the hospital.

“We’ll check in with him first thing in the morning. Tonight, he just needs to sleep.”

I nod and climb into the car. When I glance over at him, his eyes are closed, and he’s leaning against the window. I don’t say anything as we make the drive to my house. When we get there, I look over at him, wondering how to do this next part. “Sebastian,” I call out quietly. He opens his eyes and squints over at me. “Hey, we’re at my house. We’re going to get you inside where you can sleep, okay?” He doesn’t say anything, but he does nod. I climb out and walk over to his side of the car, but he’s already climbing out. We walk to the front door in silence, and I unlock the door and lead him in. “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

He follows me to my spare room. I walk in and take the decorative pillows off the bed and pull down the covers. Then I close the blinds on the two windows. “Okay, that should be a little better.” When I turn back, I come to a halt and stare as he takes off his shirt and drops it on the floor. When he starts on his pants, my brain finally kicks into gear and I spin around. When I hear the rustle of the sheets, I turn back around. He didn’t even bother to pull the covers up. I stand there, paralyzed for a moment before I remember he’s in pain. Don’t make this a thing. I walk over and pull the covers over his body, thinking as I do that the bed is way too small for him. Before I can move away, he grabs ahold of my hand, and I freeze.

“Thanks, Doll,” he says in a soft voice. His breathing evens out, and his hold on my hand loosens. Without thinking, I pick up his shirt and pants and fold them and place them on the end table next to the bed. I stop at the door. After a moment’s hesitation, I decide to leave the door open, just in case he needs something.

I head out into the living room and grab my laptop before settling on the couch and work on finishing my outline for my next book. I stop after a few hours and eat dinner and then head to bed for the night. I check on Sebastian again before I go to bed, just as I have every hour since we got here. Just like every other time, he responds enough that I know he’s okay. I let him go back to sleep and make my way to my bed. I set an alarm for every hour. I’m not looking forward to waking up once an hour, but I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him while I slept. The medical team didn’t tell me I needed to wake him up once an hour, but I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.

The night passes slowly. I’m exhausted the next morning, but I get up early. It’s pointless to sleep in when I have to wake up every hour anyway. I make my way out to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee. Once school is in session, I call the office and ask to speak with Principal Goodman. In the craziness of yesterday, I never called.

“Hello, Miss Winston.”

“Good Morning, Sir,” I say, swallowing my sip of coffee. “I just wanted to check in. Things have been fine on my end, and I would like to return to class tomorrow. Sebastian Hart has assured me that there’s nothing to worry about. He said he would hire private security as well, if we thought we needed it.”

He’s quiet a moment, and I hold my breath. “Okay. Things have been calm here finally. Let’s see how it goes when you come back. If we end up needing the security, we will let Mr. Hart hire security.”

Relief flows through me. “Thank you. I’ll be in first thing tomorrow morning.”

I hang up and blow out a breath. I can get back to normal life. A thud startles me, and I jump up and run to Sebastian’s room. I hear a grunt right as I enter his room. He’s sitting on the side of the bed, holding his head. “Sebastian?” I make my way over to him, trying to ignore the fact that he’s barely wearing anything. “Are you in pain?” I’m already grabbing the bottle of pain relievers from the end table. I open the cap and put two in my hand. “Here.” I hand him the pills and a water bottle.

“Thanks.” His voice is quiet and hoarse. He swallows the pills.

“Let me help you lay back down.” I keep my voice low, so it doesn’t make his head worse. He lays down, and I pull the covers over him once again.

“Thank you,” he whispers. I put my hand on his shoulder and rub gently. When he doesn’t say anything, I move my hand up to the back of his head. I know what it”s like to have an awful headache. Sebastian groans, and I freeze. “Don’t stop; that feels good,” he says softly.

I continue to massage the back of his head with my fingers. I’m not sure how long I do it, but when I step back, he’s sleeping soundly again. I walk out of his room, keeping his door open once again.