46
It was after midnight,and the hotel hallways had long cleared out.There was no celebrating their win, and no need for a curfew: everyone was in bed, eager to sleep through the tail end of this road trip and go home.Everyone, of course, but Evan.
He double-checked that the coast was clear before he sneaked out of his room and down a floor.It hadn’t been easy finding out where Riley’s room was, but after some needling, he’d gotten it out of Lawson.When he arrived, he knocked a few times but got no answer.Not that he’d been expecting one.They’d said Riley needed to go to an actual hospital to get patched up because they were concerned about his face or something.No one knew more than that, or seemed to care.
How could you not care for details when a teammate went to the hospital?
He supposed, if he wanted to be generous and objective, they cared but weren’t concerned.They trusted Riley would be fine, and they’d worry if they were told to worry.
Evan was going to worry until he had Riley standing in front of him, and he could see the damage for himself.So he stood there, holding his breath as he prayed Riley would answer the door, groggy and annoyed at having been woken up and with nothing more than a busted lip.Maybe he’d tell Evan to fuck off, and Evan would be glad to hear it given the circumstances.As the seconds dragged on, it seemed less and less likely.
Riley must still be at the hospital.Never a good sign.
The normal thing to do would be to go back to his room, text Riley, and try again in the morning.Evan had long ago abandoned being normal when it came to Riley, so he sat in front of Riley’s room and got as comfortable as he could.He leaned back against the door and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And at some point, he fell asleep.
* * *
“The team cheap out on rooms or something?”
Evan jumped, banged his head against something, and squinted into the fluorescent lights to find the source of the voice.
Riley stood above him, dressed in what looked like a fresh Riveters shirt and his suit pants.His shoulders sagged, and he smelled like a mix of sweat and antiseptic.But he looked like he was all in one piece, walking under his own power, and that was enough to ease the vise around Evan’s heart.He leapt to his feet, and the new vantage point let him see the long gauze bandage next to Riley’s right eye.
“You’re okay,” Evan said, so relieved he didn’t hide it.“Right?”
“I’m fine,” Riley said.It sounded like he wanted to put more bite into it than he did, but he was too tired to muster it.“I don’t need you checking up on me just because you feel sorry for?—“
“That’s not why I’m here,” Evan said.
Riley glared at him.Not as effective with the bandage.
“I was worried,” Evan continued, when it became clear Riley had nothing to say.“They said you were fine, but I wanted to check for myself.”As Riley again did nothing but stare at him, Evan wilted.“And I guess I have.Checked.So...I guess...I can go back to my room…”
Riley stepped around Evan, took out a keycard, and opened his hotel door.Evan held his breath, terrified this was a dismissal, but Riley looked over his shoulder.“You coming in or what?”he grumbled.Evan didn’t need to be told twice.
Riley flicked on the lights as he moved deeper into the room, and unsure about the protocol here, Evan lingered by the door.
“Need anything?”Evan was suddenly eager to do something, to be useful.It might give him the excuse to stay if Riley otherwise decided this was too uncomfortable.
Riley, back to him, grunted, “Glass of water?I gotta take some pain meds.”
Evan did as he was told, filling up a glass to the brim in the little kitchenette.It was good to use his hands, a physical task to distract him, and he wished there was more to it than just...pouring water.It was over too quickly.But it wasn’t about him right now, so he dutifully walked over to hand Riley the drink?—
And just about dropped it when he saw Riley’s face.
Riley had taken off the bandage and was inspecting the long gash along the right side of his face.The puckered skin held tight by a dozen stitches went from his cheekbone up along his temple, dangerously close to his eye.It glistened with whatever antibacterial goo they’d smeared it with, making it look angrier than it might otherwise.
Evan stood there, absolutely frozen as he took in not only the injury, but how really fucking close Riley had been to getting hit in the eye.Didn’t they wear the stupid visors topreventthat kind of thing?
But Riley, satisfied, turned away from the mirror and caught Evan staring at him.
“Gonna have a gnarly scar,” he said, his voice not quite as full as usual.
