Miles does not buy that for a second. “Have a seat.” I sit on the couch. “Look at the X.”
Here we go.
He stands close enough to watch my eyes. “Keep your head still. Follow the dot with your eyes only.”
He moves the card slowly.
At first, I track fine. Then halfway through, the room flickers at the edges, like someone dimmed a light.
I blink hard, and Miles stops. “That happened just now.”
“Yeah,” I admit. “For a second.”
He moves to the next test. “Head side to side. Keep your eyes locked on the X.”
I do it. And three seconds in, the floor tilts left. Not a lot. But enough.
I grab the back of the seat, and Miles’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Okay. We are done.” His voice goes professional fast. “This is vestibular. Possibly oculomotor too.”
I swallow. My throat feels tight. “So I am scratched.”
“Probably the next few.” Miles steps back and makes a note on his tablet. “You were honest. That helps. But you are not playing until you pass this clean.”
The door opens again, and Coach D steps inside. Her eyes hit me first. Then the card in Miles’s hand.
“He failed VOMS. Twice. Vestibular involvement is likely.”
Coach D looks at me. Just looks. Not mad. Not disappointed. Worried.
“Deacon,” she says quietly, “you should have told us sooner.”
“He thought it was travel,” Costello tells her.
She nods once. “No skating until then. Sit with the scratches tonight.”
“He’s gonna hang with me,” Dean tells her. “He and I need to have a chat.”
“Alright, let’s roll,” Coach D says, and she and Miles leave.
As soon as the door shuts, Dean asks, “Why is Aldridge Shaw asking to meet with me?”Fuuucckkk.“You thinking of leaving the Bears?”
Now that makes me laugh, “Fuck no.”
“Then why?” I look down and exhale a deep breath as he sits beside me, “Anything to do with our new team psychologist?”
“She’s a good mom.”
“And stunning.” He smirks, and I say nothing. He leans back, linking his fingers behind his neck. “What’s the plan? You gonna tell him Dingy’s a piece of shit and should stay away from his daughter?”
Fuck it. “No, I’m going to make sure that he puts a leash on him, or I’ll walk through hell to ruin both of them. He didn’t want anything to do with Savannah until after he got with Emilia Shaw.”
He chuckles, “You got it bad.”
“I had it bad the first time I saw her, and that was before he did. I fucked up, and I need to make it right.” He holds a fist out,and I tap it. “No one knows this but you and Paul. Not even her friends.”
“And you think going to Aldridge is going to make that happen?”
