Shit! Wasn’t it obvious? I opened my mouth, but no answer came out. No wonder Bella looked so scared.
The nurse bailed me out. “You got hit on the head during your hockey game,” she said calmly. “You have a concussion, but you’re going to be fine.”
“Okay,” Graham said, sounding entirely unconvinced.
The nurse lifted her chin to me. “He’s been asking for you. He thought you might have gotten hurt, too.”
“I’m fine,” I said slowly. There was something in Graham’s expression that wasn’t quite right. He had a pained squint, and his gaze wobbled.
“Son, how are you feeling?” Coach asked. “That was quite a hit.”
“Head hurts,” Graham said, raising a hand to rub his temple. “Where am I?” he asked.
What the fuck?Hadn’t we just been over that?
“West Regional Hospital,” the nurse said, her voice patient. “You got hit on the head during your hockey game. You have a concussion, but you’re going to be fine.”
Graham squinted at her. “Okay.”
“Why is he…?” I looked to the nurse for help.
But it was Coach who answered my question. “It’s called retrograde amnesia. When you get hit that hard, for a little while the brain can’t make new memories. You don’t remember the game, do you, big guy?” Graham looked up at him, confused. Coach moved closer to him, giving him the same gentle punch on the arm that you’d give a toddler. “Hang in there, kid.”
“How are we doing?” a heavyset female doctor asked, stomping into the room. She had a voice like a chainsaw.
“What happened?” Graham asked.
“You took a hit on the head,” the doctor said, jotting something on the chart she was holding. Then she looked up at Coach and me. “I sure hope one of you is Rikker. We’re getting tired of making excuses for you.”
“Um…” I started.
“Did they get you too?” Graham asked, looking me up and down.
“I’mfine,” I said again. “I didn’t take a hit.”
He squinted at me. “What are we doing at the hospital?”
“Jesus, Graham!” Bella put a hand to her heart. She looked like she might even pass out. So I moved around the crowded little room and put my hands on her shoulders.
The doctor approached Graham with a little penlight in her hand. “You’re at the hospital because you have a concussion. We need to watch you for a few hours just to make sure everything is going well for you.”
“Can I take him home tonight?” Coach asked. “It’s a two-hour drive. We could have him checked out at our own hospital by midnight.”
The doctor frowned. “I’m sure you know your way around a concussion. But I can’t advise that. These next couple of hours are the ones that matter the most. We need to be sure he doesn’t have an even more serious head injury.”
Coach held his hands up. “Okay. It was just a suggestion. I want him to have whatever he needs.” He nodded to Bella and me and then tipped his head toward the door. “Let’s go figure out what we’re going to do. The rest of the team needs to get back.”
“I’ll be right back, Sweetie,” Bella whispered. She lifted Graham’s hand and gave his palm the same kiss that I would have liked to give it. Then she patted his arm, and she and I followed Coach the short distance into the waiting room. “If he has to stay, I can drive him back in the morning,” Bella offered in a shaky voice. I’d never seen her so rattled.
Coach put a hand on her shoulder. “I was just going to ask if you could do that, honey.”
“Is Rikker here?” came from the back.
Oh, fuck.
“What the hell?” Hartley asked, wandering up to us. “Is he okay?”
“He’s confused,” I said, feeling sweat begin to coat my back. “Reallyconfused. It’s a concussion. Maybe he thinks we all just left him here.”
