I reached out and took Ollie’s hand. “Hey, we’re only inthe fourth inning. Still a lot of game left to play. He’s going to be okay.”
“I hope so,” she answered, her eyes not leaving the dugout. As if he sensed her stare, Parker looked up, making a signal with his fingers. The tension instantly faded from Ollie’s shoulders, and for the first time all day, a genuine smile graced her lips.
The Hawks started going through their lineup, and we held our breaths every time the ball sailed through the air—mostly singles, one double, and the Hawks had resumed their close lead.
As Damien jumped out of the dugout and walked toward home plate, my breath caught in my throat. He’d had a great game so far, which I might have taken a little credit for in my mind. After all, was it such a leap to think our openness with each other led to him performing well on the field? Okay, it might have been, but in my lust-addled mind, it made complete sense.
When he stepped closer, his eyes scanned the outfield, stopping when he found me waving wildly at him. Without another thought, I leapt up, turning around to show him the back of my jersey. I peeked over my shoulder fast enough to catch his wide smile. My heart almost imploded, loving the look on his face. It made me feel loved, seen.
“Umm, Bri,” Ollie whispered, tugging on my sleeve.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who caught Damien’s wave. On the large scoreboard, where the numbers for the game had sat only seconds earlier, was now my face, broadcast to the entire stadium. My knees wanted to buckle so I could hide back in my seat, but I refused to let it shake me. Instead, I just stared back at Damien and winked. The attention dug holes through my skin, but it was worth it. I’d never hide this again.
As the cameras turned away from me to focus back on Damien, I found my seat, clutching Ollie’s hand. He had this. As he sauntered up to the base, his presence filled the entire stadium, all of us on edge as we waited for him to make his play. The first ball flew, and Damien hardly moved, only smirking when the ump called it in his favor. But the second pitch was perfect, careening toward Damien with precision. My eyes slammed shut when I heard the bat and ball collide, unable to take a breath until I heard the roar of the crowd.
“RUN!” Ollie screamed from my side, jumping out of her seat and pulling me with her. The Miami fans grumbled and jeered as their players tried to catch the ball, screaming the exact opposite of Ollie and me, but I didn’t care. Not as Damien rounded the bases, hurtling toward second base with impressive speed.
With the other Hawks on the bases rushing through home, the scoreboard lit up with runs, giving their team the lead they’d been seeking all night. But just as Damien passed through second base, he hesitated before dashing toward third. Action caught my focus out of the corner of my eye, and I spotted the outfielder chucking the ball toward the baseman with all his might.
Damien would make it.
He had to make it.
He must have spotted the throw at the same time as me, because his legs pounded the dirt with renewed vigor, shaking the ground as he passed. Just as the ball reached the baseman’s glove, he stepped off the base to catch it, giving Damien an opening. He rushed toward the bag, and his legs stumbled. One bent over the other as he collided with the ground, his arm landing right across the bag.
When the ump called out ‘safe’, Ollie and I sent uptwin cheers of joy, elated he’d actually made it to third. But as the crowd died out, I glanced back at the field and saw Damien hadn’t gotten up. He still lay on the ground, slamming his fist into the ground as he cried out in pain.
“Ollie…” I said, my voice trembling as my heart pounded in my chest.
She pulled me into a sideways hug, but my eyes never left the field, watching as the other players and Coach Weber rushed to Damien’s side. I kept waiting for him to get up, to shoot me his usual smirk.
Instead, all I could do was watch as people gathered around the man I loved, trying to sort out what had happened. I clenched my hands in front of my face, unable to look away for even a moment.Get up. Get up.But when the stretcher rolled out onto the field, dread overtook me.
“Ollie, I have to go,” I said, frantically searching the crowd for help. My best friend pulled me up the stairs, darting toward the elevators to the players’ level. As she slammed her thumb onto the down button, I pulled back. “You should go back out there. I have a pass?—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Ollie snapped, pulling me inside the opening doors. “We’re family, Bri. When one of us goes down, we all do. There’s no way I’m letting you handle this on your own.”
And as the doors closed, my best friend’s hand clenched in mine, the tears finally came as I muttered the words, “He has to be okay.”
“He will be,” Ollie said. “Even if it takes time, we’ll be there, every step of the way.”
THIRTY-THREE
When I opened my eyes, my entire body screamed in pain. Not only my leg, though that was where most of it radiated from, but all my muscles seemed like they’d taken a beating.
The last thing I recalled was trying to land on the base, hungry for the win. Miami was putting up a hell of a fight, but we refused to back down. So when I saw my chance to gain another base, I took it.
And then, the world went black.
“D?” My name broke through the aura of pain, forcing me to open my eyes reluctantly. Gone was the green of the field, replaced with the sterile white walls of a hospital room. The thousands of fans had dwindled down to one—my sister sitting at my side.
“Oh, thank God,” Mari breathed as I turned my head, finding her waiting there, clutching my hand.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice gruffer than normal.
Mari’s face paled, holding my hand a little tighter. “You had a nasty fall on the field. Theybrought you here for some tests, but you’ve been in and out for a while. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” I said, running my hand over my face. I tried to shift in the bed, but the lower half of my body was in a sort of sling, my right leg suspended slightly above the bed, completely immobilized. Panic seized my chest, and all I could do was stare, wondering how I’d injured myself so badly. I’d slid like that a thousand times, made the same move more times than I could count, and I’d never come close to injuring myself, especially not like that.
