“I know,” I said.
Theo swallowed. Hard. “Reese.”
“I’m here,” I said, leaning in despite myself now, my shoulder brushing his forearm, my body finally choosing him over the room.
Holly let out a sound that wasn’t quite a breath. “This puts everything at risk.”
“I know,” I said again.
I pushed off the edge of the exam table, rubbing at my temples even though the motion did nothing for the throb behind my eyes. “Do you think I wanted this?” I asked, letting my voice cut through the tension. “We didn’t plan for a disaster this late in the game.”
McAvoy’s arms were folded, his jaw tight, but I didn’t flinch.
“I— I made choices I’m not proud of,” I said. “I was the first one to give Theo the nerve blockers. That’s on me. I knew what it could do, I knew it wasn’t ideal, but he needed it. And yes, it was a risk. I stopped, and I guess… I didn’t think he’d get it somewhere else.”
Holly’s hand hovered over the edge of the desk like she was bracing herself. “This is worse than I thought.”
“I mean he’s fighting for something he loves, Holly! Have either of you never fought for something that mattered this much? Something that made you ignore every little thing telling you to be careful?” My words bounced off the sterile walls, sharp enough to sting. I felt Theo’s groan from the table and the spasm twitch through his shoulder in response. My stomach sank, but I couldn’t stop. “This isn’t just about a trophy. It’s about the whole point of everything he’s worked for. Everything he’s pushed through. And he did it because he had no other choice but to go all in. And I— I was right there with him, trying to make it possible.”
Holly’s eyebrows drew together. “You mean…”
I nodded, letting my gaze drop to Theo’s shoulder. My hands itched to check him again, to see what I could do to ease it, even though the room was filled with judgment and heat. My fingers twitched. “Yes. I tended to him. I made sure he had what he needed. And yes, it was secret, and yes, it was a gamble, but I did it because… because he trusted me. And because I couldn’t just let him destroy himself without at least trying to help.”
McAvoy’s voice cut through, rough with disbelief. “So all of this… this mess is about what? Him? You?”
I turned, letting my hands fall to my sides. “It’s about both of us,” I said quietly. “I wasn’t protecting the team frominformation. I was trying to protect him. I made a judgment call. I knew the risk. And yes, it blew up in all of our faces.” My voice hitched, not from shame but because the pressure behind my chest had been coiled too tight for too long. “And maybe it looks reckless. Maybe it looks selfish. But it came from a place of knowing exactly what he needed to fight for what he wants.”
Holly’s fingers pressed to her lips, holding back the words she wanted to say. McAvoy’s eyes narrowed, scanning me as if trying to parse the layers of explanation from the chaos I’d just unpacked. My gaze flicked back to Theo, who shivered slightly under the blanket on the table, his face pale, his lips parted. I couldn’t do anything but hover near him, wanting to soothe, hold, fix it all before it spun further out of control.
McAvoy finally let out a noise that wasn’t entirely a question. “What the hell’s really going on here?”
I gave him a look that didn’t answer anything, because some things—some truths—couldn’t be distilled into neat explanations, not in front of McAvoy, not with Holly watching, not while Theo’s shoulder was a battlefield beneath his bruised and battered skin. I settled back a step, letting my body relax fractionally, letting the weight of what I’d just confessed hang in the air. No one else mattered in this moment the way he did.
I bent low beside Theo, my hands providing useless comfort. His breath caught in ragged waves, and every groan he made felt like it cut through my ribs. I didn’t have to think about what to do; my body remembered before my mind could catch up. I tilted his head toward me and kissed along his jaw, letting my lips linger at his temple.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “You’re going to be okay.”
“I—Reese… I’m sorry. I—” His voice faltered with pain and guilt.
I shook my head, letting my fingers trace a careful line along his back, trying to anchor him without crushing him. “Shh. It’s fine,” I said. “I’ve got you. I won’t let go.”
A rustle behind me made me glance up. Holly’s eyes were sharp, almost studying me. “Is this why you were asking me about my relationship with Hunter?”
The spotlight hit me hotter than the med bay lights ever could. My chest burned, my throat ached with unsaid truths. I didn’t have to admit or say it loud; they could see it in the way my hands lingered, in the way I held him as if letting go would be catastrophic.
I straightened a little, forcing myself to meet their gazes, and took a deep breath that felt like fire scraping my lungs. “This is my responsibility,” I said, letting my voice carry through the tension. “I was in charge. I gave him the nerve blockers. I made the choices. It’s my fault.” My eyes shifted to Theo, then back to McAvoy and Holly. “I’ll resign with immediate effect if you just promise me you’ll help him. That’s all I care about.” My hands tightened around his forearm. “I’m begging you. Please.”
McAvoy glared at me. He didn’t know what to say. The silence pressed against my ears like a physical weight.
Holly’s gaze softened slightly, though her arms stayed crossed. “I’ll have to release a statement,” she said.
I lunged toward her hands as if I could clutch her through the thought. “No. Please. Not for me. For him. The team. Keep this under wraps. They don’t have to know.”
McAvoy’s voice cut through the room, sharp as a snap of a hockey stick. “What’s the point? He doesn’t look like he has another game left in him.”
Theo groaned, twisting slightly on the table. “I’ll play,” he said through clenched teeth. “I can’t let the team down. I won’t.”
McAvoy’s jaw went rigid. Without another word, he stormed out, the door slamming behind him with a force that made the floor vibrate. Fuming. Disgusted.
