Page 103 of Maximum Dare
“Max!” Mum frowned at me.
“Are you saying he got into a fight?” I asked.
“Go see him,” the doctor replied, compassion in his tone. “Nick will explain.”
I gave a nod and walked over to my mother’s side. “Mum, after you.”
“You go,” she said, tearfully. “He’ll need to talk.”
“This is where big brothers come in handy.” Patel patted my shoulder. “It’s a long road back and he’ll need emotional support.”
That gesture of kindness helped me focus. I entered the private room.
Nick was wearing a hospital gown. He sat up in bed with his right knee resting on a pillow and wrapped in a bandage. A discarded icepack lay beside it. Dark shadows blemished his eyes and his pale face wore a desolate expression.
I pointed to the icepack. “Shouldn’t that be on your knee?”
“Intermittent icing,” he replied. “They don’t want to freeze my leg off, apparently.”
Leaning forward, I patted his back before pulling a chair closer to the bed.
“How’s it going, bro?” I asked, after taking a seat.
He looked around, lifting his arms in a frustrated gesture. He was here and not on the pitch where he belonged. The stone-cold fear of a sportsman shone in his eyes.
“I heard the doctor talking to you.” Nick pushed himself up a little. “You can hear everything in this place.”
“Athletes come back from injuries like this all the time.”
“My stock went down.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “MU’s coach is on his way in right now. No doubt to deliver the news that I’m cut from the team.”
“You don’t know that.”
He gave me a look that told me he expected the worst case scenario.
I looked around for a piece of paper. “I want his name, Nick. Whoever did this to you.”
“Max, don’t make things worse.”
How the hell could I make things worse? I suppose he understood why I had the urge to find the bastard—I’d make him pay for what he did to my brother.
“Where’s Morgan?” I tried to change the subject, for now at least.
“She’s shaken up that I’m in here. She’s with a friend.”
“She’s not hurt?”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “She’s fine.”
“What happened, Nick?”
He rested his head back against the pillows, looking defeated. “We were at a pub, me and Morgan. The Spread Eagle…you know it? It’s on Woodstock Street. We were just having a drink. I had no idea…”
“No idea of what?” My body chilled as I watched his face turn grey.
“The place is full of Liverpool United fans.”
Jesus, the arch enemies of MU were Liverpool fans.
