Page 48 of The Flirty Forward

“You know you’re welcome here anytime,” my father says.

“I know. Thank you.”

“See you soon,” my mother calls out as I walk toward the door. I pause a moment and look back. They’re both already engrossed in their computers. I don’t let it bother me; I know it’s not personal. They’re incredibly busy.

When I get out to the living room, Sebastian is sitting on the couch with his head back and his eyes closed. I pause and watch him for a moment. I can tell his headache is really bothering him. As a person who deals with chronic headaches, I can see the signs. I’m concerned for him, and there’s no way I’m letting him drive. I walk over and kneel in front of him and put my hand on his leg. “Hey.” He opens his eyes and looks at me. “I don’t think you should drive. We can drive together. I’ll leave my car here, and I'll figure out what to do with it later.”

He blinks, looking like he’s trying to clear the fog. “Are you sure?” he asks.

“Yes.” The fact that he’s not fighting me tells me his head is worse than he’s letting on.

“Come on. Let’s get you out to the car.” He stands to his feet. I briefly wonder if I should offer to help him, but he walks over to the door just fine. We head out to the driveway, and he hands me the keys to his Corvette. I settle in behind the wheel a moment later. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay for practice?” I ask.

“Oh yeah.” He doesn’t say anything more than that, and I begin the drive home. It’s a long, silent three-hour trip. I head straight to the facility because we got stuck in constructiontraffic, and it delayed us by a good bit. Sebastian hasn’t said a word the entire time, and I keep glancing over at him to make sure he’s okay.

When we get to the facility, security waves us through. They must recognize Sebastian’s car. I drive to the player and staff parking lot and park. “We’re here,” I say softly. When he doesn’t move, I shake his leg. “Sebastian, we’re here.” He opens his eyes, blinking slowly. He looks around like he’s in a daze, and I get a bad feeling. “Sebastian, are you okay?”

“I’m fiiiine.” His words are slow and drawn out like he’s drunk.

I pull out my phone and call Aiden’s number. When he doesn’t answer, I turn to Sebastian. “I’m going to be right back. Stay right here.” I don’t give him time to argue. I climb out of the car and jog into the practice facility and make my way down to the rink where the guys are already warming up. “Aiden,” I call out when I get close. He turns in surprise and skates over to me.

“Is Brielle okay?” he asks quickly as he yanks his helmet off his head.

I instantly feel terrible. “Yes. She’s fine.” I should have thought about how he would respond to seeing me here. With Brielle’s Type 1 diabetes, he worries about her often. “Sebastian’s in the car; I think something’s wrong with him. He’s had a really bad headache and now his speech is slurred.”

Aiden curses low under his breath. “Let me get the medical staff; I’ll be right there. Where is he now?”

“In the player’s parking lot.”

“Go stay with him; I’ll be right there. Don’t let him sleep.”

With those ominous words, I run back through the building, hoping I didn’t mess up by leaving him by himself.

Chapter 17

Stephanie

I race to the car and climb inside, hoping Sebastian’s okay. “Sebastian,” I say urgently, shaking his leg. He blinks his eyes several times, and relief floods me. He looks around, his eyes still dazed. “Hey, you’re going to be okay. The medical staff is on their way. Speaking of...” I look up to see them headed our way. Aiden and Rico are with them.

A guy I don’t recognize opens the door. I slip out of the car, so they can do what they need to. Aiden and Rico walk over to my side of the car. “Hey, Stephanie,” Rico calls out.

“Hey, Rico,” I say to the goalie, surprised that he knows me.

“What happened with Sebastian?” he asks in concern.

“He’s been having a headache all morning, and it seemed to be getting worse. And then by the time we got here, he seemed dazed and confused. And his speech was slurred.” Rico’s expression matches the one Aiden had inside.

“How’s Hart?” a new voice asks.

I turn my head to see Gunner, the team captain, walking toward us. I repeat everything I told Rico. “He won’t be able to play the next game,” he says in a low voice.

“Must have been that hit from Jarvis in the third period,” Aiden says with a scowl. “I knew he was a little dazed after that hit, but he shook it off.”

There’s a commotion from the side of the car, and we all turn to look that way. “What’s happening?” I ask.

“They’re going to take him in and evaluate him and if he does indeed have a concussion, which I’m sure he does, they’ll put him through concussion protocol,” Aiden explains.

We watch as Sebastian climbs out of the car. One of the guys puts a hand on Sebastian, but he pulls away. We can’t hear what’s being said, but I can only imagine. Sebastian turns and locks eyes with me for a moment. It doesn’t last long because the medical staff urges him inside. “We need to get back to practice,” Gunner tells the guys. “Thanks for getting Hart here,” he says to me.

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