Page 57 of The Golden Goalie

“I was just trying to get into the hospital with Amber. They wouldn’t let me in if I wasn’t family, so I...” I stop when I see all three of them are smirking. “I hate all of you.” I head up the stairs.

“No you don’t; you love us,” Sebastian calls out loudly behind me. I give him a hand motion that lets him know exactly how I feel about all of them, and I hear them laughing behind me. I crash and sleep for several hours when I get home. When I wake up, I immediately begin to come up with a plan for helping Amber. It begins with taking her to her next appointment. I want to be there when her OB follows up with her; I don’t trust her to tell me everything. And to be able to really help her, I need her to tell me everything.

It takes a lot of convincing and maybe some good old-fashioned luck on my side, but I’m able to go with Amber to her appointment a few days later. Of course, she made me meet her there instead of picking her up.Stubborn woman.I’m going to be putting a stop to that nonsense as soon as I hear from the doctor today what we’re dealing with. I get there a little late as I had to come after practice. I take in the state of the parking lot and the outside of the building and am not feeling super hopeful about what I’m going to find inside.

I head inside, and my fears are not relieved at all. The waiting room is crowded and chaotic. It smells like pee, and the wallpaper is brown and pulling away from the wall. It takes the receptionist a painfully long time to even identify the fact that Amber is one of their patients even though Amber left strict instructions that I was allowed back. I finally make my way to the back, hating every moment in this place. It’s depressing and dirty, and this is not going to work. I knock on the door and hear Amber’s voice. “Hey,” I say as I slip inside. Her face relaxes the slightest, and my heart softens. “You doing okay?” I settle in the seat next to her, wishing I could pull her into my side. I squeeze my hands together instead.

“I’m okay.”

We wait almost an hour for her doctor to finally come in. She spends less than five minutes with us and basically writes Amberoff as a head-case. I’m irritated when I stand to my feet. “I think we’re done here.”

Amber stares up at me in surprise. I take her arm and help her to her feet. “Uh, thank you.” It sounds more like a question. I lead her out of there, not bothering to thank the rude doctor.

“Hey, Speed Demon, I can’t walk that fast.” I immediately slow my stride, so she can keep up with me. “So, I take it you didn’t like my doctor,” she says.

Chapter 23

Amber

He doesn’t say anything, and I can practically feel the tension coming off him. “Come on. It wasn’t that bad.”

He looks down at me as we’re walking. “That place is terrible. You’re not going back there.”

I laugh. “Hate to break it to you, Buddy. That’s the only place that will take my insurance. So, while it’s maybe not all roses and sunshine, at least it’s something.” I look away, feeling defensive. I start to veer towards my car. “Well, thanks for coming with me. Even though you didn’t need to.” I told him a million times he didn’t need to come to this appointment, but he insisted.

“How’s the cramping and bleeding?” he asks, stopping my retreat.

I turn back to him and study his face, trying to decide if he really wants to know or if he’s just being nice. “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine as in it has stopped completely or it’s fine in that you’re not going to tell me?” he pushes.

“It’s fine.”

“Amber,” he says in frustration.

“What?” I give an exasperated laugh.

“Anybody ever tell you you’re stubborn?” he growls.

My eyes widen. “Have you ever looked in the mirror?” He rubs his chest, and I reach out and put my hand over his. “Don’t do that.” He looks at me in surprise. “You do that when you’re nervous or frustrated.” He gives me a look I can’t decipher. I sigh. “Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me—”

“I’d do so much more if you’d let me,” he says, cutting me off.

I shake my head. “You’ve done more than enough, Rico.”

“Amber, would you let me in?” he says in frustration. “Please. You keep pushing me away. Do you not want me more involved? If not, you have to say so directly because that’s how I deal. I deal in black and white. If you want me to butt out, you’re going to have to come out and say it. But if not…” he steps closer. “You have to stop pushing me away and start trusting me.”

I stare at him wide-eyed. “Why would you want to get more involved with me?”

He huffs out a laugh, and his dark eyes meet mine. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Get what?”

“The fact that I want to be so much more involved in your life if you would just let me in,” he says in a low voice.

“Why?” I can’t help but ask. “You barely know me.”

He steps closer, and I fight the urge to step backwards. “Because from the first moment I saw you, and you yelled at me...” he smiles. “You have fascinated me. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. I have this ache to be near you, to make you smile, to see you return to the person you were before...before Adam.” His eyes darken.

---