Page 33 of Away Game

Forming a line, we pushed through the waiting crowd with our eyes on the ground and continued a mantra of ‘no comment’ until we made it to Oz’s car and piled in. I sat in the back with Ridley, and even though there should have been room for three easily, it was a tight fit with how large he was.

We were all quiet as we made our way to the hospital. When we arrived, I was surprised to see a news van sitting outside. Was Fin’s injury bad enough to warrant news coverage, or was it because we’d been kicking ass all season with Willow Bay’s new coach? Either way, I didn’t like it, and even though I didn’t know Fin well, I knew he wouldn’t appreciate all the coverage on his injury.

“Fuck,” Oz gritted out. “Maybe we should find a different way; there’s no way we can all walk in and go unnoticed.”

“I hate hospitals,” Ridley said lowly while looking out at the building.

“I don’t think anyone likes them,” Oz said as he turned off the car and got out.

Ford took the lead and nodded his head to the left. “Let’s go around the back.”

If anyone saw us, it must have been comical watching the four big guys trying to be stealthy as we walked around the side of the hospital. Once inside, we for sure looked like a bunch of idiots as we tried to read the signs and have them direct us to the ER.

“What if they’ve got him somewhere else?” Ridley spoke up when we saw the entrance to the emergency room.

He only thought of this now?

We all stopped and stared at him. “What? Coach said they had all the best doctors looking at him. He could be on some special floor for rich people.”

Oz scoffed and then continued to walk toward the ER. I didn’t look back to see if Ford and Ridley followed as I stepped inside the waiting room. I spotted Coach sitting in the corner with his phone up to his ear. When he spotted us, he said a few more words, got off the phone, and then made his way over to us.

“It’s good of you boys to show up.” He clapped Oz on the back and gave him a grimace of a smile.

“Have you seen him?” Oz asked. The amount of worry came off of him in waves.

“No, but his parents told the doctors to speak to me. They—”

“Won’t be coming,” Oz finished for him. “I’m not surprised, but it’s still shitty hearing it.”

No, shit. Who didn’t want to see their child after he or she got hurt?

“Yeah, about that, maybe we can evade the truth until we know more about Fin’s injury,” Coach said, looking at each one of us in the eye.

Letting out a bitter laugh, Oz moved to where Coach had been sitting and sat down on one of the vacant chairs. “I think Fin would be more surprised if his parents showed up rather than not.”

“Well then, we’ll be the family that he needs,” Coach said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I loved how much he cared for his players, especially after last weekend and offering his support.

We all sat down in the line of chairs, waiting for someone to come out to give us any information on Fin. After several long minutes of silence, Ford broke the quiet. “I’m surprised you’re here.”

I knew he was talking to me, but I didn’t care what Ford thought, so I continued to watch the door that led back into the restricted area.

A hand shot out, and then Oz grumbled. “Leave him alone.”

Turning my head to give him a grateful smile, I found Oz staring in the same direction I’d been. I knew Fin and Oz were close, but up until the moment Oz said Fin’s parents wouldn’t come, I never realized how much. I had a feeling they were more like family.

“He’ll be alright,” I said, as much to reassure him as it was for myself.

“Not if he’s out for long. You don’t know Fin’s father, he’s…” Oz sighed, and when he spoke again, there was so much sadness and anger in his words. “There’s nothing good about him.”

“Sometimes I think it’s good I never knew my dad,” Ford murmured. His head hung low. “I can’t be disappointed by him since he was never in my life.”

I watched as Oz frowned. Ridley was once again looking off into space with a blank look on his face except for the frown that had formed, letting us know he was listening to what we were saying.

It felt like my turn to share since Ridley wasn’t going to. Maybe he had a happy childhood like Oz. “My dad took off when I was three, and my mom was pregnant with my little brother. No matter how hard I try, I can’t remember a single memory of him. My mom has a few pictures, but it makes her so sad to look at them that I don’t ask for her to pull them out.”

“My family no longer speaks to me,” Coach Kyle shared just as a doctor came into the waiting room.

“Mr. Kyle?” the doctor called out, looking around the room.

---