Page 43 of Away Game

My brows pulled together. “A towel?”

“An ice pack for your shoulder, but now that I’ve seen you, maybe you should go to the hospital. Your head’s still bleeding.” His eyes grew large. “Shit, you might have a concussion.”

“I’m fine, but thanks for thinking of me,” I said as I grabbed the ice pack from him and placed it on my throbbing shoulder.

“I’m serious, Fin.” He sighed heavily.

“So am I. Now, let me be so I can get some sleep,” I said as I pushed past him into my room.

“You can’t go to sleep. What if you have a concussion?”

“Do you really think that pussy was able to concuss me?” I laughed. I couldn’t believe those assholes got the jump on me. At least, now we had the proof they’d drugged West.

“You should take your health seriously. What if you die in your sleep?”

It would probably make my parents happy if I did.

“I’m not going to the hospital.” I sat down on the end of my bed and tried to put my sling back on my arm. West must have picked it up off the ground before he followed me home.

“Let me help you with that. You’ll end up hurting yourself worse if you’re not careful.” West kneeled in front of me and slowly moved my arm while carefully maneuvering it to not cause any additional pain. It was strange to have someone take care of me with tenderness.

Wanting to change the subject and not think about the way his green eyes took me in, I asked. “Do you have my phone?” First thing tomorrow, we were taking that video to Coach Kyle and the Dean. Alpha Mu was going down.

“Yeah, it’s…” He pulled my phone out of his back pocket and tossed it on my bed. “Now, I’m going to grab my laptop, so I can finish my paper.”

“And I care why?” I was so caught up on my homework, I was ahead since I’d had so much time on my hands. Never had I been this guy before.

“Because I’m going to stay with you tonight to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Now be a good boy and find something to keep you awake and entertained.”

I found his demand funny but also strangely endearing. I would never understand why West was so nice to me after the way I treated him.

“You’re taking this too far, but whatever. I can’t promise to be quiet since I’m already finished with my paper,” I laughed and then groaned as I laid back on my bed. As if my shoulder wasn’t bad enough, that fucker had to hit me where it hurt.

“Did you take any pain meds?”

“Not yet. I was going to grab a drink downstairs, but you were standing at my door.” I didn’t like what the doctor prescribed for me. It made my whole body feel sluggish, my head fuzzy, and right now, I needed to feel in control.

“Fine, I’ll get you something before I come back.” West let out a deep sigh.

“You know you don’t have to take care of me if it’s such a hardship. I promise I’m fine.”

The look on West’s face told me he didn’t believe a word I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t try anything stupid.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. What the hell could I possibly do that was stupid? I wasn’t going to jump out the window or try to do a handstand on my bad arm, let alone my good one.

Grabbing the remote, I turned on the TV I’d bought and had delivered a couple of days ago. Hitting the Netflix button, I signed in and started to scroll through to see if anything was new. It was Friday, so there should have been something new to watch.

First, I unlocked my phone and watched the video West had recorded of us outside of Alpha Mu’s house. While I couldn’t always see the three guys, the audio was damning. We had those assholes, and I couldn’t wait to watch them go down.

Settling on a zombie movie that was already at number four for the day, I moved back, placing a few pillows behind me so I could rest against the headboard.

West walked in with his backpack slung over his shoulder and a Gatorade in each hand.

“Here.” He handed me the blue I always drank.

Screams erupted on the screen, causing him to look that way. “I never would have taken you for someone who watched foreign movies.”

Popping a pain pill in my mouth, I chugged my Gatorade halfway before I set it down. “Some. If it’s shit, then no.”

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