Page 94 of Replay

“Ducky. Fuck, man, he’s been having a great year.”

I couldn’t handle this. I just wanted to find out what happened to my boyfriend without fielding questions.

“You know Ducky?” The guy in the back row was not letting this go.

I nodded, fingers trembling as I tried to operate the stupid phone, looking for more news. “I was his math tutor in high school.”

I’d finally called up a search engine and typed in Josh Middleton and injury to see what news was out. I scrolled through the hits that came up. Nothing definitive.

“Seriously? Why aren’t you at the game?” The same guy.

Nothing online except that he’d been taken off the ice on a stretcher. Damn it.

“If you’re really dating him, you’d be at the game.”

I looked up at that. These kids were questioning my relationship while I was freaking out over whether my boyfriend was alive? Healthy? “For the record, what I do in this classroom is just as valid as what he does on the ice. But I need to find out what the hell is going on with him, so lab is over. Email your questions because I’m done.”

I texted and called Josh’s phone. Students gathered their stuff and headed out the doorway. There was no answer. I drew in a deep breath. Josh didn’t have his phone with him when he was playing, but he always seemed to check it as soon as he was off the ice. He was either still playing, or something bad had happened.

He had to be playing. How did I find out when I couldn’t message him and I didn’t know anyone at the game in person? I checked the latest game stats online, showing player shifts and time on ice. Josh was not listed, which was a bad sign. There was nothing about Josh’s condition. Wouldn’t they know if it was bad?

I tapped my phone impatiently. Who else could tell me what was going on? Would Jess or Callie know? They weren’t at the game tonight. I needed someone on the team. Daniel. He wouldn’t have his phone with him, not right now, but he’d let me know when he could. I was sure of that.

I pulled up his contact and started to text.

“What can I do?” Andrea asked.

“Thanks for letting me know, but I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. At least no one here. I’m messaging Daniel, Josh’s roommate.”

“You mean Fitch?”

“Yeah. I hope he’ll tell me something when he can.” He would, wouldn’t he?

“It can’t be too bad. They didn’t stop the game.”

“But he hasn’t had another shift.”

She bit her lip.

All the students were gone. I had nothing to do but refresh my phone’s browser while I waited for information. No point in staying. “I’m going home now. I can worry in private.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

I turned and gave her a hug. “Thank you for offering. But I’ll be terrible company, plus you’ve got exams coming up.”

“So do you.”

I shrugged. “Until I find out, I won’t be able to concentrate.” I shoved my textbook and laptop into my bag. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

She asked me a couple more times if I was sure, then hugged me and finally left. I headed home.

Madeline was gone, so I flipped between sporting channels on the TV, desperate for news. I couldn’t concentrate on my textbook and kept pacing as I waited to learn something.

It was long hours later when Daniel finally got back to me. It had taken him a while to find out himself what was happening with Josh. Emergency surgery on his knee, out for six months.

Josh was going to freak out, missing that much time.

“And that’s a guarantee, that he’ll be playing again?”

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