Page 140 of Redemption
Bella rolls her eyes, a secret smile playing on her lips.
She did what she set out to do—she made him her friend.
Hayes stands with his hands in his pockets, watching the two kids.
The ambulance arrives, and they load Bella up. I called her mom when they first arrived, and she will meet Bella at the hospital.
I think she’s fine, but since she passed out, I want her to get checked out. It’s uncommon to pass out just from blood sugar, so I want to make sure nothing else is going on with her.
Once the ambulance is pulling out, I turn back to Tanner. “It’s your turn now. Sit down. I want to check your eyes.”
“MJ. I’m fine. Really. It’s just a headache.”
“That you keep getting, Tanner. That isn’t normal. Why can’t you see that? Help me out here, Hayes,” I say, turning to him for help.
“Tanner, do what MJ is asking you.”
Tanner rolls his eyes.
“If I let you look me over, will you calm down?”
“I make no promises.”
He sits down on the bench. “Fine. Have a look.”
Hayes watches me as I take out my phone and turn on the light. Flicking it back and forth between Tanner’s eyes, I track the movement.
Tanner flinches away from the light as if it pains him, but his pupils and dilation look fine.
Pressing around on his head, I search for any knots, but when I come up with none, I know he needs to see someone higher than me.
“Tanner, you can go, but I want you to go straight home, take medicine, and sleep off this headache. Stay off your phone, okay.”
He nods. “I promise.” Then he turns to Hayes. “Coach, do you think you could do me a favor?”
“What’s that, Tanner?”
“I—I think I would like to pray for Bella. Could you do it with me?”
Hayes scratches at the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable, but he nods, coming to sit beside the boy on the bench.
Tanner bows his head, and Hayes follows suit. I stand back, not wanting to intrude on this moment for them.
“Lord. I’m not really sure how to do this, but I need you to watch over my friend Bella. She loves you, and she’s one of the good ones. So, protect her, okay?”
He ends the prayer, lifting his head and looking around awkwardly. “Do you think that was okay, Coach?”
Tears gleam in Hayes’s eyes, “Yeah, buddy. I think that was good.”
Chapter 42
Hayes
After the incident with Bella, my worry for Tanner has amped up. His headaches aren’t getting better, and it worries me.
It left me with only one choice.
“Hayes, are you in here?” A voice calls from out in the locker rooms.
