Page 149 of Redemption
Why hadn’t I just told her?Because I was stupid. That’s why.
“I know that your relationship with your dad still isn’t great. I thought I would save you the heartache—especially after I found out that Tanner’s parents still weren’t taking his headaches seriously. I didn’t want to worry you.”
She stands up, forcing her way into my bubble. There’s a brokenness on her face that I put there. “And what now, Hayes?”
“I’m sorry. I thought—I thought I was protecting you.”
“How are you going to protect me now? I could have done something. We could have come up with a plan. You pushed me out. I thought we were over that.” Huffing, she wraps her arms around her middle. She looks like she’s trying to hold all her pieces together. I want to reach out and hold them for her, but I don’t think she would let me. So, I shove my hands in my pockets and pray I have the strength to keep them there. “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we’re here for Tanner. But we will talk about it because, Hayes, we’re doing things differently this time, which means we talk. You don’t get to push me out. I won’t let you.”
Relief causes my shoulders to sag from a fear I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding on to. “You’re not going to run?”
She looks me in the eyes when she says, “No, Hayes. I’m not running.”
“Thank you,” My voice is a gruff whisper against the noise of the waiting room.
“Mallorie Jade.”
We both turn our heads to look at the person who called her name. Dr. Harrison is walking toward us, a somber look on his face.
I scratch the back of my neck, bracing myself for what he has to say.
“Dad,” MJ says, “what are you doing here?”
“Your mother told me what happened after you dropped her off at the house. I came straight here. I’ve been overseeing the imaging for Tanner. I figured you would like to know that he is awake and alert.”
“Thank goodness,” MJ sobs, falling into my chest.
I wrap my arms around her, thankful for the chance to hold her.
“Thank you for coming, Dr. Harrison,” I say, stretching out one of my hands to shake his while still holding his daughter.
He takes it and meets my gaze. There’s acceptance in the way he looks at me, and when he looks at his daughter, that look turns a little sad.
“It was my pleasure.”
Dr. Harrison might struggle at being a father, but he’s a good doctor—the best actually. It gives me a little relief that he will take care of Tanner personally.
“Can we see Tanner?” MJ asks, looking up at her dad.
He nods. “He was asking if you were here. His parents are with him now, but they agreed that you could come back and wanted me to fill you in on his condition. We will keep him overnight for observation, and he will likely go home tomorrow. There’s no bleeding on his brain or any other major concerns, but with his history, I would feel better watching him.”
“We understand, sir,” I say, following him through the halls that lead us to Tanner.
We stop in front of a room at the end of the hall, and Dr Harrison says, “He’s in there. I’ll give you some time. Let me know if you need anything.”
Then he disappears down the hallway.
The room is dark when we step in. Eric stands with his shoulder against the wall, looking bored. Josephine is sitting in a chair in front of him, talking to someone on the phone, and Theo sits beside his son’s bed, a look of pure terror on his face.
Tanner hears us step in and turns his head toward us.
“Coach. We won.”
My stomach threatens to revolt.
“I think we have bigger things to worry about than a game, Tanner.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but it’s still cool we won.”
