Page 55 of Cross Check My Heart
He acknowledges me but keeps his focus on Lilly as he makes his way to the other side of her bed. His eyebrows furrow once he notices the bandage.
“What happened?” Lilly sighs heavily before answering his question.
“I’m okay, it was just…” She glances at me, practically pleading for me to get her out of this situation. Normally, I probably would be able to. But right now, anything I can think to say would probably upset Coach as much as it does me. Giving Lilly a small smile, and shaking my head as I glance back up. He’s watching me now, as if he’s finally trying to figure out how I play into all of this.
I glance at Lilly once more, an eyebrow cocked in question. I have no problem filling him in, but I also need her to see that I won’t be fluffing it up. She just stares back up at me, eyes wide and pleading as if she can’t figure out how to tell him.
“Grey, Landon, and I were heading home after practice, the three of us live in the Kings building as well and when we came around the corner of the street, we saw a guy push Lilly against the building. I’m pretty sure that’s when her head hit the wall the first time…” I trail off for a moment, waiting for confirmation from Lilly. Which she gives with a small nod. I have to hold back the anger that spikes again as I push forward. “So, we stepped in and told him to let her go. He didn’t and tried to get her to go with him.” I wait until Coach meets my stare.
“So, I punched him. He let her go, but she fell back and hit her head against the building again. All of us got distracted with making sure she was okay and none of us saw where he ran off too.” Coach glances down to my hand and motions toward the bandage.
“Is that from hitting him?” I give a single nod. “Are you good to play tomorrow?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He nods stiffly. “Where are Landon and Grey?”
“Sent them home a bit ago. Didn’t think we all needed to be crowding around Lilly when she got out.”
Coach comes around to stand next to me. Gripping my shoulder, he watches Lilly for a long moment before turning back to me.
“Thank you. For stepping in and standing by her side. I know she’s a big girl and can thank you guys herself, but it’s a relief to know that she has some people in the building looking out for her.”
“Of course, I would never be able to stand by if she was being hurt.” Coach turns toward Lilly, anger and tension rippling off him.
“The guy who attacked you, do you know him? Dom said he got away, but do we at least have a name or description?” I’ve only been around him for just over a month, but I’ve never seen him like this. Right now, not only does he look like someone ready to go on a hunt, but he is also clearly a father who is ready to protect his daughter.
Lilly sighs as she gazes out the window. Talking slowly, I give Lilly the chance to cut me off in case she doesn’t want him to know.
“Greyson and I gave descriptions to the police—”
“It was my ex-boyfriend.” Lilly cuts me off and finishes catching her dad up to speed. After a long pause, his gaze bounces between the two of us once before settling on me with an eyebrow quirked up in question.
“Are you two…” He trails off and my heart rate picks up. Luckily, Lilly gets her voice back and lets out a short laugh.
“We’re friends. He and the guys have been at the bar next door a few times that Paige and I went.” She lightly swats his arm to get his attention. “Plus, get this, his best friend, Garrett? He’s Paige’s boss.”
“What a small world.” He laughs, seeming to relax slightly from her answer. “That’s good to know that these boys are behaving around you. And good to see that you’re making friends.”
Friends. Well, I guess that’s better than him knowing I see her naked almost daily.
I shake off that thought, now is not the time to be thinking of Lilly naked. Instead, I listen as Lilly fills Coach in on the injury to her head. Just as she finishes up telling him that she’s waiting for the CT results, the nurse walks back in with some paperwork.
“For the most part, everything appears to be good. You do have a minor concussion. Have you ever had one before?” Lilly shakes her head, glancing at me before focusing back on the nurse as she goes over what she needs to do for the next forty-eight hours. The nurse looks between her dad and me, before focusing back on Lilly.
“Do you have anyone that can check on you every couple hours?” It’s on the tip of my tongue to volunteer myself, but Lilly is already answering.
“Yes, my friend Paige is going to spend a few days with me.” She must have called Paige when the nurse left her alone to come get me. The nurse nods and dives into discharge paperwork with her. Coach and I stand to the side, giving them space but both clearly listening to every word said. When she finally leaves, Lilly swings her legs off the bed and slowly pushes herself up.
Every inch of me is humming with the need to go to her side, but with her dad here, I need to make sure I don’t cross any lines.
“Did you drive here?” Coach asks me.
“No, Landon drove. I was gonna call for a car or something.” He waves a hand, dismissing me.
“Nonsense, I’ll drive you both back.” He motions toward the paperwork in Lilly’s hand. “While you go and finish up all thatsigning on dotted lines, I’ll head down to pull the car up front and call to have some groceries delivered.”
Before she could even try to protest, Coach is planting a gentle kiss on her forehead before heading out the door. After a long moment of silence, I turn toward Lilly to find her standing frozen, blinking at the door as if she’s confused. After a cautious glance over my shoulder to make sure we are alone, I close the distance between us. It’s not until I run my knuckles lightly over her cheek that she stares up at me with furrowed brows.
