Page 131 of What Are the Chances
Will hovered back, guardedly watching dad and me as if he didn't belong. It was the opposite. He was the one I wanted. He was the one I’d messaged.
I hadn’t thought he would see the text before his game though, and I sure as hell didn’t think he would’ve come when it was due to start in less than twenty minutes.
I momentarily averted my gaze from him and looked at dad. “What are you doing here?”
Like Will, dad was still dressed in his Phil-U gear. Had they come together?
“The hospital called me.”
“Why would they do that?”
Dad seemed bewildered. “Because I’m your father. I’m your emergency contact.”
A title my mother had solely held until she passed away. Being here reminded me of her. Of the nights spent beside her bed. Of the final days that she’d been earth side.
Dad fished his vibrating phone from his pocket. “That’s your brother. I called to let him know you were in hospital.”
“Wait, dad. Don’t–”
“Tanner. Yes, I just arrived. Room two-hundred-and-twenty-four.”
Will’s eyebrows inched even higher if that was possible. I desperately tried catching his eye. This certainly wasn’t how I wanted him to find out.
Dad forcefully shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Tanner will be here in a minute. He was partway to town when I called. You didn’t mention he has a girlfriend that goes to Phil-U.” His lips thinned. “You also didn’t mention that you have a boyfriend.” His nostrils flared. “And that he’s one of my players.”
I levelled dad with a glare. It didn’t seem fair that he was berating me while I was literally on a hospital bed. Particularly given I hadn’t even asked him to come.
But he had.
He’d blown off a hockey game to be here. I didn’t know what to make of that. There were probably too many drugs coasting through my system to properly analyse the revelation right now.
A few moments later Tanner rushed through the door, almost smacking into dad. He skidded to an abrupt stop. This hospital room wasn’t big enough for three hockey players.
“Oft,” Tanner mumbled. “It’s crowded in here.”
He shoved dad aside to get closer to me. I was thankful he’d opted to take dad out and not Will. Not that Will was looking at me right now.
“Are you okay, Ri? What happened? Dad mentioned something about you being attacked by a dog.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Dad had led Tanner to believe I was on my deathbed. Honestly, I almost wished I was because this situation was beyond mortifying.
Before I could formulate a response, the doctor came into the room. Her eyes widened, taking in the full space that barely had any standing room left.
“Who have we got here?”
I took an encouraging breath. “My dad, Bryce Hall. My brother, Tanner Holbeck. And my boyfriend, Will Caufield.”
Three names that didn’t belong in the same sentence. And three people who looked as equally uncomfortable as each other.
The doctor smiled politely, looking from Will, to Tanner, and then settling on dad. “We’re just waiting for some final blood tests to come back. Once they do we can discharge Riley.”
Dad frowned. “That’s it? That seems dismissive.”
Unlike most people, the doctor didn’t cower under his firm coach act.
“We’ve done a whole set of precautionary vaccinations, and for the next few months we’ll continue to take bloods to monitor Riley for infections.”
“Like sepsis,” Tanner piped up. “I looked it up online on my way over. That’s a possible infection after being bitten by a dog.”
