Chapter 26: 26 Stay With Me
Haper’s POV
I didn’t think. I ran.
Everything around me dissolved into noise. Skates scraped across the ice. Someone shouted for campus medical. Another voice yelled Ethan’s name. None of it reached me. All I could see was Justin.
He lay motionless on the ice, one hand pressed weakly against his forehead. His helmet rested several feet away near the boards, and a thin stream of blood traced a line down the side of his face, staining the white ice beneath him a vivid, horrible red.
My heart stopped. "Justin!"
I dropped to my knees beside him just as players swarmed around us. Behind me, bodies collided. Someone grabbed Ethan before he could get any closer. I did not pay any attention to them
"It’s his fault!" Ethan shouted, struggling against the players holding him back. "He did this! He ruined everything! He thinks he is better than me. Why can’t you see it"
Coach Daniels’ voice thundered through the arena. "That’s enough!"
The entire rink fell silent. Coach stepped between Ethan and Justin, his face hard as stone, and pointed toward the tunnel. "You’re done."
Ethan laughed bitterly. "You can’t be serious. I am one of tyour best players"
Coach didn’t blink. "Get out of my arena."
For a second Ethan looked like he might argue again. Instead, two assistant coaches and several players escorted him toward the exit. He kept shouting over his shoulder the whole way. "This is all on him! You’ll regret this! Nobody listens to me!" No one answered. No one even looked at him. For the first time since I’d met Ethan, he wasn’t the center of anyone’s attention anymore.
Justin was.
Players carefully helped him sit upright before guiding him toward the nearest bleachers. "Easy," someone murmured. "I’ve got him." "First-aid kit!" "I’m calling campus medical."
I hurried beside them, barely aware that my hands were shaking. Trying to figure out what to do. As soon as Justin sat down, I unwound the scarf from around my neck and without thinking folded the fabric and pressed it gently against the cut on his forehead.
"Hold still."
He winced. "Bossy."
"Justin."
"I’m holding still."
"You’re bleeding."
"I noticed." I pressed the scarf a little more firmly to slow the bleeding and he sucked in a sharp breath. "Easy, sweetheart."
"I’m trying!"
The words came out much louder than I’d intended. Several people glanced our way. Only then did I realize I was practically shouting. Heat crept into my cheeks and I looked away, swallowing hard.
Justin stayed quiet for a moment. When I finally risked another glance, he was watching me. Not the cut, not the medic running toward us. Me. A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite everything.
"So."
I frowned. "So?"
"You still care about me."
"No." The answer came far too quickly. "I mean..." I adjusted the scarf unnecessarily, refusing to meet his eyes. "As your fake girlfriend, I have to pretend I care. You know, for the camera"
His smile widened despite the blood on his forehead. "Funny way of pretending."
"What does that mean?"
Instead of answering, he lifted one hand and his thumb brushed lightly beneath my eye. I froze. His voice softened. "You’ve been crying."
My breath caught. I blinked, then lifted my own fingers to my face. My fingertips came away damp. I hadn’t even realized. A small, helpless laugh escaped me, not because anything was funny, but because I’d been caught and there was absolutely nothing I could say about it.
Justin chuckled too. Immediately he flinched. "Ouch." His free hand flew back to his forehead.
I couldn’t help smiling. "Don’t laugh."
"You laughed first."
"You started it."
"I absolutely did not."
For one fragile moment, everything else disappeared. The blood, the shouting, Ethan, the cameras, all of it. It was just the two of us arguing over something completely ridiculous while the rest of the arena buzzed around us, and honestly it felt more real than anything that had happened all day.
Then the campus medic hurried over carrying a bright orange first-aid kit. "Let’s take a look." I stepped back reluctantly, though not very far. The medic gently removed my scarf. "Thanks," she said. I nodded, folding the bloodstained fabric in my hands without really thinking about it.
She cleaned the cut while Justin sat surprisingly still for someone who usually couldn’t stop moving. "Can you tell me your name?" "Justin Hayes." "What day is it?" "Thursday." "Any dizziness?" "A little." "Nausea?" "No." She shone a small light into each of his eyes. "Follow my finger." Justin did. She nodded approvingly. "So far, everything looks encouraging."
I folded my arms tighter. "What if he’s bleeding internally? How would we know"
Justin turned toward me. "I’m sitting right here."
"I’m serious."
"So am I."
The medic smiled kindly. "We’re going to monitor him closely. Based on what I’m seeing, this looks like a superficial laceration with no obvious signs of a severe head injury. That said, if any symptoms worsen we’ll send him to the hospital immediately. I’d still recommend a scan within the next twenty-four hours just to put everyone’s mind at ease."
The tightness in my chest eased just enough for me to breathe again. I hadn’t even realized how long I’d been holding that breath.
Justin watched me carefully. Then, in a much quieter voice, he asked, "Have you checked on your brother and sister today?"
I blinked. "My..."
He nodded. "They’ve probably seen something by now."
Everything inside me dropped at once. Emma. Noah. The videos. Students recording in the parking lot. Pictures spreading online before I’d even processed what I was looking at. My phone.
"Oh, no."
I shoved my hand into my bag. Not there. Another pocket. Nothing. The front zipper. Still nothing. My breathing quickened. "Come on..." Finally my fingers wrapped around it at the very bottom. I pulled it out and unlocked the screen.
The display lit up instantly. Twenty-three missed notifications.
My eyes widened. "Shit."
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