“You’re such a dumbass,” Kate said.
“May I have one?” I asked. The only thing missing was some vanilla ice cream to make a root beer float. I hadn’t had one of those in years.
Luke opened one up and handed it to me. “How about a toast?” he announced, lifting his can in the air. Evan did the same, and I followed suit. “I know we don’t have anything to celebrate, but I’m sure as hell thankful my best friend is alive and well.”
We tapped our cans together and I took a sip. “I can drink to that. Do you think we’ll win tonight?” I asked.
Evan and I sat down on the hospital bed while Kate relaxed on the recliner, rubbing her large belly. Luke guzzled down his root beer and opened another one before sitting on the floor with his chips and dip. After “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung, there was a moment of silence where everyone hung their heads and stood there. It was beautiful. The cameras focused on our players and our cheerleaders. The accident had taken its toll on everyone; even Lindsey broke down and cried. I never knew she had a sensitive bone in her body.
Evan put his arm around me and kissed my head. “I think we’ll win, sunshine. We have to.”
Through all four quarters, none of us said a word as the Cougars tore up the field and dominated the game. The last time I’d seen them play that hard was when they won the Super Bowl. After all was said and done, the Cougars and their fans celebrated with shouts of victory, and by calling out the names of Evan, Derek, and Brianna. I couldn’t hold in my tears as a slide show of pictures of Brianna filled the screen. Evan held me tight and lowered his head to my shoulder.
“How am I going to tell him?”
Wiping away my tears, I sighed and leaned my cheek against him. “I don’t know, but I’ll be right there with you.”
Chapter 25
Evan
The papers were signed and I was ready to go home. My parents had called to say they were still waiting on a flight, but I told them not to cut their vacation short. I was fine, and the last thing I wanted was for them to come all the way across the country for nothing. They were going to be back in two weeks anyway, so it didn’t matter.
However, I couldn’t go home yet. There was no way I could leave without making sure Derek was okay. He had woken up a few times but passed out again shortly after. I was hoping to catch him in one of those moments so he’d know I was there.
“You don’t have to sit with me,” I said to Summer. It was going on seven hours since I’d been released from the hospital. She hadn’t left my side, even though I knew she was exhausted.
“I told you I would be here for you and I’m going to keep that promise. I do, however, think I should get us something to eat. I’m kind of starving. I don’t think it’s healthy to just eat chips and dip and pastries.”
I chuckled. “I’d say not.”
“Do you want anything from the cafeteria? I know it’s not the best food in the world, but I don’t want to leave the hospital without you.”
“That’d be great. I’m not going anywhere.”
Getting up from her seat, she handed me the remote control. “I’ll be right back.” She kissed my head and grabbed her purse before shutting the door lightly behind her.
Instead of watching the TV, I turned it off and focused on Derek. His body was just as bruised as mine, but he had several broken ribs and a fractured wrist as well. “You like to be difficult, don’t you?” I teased. “We won the game last night. At least we know our boys can kick ass without us there.” I kept waiting for him to joke back, but he didn’t. “You know, the doctor says you’ll be back to playing football in a few weeks. I’m determined to get back to it as soon as I can. I’m sure Kate and Summer are going to have something to say about that, but I need normalcy again. Everything’s just so fucked up right now.”
Closing my eyes, I laid my head on his bed and just listened to his breathing. Fortunately, he was doing it on his own. “Please wake the fuck up,” I murmured desperately.
About fifteen minutes later, Summer walked through the room, bringing in the smell of bacon. I could eat anything and everything as long as it had bacon on it. My stomach growled so loudly that Summer laughed. “I guess if I ever want to wake you up, all I need to do is fry up some bacon?”
“Or you could always wear it,” Derek replied in a low, hoarse voice. “He’ll eat you up in a heartbeat if you do that.”
Summer gasped and I lifted my head to see Derek’s tired grin. “Well, holy shit, Sleeping Beauty’s finally awake.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kiss me,” he joked.
I grabbed his hand and held it tight. “I love you, brother, but not that much.”
“Actually, he did kind of kiss you,” Summer replied sadly. “He saved your life when he gave you CPR.”