“You aren’t helping.”
She threw her hands up. “Fine. I’ll go distract Caroline, but you owe me big time. I’ve already been on a flight with the turtle for a million hours. I had to occupy myself with one of her corny inspirational books the entire way. It was my own personal purgatory.”
Caroline was still in my room with the door closed, so hopefully she couldn’t hear Georgie.
“Wait, did you say ‘turtle’?”
She smiled, proud of herself. “She’s got the personality of a sea turtle so I’ve taken to addressing her as such.”
“Georgie,” I scolded.
“What? The book she lent me was called Becoming Boring: Volume III. She’s clearly already memorized the first two.”
“I doubt that was the name of the book.”
She waved me off. “I’ve forgotten. Anyway, have you got a granola bar or something? Caroline wanted to grab dinner at the airport but I couldn’t stand another minute alone with her.”
I led her out into the kitchen and tossed her one of Thom’s protein bars. The mumbles from my room cut off and then a moment later Caroline whipped open the door. I cringed thinking of everything she might have overheard, but she was all smiles as she came out to join us.
“How about we all go get dinner? I saw this great little place on the way in.”
Georgie waved her protein bar. “I’m all set, but you go ahead.”
Caroline’s smile fell as her gaze swept to me and I actually felt sympathy for her. Caroline was a nice person, and she didn’t deserve to be led on. I needed to carve out time to pull her aside and chat with her, but at the moment, my priority was Andie. I needed to find out if she was okay. I needed to tell her Caroline had arrived and promise her that everything would be sorted shortly.
I took a deep breath and met Caroline’s gaze. “I have a few things I need to do with the team, and you must be tired from the flight. Rest up, then I think we should sit down and talk tomorrow.”
Her features perked up at the idea. “Okay. How about we talk over dinner?”
I swallowed down my desire to turn her down. The chat needed to be short and respectful. We didn’t need to sit down for a four-course meal, but she looked so hopeful and it was easier to say yes. With the plans made, I moved on to the next item on my list: Andie.
I took the elevator down to her floor, thankful to know the way after I’d walked her home the night before. My mobile rang midway down the hallway—Thom. I nearly ignored it, too anxious to reach Andie, but I swiped my hand across the screen and said hello as I scanned the flat numbers on the wall.
“How’s Andie?”
“I wouldn’t know. She’s still not replying to my messages.”
“That’s because they’re probably still running a billion tests on her. She’ll ring you when she’s done.”
I ignored him and knocked on her door.
“We have practice soon,” he continued. “Are you planning on bunking off?”
“Shit.”
I had my first race in a week; I couldn’t skip practice.
“Just give me a minute to—”
My sentence was clipped by the sound of someone unlocking the door. Kinsley pulled the door open then blocked my entry with an unwelcoming gaze. I hung up on Thom and swallowed down her annoyance.
“Is Andie here?” I asked.
Becca walked up behind her, further blocking me from entry.
“Yes.”
The two of them both looked like they’d been through hell and back.
“Could I talk to her?”
Kinsley crossed her arms. “She’s had a tough day, Freddie. Give her a second to catch her breath.”
I took a step closer. She could catch her breath with me.
“I just need to talk to her for a second. I need to know how she is.”
Kinsley shook her head. “Not good. She’s out for the rest of the games.”
My heart sank. “Is it broken? Her wrist?”
She shook her head. “No, but the doctor thinks it will be if she keeps playing on it.”
I couldn’t imagine how upset she was. She’d worked her entire life to earn a spot on that team and with one tough save, it was over. I tugged my hand through my hair, trying to think up some way to make it better for her.
“How is she handling it?”
Why the bloody hell were they keeping me out in the hallway? I needed to talk to Andie. I needed to see her and promise her everything would be all right. Doctors are paid to be overly cautious. Maybe if she—
“Listen, Freddie,” Kinsley continued. “Andie doesn’t want to speak with you. Your actions have spoken louder than any words you might have to say.”
My brows furrowed. “What do you mean she doesn’t want to see me?”
Kinsley sighed, glanced behind her, and then leaned in close, dropping her voice to a whisper. “We all saw you with Caroline this afternoon. Andie was there, looking for you for comfort. You are a new level of asshole.”
My heart dropped. They didn’t understand.