Get Pucked

36. anger

Once the door closes, I call Austin and put him on speakerphone while Connor and Brooks stand straight in front of me.

He picks up on the first ring. "Hey, are you back at the hotel?"

"Yes, what happened?" Connor speaks before I get the chance to.

Our eyes all meet when we hear the tell-tale sound of a hospital PA system in the background while he speaks. "When I showed up, she and Ellie were coming back up to the bar and ordered drinks. Obviously, I didn't think much of it, then Dakota started to look flushed and went to the back door."

When he pauses, taking a breath, mine catches in my throat.

"Josh fist-bumped some guy who had been sitting next to them and started to follow her, so the guys and I rushed out and he had her up against a wall."

"What the fuck," Brooks whispers.

"I socked him before he could do anything else, but she went down. He got someone to drug her drink."

The three of us freeze, and at this moment, I'm more livid than ever.

I'm mad at Connor for insisting I be on this trip. I'm mad at Dakota for downplaying the severity of the situation. And I'm so fucking mad at myself for believing her when she said everything would be fine.

Connor takes my phone and steps into the bathroom, and I'm only half-listening when he tells me he's going to get all of the information from Austin and then call her parents. Brooks tells me to start packing our stuff back up while he goes down to talk to Coach.

I may move around for the next twenty minutes, but I'm not conscious of what I'm doing. All I know is that I need to go back to Michigan.

I don't care if I have to ride a charter bus or even hitchhike, I'm going back. This is my fault.

When Connor finally emerges from the bathroom, his red-rimmed eyes are a sight I've not yet seen of him. "Kota's dad just happened to be flying into Michigan in two days, so he's going to stay for a few days once he gets here."

I just nod.

Brooks walks in a few moments later, "Coach booked us three the first available flight back, we take off first thing in the morning."

"Thanks, man," Connor tells him. "I'm going to call Ellie, congratulate her on vet school, and try to calm her down a bit. Nate is already driving over, so Austin is going to stick around until he gets there."

Once again, I simply nod. They both watch me closely as I lay down in bed and close my eyes, wanting to sleep sooner so that the morning doesn't feel so far away.

~

Unable to bring our bags to the hospital, we took a cab home to drop our things off seconds before hopping into my truck to head over to the hospital.

The guys seem tense around me, probably because I haven't said a word since our phone call with Austin last night, but I just don't have anything important to say.

Right now, our only line of contact is through him. Ellie is riding an emotional rollercoaster and Dakota has been out of it since last night. The doctors said that they had to let the drug run its course, so their job was to keep her hydrated while monitoring her heart rate and oxygen.