The door opened and Beau said, “Geneviève?”
I sat up, worried something had happened while I was in the shower. “What?”
“Can I lay with you?” he asked, his voice jagged with emotion.
“What?”
“To sleep, Geneviève. Nothing more. I—need you. Please?” he asked, stepping into the room. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
What exactly could I say? He was clearly distraught.
So was I.
“Come in,” I said, flipping the covers over and moving to give him room.
“Thank fuck,” he murmured as he slid beside me. “Can I hold you?”
I answered by lying my head on his chest and letting my hand rest on his stomach. He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. “Thank you for looking after Trey tonight. I was so fucking relieved to see you get into the ambulance with him. I don’t know how I would’ve been able to finish the game otherwise.”
“He’s been a great friend. He’d do the same for any of us.”
“Yeah, he would.” We laid in silence for long moments, Beau’s heartbeat soothing the rough edges of my thoughts. “Did he say anything in the ambulance? Was he awake?”
I sighed and reluctantly told him about our trip to the hospital.
Beau groaned a few times and I felt him stop breathing more than once at what I said.
But he took it.
Because he needed to hear it.
Also, because he knew I needed to share it.
If anyone knew the weight of a burden like this, it would be Beau.
We played a sport that could be dangerous.
One bad move, one second of inattention, one asshole with a death wish—could change our lives in an instant.
We all knew this.
It played in the back of our minds constantly. But our love for the game was always able to tamp down any worries.
Until it actually happened to someone you knew.
“Only you would think a chest tube was cool,” Beau said, stroking my arm as he chuckled.
“It was cool. I only wish that were all the intervention he’d needed.”
“Me, too, Geneviève. Me, too.”
It was not lost on me that he’d used my name several times now. My soul cheered as I let that sink in.
A minute later, Beau’s body began to shake. It took me a few seconds to realize what was going on. “I saw it before it happened, you know?” he said, his voice hitching as he cried.
“I know.”
His arm held me so tight, it was difficult to breathe.