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Holly, Bella, Hannah, and Penn fell silent as they glanced at each other, then back out at the rink. Holly grabbed Penn's hand.
"It's bad," Penn whispered as they wheeled a stretcher out onto the ice. "He's still rolling around, and the look of pain on his face..."
"I know."
Ryder kneeled down next to Fally, talking to him as the EMS team brought out a stretcher. The rest of the Kingsnakes players hovered nearby, looking worried and shell-shocked.
"I saw the whole play," Bella told them. "The silver lining is that it isn't a head injury. The bad thing is it's his knee."
"And Fally's had some knee issues before this," Penn said. "Nic told me that once."
"The hit by Bradiere that led to Fal's injury was fucking dirty," Hannah fumed. "Bradiere's skates left the ice before the hit. And no penalty called? It’s bullshit."
"They did leave the ice," Bella agreed. "I saw that too."
"I can't take this. I can't take the pain on his face," Penn choked out, covering her mouth with her hand. "He's in agony, guys."
Holly slipped an arm around her best friend. "He's going to get the care he needs. They're helping him. And Ryder is right there by his side."
"I can't imagine how Nic is feeling right now. She's got to be a wreck," Hannah said, wiping her palms down over her jeans. "If we're a mess, she's got to be freaking out."
Holly motioned toward where Nic and Zoe waited near the exit door next to the glass. "Zoe's got her back. She's not alone."
She searched the ice for Eli and found him standing next to Shaw near the boards. Shaw held an iPad and they were both staring down at the screen. Eli's face was a thundercloud as he glanced over at the San Jose bench.
That couldn't be good.
After ten long, fretful minutes, the doctor, trainer, and EMS staff carefully loaded Fally onto the stretcher and wheeled him off the ice.
Both teams tapped their sticks on the ice as the crowd clapped, but the mood that hung over the arena was somber.
Hannah glanced over at them. "I'd be happier if I saw Fal give a thumbs up, but I think he's in way too much pain. At least he's talking, though."
Ryder followed Fally all the way to the door, then gently clapped him on the shoulder before skating back to the Kingsnakes bench.
"This is so messed up," Bella muttered. "The guys have to be reeling. Not only at the injury, but you know he's done for the rest of the playoffs."
"This sucks," Hannah said, sitting back down. "It all sucks."
After the commercial break light turned off, the teams lined up for the faceoff to a mostly silent arena. Holly stared down at the ice as play resumed, but her heart wasn't in the game.
"I just want this to be over," Penn said with a sigh. "I'm a wreck."
"Oh, shit." Hannah leaped to her feet and pointed toward the ice. "Guys, it's about to go down."
* * *
"Time to answer for that dirty hit, you fucking piece of shit," Eli barked, skating past Bradiere as they lined up for another faceoff. He planned to knock the smirk right off Evan's mean, stupid face. “The officials didn’t make you pay for it, but I will.”
"Dirty hit my ass."
"Your feet left the ice, douchebag. You jumped at him.”
"You're such a crybaby, Donnelley," Bradiere sneered. "Wah, wah, wah. That's all that comes out of your hole."
"And you're a classless piece of trash that doesn't belong in this league," Eli shot back. "Let's fucking go. Unless you're too chickenshit."
"After the faceoff," Bradiere told him. "I'm gonna rearrange your pretty face."
