Page 132 of Forever Offsides

Son of a bitch.

He calls “Hike” and everyone goes flying down the field. The defense didn’t see it coming. We were lined up for a screen pass and Mason is going deep instead.

He drops back and the offensive line does all they can to buy him as much time as possible. Then he lets it loose. A cannon of a ball that spirals perfectly through the air. For one tense minute, I don’t breathe. I stand here immobile, as does everyone on the sidelines.

Then boom! Crew catches it mid-stride and takes it right to the house for a touchdown. I tend not to be an overly emotional guy on the sidelines. I like to hold myself in. But there’s no holding this in. It was a hell of a comeback win and something our team needed. I jump up and down and smack Mason and Crew on the back of their helmets and asses as they come running to the sidelines.

The entire team is up, jumping, and excited. You can feel the vibe. The energy. Even Russel is cheering in a way I wasn’t expecting, considering Mason threw the ball to Crew and not him. But I don’t care, and I’m glad he doesn’t either.

Maybe he is learning that this is a team and a team is about all of us. Especially if it leads to a victory.

I walk over to him and grab his shoulder. “Hey,” I shout so he can hear me over the roar of the crowd. “Great work out there today.” It was. He caught six passes for a lot of yards and made some clutch blocks when we needed them.

“Thanks. It was definitely a great game for all of us.”

There’s something… funny in the way he says that. A strange gleam in his eyes, I don’t quite understand. Except I don’t have time to figure it out. Because Asher is on the field, but instead of smiling or congratulating us, he’s weeding through for Mason and Crew.

My heart rate picks up ten thousand beats, and I find myself drifting over so I can hear whatever it is he’s about to say to them.

I reach them in time to hear him say, “Accident. I don’t know all the details. She had surgery and is in the ICU. She’s still unconscious.”

Crew’s hands fly to the top of his head, and all the color has drained from his face. Mason is in no better shape.

My heart, which had been pounding so hard only a second ago, has stopped. My insides freeze over, and my vision sways as my hands start to shake.

Quinn. Jesus fuck. No.

That must have been the accident I passed on my way in. God. I wish I had known. I would have been with her.

“Why didn’t anyone tell us?” Mason barks, his voice cracking on the end.

A crowd has grown around us, including reporters. Quinn would hate that. She wouldn’t want anyone knowing her business, and I shift in front of the press, blocking their access to Mason, Crew, and Asher.

“Coach!”

I glare over my shoulder. “No. Be a human for once and go.”

I turn back around so I don’t miss anything.

“No one told me,” Asher explains. “I can’t have my phone either, remember? Braelyn called Sorel during overtime, and she came and told me.” He gulps, and his eyes go glassy. “Quinn made Braelyn promise not to tell us until after the game.”

“Of course she fucking did. Goddamn her!” Crew’s hands fall to his knees as he doubles over. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know,” Asher answers honestly. “Your mother and Sorel left immediately to go be with her, and I ordered a helicopter to come and take us to the hospital. It’ll be here in about ten minutes.”

“Go,” I tell them sharply. “Get your stuff and go to her. I’ll take care of everything else.”

They were all so wrapped up in Quinn that they hadn’t realized I was here or that anyone else was listening, for that matter.

I need to be with her too, but how can I be? I’m not hers even if she’s mine. Not really. Not in any way anyone knows about. I’m the coach. I have to do postgame stuff, and they need to be with her. She needs them too.

Then I’ll go. I’ll figure it out, but I have to see her.

Asher throws me a grateful nod I have no business being on the receiving end of. The three of them run off to the locker room, and the rest of us trail behind. We don’t answer sideline questions. I don’t even glance in the reporter’s direction again. Russel comes in beside me, stoic with his head down, and everything inside me twists painfully.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Let’s hope because I need her.”