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Groaning, I try to take stock of the room without moving my head, but I’m having difficulty getting everything into focus. There is movement in the corner chair by the door. I think it may be a person. Attempting to sit up, I see the blob from the corner of the room stand up and come toward me.
“Brady, man, don’t move too fast. You’ve got a concussion and two cracked ribs.”
“Cooper?” My voice comes out scratchy and cracked but not as quiet as I’d hoped.
Nat shoots up to a sitting position.
Moving herself so that she’s barely touching me, she whispers, “Brady, you’re awake.”
I look from Nattie to Coop. “Guys, how long have I been here? Did we win?”
Cooper leans on the foot of the bed. “We won, man. It’s about midnight right now.”
Nat fusses with my blanket. “I did tell you all of that earlier, but your memory is still foggy. The doctor said it might be like that for a day or two.”
She reaches for something on my bedside table. It’s Tommy’s stuffed dinosaur. “Tommy left this for you. He said it helps him sleep.”
“Annabelle and Tommy left around dinner time. The nurses wouldn’t let all of us stay, so I begged Chloe to let me stay. She went home with Bash and Murphy a few hours ago. She wasn’t thrilled, but when I told her it would be easier for me to sleep in bed with you than her, she agreed.”
I look over at Cooper. “How’d you pull the lucky card to get to stick around, man?”
Nat tenses up again and looks to Cooper, eyes filled with worry. There is a long pause, and no one is speaking.
“Does somebody want to fill me in on what’s going on? I feel like you two are having a conversation without any words. Is this a twin thing? Was I out for days or something? What aren’t you guys telling me?”
Nattie grabs my hand. “Brady, why don’t we just leave it until tomorrow when you’re feeling better?”
Now I’m concerned. “Natalie, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
Coop moves next to Nat. “Listen, man, nothing is going on now. Shit’s been handled, but your hit today wasn’t an accident. Darby didn’t block for you. He stepped out of the way.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I wish I were, brother.” He looks at his sister. “You want to tell him the rest?”
I feel Natalie get off of the bed.
“Nattie, what’s going on?”
“I got a text before the game. I wasn’t sure it was Darby texting me. It was bad, and I figured it had to be either him or Aria.” She won’t meet my eyes. Keeps fiddling with the blanket, plucking at it.
“They were working together,” Coop said.
Nat sits down in the reclining chair next to the bed and pulls her knees up. “That’s what I figured. Is it over?” She’s asking Cooper this, not me.
“It is. Dad texted me an hour ago.”
“Guys, my brain already feels like fucking Swiss cheese. I’m going to need you to slow down and quietly tell me what the fuck you’re talking about? Why did your dad text? What does he have to do with this?”
A look passes between Natalie and Cooper before Coop walks over and squeezes Nat’s shoulder.
She nods.
Coop gives me the look he saves for really bad news. “Nat got a text right before the game. It was a threat, and there were pictures attached. Pictures of you two in your back yard. Graphic pics, man. Then you were hit at the game, and the unknown texter messaged again when she got to the hospital.”
I look over to my girl, and tears are cascading down her face, but I don’t get to say anything before Cooper continues.
“By then, Bash had already told us he suspected Darby had let you get hit on purpose, and we had already talked to Coach Maxwell. When Nat filled in the rest of the details, we called our dad. He got the team’s fixers and his lawyers on it. An emergency gag order has already been signed, and an arrest warrant was issued for Darby and he’s already been picked up.
