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The doctor cleared his throat as if reluctant to intrude on a private moment. “Have you been under any amount of stress?”
“Well, I have college and football, so…”
He arched an eyebrow. “Anyundueamount of stress?”
My shoulders dropped. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling pretty stressed lately.”
“I’ll run some tests, and we’ll talk after.” He looked at my parents. “I’m going to recommend we admit your son for the night just to be safe.”
I didn’t argue this time.
When he left, Dad stepped bedside, a range of emotions on his face.
“I’m sorry,” I told them. “But things have been coming to a head.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“About my friendship with Lark…and the truth about my cancer. I decided to tell my teammates about how we know each other, and that felt good. Especially since I’d been feeling off for a while now. I wanted to make it to the end of the season first. To get the team into the playoffs. To make you proud.”
His forehead crinkled. “Son, I—”
“Please, let me finish,” I said, and he nodded. “But the pressure became too much. I’m not you, Dad. But I let you make all the decisions for far too long. I want to have my own college experiences, and I’m sorry if that upsets you.”
I held my breath as a look passed between my parents.
“Honey, you would never disappoint us,” Mom said, and Dad squeezed my shoulder, but he never said the words out loud. It was always Mom smoothing the way. My stomach tumbled with uncertainty.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Coach stepped through the curtain. “The guys are getting impatient and hoping for an update on their team captain.”
I smiled, glad he’d alleviated the tension between us, at least momentarily. “You can always put Spencer on the phone so I can tell him I have to stay overnight while they run tests.”
“Mind if I just send him back here so he can tell the team he actually laid eyes on you? They were so worried.”
“Spencer’s here?”
“They all are. In the waiting room.”
My heart rose to my throat. Those lovable idiots.
Well, lovable was pushing it.
37
LARK
“Right there, Mom.”I pointed with a shaking finger, feeling like I was crawling out of my skin. “The visitors’ lot.”
I wasn’t allowed to see Henry last night because by the time I got a ride to the hospital from Pete, who had agreed to wait in the parking lot with Star, visiting hours had ended. I was told to return in the morning, and thankfully, Mom was off. We had driven Star to preschool, then came directly to the hospital.
It’d been Emil who’d informed me that Henry had collapsed on the practice field, and I’d been a mess ever since. I’d tried texting him but got no response, so maybe his phone was off or ran out of battery. Apparently, his parents were with him, and he needed to stay overnight so they could run tests.
Once Mom parked and we got inside, we were directed to a bank of elevators that took us to the third floor. In the waiting room, we found a handful of teammates along with the coach. Coach nodded in our direction, and Spencer stood to greet me.
“How is he?”
“In good spirits.”
I blew out a breath, relieved.
