Chapter Twenty-Eight

Zack

I walk into the arena, and instead of dread, I’m holding my head high. I nod at a couple of people and make my way to the changing room when I see Colton walking down the hallway.

We come face-to-face, and he just shakes his head. “I had no idea,” he says. “I swear when I found out about her calling ZMT, I kicked her out.”

“Why?” I ask him.

“What she did is just wrong,” he starts saying, and I have to laugh.

“So you sleeping with a married woman wasn’t wrong, but her leaking a story was?”

“Listen,” he says. “I didn’t chase her; she chased me.”

“And what, you have no self-control?” I ask him. “Was it hard to fight off a woman who weighed a hundred pounds?” He tries to say something, but I put my hand up. “I mean, after all, if you hadn’t fucked my wife, I wouldn’t have met Denise.” I shrug my shoulders. “I think we can call it even. I get Denise, and you get to keep Chantal.”

“Listen, all I’m going to say is if you need anything, or if your lawyer needs any information, I’m willing to help.” He looks down. “Just watch it,” he says and walks away with his head down.

I shake my head and walk into the room. The guys look up when I walk in, but none of them bring up anything, when Mark finally comes in. “Jesus,” Phil says when he strips his shirt. “What the fuck happened to you?” he says, pointing at Mark’s chest, five hickeys all down his chest leading to his dick.

“Had a rough couple of days,” he says, smiling.

“Did she tie you up for that?” Matthew asks him, and he just shakes his head.

“You aren’t the only one who cuffs people to the bed,” he says, and Max hits his knee, laughing.

“Laugh all you want; she married me,” Matthew says to everyone.

“She’s so lucky,” one of the guys says, and Matthew glares at him.

“You boys get it all out of your system. We have to go out there and smoke those bastards,” Matthew says. “Losing isn’t an option tonight.”

I get dressed for my pre-game workout, and it goes smoothly. So does getting dressed and heading out to the ice. I skate on and do the turn of the net, then go to the ice where I see Phil giving Michael and Jack a high-five.

I spot Denise standing next to them, and Matthew ribs Max for her wearing my shirt. I stand here just smiling, thinking she’s fucking mine.

I laugh while I skate off the ice from warm-up and spot Olivier who just nods at me. “I’ve already informed the media you aren’t giving interviews even after the game.”

“Thank you,” I say to him, “for everything.”

“It’s what I do,” he says. “Now, don’t give me any more work.” He winks at me and walks away.

I walk into the room, sitting down and drinking some water. I get up when they tell me it’s time; we all line up, and I have Matthew in front of me and Max behind me. Matthew looks behind him. “Whatever you do, try to keep your head in the game.”

“Always,” I say, zoning out the media, Chantal, and Colton. I zone out everything when my skates touch the ice. I skate to the blue line and go around in a circle; the banging of the crowd fills my mind as the puck drops, and Matthew wins the face-off.

He passes to Max, and I slowly skate up, my eyes never really leaving the puck. He skates across Arizona’s blue line where he tries to pass it to Phil on the other side, but it gets intercepted, when Darryl, the right-wing, poke checks it. Colton and Drew both now skate forward. When Nathan gets tripped up, and it’s now a two on one with Colton and Drew skating up on me. Drew skates up with the puck while I skate backward, and he passes it to Colton.

Colton drives up the ice, and I know he’s an asshole puck hog, so I know there isn’t any way he’s going to pass that puck, especially if he can take one up on me. I move backward, but at a slower pace, and when I skate over the blue line, he’s so concentrated on my speed he doesn’t realize I’ve given my team time to get back. Max surprises him from the back, picking up his stick as I move forward and grab the puck, zipping past their defense as I make my way to the net, the adrenaline in me pushing and pumping through me as I swing up my arm and just shoot on net, not expecting anything but my shot catches him on his blocker side as he tries to raise his arm, but it slides under his arm, hitting the back of the net.

The red siren goes off in the back of the net, and the crowd goes wild, jumping to their feet. Max is the first to get to me followed by Matthew and Phil.

“Well, that shows them,” Max says to me as we skate to our bench and celebrate by high-fiving everyone. The rest of the game is smooth sailing. Colton doesn’t even get a shot on net, and we skate off the ice, giving Mark a shutout.

I get back to the room, grabbing my phone when I see that Denise sent me a text.

I’ll wait for you by the car.

I smile at the text and hurry up; the press comes in and a couple of them ask me the dreaded question.

“How did it feel to face your old team?”

I smile at the question. “It was good to touch base with a couple of them. I enjoyed my time in Arizona, but my home is now here.”

“There has been talk about a divorce,” one of the female reporters starts asking me, and I just nod my head.

“Thanks for your time,” I tell them and walk to the shower, and when I peek my head in, the reporters are all gone. I say goodbye to a couple of the guys who are still here.

Walking in the hallway, I pass a couple of my old teammates. They are all cordial, which makes what I have here in New York so much more. It’s such a different type of team, and I’m thankful that I got the better end of the stick. I walk down to my car and spot Denise talking to Max.

“Hey,” she says when she sees me coming over. I bend and kiss her lips.

“Enough of that,” Max says. “I’m right here.”

I laugh at him and lean down and kiss her again, just to fuck with him, but also because I want to and because I can. “Where is Jack?” I ask her, and then she looks at me.

“Your parents took him home and said to enjoy the night,” she tells me. “They don’t expect us home until tomorrow.”

“Really?” I tell her, bringing her closer to me. “Well, then.”

“I’m out,” Max says to us, leaning forward and giving Denise a kiss. “Call me tomorrow,” he says and turns to walk away.

“So how about we grab some food and then take it home to the loft.” We walk toward the truck, and I open the door for her as she gets in. I walk around the truck, getting in, and we stop by the deli on the corner by her house, and we walk into the loft.

We watch television, or we try to, but we end up getting naked, and I make her come on my tongue, my fingers, and then I slide into her.

By the time we walk into the house the next day, I’ve kissed every single piece of her, and I still haven’t had enough.

We hang with my parents, and she slowly but surely starts chipping away at my father’s tough exterior. None of us mention the big elephant in the room.

We go to bed early, Denise staying again, and then when we walk into the hospital the next day, both of us are holding Jack’s hand as he takes on the biggest fight of his life, and he’s only five.

Denise maintains a brave front when we walk up to the nurses’ station. She is starting with us, then she will start her shift.

“Jumping Jack here for his superpowers,” she says to Mallory. She smiles down at him, and he gives her a big smile and then turns to look at my parents who also came.

“I’m going to have superpowers,” he tells them, and they laugh.

“Come right this way,” Mallory says, getting up and going to the room where he will be hooked up.

“Okay, Jumping Jack,” Mallory starts. “You need to go in there and change out of your clothes and put on this gown,” she tells him, and he just nods at her.

“I’ll take you,” Shirley says as he walks to the bathroom to change.

“I’m going to go put my stuff away,” Denise says to me. “I’ll be right back.”

I nod at her as she squeezes my hand, walking away. “I feel like there is a jackhammer in my chest.” I look at my father who comes to me, slapping my shoulder.

“Have faith,” he says as he blinks away his tears. “You have to have faith.” I just nod at him and wait.

Jack comes out and sits on the chair in the middle of the room when Mallory walks in with Steve. “How is my favorite patient doing?” Steve asks Jack.

“I’m going to get superpowers,” he tells him, and Steve just nods, sitting in front of him. “So we are going to start the IV, and then we are going to put the superpower in.”

“Am I going to be sick with this one?” he asks Steve. “I threw up a lot of the other one.”

“I hope not,” Steve answers him. “But we don’t know for sure.”

“Okay,” he says as he sits in the chair that is too big for him. His body preparing for the biggest fight of his life, and he has no idea.

Denise now comes in, wearing her lab coat. “So what did I miss?” she says, coming next to me.

Mallory comes in and lays the instruments down to start an IV. “It’s going to pinch,” she says, and no matter how many times he’s had an IV, he silently starts to cry.

I sit next to him, holding his hand, his silent cry starting to get a bit louder. “It hurts,” he says, and I lean over and kiss him.

Whispering in his ear, I tell him, “You are so brave. You are so strong.” Tears now roll down my cheeks.

“There,” Mallory says, “all done.”

I wipe Jack’s face, and he just nods. “How about we get a nice family picture?” Steve says. “So we can hang it on the wall once you beat this.”

My parents come and stand behind me with Jack in front, and then I look at Denise. “You too, Dr. Denise,” Jack says, and she just shakes her head, but Steve pushes her forward. She sits on the other side of Jack, holding his hand.

“Okay, say survivor,” Steve says, and we all repeat him.

“I have to go see Evie,” Denise says. “But I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” Jack says. “Is she getting her superpowers also?”

“Yeah, buddy, she is,” Denise says. “Someone very special gave a lot of money for her to get them,” she says, smiling and then leaning down to kiss his cheek.

“Here it goes,” Mallory says, smiling while she hooks up the little white bag and the IV starts.

When lunchtime comes around, Jack is tired and restless. His lunch of Jell-O and broth are nothing for him. I pick him up and make sure that the IV tube doesn’t stick on the chair when I turn him around and rock him in my arms.

“Can we go to Disney?” he asks me, looking up at me.

“As soon as we can,” I tell him, knowing I’m going to give him everything he wants.

“I want Grandma and Grandpa to come to,” he says. “And Dr. Denise.”

I nod my head at him. “You can just call her Denise now.”

“Okay,” he says, closing his eyes and falling asleep while I lay my head back and close my eyes, and I pray. I pray to every single god that there is out there.

When his bag is empty, Steve comes back into the room. “Can I see you in the hall?” he asks me, and I nod, putting Jack down to sit in the chair and watch his show on his iPad.

I stand with him out in the hall. “There are a couple of things you need to look out for,” he says. “The next three days are the most crucial.”

“Okay,” I say to him, my heart beating. “Wouldn’t it be better if he stayed here?”

“Yes,” he tells me, “but he will be more comfortable at home.”

“Okay,” I tell him.

“You have to just watch him like a hawk. Monitor his temperature and make sure it doesn’t go up. If at any time he’s dizzy, you need to bring him back ASAP.”

“Okay,” I tell him and then look down. “When do we know if this worked?”

“Three months,” he tells me. “Ninety days.”

I nod my head at him. “Okay. We’ve come this far.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve come this far,” he says and walks away, and I rub my face with my hands and look up to see Janet walking toward me.

“You did this, didn’t you?” she says when she gets close enough to talk to me.

“I don’t—” I start, but she just raises her hand, and she is soon joined by her husband and son. Her husband puts a hand around her and then looks at me.

“This is the man who donated the money for Evie,” she says, her face with tears.

“I don’t know how we can ever repay you,” Darryl says, “but we will.”

“That isn’t necessary,” I tell him.

“You’re Zack Morrow,” the son tells me, and I just nod at him. “I play defense like you,” he says. “You were always my idol growing up, and now you just crossed over to superhero.” He smirks.

“I didn’t do anything that someone else wouldn’t have done,” I tell them.

“You gave our daughter a chance to live,” Janet says, and she can’t speak anymore. She just turns into her husband’s arms as he holds her.

“If you ever need anything,” he says, “anything. My family is in your debt.” He turns and walks away to the room.

I go back in, and we dress Jack again; this time, he’s too tired to walk, so I carry him.

“Are we waiting for Denise?” my mother asks, and I just nod my head when she comes running out.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me coming over?” she asks me, and I just nod. I don’t say anything to her as we walk to the car. I’m holding Jack in my arms while I hold her hand.

When we get home, Denise tries to get Jack to perk up a bit by asking him to build a fort with her, but he just wants to lie down. So she gets his favorite blankets and tucks him in on the couch. She also goes into doctor mode and takes his temperature every thirty minutes and makes a chart for herself.

“She really is something else,” my father says to me while the two of us sit on the couch with Jack lying between us.

“She is everything,” I tell him, looking back at her as she writes in her latest numbers.

She comes into the room and sits next to me. “Tomorrow when I go into work, I need you to take his temperature hourly,” she says, and I just put my arm around her and bring her close. We don’t say anything else. We don’t even watch television; the television watches us as the three of us just sit in our own thoughts.

We go to bed that night, but Denise is up every hour on the dot to check on him. “Wouldn’t it be better if I brought him to bed with us?” I ask her after the fourth hour.

“If he’s comfortable, we should leave him in there,” she tells me, and I follow her to his room. He wakes up this time and then asks to come with us. He cuddles up to me as we sleep the three of us in the bed, and when I say sleep, I’m lying. Denise just watches him the whole night.

“How are you going to function tomorrow?” I whisper to her, and she just shrugs.

“This is nothing,” she says, and I look at her.

“I love you,” I tell her softly, and she just reaches out and comes closer.

“Love you more,” she says, and by the time I blink, her alarm is going off softly in her hands. She looks at Jack sleeping in my arms and reaches out to touch his head. “He’s warm.”

“No, he isn’t,” I tell her. “He’s stuck to me.”

“You need to make sure the minute his temperature goes up that you bring him in.”

“I know,” I tell her as she rushes around the room getting her things ready and quietly kissing us before walking out of the room. I hear the front door close softly and close my eyes, but then I hear the door again.

I rise on my elbow and look over at the door, listening to the footsteps again, this time coming back upstairs. I watch Denise come in the room.

“Did you forget something?” I ask her as she stands there and takes off her jacket.

“I can’t go to work like this. Half my head is here,” she says, kicking off her shoes. “Actually, my whole head is here.”

“Baby,” I say. Getting off the bed and going to her, I grab her face in my hands. “He’s going to be fine.”

“I know but”—she puts her hands on mine—“I can’t leave him.”

“Okay,” I whisper and kiss her lips. “Get back into your pjs.”

She climbs back into bed on her side while she watches him sleep, and I watch her. Grateful, so fucking grateful that I found her.

It’s a good thing she was checking because that night we notice his temperature is going up. Slowly but surely, it hits a fever, and she is wrapping him in her arms, and we are rushing him to the hospital.

We load up the car, and when we finally get to the hospital, Steve is waiting for us. “His temperature went from normal, and now he’s borderline.” Denise starts walking with him as he brings us to a room, and Jack groans in my arms.

“I’m tired,” he says and then closes his eyes, Denise starts to get a little frantic. She whips off her jacket once I lie him down and starts to call orders out when Steve looks at her.

“You need to step aside, Denise,” he says to her, and she just stops. “Go and stand with Zack.” She doesn’t have to say anything; instead, he steps in front of her and holds her hands.

She comes to stand next to me and puts her arms around my waist as we watch them hook Jack up to machines.

The beeping of his heart fills the room. “We need to start him on the meds,” Denise says, and Steve just nods at her.

“Don’t make me put you out of the room,” he tells her, and she lets go of my waist. “You aren’t in charge here.”

She looks like the devil just took over her body, and I have to put an arm around her. “Let them do what they need to do,” I tell her, and she just watches.

For the next thirty minutes, they take his blood pressure and temperature, and when Steve turns to us and walks past us, Denise knows to follow him. “I’m not going to tell you what you already know. I will tell you that we are doing the best thing for him. I administered the drug, and now I hate to say it, but it’s a waiting game.”

“That isn’t good enough,” Denise says. “Call Melissa and see what the backup plan is.”

“There isn’t a backup plan, and you know that.” He looks down. “The next twenty-four hours are critical.”

“What are you saying?” I finally speak.

“If his temperature doesn’t go down, chances are we’re going to lose him,” Steve says; his voice sounds almost disconnected, but I know that it’s killing him just to say this.

“What?” I whisper as I hear Denise from beside me.

“This is all my fault,” she says as her legs give out, and she leans against the wall, falling to the floor.