The Hockey Star’s Remorse

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The nearest hospital was a few miles away, and the drive felt like an eternity. | kept glancing back at Timothy, worried about his condition. He had saved my life, and now he might pay for it.

Finally, we arrived at the hospital's emergency room entrance and | shifted the car into park. | looked back at Timothy, who's breaths had calmed to a gentle cadence.

“I'll be right back,” | told him, jumping out of the car.

| rushed inside, shouting for help to anyone that would hear. | ran directly into one of the nurses and she gasped in horror when she drew away from my grip with blood.

| looked down at myself and nearly cried at the sight of Timothy’s blood smeared. all over my skin and clothes. The scent of iron was thick in the air.

“Miss?” The nurse beckoned, resting a hand on my arm. “What happened?” “He...” | could barely get the words out through a sob. “Timothy...he was stabbed! He stabbed him!”

Another nurse rushed up, but this one kept her distance as she looked atwith at look of skepticism. “I don’t see any cuts on you...”

“His nis Timothy Hayes,” | continued, pointing to the doors. “He’s laying down in my car and he’s bleeding.”

For a moment, both of them blinked and exchanged glances. This made my blood boil and | slammed my hand against the near wall.

“For god sakes, DO something!” | screamed. “All right!” The one nurse held onto me, keepingsteady. “Just point us to where he is.”

The nurses followedout to the car where Timothy was still laying down. One had brought out a wheelchair for him to sit in, which made it easier to roll him inside. He didn’t respond to most of the movement, his body pale and limp as they brought him to the back for treatment.

| was left in the hospital lobby, soaked in blood and rain. Seyes lingered on 4/4

[e)

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Chapter 47

me as | walked over and took a seat by the fish tank. Nausea was kicking in, but | couldn’t decipher if it was from the hunger or from all the blood.

The hospital lobby seemed like a breeding ground for anxiety and uncertainty. Every passing minute felt like an eternity, and my mind was consumed by thoughts of what could be happening to him.

| clenched my trembling hands together, trying to focus on anything other than the worst-case scenarios. All those moments we shared together, from the laughter to the tender touches, cflooding back toin a suffocating realization.

How could we have cso far, only for it to end like this? Even if Bruce turned out to be right at Timothy's habits, | would never want him dead.

| glanced at the entrance of the emergency room, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of a doctor or nurse with news of Timothy. After a few minutes, | decided to find a distraction of

any kind.

| took out my phone, hoping it even still functioned after getting rained on. It was no surprise that Bruce forgot to swipe it off me, like the genius he was. Fortunately, the screen flickered on and | caught the mass of notifications that awaited me, mostly from Aria and Lucas.

Aria sent, Where the fare u??

Answer me!

Pleaseokay!!!

Lucas texted, Evie, if you can, please pick up! Aria’s stalking you! Are you good???

The feeling of isolation intensified, and | longed to talk to either them. With a heavy sigh, | clicked on Aria’s picture and dialed her number.

Not even a few rings passed before she answered, her voice almost a screech. “Evie, where the hell have you been? We’ve been trying to reach you!”

“I'm so sorry, Aria,” | said, my voice trembling. “I’ve been at the hospital with. Timothy. He got hurt, and | just... | couldn't think straight.”

Aria’s tone softened. “Oh, Evie, I’m sorry. Is Timothy okay?” 2/4

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Chapter 47

“| don’t know yet, | admitted with a sniffle. “The doctors are examining him now. It’s been so long, and I’m scared, Aria. I’m really scared.”

“Try to stay strong, Evie,” Aria encouraged. “Timothy is a tough guy, and he'll make it through. You have to believe that.” “| know, but what if...” my voice cracked, unable to finish the thought.

“You can’t think like that,” Aria said firmly. “Focus on the positive. Timothy is

strong, and he has you by his side. That's a powerful combination.”

| nodded, even though Aria couldn’t see me. “You're right. I'll stay positive.” “Good,” Aria said. “Do you needto cup there? Which ER is it?”

“It's pretty far away,” | said, although | honestly didn’t know. The area was unfamiliar to me. “But you don’t have to call the way up.”

Aria sighed. “You're sure?” “I'm positive,” | assured her, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Thank you, Aria.”

After hanging up, | felt a little more supported, but the waiting was still agonizing. | tried to distract myself by flipping through magazines in the lobby. Only a few pages in, | noticed something peculiar.

“Timothy’s New Beau?” The headline read in bold letters. Below it was a picture of con his skin glowing and his eyes twinkling at the camera. It was huge contrast to how he'd looked getting rolled in the ER.

Just beside his face was another photo, this tof a woman dark hair and round. eyes looked familiar to my own. | brought the page closer to my face and nearly shouted upon figuring out that the blurred woman was actually me! They had gotten an image ofleaving the courtroom.

Timothy was standing beside me, looking far more composed. There was a red circle over my hand where it connected to Timothy's elbow, and the words “Is this business professional” were type out below it.

“Unbelievable!” | flipped to the next message, only to discover more news on the issue. Fans were chipping in with their opinions, particularly about me.

Jessica: | wish | was Timothy’s lawyer. His case would’ve been settled ages ago!

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Chapter 47

Rachel: He couldn't have picked a prettier lawyer? Especially if he was going to date her afterward....

| rolled my eyes and shut the magazine before tossing it back into the stack beside me. Figures they would have a lot to say. At least Aria seemed more generous with the idea of Timothy and | dating, even though it was far from the truth.

In hindsight, of course. We never actually dated, as Bruce made painfully obvious. when talkingdown. Timothy claimed that the side of him that I'd known in High School was completely gone.

Still, media perception of him remained determined to always paint him as the successful bachelor with a woman at his side. It was a heavy contrast to the reserved, career focused man I'd spent twith.

After what felt like an eternity, a doctor approachedwith a tired smile. | stood. up, holding my breath in preparation for the news..

“You must be Evie,” he said, holding his hands together. “I’m Dr. Stevens. Timothy is doing well. The stab wound was deep, but we managed to stop the bleeding, and he’s stable now.”

My grip on the seat eased up and | was able to stand more independently. | sighed, overcwith a rush of relief. “Thy you so much.”

“Of course,” Dr. Stevens said with a nod. “He’s asked to see you.”

| blinked. “H—He did?”

Dr. Stevens tucked in his chin. “He demanded it, actually. | you could please follow

me.

He motioned forto walk with him. Without another word, | followed behind him down the cool hallway, feeling my resolve slowly build its way up again.

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