My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 88

Nina

“Nina… Taylor is in the hospital.”

I felt my heart drop as I registered what my mother just told me over the phone. Everything, from the Half-Moon Tournament to the Mad Wolf serum to Luke’s sudden transformation, seemed like nothing now.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” I said hastily, hanging up as a knot formed in my stomach.

“Nina? Is everything okay?” Enzo asked from behind. I turned around to see him still standing by the fire, looking at me with a concerned expression on his face. Luke was pulling on a pair of jeans behind him, but was also looking at me as he did so. It felt odd to see Luke with an actual expression on his face, and for there to be meat and flesh on his bones, but right now it hardly registered to me.

“I-I have to go,” I said, taking a few steps backwards. “It’s my brother. He’s in the hospital.”

Both Enzo’s and Luke’s eyes widened. Enzo jogged toward me. “I’ll take you on the motorcycle,” he said.

“No,” I replied. “I’ll borrow Lori’s car. I’ll keep you updated, though. Just focus on Edward and the Half-Moon tournament.”

Enzo nodded, and before either of them said anything else, I turned on my heel and ran back toward the campus. Lori was thankfully still awake when I got home, playing a video game on the TV.

“Can I borrow your car for the night?” I asked breathlessly as I ran through to my room and began stuffing clothes and toiletries in my backpack.

Lori paused her game and turned around on the couch to face me. “Uh… Sure, I guess?” she responded. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s my brother,” I replied, running out of my room with my bag haphazardly packed already. “He’s in the hospital.”

Lori jumped up and grabbed her keys out of her purse, her face drawn with worry. “Here,” she said, tossing them to me. “Be careful, okay? And keep me updated.”

“I will," I responded, giving my roommate a quick hug before sprinting out of the dorm and out to her car.

…

It was two o’clock in the morning when I arrived at the hospital where Taylor was staying. I was certain I had broken several traffic laws on the way, but thankfully there was no one on the roads with it being so late, so I managed to make it without getting into an accident or getting a ticket.

My mother was sitting in the waiting room and jumped up when I burst in through the double doors.

For the first time in my life, my mother’s usually-cold face was full of worry. I, however, was just angry with her for not getting Taylor the help he needed and for letting it get to this point. I was mad at myself, too, for not being there for him.

“Where is he?” I asked.

My mother called a nurse over, who led us to the hospital room where Taylor was staying.

When I entered, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach like a ball of lead.

My brother was hooked up to so many machines. There was a breathing tube down his throat, his eyes were closed, and his body was pale, thin, and very limp.

“Oh, Taylor,” I whispered, dropping my bag on the floor and running over to the side of his bed. I gripped the bed rail with one hand and squeezed his arm with the other as tears welled up in my eyes.

“I’m very sorry,” the nurse said quietly. “His symptoms were so severe that the doctor had to put him under a medically-induced coma.”