Page 155 of Broken Saint
Twisting around, I catch sight of Colt on the field, but it’s what the paramedics are doing that makes the world fall from beneath me.
They’re giving him CPR.
Brax just manages to catch me before I plummet, his arms holding me tighter than ever.
“COLTON,” I scream, my entire body trembling violently.
More arms wrap around me before the sweet, combined scent of my girls’ perfume fills my nose, but it brings me littlecomfort as I continue staring at the players hiding my man from the world in his worst moments.
40
ELLA
Time stands still.
It completely grinds to a halt as I stand there with Brax’s arms locked around me.
He’s just as terrified. His entire body trembles against mine.
But there is nothing we can do as we stand on the sideline and watch as an ambulance races onto the field.
The stadium completely silent as every single person in this place prays that the man laid out by the twenty-five-yard line will just get up.
He’s one of their beloved Saints.
But they don’t love him like I do.
They can’t. It’s impossible.
A sob rips free as I consider the possibility that everything we’ve discovered in the past few days might already be over.
That the little bit of happiness I thought I’d found here in Seattle has been shattered.
We watch in a daze as the paramedics do their thing, but with the rest of the team still protecting Colt, it’s impossible to see what’s happening.
All we know is that it’s bad.
Really fucking bad.
Long, agonizing minutes pass as we wait for something, anything that might give us a little hope.
It doesn’t come. And when the Saints’ coach finishes talking to one of the medical staff and turns to us, the look on his face tells us everything we already know.
He marches over, keeping his head high, trying to be the pillar of strength he knows everyone needs right now, but in his eyes, it’s clear that he’s suffering too.
He loves Colt, and this is ripping him up inside just like it is everyone else.
He glances at me, but mostly his haunted dark eyes stay locked on Brax’s.
He reaches out and grabs his padded shoulder, knowing Brax is like a brother to Colt.
“They’re taking him to the hospital,” he explains. “West is going with him and?—”
His words trail off as voices start ringing around me. I don’t hear a word. It’s impossible when the barrier of men before us begins moving and I get my first sight of Colton on a gurney.
I don’t recognize the scream that rips from my lips, but I sure feel it all the way to the depth of my soul.
With Brax distracted, I manage to slip free from his arms and I run full speed toward Colt. My need to be with him, to hold his hand and tell him that I love him is all-consuming. But I don’t make it to him. Not that I really thought I would. Instead, strong arms wrap around me from behind, stopping me from following Colt, West and the paramedics as they move across the field as a unit.