The Ice Hockey Player

Apologies

Welcome to Minnesota!

The sign flashed past Katrina and she glanced at Sarah anxiously.

"No, I'm not going faster," Sarah said flatly.

Katrina sat in the passenger seat now, with a still weak Rana lying down in the back seat sleeping. Her fingers had cramps, but she couldn't stop the tapping against her legs. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. At each passing mile and the closer they got to the hospital, the more butterflies exploded in her stomach.

"Katrina; don't worry –"

"Don't worry? Yes, thank you, that's very helpful," Katrina said, cutting off Sarah.

"Well...try not to worry too much."

All too soon familiar buildings started to flash past the window. Benny's Diner were she used to work, the neon sign still not fixed; the local bar that had the most amazing chicken wings; the university.

Sarah kept driving. Katrina kept tapping. Her breathing spiked.

"I don't think I can do this," Katrina said thickly as they pulled up in front of the hospital. Sarah parked the car.

"Yes, you can," she said and glanced back at Rana who was still sleeping peacefully. "She'll be fine there. Come on."

Katrina got out of the car with wobbly legs. The hospital loomed in front of her, daunting and deadly with each step she took towards it. Fear and hope coursed through her in a raging battle against each other, fire and ice inside her veins.

"It'll be okay," Sarah said softly, putting her hand on Katrina's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"What if he does reject me?" she asked, scared.

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Sarah said. "Now let's go."

They entered the hospital. It was far more pleasant inside than she'd expected. Everything was white and clean and shiny. People bustled around, some laughing and shrieking and buying bouquets of flowers and cards while others hugged each other and wept.

Sarah approached the reception desk and gave the lady her best charming smile.

"Hi, we're looking for Jay Brooks," Sarah said. Katrina didn't say anything.

"There is no one here by that name," the lady at the desk frowned, and looked at Sarah. "Are you sure you have the right name?"

"Yes, Jay isn't a patient here; he's with someone else and he's quite distraught. He's my cousin and I want to make sure he's okay. He hasn't been answering my calls and the text he sent me got me worried," Sarah lied smoothly. Lies came easily to all three of them.

"I'm his girlfriend," Katrina said. The haggard appearance and the dark bags under her eyes would sell the worry better than Sarah's honeyed words. "He called me and he didn't sound okay and I'm so worried."

She pretended it was Finn that had called her, imagined him lying in a hospital bed. Her words broke with held back sobs. The nurse gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Do you know who the patient is?" the lady asked kindly.

"No, he never told me," Sarah said, acting frustrated and pushing her hand through her hair. "We only know he's here because he told Katrina right before he hung up. We haven't been able to contact him since. Is there any way we can find him?"

The nurse tapped her fingers against her chin. "The only thing I can think of is to go trawling through the hospital; but you can't do that. I might be able to ask around and find out if anyone knows..." the lady said eventually.