Powerplay by Cher Carson Page A

floor, the velvet box clutched in her hand. “I hate this.” She knew Mark was big and strong, a skilled fighter who usually came out on top, but rarely without his fair share of battle scars. 
    His opponent threw the first punch, but Mark managed the second and third. Both men worked to try and get the other’s helmet off so they could land more devastating blows. Mark’s helmet was the first to come off, ricocheting off the ice. He lost his footing with one solid blow to the head and fell backward, his head smacking the ice hard.
    “Ohhhh nooooo,” the announcer said.
    There was a long moment of silence as everyone waited for Mark to get up.
    He didn’t move. The camera zeroed in his face, but his eyelids didn’t even flutter. He was out cold.
    Pandemonium ensued as medics rushed to his aid.
    Jenna heard words filtering into her consciousness as she tried to make sense of what just happened.
    She heard the announcer’s voice, “Freak accident…what are the odds… concussion…they’re bracing his neck… here comes the stretcher…”
    Callie reached for her hand, squeezing it. “He’s gonna be okay, honey.”
    “What if he’s not?” she whispered. She knew there had been dozens of hockey injuries in recent years where the wounded player never made a complete recovery. What if Mark was one of the unlucky few?
    “They’re taking him to the hospital,” the announcer said. “We’ll keep you apprised of his condition.”
    “I need to go there,” Jenna said, standing. “I have to see him.”
    “I’ll drive you,” Callie said, grabbing her coat and purse.
    “You guys go,” Tracey said. “I’ll lock up. Call me as soon as you hear anything, okay?”
    Jenna nodded her head numbly. “We will.” She looked her friend in the eye. “He has to be okay, Trace. He just has to.” 
    By the time they arrived at the hospital, Mark’s friends and family were already gathered in the lounge, awaiting news about his condition.
    Jenna felt like an outsider, as though she hadn’t earned the right to be there alongside the people who loved him. “Maybe we should just go,” she said to Callie, turning her back on the small crowd of familiar faces. She had met everyone at his father’s sixty-fifth birthday party, but they were still strangers to her.
    Callie took her hands and looked her in the eye. “Mark would want you to be here, Jen. Don’t make the mistake of letting him down again.”
    Guilt tore through her. She’d not only let him down, she’d failed herself. Instead of being honest about what she wanted, she took the coward’s way out, and now it may too late for her to make things right.
    “Have you eaten anything today?” Callie asked.
    She couldn’t even think about putting anything in her stomach.  “No, I don’t want…”
    Callie shook her head firmly. “You have to keep your strength up, Jen.” She led her to a chair on the periphery of the spacious room. “Just sit tight. I’m going to get you something from the cafeteria, okay?”
    She nodded her head, not because she wanted the food, but because she did want a little peace and quiet so she could collect her thoughts.    
    Callie walked toward the bank of elevators as Mark’s two sisters turned around and spotted her. They whispered to each other before his older sister, Allison, raised her hand in greeting.
    Jenna forced a small smile, waving back.
    Allison made her way across the room and claimed the chair beside her. “I’m surprised to see you here, Jenna.”
    She clasped her hands in her lap, preparing herself to face his sister’s wrath. “My friends and I were watching the game on TV. I saw what happened to Mark, and I was concerned. I needed to...” See him, touch him, tell him I love him.
    “The doctors are evaluating him now.” Allison tipped her head to the side, regarding Jenna curiously. “Why are you really here?”
    She cleared her throat, trying to mask her discomfort. “I, uh, we’re friends.