Puck Off!

Chapter 33

The doctor wanted to keep Iryna another night for testing, and she knew at that point it was pointless to argue about playing. In the afternoon they let her walk around for a bit while towing her IV stand, and she was so weak that she didn't even mention playing in the game the following day again. She became nervous about playing in the game after that instead.

               But we knew we could go watch them play and cheer them on. I had little doubt that a speech from their captain before the game would inspire them!

               As expected, the police were pretty useless. They asked a few questions, and when she obviously couldn't tell them that he had drugged her for sure explained that there was nothing they could do. They did help Ryn file a restraining order with the police in Boston though, just to make sure that Fisher would stay away from her once they got back, but that wasn't as much help as an arrest would have been.

My parents had arrived just after lunch, followed by Ryn's dad less than hour later, and all the parents got to tease about wedding plans. Yeah, we didn't care. Had we not been as secure in our relationship now, maybe it would worry me. But I already knew that she was my future wife, and so did she. We were in no hurry, since she had a very full plate with her college and Olympic schedule already, but we'd get there. So, the teasing didn't bother me, and judging by her expression, it didn't bother her either. When I asked, I knew she'd say yes. It was a nice feeling.

               My parents had to almost drag Ella out, because she didn't want to leave Elske again, even knowing that she'd be seeing her that weekend. But they did have to get back, and I couldn't keep them. They would be back for the weekend, and instead of just dropping Ella off, they would be staying too, so I knew we'd get all caught up.

               It was still weird meeting Ryn's parents in the hospital, but her mom loved me already and her dad seemed like a nice guy too. I like the idea of her parent's being in Rhode Island, because that would give us a close location to go to for holidays later. I could see us spending some 4th of July holidays down there for sure.

               By the time the night rolled around, Ryn was in much better shape, though still a little weak. The doctor let me spend the night there, while her parents got a hotel room so they could be there when she got out. We were all but assured that would happen in the morning if there were no setbacks overnight. Luckily, there weren't any, just a lot of kissing. That seemed to improve her spirits dramatically, as they did mine, so I just assumed it was a new kind of therapy.

               Obviously, I was the magical cure because the following morning the doctor checked her out and gave her a clean bill of health. We celebrated that with a big breakfast with her parents, where we both stuffed ourselves silly. I hadn't been eating much in the last few days, since I was flying instead of eating and then too worried about Ryn to even think about it. So by the time the food came, Ryn and I were both acting as though we had empty pits in our stomachs.

               Her parents seemed to be amused by that.

               But they were just thrilled to see her out of the hospital, as they were both headed to the airport after we ate, while we were headed to the ice rink to see the team, and then watch them play their first round match. We'd even stay for the men's game afterwards, but I was hoping for a drastically different outcome.

               With our bellies stuffed, we caught a cab to the hotel, since Ryn had texted Elske, and she said they were still there and not at the arena yet and met up with the team in one of the conference rooms where they had been enjoying their own buffet breakfast.

               With the men's team.

               I saw Fisher almost immediately. It wasn't hard as he was the only one sitting at his table in the corner. Even his own team had ostracized him at that point, and he was supposed to be their captain. It wasn't a good look for him. He looked up as we came in since the whole women's team started cheering when they saw Iryna, and then he quickly looked away. Scum. And yet, I had little doubt that in his brain, he somehow thought he was a victim in all of this.