Chapter 97: Bryn

Coach didn’t take it easy on my guys. It was almost as if he was pissed at them for being injured and wanted them to feel the guilt in every one of their healed bones. It’s pissing me all the way off, but I’m doing my best not to step in. I’ve been babying the boys long enough, and I can’t stop them from breaking themselves all over again playing the game they love. What I can help with is making sure they're well fed them, hydrated, and stretched.

After the first hour, watching the boys wear their newly healed bodies to exhaustion was too much, and I decided to head to the councilor's office. I waved at them to get their attention and made a hand motion, saying that I was going to leave. They waved, as did some of the other guys. I left Maddox’s coat where I had been sitting so he would have it when he leaves, and I headed out of the rink. The cool air was a lot warmer than inside, so for a second I get a hot flash as my body tries to make sense of the temperature shift.

I shiver once my body realizes its cold out here too, just a different kind. It's a trip.

“Oh, my gosh. It’s you.” I’m startled when a girl walks straight up to me and blocks my path. “You’re Bryn.”

“Uh yeah. And you are?” I ask awkwardly.

I unconsciously wrap my coat around my belly as if to protect my child from this random woman. Let em tell you, do not watch crime shows or medical shows involving pregnant women when you are pregnant…it makes you paranoid.

“I’m Tally Woods from The Daily.” She says happily.

I don’t recognize the name and by how young she looks, it’s probably her first story.

“Oh hi. Look, I’m sorry, but I really need to go.” I tell her and try to sidestep her.

“Oh, come on, please. Can you just answer a few questions? I really need to have something when I go back to the office.” She says with a pleading look.

Shoot, how am I supposed to not help when she looks like that? But I already know what she wants to report on and I don’t want to see any of personal business all out in the open again.

“I already spoke to Jaxon and another anonymous source. I just want to confirm some points with you.” She blurted out.

“You talked to Jaxon?” That’s weird. As a cop, he knowns when and when not to talk to reporters, so why would he talk to this girl?

An ugly creature inside me has me looking her over and hate how pretty she is. Did Jaxon think so too, and that’s why he talked to her? I wouldn’t blame him, but if he was interested in a girl like this, then why not just leave? I never understand the point of affairs. If you are unhappy with your partner, then divorce them and live your life. Why hurt your partner and then expect them to suffer on or even make them feel like they’re overreacting? It’s so unfair, and I never want to be a part of it. I’ve told the guys, even Sawyer, that if at any point they want to leave, then they should. I will not hold them back, but I will not be the scorned party in an affair.

The others are not legally bound to me, so it would be an easy break. I would sign the papers if Sawyer bought them for me because he wants to be with someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be beyond heart broken but I din’t want to be cheated on. Never.

“He said some nice things about you. The rest of the precinct were surprised by this new life choice he’s made, but he was nice enough to defend you.” She doesn’t look like she thinks it was nice at all.

“Okay, well, Jaxon has every right to talk to. He wishes, to but so do I, and I prefer not to speak about my private life to a reporter.” I say nicely but firmly.

I am finally able to walk past her, but I stop when she calls out after me.

“So, who’s the real father of your baby? You said it was Sawyer’s but how can you be sure? How do we know you aren’t lying about who you were with at that time?” That smile she had a moment ago was gone and she’s holding her phone up at me as if she’s filming me.

Not this again.

“As I said a moment ago, I prefer not to talk about my private life like this. We haven’t asked to be in the spotlight like this. My husband has been offered an amazing opportunity in California, and that should be what you guys report. Anything else is up to us to share, which we do on social media when we are comfortable discussing it. Coming to our school and on campus with the express reason to ambush us is cruel and unethical. I have already expressed my desire not to answer your questions, so you could have accepted that and left. Instead, you have decided to harass me.”

“This property is open to anyone.” She says with a haughty attitude.

“Actually, it isn’t. Only students and potential students are allowed on the property. Potential students are to be escorted by assigned personal. So, in fact, you are trespassing. Something I will happily rectify.” I pull out my phone and call campus security.

“Campus security?”

“Hi! My name is Bryn and I’m outside the hockey building, being ambushed by a reporter from The Daily named Tally Woods. And you send someone to help me with the situation?” I ask him.

“Of course ma’am. I’m sorry you have been approached this way. I will have someone there immediately.” He says, sounding angry about having to deal with this.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” I tell him before ending the call. “It will take them less than ten minutes to reach us. This is your chance to leave before any charges can be made.”

She laughs. “I have been filming this live the whole times, and it only makes you seem unhinged the way you’ve responded to simple questioning.”

“Simple questioning? You just incinerated that I don’t know who my baby’s father is. Even when it was made clear when we announced it that Sawyer was the father. I don’t need to prove that fact to anyone when the people who need to know do. This is no one’s business outside of our family. How would you feel if I showed up and started asking you all kinds of questions like this? Why is it okay for you to do this and I can not? Perhaps you wouldn’t like people to know everything that goes on in your life. Think about that while you film me- “
I suddenly feel a gush of warm fluid. So much of it that I wonder if maybe I accidents peed myself, but when I look past my big belly, I can see red soaking its way down the inside of my legs.

“Shit. Are you okay?” The reporter asks with her phone still in hand. “What’s happening?”

“Turn that off- “I call out before I stumble a little.

She steps back instead of ending the live and helping me. I start to feel very dizzy and nearly fall to my knees when I heart the door to the rink slam against the wall and the muffled sound of the guys talking.

“Bryn? Bryn!” I hear Sawyer yell and through my blurring vision, I see him running toward me with the other guys hot on his heels.

His concerned and scared face and the image of the guys surrounding the reporter are the last things I see before everything goes dark. I feel his arms wrap around me and I feel warmth and calm and so sleepy.

I whine at being woken by a bright light directly in my face and the sound of beeping machines. It's clear by the overwhelming sounds that I’m back in the hospital.

“Will she be able to heal forms this?”

“Will she be alright?”

“Will she be able to have more children?”

Several voices are firing off questions for a good half minute before someone finally spoke up and stopped them.

“Everything went fine. She should heal well, and yes, she can have children again. She can develop the condition again. So we will have to treat future pregnancies as high risk, but it’s possible.” The familiar voice of my doctor makes me feel a little calmer.

The next thing I feel is an ache in my lower stomach. I lift my hands to rub at it and notice something very different. My round belly is gone.