Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 39

KATY’S POV

My foot keeps tapping against the hospital floor, faster with every passing second. I wipe my chin again, but it doesn’t help because the tears keep slipping down anyway. Allie’s in surgery for a spleen laceration after an awful car crash. A spleen laceration.

I press my hands together and breathe out slowly, but my heart’s racing, my fingers are trembling, and there’s this sour taste at the back of my throat that makes me want to throw up. Still, I keep telling myself to be strong. That’s what Allie would say if she was standing here instead of lying in that operating room.

“Oh God,” I whisper, leaning back against the wall of the surgical waiting area. I’m so terrified. I’ve never been this terrified in my entire life. Allie has to be okay. She has to.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and my heart jumps. I fumble to pull it out, thinking it’s Sean or her mother but it’s none of them. It’s Braydon.

BRAYDON: I’m here. Where are you?

I stare at the message for a second before replying.

ME: Surgery waiting room. Near the elevators.

I drop my phone into my lap, exhaling shakily. I know Braydon isn’t exactly that close to Allie, but Sean’s not answering, and I can’t sit here alone anymore.

“Katy.”

I look up and see Braydon walking in, a little out of breath like he ran the last few steps. The second he opens his arms as he stops in front of me, I step into them without thinking.

He wraps me up right away. “Hey,” he murmurs against my hair. “I’m here, okay? It’s alright.”

I clutch his hoodie, my fingers twisting in the fabric. “She’s in surgery,” I whisper. “I’m so scared”

He doesn’t answer but just tightens his arms around me and lets me cry and I bury my face there because I can’t stop shaking. I know I must look pathetic, but after my brother, Allie’s the closest person I have. The thought of anything happening to her feels like someone’s slicing through my heart one piece at a time.

When I finally pull away, Braydon’s hands move before mine do. He wipes my tears gently, then tilts my chin up so I meet his eyes full of empathy.

“I’m sorry, Katy,” he says quietly. “She’ll be fine. You know Allie’s a gangster. She’ll probably laugh at you for crying when she wakes up and when I tell her you were full–on sobbing with snot.”

I press a hand to my face. “Stop,” I mumble weakly. “Now’s not the time for your jokes.”

He gives a faint grin. “Isn’t that why you called me?” Before I can answer, he shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. “It’s pretty cold in here.”

I pull it tighter around me. “Thank you for coming.”

He nods. “I kinda got here later than I wanted.” He gestures toward the chairs, and I sit. “You want something to drink? Have you called Allie’s parents? Or do you think she wouldn’t want them to know yet?”

“I called her mum,” I whisper. “She said she’ll book a flight and be here in a couple of hours.”

Braydon nods, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You did good, Katy. You handled everything well and you should be proud of that.”

I shake my head, blinking through tears. “I didn’t though. I was crying so hard her mum could barely hear me.” My voice cracks, and tears spill over again. “All I could think about was how scared Allie must’ve been before the crash… or when she was still half–conscious.”

My throat tightens, and I wipe at my eyes, laughing a little through the tears. “You know what’s crazy? The hospital called me first because she saved my number as Mother Hen. Can you believe that?”

Braydon’s lips twitch, but his eyes soften.

“She’s ridiculous,” I murmur. “Always calling me dramatic, then does that.”

He steps closer, gently pressing my head forward until my forehead rests against his stomach and his hand settles on the back of my head.

“She’s gonna be fine, Katy,” he says quietly. “Trust me.”

I nod, clinging to both the doctor’s words and his. In a few hours, the doctor will walk back out and tell me it was successful, that Allie’s okay and then I’ll finally get to see my best friend again.

Still leaning against Braydon, I close my eyes and try to push positive thoughts into my head. Ironically, I follow the same method Allie taught me: deep breaths, then think of everything that could go right instead of wrong.

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

I do it over and over until my phone suddenly goes off in my pocket and the sound is too loud in the quiet room.

I pull away from Braydon and grab it quickly, my heart skipping, but it’s not a call or text…it’s just my alarm.

Slowly, my fingers tighten around my phone as I stare at the screen for a long time, my lips

trembling. A shaky breath escapes before I let out a weak scoff and shove the phone back into my pocket.

“Everything okay?” Braydon asks, sliding into the seat beside me.

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