Hitting the text icon, I’m immediately dismayed to see no new messages from her. In fact, there’s been no response to the text I sent her just before the game. A quick Miss you text.

It’s unlike her to ignore a text from me. In fact, if anything, we’ve been voraciously texting each other during my entire trip out west, filling in the gaps when we couldn’t talk on the phone. A small flicker of unease settles in my stomach, and never once do I even consider that she’s purposely ignoring me. That’s not Olivia’s style.

Maybe she’s having a rough night. I mean, she had her second round of chemo just yesterday, so maybe she’s sick. I talked to her just this morning, though, and she said her nausea had been well controlled but that she was feeling more tired than normal. Maybe she fell asleep and just couldn’t stay up for the game.

I type out a quick text. Are you okay?

After I hit “send,” I set the phone down and start to get dressed, the general locker room chatter tuned out as I ponder if Olivia is feeling okay. While I’ve had my head in both games completely, the rest of my time I’ve been worrying. Though I know there’s not much I could do for her if I was there, and I know she’s well taken care of by her friends, it still chafes at me that my girlfriend has cancer and I’m not there by her side when she needs me the most.

“Something wrong, man?” Alex asks with a backhanded slap at my arm to get my attention.

I shoot him a quick glance and let my eyes drop back down to the buttons of my dress shirt. “Nah…I’m good.”

“You don’t look good. What’s with the worry face?”

Swiveling my head his way, I try to school my features. “Worry face?”

“Yeah…like this.” Alex scrunches his eyebrows inward and pulls his lips down into a frown. He looks ridiculous.

“You’re cracked in the head,” I tell him with a laugh that sounds completely flat even to my ears.

“Garrett,” Alex says seriously. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m sure it’s nothing. Just worried that Olivia hasn’t texted me. Stupid right? I mean, I just talked to her this morning.”

“Not stupid, man,” Alex validates me. “She just had her treatment. Of course you’re going to be worried.”

I bite down on my lower lip, consider my options, then grab the phone. I dial Olivia’s cell number, but after four rings, it goes through to her voice mail. She doesn’t have a landline, so I do the only thing I can…leave a voice message and hope it doesn’t sound too desperate.

“Hey…it’s me. Just a little worried that I haven’t heard from you. Call me when you get this.”

I disconnect and stuff my phone in my pocket, pulling on my suit jacket and forgoing putting my tie back on.

Alex claps me on the shoulder and gives me a little shake. “I’m sure she’s fine. Come on…let’s get a beer down in the hotel bar when we get back and then we’ll get a good night’s sleep. Our plane leaves early tomorrow and you’ll be seeing her in less than twenty-four hours.”

“Yeah, sure,” I agree with a halfhearted smile, and just then my phone buzzes in my pocket. When I pull it out, my stomach immediately settles when I see Olivia’s name.

“Hey,” I say as soon as I connect. “I was worried about you.”

I’m stunned when Stevie answers me in a tired voice. “Hey, Garrett…it’s Stevie.”

“What’s wrong?” I snap in a burst of fear. Because I know something is wrong if Olivia didn’t answer her phone. Alex’s head snaps toward me and his eyes narrow in concern.

“Listen…Olivia’s fine,” Stevie says hesitantly. “But she’s in the hospital.”

A stab of electrical fear punches through my chest and sucks the breath out of my lungs. I can’t even respond to him. My mouth opens and closes like a gasping fish out of water.

“Garrett? Are you there?” Stevie asks.

Shaking my head, I give a little cough to clear the emotion out of my throat. My voice is still raspy when I respond, “Yeah…sorry. I’m here. What happened?”

“Um…her red blood cell count is dangerously low. She’s been feeling really tired since her treatments, and by this afternoon she couldn’t even get out of bed…was having some difficulty breathing and some chest pain. She called me, and I brought her to the emergency room. We’ve been here a few hours.”

“Jesus Christ,” I curse helplessly. I hate this feeling of weakness and lack of control. “Why did this happen?”

“Apparently, the chemo battles cancer by stopping the cells from dividing. Unfortunately, it can also stop her blood cells from doing the same. It’s not uncommon…at least that’s what Dr. Yoffman said. They gave her a red-blood-cell transfusion and they’ll monitor her levels. Dr. Yoffman wants to keep her overnight, but he said she should be fine with this transfusion and feels confident she can go home in the morning.”

I scrub my hand through my hair, my mind spinning. The team’s plane doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning, and we’ll be back home early afternoon. I’m wondering if I can get a flight out of here tonight, and I know my next call will be to the airline.

Then a thought strikes me and I become suspicious. “You’re not sugarcoating this for me, are you?”