Chapter 93: I am here to take you Home

Chapter 93: I am here to take you Home

Kayden

I paced the length of Rhys’s living room, the phone pressed so hard against my ear it was starting to ache. I had left the clinic because neither Leo nor Miller was there.

And immediately after I got back to Rhys’s penthouse, I tried calling Leo over and over again until he picked up.

"Leo? Why aren’t you at the clinic?" I asked the second he picked up. "I waited for you and I have been calling. What’s going on—is Miller alright?"

"I couldn’t leave, Kayden," Leo’s voice came through sounding exhausted. "And no, Miller is alright. I just had to stay with him as the..."

I cut him off before he could continue. "Because you care about him?"

He let out a groan. "Oh please, that’s not why. He is my patient and I had to make sure that he is fine."

"Of course," I said, chuckling. "He is your patient."

Leo groaned again. "I had to monitor him because he would be discharged once he woke up."

"Okay," I muttered and sank onto the edge of the sofa. "That’s... that’s good news at least."

"Are you back home?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I am back," I answered, looking around the dimly lit living room.

"And Rhys?" Leo’s tone sharpened as he asked. "What about him? What did the coach say about his act on ice? Is he going to be fine?"

"He..." I paused, rubbing my face as I thought about the way he had been ushered away. "He had to go because his grandfather summoned him. I haven’t heard from him since then."

Just then, a small insistent weight brushed against my ankle. A tiny, high-pitched mew echoed through the quiet room. Starlight was looking up at me with wide, curious eyes, demanding attention.

"Wait. Is that Starlight?" Leo asked on the other end.

"Yeah," I breathed, reaching down to scoop the ball of fur into my arms. Starlight immediately started purring, the vibration buzzing against my chest. "I took her with me from the clinic. I missed her."

Starlight let out another tiny, sharp mew right into the receiver.

"Good baby," Leo murmured. "I am sorry I left her at the clinic, but I made sure to feed her before leaving. I never expected that the hospital would take so long with Miller. I hope she is fine?"

"Yes, she is."

Leo heaved a sigh of relief. "Alright, then get some rest because the second game is happening in two days. I will call you if anything changes with Miller."

"Thanks, Leo. Stay safe."

The line went dead, leaving me alone in the penthouse with nothing but a purring kitten and a growing sense of dread about whatever was happening to Rhys. He had been gone for hours, and I was worried about what was happening to him, especially with Rami.

Starlight mewed in my hand again and I looked down at her. "Are you hungry?"

She mewed.

"Alright, time to eat." I rubbed her head and walked towards the kitchen area.

I placed her on the ground and set a bowl of milk for her. Immediately she rushed toward it and began to lap at it eagerly. I stayed on the floor beside her and made the mistake of opening social media. My heart sank as I saw the notifications exploding.

Rhys was trending, but all for the wrong reasons. There were videos and edits of him getting kicked out of the ice. So many of them were looped and slowed down to highlight every brutal hit, and the comments were a war zone. Some people were calling him a disgrace to the captaincy, unhinged, and a liability to the Avalanche. Some fans were even demanding he be stripped of his position immediately.

Then there were posts about me. My name was being held up as a contrast to his savagery. The fans were praising me, calling me the hero of the game and the future of the team for stepping up while the captain was busy being a disgrace. It felt like a sick joke, and I hated that they were using my performance to bury him and the good things he had done for Northern Avalanche.

"Oh, fuck this," I thought as I continued staring at my screen, my blood boiling at every negative comment. Then suddenly it lit up with his name, and my eyes widened as I answered his call immediately.

"Rhys? Where are you?"

There was a moment of silence, then a voice that definitely wasn’t his spoke up. "Hello? This is Kayden Vale, right?"

"Who is this? Where is Rhys?"

"I am a bartender at The Vault," the man on the other end replied, his voice sounding stressed. "Look, Rhys... he had a lot to drink and we are closing up, but he is refusing to leave. The only reason why I put up with it is that I am a Northern Avalanche fan. He is just sitting here staring at the wall and ordering more drinks. He won’t call a car and he is not moving. Someone needs to come and get him."

"I’ll be there," I said immediately, already on my feet. "Don’t let him leave, please. I am coming now."

I looked over at Starlight, who was busy cleaning her paws, oblivious to the crisis. She was going to be fine in the few minutes that I would be gone.

"I will be back, baby," I muttered and then rushed towards the key cabinet in the penthouse where Rhys kept his collection, which he barely drives.

I needed to get to him before he did something he’d regret or before the paparazzi caught him in this state. My eyes scanned through the rows of fobs—Lamborghinis, Porsches, SUVs, even Bugattis—until they landed on the one with the prancing horse. I grabbed the Ferrari keys and rushed out of the door straight to his private garage.

This was the second time being there, the first being when he had shown me. I saw the Ferrari parked between his Lamborghini and his Bugatti.

"Yes," I muttered as I climbed into the driver’s seat, starting the car and shifting into gear, driving out of the garage with my mind focused entirely on Rhys and whatever his grandfather had done to break him like this.

The drive to The Vault happened in a blur of neon lights and high-speed gear shifts, and in a few minutes, I was there. When I burst through the doors of the club, the music was low—the kind of somber, end-of-the-night track that made everything feel more depressing. The place was mostly empty except for a few staff members wiping down the tables and one lone figure hunched over the bar.

Rhys.

When the staff saw me, they waved excitedly and whispered my name.

"Kayden Vale!" one of the staff let out a scream of my name.

I waved back at them then walked toward Rhys. When I reached him, he looked wrecked; his eyes widened and his curly hair was a mess. There were three empty glasses lined up in front, and the worst of it was that he was still in the team’s outfits.

Once the bartender saw me, his eyes widened. "Wow, Kayden Vale in the flesh. I am so glad to meet you."

I smiled at him. "Thank you," I said and pointed towards Rhys. "I am here for him. Where is his phone and other belongings?" I asked, reaching for Rhys’s shoulder.

The bartender handed me his phone. "That’s all he came with. Look, I have kept the back door clear so no cameras see him like this," he informed me.

"Thank you," I muttered.

"Anytime. Also, could I get a signature? My brother is a huge fan of yours."

I nodded. "Of course, why not?"

The bartender handed a clean white napkin to me with a marker, and I scribbled my name on it and handed it over to him.

"Thanks, man."

"Sure," I said and then moved to pull Rhys’s arm over my shoulder. "Come on, Rhys, time to go home," I muttered.

Rhys let out a groan, leaning against me and then inhaling my scent. Then his eyes fluttered open just enough to see me. "Oh..." he whispered, his breath hot against my neck, and a small lopsided chuckle vibrated in his chest. "Kayden! You are here," he said excitedly, pulling me into his arms.

"Oh yes, and I am here to take you home."