Final Score (58 page)

‘Amber, hang on… Max, do you want to meet us at the hospital?’

‘Is he…?’

‘I don’t know. Look, I’ll make sure she’s alright, go on.’

Amber could hear faint voices in the background as she continued to run, a new-found energy coming up from somewhere that she just hadn’t had before. But it was there, and she was using it. But then, almost as though someone had just flicked a switch, it seemed to drain out of her, and she could do nothing but lean back against the wall, watching as Ronnie ran up to her.

‘Come on. I’ll take you to the hospital.’

She looked at him, her eyes full of so many tears, but they didn’t seem to want to fall. ‘Is he…?’

‘He was awake when they put him in the ambulance, that’s all I know, Amber.’ He held out his hand, and she took it. Why couldn’t she cry? She’d just been told her husband might have had a heart attack and she couldn’t cry. She felt nothing but a numbness wash over her. This whole day felt somewhat surreal, and she closed her eyes for a second, hoping that when she opened them this would all have been a dream. But it was real. The noise and Ronnie’s hand holding hers, his voice trying to explain things to her that she could never take in right now, it was all real.

‘Do you…?’

‘I know what’s going on, yes. Ryan explained everything to me…’

‘Oh, God… Brandon. Ronnie, someone needs to tell Brandon. He’s in… he’s in Manchester… Ronnie, he needs to be told…’

‘Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. They’re telling him, alright? They’re trying to get in touch and they’re gonna try and get him back here as soon as they can. He’ll be here, don’t worry.’

‘I…I need to be with Jim.’ She started walking again, her pace quickening as she almost dragged Ronnie behind her, but he gripped her hand tight, slowing her down. ‘I need to be with him, Ronnie. What if he…?’ She closed her eyes as those tears finally started to fall. ‘I’ve got to get to him. I’ve got to… I’ve got to get to him.’

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, stroking her hair as she clung onto him. ‘Come on,’ he whispered, kissing the top of her head. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

Chapter Thirty-Five

She was out of the car before Ronnie had a chance to stop her, pushing past the waiting press and crowds who had gathered outside the hospital, all of them desperate to find out what had happened. And even though people were shouting things at her, questions she couldn’t make any sense of, she ignored them all. What could she tell them when she knew nothing herself?

They knew who she was the second she entered the hospital, voices telling her from every angle which ward Jim had been taken to, and how she remembered the information she’d been given she had no idea. Someone had offered to take her up there themselves but she was hanging around for nobody, not even Ronnie. She just kept on running, crashing through the double doors that led onto the ward she’d been told to go straight up to. It was full of people, an overwhelming noise filling the air – a sound of panic and fear and she felt her stomach twist itself up into the tightest of knots as she stood still for just one second. One second to get her bearings, to try and work out what was happening.

And then she saw it – a side room to her left. The door was wide open, the bed was surrounded by a mass of people shouting as someone pressed down on the chest of the person lying in that bed, and all Amber could do was let out the loudest of wails, a sound not unlike that of a wounded animal as she sank to the floor.

‘It’s okay, I’ve got you. Come on, babe, I’ve got you.’

Ronnie had managed to catch her before she hit the ground, but her eyes wouldn’t leave that room. She watched as someone shouted “clear,” and Jim’s body jerked upwards, a nurse beside him shaking her head as she began another set of compressions.

‘No!’ Amber howled as she tried to break free of Ronnie’s grip but he held her back, stopped her from running in there, because what good would that do? ‘No! That isn’t him, it can’t be him.’

‘What the…?’ Freddie came running around the corner, following Amber’s gaze before he looked straight at Ronnie, taking a sharp intake of breath as Ronnie shook his head.

‘No.’ Amber’s voice was almost a whisper now as she watched them shock Jim one more time, watched his body jerk up and fall back onto the bed, and in that split second her whole world came together then fell apart, shattering into a million tiny pieces, memories scattering around her brain like confetti. And then it was almost as if a strange kind of calm had taken over. As though all emotion had just been wiped clean out of her, she turned to her father, an almost stoic expression on her face. ‘Where’s Rico?’

‘He’s with Ryan, sweetheart. He’s taken him home, he’s fine.’

‘Good.’ Her voice was barely a whisper as she turned her attention back to Jim’s room, and all of a sudden there seemed to be a kind of calm taking over in there, too. She could hear the faint beeping of a machine, and the number of people gathered around his bedside had diminished somewhat.

She cocked her head as she watched a nurse lean over Jim, checking the machine beside his bed, and again she felt a strange sense of calm wash over her. But then the fear came back as the shock wore off and she looked at Ronnie. ‘What’s happening?’

‘I don’t know, babe.’

‘I want to see him.’ She turned to see a tall, kind-looking man talking to her father, and she cocked her head again as she tried to read his expression, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t see anything there that was telling her that this was okay.

‘Mrs. Allen?’

She squeezed Ronnie’s hand tightly as the doctor turned to face her.

‘Your husband, he experienced a heart attack – a pretty mild one – at the stadium. His collapse, however, was an extra concern, which is why he was brought straight up to the ward instead of being taken to A&E. He was awake, alert and responsive when he got here – he was asking for you…’

Amber felt her heart break, a pain so physical it cut to the core, and she couldn’t stop more tears from streaming down her face.

‘Would you prefer to go to my office?’ the doctor asked quietly, his expression one of concern now.

‘No,’ Amber replied, shaking her head. ‘No. Thank you. I’m not… I’m not leaving him.’ Her eyes were back on Jim, his body still, but those machines were beeping, and that had to mean something, didn’t it?

‘He went into cardiac arrest, Mrs. Allen…’

‘Amber. Please, call me Amber.’ She finally took her eyes off Jim, looking straight at the doctor. ‘I… is he… is he okay?’

‘The next few hours are critical, Amber. But, in the context of what’s happened to him, your husband’s been very lucky. He wasn’t down for long, just a couple of minutes, and he’s breathing on his own. Which is good. That’s really good. But we need to keep a very close eye on him.’

‘Is he going to live?’

‘Amber, sweetheart, the doctor’s telling you everything he knows…’

Amber ignored her dad, her eyes still fixed on the doctor. ‘Is he going to live?’

‘He’s stable. That’s all I can tell you right now. But the signs are good.’

She squeezed Ronnie’s hand again, her eyes back on Jim now. ‘Can I… can I see him?’

‘Of course. We’ve given him something to make him sleep, so he won’t be responsive, I’m afraid, but you can sit with him.’

‘Do you want me or your dad to come in with you?’ Ronnie asked.

She shook her head, her eyes not leaving Jim. ‘No, I… I want to be on my own.’ She let go of his hand without looking at him, or her dad, and followed the doctor into Jim’s room.

‘Oh, Jesus…’ she whispered, her hand covering her mouth again as she breathed in deeply, blinking back more tears. She needed to be stronger than she’d ever been now. She needed to be really strong. For both of them. ‘Will he… will he wake up himself?’

The doctor nodded. ‘He’s probably going to sleep for a while now, because we’ve given him a pretty strong sedative, but, yes. He’ll wake up, when he’s ready.’

‘Can I touch him?’

‘Of course you can.’ The doctor smiled. ‘He won’t break, I promise.’

Amber tried to smile back but she just couldn’t do it.

‘Look, I know this must all seem very scary right now, Amber, but, like I said before, Jim’s been very lucky, considering. His early signs are good, and the fact he’s breathing on his own is extremely promising. We just need to try and find out if there’s some underlying condition that might have caused this to happen. And, if there is, then hopefully we can deal with it.’

‘Could stress have brought this on?’ she asked, her eyes focused on Jim’s chest as it slowly rose and fell.

‘Stress can play a part, yes. Has he been under any extreme stress lately?’

She felt those tears threaten again but she blinked them back, quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘He’s a football manager. Aren’t they always stressed?’

Her own weak attempt at humour made the doctor smile again. ‘He isn’t the first person in that profession to suffer something like this. Has work been particularly stressful for him recently?’

She shook her head. ‘No. But we… there’ve been a few things…’ She couldn’t get the words out, and she closed her eyes for a second as she felt the doctor’s hand on her shoulder giving it a friendly, gentle squeeze.

‘Stress
can
be a factor, Amber. But it isn’t always the main cause. Okay?’

She nodded, finally managing a smile. ‘Okay. And, thank you.’

‘You stay here as long as you like, and if you need anything, the nurses’ station is just outside. We’ll be checking him at regular intervals, so try not to worry, alright?’

She nodded again, watching as he left her alone. She sat with the man she’d thought she’d lost. And that’s what made the tears fall hard and fast, almost blinding her as she sat down beside Jim, reaching out for his hand.

She gasped quietly as she touched him, because he was warm, and even though she hadn’t really known what to expect, she hadn’t expected him to feel so warm. But just the feel of his hand in hers made her cry again, slow, silent tears falling down her cheek that she let slide, watching as they fell onto their joined hands.

She leaned over and gently kissed his forehead, stroking his dark, grey-flecked hair from his eyes. ‘You know, if you really wanted to get my attention, all you had to do was shout a bit louder. Because this – this is kind of extreme.’

She sat back down, bringing his hand up to her mouth and kissing his fingers, squeezing them tight.

‘It shouldn’t have come to this, Jim,’ she whispered, the sound of his breathing just audible over the beeping of the machines. ‘And I’m sorry, baby, if what I did caused this, because the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. I love you so much, and I… I just love you, so much…’ She rested her forehead on their joined hands as more tears streamed from her eyes, falling onto his skin, but she swallowed them down, breathing in deeply again to try and control her emotions. But there were so many clashing for space inside her head right now it was hard to control anything. ‘I love you, Jim Allen. You walked into my life all those years ago and you never left. You never left me. And you are not leaving me now, do you hear me? You aren’t leaving me now.’

*

‘Is he okay?’ Ryan asked, sitting down beside Max, clasping his hands between his knees as he leaned forward.

‘As he can be. He’s still sedated, as far as I know. They haven’t told us all that much, and I haven’t seen Amber since I got here. But Ronnie’s spoken to her, and from what I can gather, Jim’s a very lucky man.’ Max looked at Ryan. ‘I thought you were supposed to be looking after Rico.’

‘Freddie’s taken over for a couple of hours. He said there wasn’t much anyone could do here, so, he thought I might like a breather.’

‘Amber doesn’t know you’re here?’

Ryan shook his head, staring down at the floor. ‘This really does change everything.’ He looked up, right into Max’s eyes. ‘Doesn’t it?’

Max sat back, pushing both hands through his hair. ‘Ryan, I really don’t know. But, if you want me to give you an honest answer – yes. I think this changes everything.’

‘You spoke to her, didn’t you? Just before all this happened.’

‘Well, it was more like
her
speaking to
me
, actually, but, yeah. I talked to her.’

‘And, did she give you any idea? Did she… did it sound as though she might have made a decision…?’

Max sat forward, matching Ryan’s stance, his hands also now clasped between his knees. ‘She was confused, Ryan. She was… she didn’t really know what she was going to do. She was angry and upset and…’ Max bowed his head, closing his eyes for a second or two. ‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up, son. Because I don’t think she’s going anywhere now.’

Ryan sighed, throwing himself back into his chair, and letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh. ‘I mean… Jesus! I never wanted anything bad to happen to the guy, but… this doesn’t change what he did, Max.’

‘Maybe not. But you have to realise that that isn’t going to be the most important thing on Amber’s mind right now. Her husband could have died, Ryan. Okay, he was lucky, under the circumstances, but he
could
have died. So whatever he’s done in the past, I doubt that’s even going to bother her now.’

Ryan sat forward again, his eyes once more down on the floor. ‘I want to postpone my flight to the States, Max. I want to stay here a little while longer, help Amber look after Rico. I think that’s only fair, don’t you? She’s gonna have enough to cope with, so the least I can do is help out with our son.’

Max looked at Ryan. ‘This time I really
am
begging you, Ryan. If you only want to do this because you still think…’

‘I’m doing this because I don’t want Amber to have to cope with a sick husband and a baby all on her own.’

‘She has family, Ryan.’

‘And Rico has a daddy who wants to stay and look after him for a little while longer. And that’s all I’m doing this for, Max. That’s all I’m doing this for. It gives me a little bit more time with my baby boy and it takes the pressure off Amber.’

Max held Ryan’s stare for a little while longer. ‘Okay. I understand, and I’m sure Corey Reynolds will understand, too. I’ll go give him a call. Let him know what’s happened.’