Chapter Thirteen: The Moment the World Stopped Moving

****Pamela****

Maybe my hatred of winter comes from the fact that I’ve spent years standing and sitting on sidelines in freezing weather.  It seemed a real possibility as I stood on the field watching the Bucks and Panthers play in the Conference Championship. 

From childhood, I’d gone with Mom and my sisters to watch Dad coach games and while I loved seeing him and watching the players, there’d been many times that I wished that the stadiums were indoor, something that I found myself wishing for at that moment as a teeth chattering wind blew across the field.

I stuffed my hands even further in my pockets, hoping that it would help me find some warmth but deep down I knew it wouldn’t do any good. The cold had seeped into my bones and wouldn’t go away no matter how many cups of coffee or cocoa I drank or how many layers of clothes I wore.  

The fact that I couldn’t move around didn’t help much either and I felt a brief flash of envy as I watched the players on the field who I knew were warmer because they could. But any envy soon turned to sympathy as I witnessed Trev misread the Panthers’ defense, almost throwing an interception.  

No, I don’t really envy any of them. I thought to myself as I watched Trev and the others return to the sideline. Both teams were under a huge amount of pressure to win the game, but the Bucks felt it more so than the Panthers. They’d met two other times, once during preseason and again during regular season with the Bucks losing both games. 


It was something that gnawed at Trev, and throughout the season he watched countless hours of video of the Panthers’ defense and offense, trying to get an advantage on them. He wholeheartedly believed in the team’s motto, We don’t win or lose games by what one person does, we win or lose as a team, but he also believed that each player was accountable for their performance on and off the field and I knew he would beat himself up about his mistake.

The roar of another cutting wind blew over the field, adding to the already deafening noise level of the crowd and players, which was why the sound of a single voice cutting through the thickness of all others astonished me.  “God damnit!! What the fuck was that?” The sound of Trev’s frustrations caught mine and several other reporter’s attention.

“Trev, chill! We’ll get them next time.” Tiny tried to reason with, him but it was no use. Once Trev made a mistake no one could convince him otherwise. He wouldn’t “chill” but would go over and over his mistake, figuring out a way to fix it, and then make sure it never happened again, willing himself to perfection. 


I’d seen him do it through his career, college and pro, and it only seemed to intensify during higher pressure games. With a win, they would go on to the Super Bowl, but with a loss, their season would end and the team would be left with questions about what went wrong and regrets about missed opportunities. 


They wouldn’t go away without a fight though, and as I continued to cautiously watch him, I saw a new determination in Trev’s eyes as he sought out Ryan and the offensive coordinator to discuss their next move.  “What do you think Pamela? You think they can pull it off?” I startled at the sound of Victor’s voice. 

I should know to be more cautious about staring. I chastised myself for being obvious with my attention and quickly tried to hide any indication that I watched Trev for any other reason than reporting purposes.

“I think if they keep playing the way they have, they’ve got a decent chance.” I guardedly admitted.

“Even with Davila’s mistake? If he keeps losing his concentration there’s no hope for them.” I closed my eyes, keeping anyone from seeing my eyes roll at Barry’s dunderheaded comment.

“Considering he’s already meeting with Ryan and the coordinator about it, I’d say chances are good that he won’t make that mistake again.” The others turned their attention to Trev right as the small gathering ended and then continued with a larger offensive line meeting.

“I sure hope they figure it out soon. There’s not a ton of time left.” Victor whispered to me and I looked up at the scoreboard. Only six minutes remained in the game and the score was tied at fourteen. The Bucks needed a big play during their next possession, especially if the Panthers scored again.

The sound of cheers from the stands made me turn my attention back to the game, and I let out a sigh of relief that the celebrations were from the defense keeping the Panthers from scoring. I quickly glanced back at the sidelines and watched the offensive line get ready to take the field. 


They all stood together, and Trev took one last opportunity to talk to them as they waited for the kicking team to exit the field. Nothing was said when he finished, only a quick nod from each player gave any indication that what Trev said was understood before they put their helmets on and impatiently waited to get back on the field.  

There was no huddle before they lined up, and the first two plays flew by. The first was a run up the middle that yielded two yards, and the next was a quick pass to the left that got them three more. With third down, a pass would more than likely be called and as the offense lined back up, it looked like they would. 

A flurry of activity began once Tiny snapped the ball and all eyes watched Trev as he shuffled his feet several times until his eyes rested on a player downfield. He immediately planted his feet and drew his arm back before forcefully throwing the ball towards the player. 

The crowd seemed to collectively hold its breath and time slowed as every eye in the stadium watched the ball travel through the air towards the intended Buck’s player, Anderson. The realization of who the player was brought back the memory from that summer of me sneaking into the back of the viewing room and I tore my eyes away from the traveling ball back towards where Trev stood.


His arm had just lowered from his throw and his piercing eyes focused down the field on Anderson and the ball, not on the Panthers defensive player that was charging at him. Seconds felt like years as I watched the player barrel into Trev, his shoulder ramming into Trev’s stomach, and my heart stopped as I watched him fall backwards. 

Time slowly moved forward and all sounds disappeared as I continued to watch him fall towards the ground. It was only when I saw the snap of his neck from the forceful impact of his head hitting the grass that the celebratory cheers of the crowd from Anderson catching the football in the end zone changed to a hushed worry at seeing Trev lying on the ground.

I completely froze, my eyes staying fixed on the spot where Trev’s unmoving body lay even when other players and trainers started to crowd around and blocked my view of him. 

An eerie hush fell over the crowd as it became evident that Trev wasn’t making any motion to get up, and all I could think about was how I wanted to break the silence by crying out, rushing over to him, and letting the tears that threatened to fill my eyes fall freely down my cheeks.  

But I couldn’t. Not just because it would have brought attention to me and make others wonder at my reaction, but because I literally couldn’t. Nothing in my body seemed to work. I couldn’t even wiggle a fingertip; all I could do was continue to stare at the spot on the forty yard line where Trev laid.

Bucks’ trainers leaned over and stood around him, tending to him. I knew that they were knowledgeable and were doing everything they could for Trev, but not knowing what was going on killed me, and in the absence of knowledge, worse case scenarios ran through my mind. 

Is he breathing? Is his neck broken? What if he’s. . .paralyzed? I tried to push away the panic and the worst case scenarios out of my mind, but the sight of the stadium medical staff joining the Bucks’ trainers only increased my fears, and I realized that if they had been called in that Trev would be taken to the hospital, making my thoughts jump to his family. They had all traveled to Bridgeport for the game, and someone needed to let them know what hospital he would go to. 

I turned my head towards the Buck’s players, spotting Ryan standing ten feet away from me, and somehow my feet began to move towards him. His eyes were glued to Trev and we both kept our attention fixed on him as Ryan broke our silence.

“He’s breathing. He’s unconscious though.” He whispered and I felt my breath catch, feeling both relief and worry.  

“His neck?” I barely whispered back.

His pause spoke volumes to me. “They don’t know.” He sighed and I swallowed hard as I closed my eyes.


“His family’s here. Section 105, Row 15. They’ll need to know what hospital.” His head suddenly turned from side to side until he spotted a stadium guard. As he rushed over to pass along the information, I was comforted by the fact that Trev’s family would know what was happening, and that Ryan and I had done something to help. But with the task completed and Ryan’s return, there was nothing left to do but wait, hope, and worry.

I had no notion of how much time passed. It felt like an eternity with each second slowly ticking by, filled only with hushed voices and occasional movement from each sideline, but I knew it was only minutes that felt like forever. 

A golf cart appeared on the field and I felt sick to my stomach as I watched the medical staff remove the board from the back, knowing that soon Trev would be on it. The moment that they raised it up and placed him on the back of the cart was the moment that the world stopped moving for me, and everything else faded from view except him.

I could see his red hair peeking out from the breaks between the medial staff, but his full of life eyes were hidden by closed eyelids and his smile was nowhere to be found, causing a terrifying thought to enter my mind. How could I ever bare it if I never got to see those eyes or his smile again?

Another sickening, helpless feeling washed over me as I watched the cart being driven off the field, and was forced to face the fact that I was completely in the dark at that moment. I had no idea what they were doing to him or how he was.

I didn’t know if I could look at Ryan without losing my grip on the last thread of composure I held onto, but I needed to know where Trev was going. I expected to see him standing where he had after his conversation with the stadium guard, not inches from me. At some point he moved closer and I ever so briefly wondered about it before he answered my unvoiced question. “St. Marks.”

I nodded and looked down at my phone that had somehow ended up in my hand. “I’ll text you when I find anything out.” He nodded and placed a reassuring hand on my arm before turning his attention back to the other players and the game. I turned to look for Vincent, the only person in the group of reporters that I trusted, and was shocked to see him already watching and walking towards me.

“Go.” He said and I froze. “I’ll cover for you.” 

Tears once again filled my eyes and I bowed my head trying to hide them. I barely nodded before quickly making my way off the field and towards my car, wishing as I walked that this was all a nightmare and I’d wake up to find myself walking to the car after the game, eagerly looking forward to the moment we’d meet up at my apartment. 


But it wasn’t, and as I closed the driver’s side door, I finally released all the emotions that I’d bottled up. I wailed, moaned, cursed and slumped over the steering wheel as my heart felt like it would burst from the pain.

Somehow I heard the sound of my phone vibrating in my purse and I flung myself over the passenger seat, quickly feeling around until my shaky hand felt the long, flat surface of the screen.  A text message from a number I didn’t recognize appeared on it and I prayed that somehow, someone had found a way to send me news of Trev.

We’re at St. Marks in a private waiting area. Text me when you get to the emergency room and I’ll bring you to where we are.  –Will 

I thanked God for his brother and his thoughtfulness, and let out a sigh of relief that I wouldn’t be completely in the dark or alone anymore. I searched for the hospital address on my phone and followed its directions until I was standing outside the emergency room doors. 

I should’ve had the urge to run through them in hopes of putting my worries to rest, but the fear of finding out that those same worries could be true, made me pause just outside the first set of glass doors. Be strong, Pamela. Be strong. I took one last big breath before taking a step toward the door but almost faltered as I caught a glimpse of blonde hair on the other side of the inner door.

I wondered if I imagined the image of his brother standing on the other side,  I didn’t even have to text him, he was already waiting for me and when I entered the doors he pulled me into a hug that completely took me by surprise. “Are you okay?” He asked as he continued to hug me and I had to once again fight back my tears. 

I nodded, not trusting my voice to answer, knowing that it would give away the agonizing worry that I felt. It was only as he started to pull away that I noticed any sign of embarrassment from him about his sudden hug and I attempted a small smile at him that seemed to lessen his uneasiness.  He nodded and led me to where the rest of the family waited.

I hadn’t prepared myself to see his whole family again, and the sight of all of them sitting in the private waiting room was slightly overwhelming. His other brother George fluttered about, making sure that everyone was okay, while Steph sadly smiled up at me. His sister Charlotte sat off to the side with her husband Ethan, not really paying attention to everyone else, and his mom and Will’s wife, Emily sat near Steph, trying to reassure George that they were okay.

I paused, trying to decide where I should sit, but his mom motioned to an empty seat next to her and I was thankful for a spot of my own. 
“Thank goodness Will had your number!” Bridge exclaimed as I sat down and I began to wonder at how he had.

“How did you have her number?” George asked before I could.

“Trev gave it to me on Christmas Eve. He figured someone in the family should have it.” Will spoke up and I wondered if his admission would cause any friction with the other siblings. Instead they nodded and accepted his answer. “I’m just glad that someone knew to come get us. How did they know where we were sitting though?” He added.

“Ryan told a guard on the field where you were and he radioed the information to someone else.” I admitted.


“But how did Ryan know?” I met Will’s eyes and he nodded, knowing who had without me saying. I felt a soft hand grab mine and turned my attention to Bridge, seeing a sad, appreciative smile when I did. 

The sudden noise of the door opening made everyone jump out of their seats and look at the two people that walked in. I was pretty sure one was a Bucks’ trainer but the one with the lab coat was the one that talked to us. “Mr. Davila’s family, correct?” We all nodded and he focused in on Bridge.

“He woke up not long ago and has severe neck pain. We’ll evaluate the extent of it through tonight and meet with him tomorrow morning to discuss what we find. Until then, he’s in a neck brace to restrict his movements and is being given pain medication.” His eyes started to scan the group as he continued. “Is there someone here named Pamela?”

He followed all their gazes to me and smiled. “He’s been very insistent about seeing you. Threatened to clock someone if we didn’t find you.” There was a relieved collective chuckle but it didn’t seem right that out of everyone gathered there that I would be the first to go see him. I looked at Bridge and she nodded, encouraging me to go with them and scanned the rest of his family’s faces that all agreed with her.

I gave a nod to the doctor and Bucks’ trainer and they led me back through the same door they entered from. We walked past several open doorways and empty rooms as the doctor continued to talk to me; advising me that Trev needed to rest and shouldn’t try any sudden movements. I nodded to everything they told me, but all I could think about was seeing him.


Finally, they stopped and motioned to a closed door, telling me that it was his room and left me standing outside of it. With no one talking in the hallway, I could hear his angry voice through the door and I smiled for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He might not have been happy, but his voice was music to my ears.

I turned the handle and opened the door to see a nurse at least half the size of Trev, commanding him to calm down.  He looked like he was about to tell her what she could do with her opinion when his eyes locked onto me walking in the room and he sighed. “Thank God! Would you tell this woman that I don’t need a babysitter.” 

I knew he was acting out from his pain but I still gave the nurse an apologetic smile as I walked to the other side of the bed. She nodded and turned her attention back to Trev, who glared at her and then focused on me.

“You’re staying. . .” He demanded.

I nodded and squeezed his hand “For as long as they’ll let me.” 

“No.” He barked. “You’re staying until they discharge me.” 

I wasn’t sure if it was allowed to do that and looked back across at the nurse. “I. . .”

“She’s staying.” He growled through gritted teeth. “Or I’m getting up and walking out of here.” 


She chuckled and shook her head. “I’d love to see you try, big guy.” He started to sit up and cried out in pain. 

She immediately switched to concerned nurse mode and placed a hand on his chest. “Easy there. She can stay.” He sighed and laid back down, grimacing  when his head touched the pillow.

She waited until he was resting again before she inserted a needle in his arm. “This is your pain medication. I would suggest you don’t try to pull it out, unless you want to be in pain.” He sighed his acceptance and she nodded. “Good.” She taped down the needle and looked up at me. “We can get you a bed if you’d like.” 

I agreed and thanked her. She reached across and patted my hand before giving Trev one last pat on his arm and walked out of the room. I had a million things running through my head that I could say to him, but remembered what the doctor said about him needing to rest. That could only happen after his family saw for themselves that he was okay.

“Your family’s here. They’re sitting in the waiting room.” He huffed and his eyes darted towards the door. “I don’t think I can take George or Charlotte right now.” I nodded, and started to move towards the door, intent on getting his mom and Will. He grabbed my hand before I could take two steps away and his eyes pleaded with mine. “You’re coming back. . .” He half asked and commanded and I nodded.

He sighed again and let go of my hand. I walked back into the hallway and almost ran into the nurse. “Two visitors at a time dear. And if there’s a lot of them, tell them they’ll have to wait to see him until tomorrow. He needs his rest.” I nodded and walked back down the hallway.

They all jumped up again as I entered the waiting room and met me halfway to the chairs. “He’s okay. They want him to get some rest though and only two people can go back.” I turned to look at Bridge and Will. “He’s asking for you.”

It couldn’t have been more than five minutes when his mom came back and motioned to the family to gather around her. “I think we should go back to the hotel. He’s starting to feel the effects of the pain medication and it’s been a long day for all of us.” She glanced at Emily. “Will’s going to stay for a little bit longer if you’re okay with that.”

“Of course.” She nodded and Bridge turned her attention to me. 

“Please let us know if either of you need anything.” I nodded and she hugged me. It was then that I realized that she was shaking a little. Just like me, she was trying to hide the fact that she was about to fall apart and I looked over her shoulder at George. He somehow understood what I wasn’t saying and started suggesting everyone grab their things and ushered them out the door. 


I stood there in the quiet of the room for a moment, but as each second passed, I realized that the reality of what happened was starting to sink in and I couldn’t let that happen. I gulped down a lump of air, pushed open the doors and walked back down the hallway.

The last thing I expected to hear was Trev’s loud, happy voice as I got closer to his room, but it’s exactly what filled the hallway. I peeked around the corner of the doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening without him seeing me but he caught me.

"It's the beautiful lady with the nice laugh!" He turned to Will and pointed at me. "Have you heard this pretty lady laugh? It's mesmerizing!" He said with complete and honest astonishment.

"No, but you've told me before how much you like her smile." Will quickly glanced at me as went to the other side of Trev’s bed and smiled.

"Well. . ." Trev thought for a moment before his eyes got wide again. "But have you seen her roll her eyes while she smiles? I waited a lifetime to see it and now I can't get enough of it!"

I blushed thinking about how embarrassed he would feel knowing that he was openly admitting things that he normally wouldn't. “I’ve seen her do it a few times.” Will slowly admitted and chuckled. 

“It’s the greatest thing in the whole world!” Trev said as his eyes dreamily met mine.

“How much pain medicine did they give him?”

Will wondered as he continued to look amused at Trev.


“Enough.”

“All right, mister favorite twin brother.” The nurse teased Will as she re-entered the room. “It’s time for him to get some rest.” She stood by the door and motioned with both thumbs for him to go.

Will nodded and walked to my side of the bed, gave me a hug and patted Trev’s leg. He’d thankfully started to fall asleep by that point and twitched a little from Will’s touch. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.” I nodded and watched him walk out of the room.

As soon as he left a bed was wheeled beside Trev’s. I tried to convince the nurse that I could make it myself when she started to, but she wouldn’t hear anything about it and I tried to stay out of the way. When she finished, she walked over to where I waited and looked up at me. 

“You should get some rest, dear.” I realized then that I must’ve looked as tired as I felt. “We’ll be in to check on him on and off through the night.” She patted my hand and closed the door as she left.

I kept myself busy for several minutes by texting people. I told both Ryan and my Dad that Trev was resting and that the doctors would tell us more tomorrow and texted Vincent thanking him for covering for me. I knew I’d have to explain everything tomorrow morning to Roger. There was no way he wouldn’t catch that the article in the paper wasn’t written by me. But at that point, that was the least of my concerns.

I put my phone down on the table next to the bed that had been brought in for me and walked over to the door to turn off the light. There was still a little light in the room from the hallway and moonlight outside, enough that I could see him after I walked across the room and looked down at him sleeping. He was lightly snoring with his mouth slightly hanging open, so completely out of it that he didn’t move when I brushed some hair off of his forehead.

That’s when it all started to hit me and all I wanted to do was be near him, to remind myself that he was still there. I felt the tears start to fall as I walked around the ends of the beds and didn’t bother getting under the covers that the nurse put on as I crawled onto the bed. 

I needed to touch him, smell him, and be near him. I scooted over as close as I could and wrapped my arm around his waist; laying my head on his shoulder while trying to make sure that I didn’t hurt him. The tears streamed down my cheeks and across my nose as I laid there listening to him snoring and felt his chest rise with each breath.