Playing for Real - Book 2

Chapter 19

Cash 

Cash Brooks Is Not the Only One Suffering

When Cash Brooks suffered a blow in Boston that took him out of the game, his absence was met with frustration and disappointment. With a severe concussion as his diagnosis, fans are wondering if Brooks is now damaged goods. Already dropped down to the AHL last season for continual misconduct and suspected substance abuse, Brooks was given a second shot in the pros only seven months ago. It's rumoured the NHL's patience with Brooks is wearing thin, and when a team is frustrated with a player, other teams in the league know about it. And since Brooks has been off, he's been rumoured to have been using substances again. Santa Anna Tornadoes General Manager claims Brooks's inability to change shows a lack of character and judgement, and he has made his disappointment in Brooks clear. However, news broke Monday night that Brooks has entered Stage Two of the NHL-NHLPA joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.

This isn't Brooks's first time getting into trouble off the ice. Only six months after his debut in the NHL, Brooks was admitted to a treatment facility for substance abuse. On the ice, Brooks has been a notoriously frustrating player. Blessed with size, speed and skill, Brooks is the total package but has come nowhere close to realizing his potential. When he is on his game, he is a dominant player, using all his tools to be effective. However, on many nights, he has been invisible.

With Brooks entering rehab, he is suspended without pay and can only play when doctors deem him fit enough to return. Recent news has linked Brooks to Quinn Ashby, the daughter of Hilton Ashby, the Tornado's President. Quinn Ashby is suspected to be why Brooks is finally seeking help. The intelligent and cute Harvard grad student is rumoured to be a positive influence and his biggest supporter. Brooks is still a young man with his entire life in front of him, and hockey will be waiting when he is ready. Hopefully, other players who are suffering will seek help, too, in the wake of Brooks' situation.

__________

I'm detoxing now. No, I'm beyond detoxing. I'm absolutely out of my mind. My brain doesn't work so well anymore. Hands? Shaking. Body? Aching. Head? Nauseated.

I try to sit on the bed, and the sudden movement makes my head spin. I collapse on the hard mattress and stare at the ceiling, watching the fan whirling above me. I'm trapped in this tiny room with nothing but a bed, toilet, and garbage can. I might as well be in jail. I'm stuck here, forced to detox every ounce of alcohol out of my system.

Time passes slowly. Painfully. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though. Once I'm clean, I'll end up in the main rehab facility, ready to finally battle my demons.

__________

A voice whispers my name from far, far away. Since I moved from detox to the facility, I haven't left my bed in four days. I'm on a major downer. All I want to do is sleep. The voice whispers my name again. I open an eye and see my counsellor, Trina, approaching my bedside.

"Cash, Quinn is here to see you," Trina says cheerily. "Would you like to meet with her downstairs?"

"No. I don't want her to see me like this." My voice sounds far away. It doesn't even sound like my voice.

Jesus, I'm so miserable. Disgustingly, pathetically, miserable. Just the mention of Quinn makes my stomach feel queasy. Nausea sticks to my throat. I swallow. I breathe deeply.

"She's been here every other weekend to see you—"

"I said I don't want her to see me like this. Please get out. Tell her not to come back."

It's painful—no, it's unbearable—to send her away again. But I am not ready.

"Cash, are you sure this is what you want?" Trina asks cautiously.