twisted // tyler seguin

one

When my older sister surprised me with Stars tickets for my birthday, I wasn't really surprised. I had previously owned tickets to the same game, but sold them to my friend at work since the team wasn't doing too hot, and didn't seem to be making the playoffs either. I never told my sister I did this, so I guess I couldn't get too annoyed.

"Thanks Jul, I um, really appreciate it." I examined the sheet of paper that allowed admission into the event. St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars. Exciting.

"No problem Sav, I knew you would like it. You need a break from work and school anyways." She yanked her Spezza jersey over her head and grabbed her wallet. "Let's get outta here, yeah?" She smiled.

I nodded in response.

The drive there was beautiful. It's something about the way spring and the city work together to entice a feeling of nostalgia and excitement. It was a warm evening, and the short night was looming beyond the horizon. I had the window open enough to feel the chilling spring breeze on my face, as I watched the cars and buildings in the distance whizz by. The sky was illuminated with a soft pinks and blues that radiated, something you can only see in the beginning of warm weather. In about 45 minutes, we finally arrived at the American Airlines Center just before the puck dropped. It was a swarm of Stars jerseys.

Surprisingly, our seats weren't that bad. They were better than the ones I was originally given. We were in the 100's, 120's to be exact, and we were about 4 rows up. We were close to the action on the ice; much closer than I expected I'd ever would be at a hockey game.

After being engrossed in the game for half the period, I suddenly felt a nudge on my shoulder. I turned to see my sister struggling to pull out money out of her ripped jeans.

"Get me some Nachos, and I'll cover you the next time we go out to eat." Julia held a twenty dollar bill out for me. Ridiculous requests like these were common from her, despite her 3 year age difference. It's amusing how the older sibling usually seems to be the youngest and seems to be the oldest. When push came to shove though, Julia had my back like no other. She understood me when I needed understanding, and never failed to tell me the truth.

"Yeah, you got it." I gave her a cynical glance as I took the twenty, leaving the section to find the nearest vendor in the complex. I walked quickly to make sure I didn't waste too much time and miss something crazy. Thankfully, three registers at one stand were open so their lines were passing quickly.

When I got the fresh batch of Nachos and hurried down back to my seat, I couldn't go much further thanks to a bunch of fans cheering, due to what seemed like an unbelievable glove save by Lehtonen. A drunk fan was in my way screaming at his friend, causing some trouble for me to get back to my seat. As I walked through my row, Julia averted her head from her cellphone and gave a goofy look at the food I was holding for her.

"Thanks Sav," She said, dipping a chip into the salsa before popping it in her mouth. Her crunch was unnecessarily loud and hard, causing me to cringe in confusion. "These are some hard chips." She said with a chuckle. I smiled.

I returned my attention back to the ice and saw a breakaway take formation, with Tarasenko about to score when Seguin got in the position in time to deflect the puck. With a hard whack that was supposed to be a subtle pass down the ice, the puck gathered more power than it should have, and was sent into the crowd. I was searching for where the puck went when I heard multiple gasps and a bunch of heads duck around me as I looked up.

I had no time to register that the puck was flying directly towards me, which ultimately hit me directly in my forehead.

It was direct contact and the pain was impossible to ignore. It felt as if my brain was clawing and squeezing its way out of my skull, piece by piece. Instantly, I dropped to my knees writhing in pain.

"SHITTTT!" I yelped out. The floor was spinning and I kept my hands on my head. The burning behind my eyes intensified with each wave of pain my brain felt, tears brimming out of my eyes and falling to the floor. Everyone around me had their phones out and were calling for help. The tears kept coming and the pain failed to stop.

"Holy fucking shit." Julia chucked the Nachos behind her, and pulled me upright so I could sit up straight. "Stay with me Sav. Sav? Savannah! Can you hear me?"

"YES! I can hear you!" I yelled at her. The pain wouldn't stop, it only continued to intensify second by second. "Holy shitt.. Oh my God..." I sobbed out. Rubbing my forehead, I felt a huge bump that definitely wasn't there before. Suddenly, I felt my strong arms from behind help me stand. I turned my head around slowly, and saw a group of men wearing Dallas Stars windbreakers and quarter zips, some with Gatorade towels hanging on their shoulders.

"Miss, we saw what happened and were told that you may need physical assistance. We're going to take you downstairs and see if anything serious has occurred." A bald middle aged man said. "Just try to stay calm." I only responded in tears and gasps for air as I continued to hold my head as we ascended up the stairs.