Twelve Days || Book I

Day Ten

The night before was a complete blur.

I had no idea where I was, or what I was doing at the current moment. All I could remember, was going to a Bruce Springsteen concert with Ondrej, Jakub and his girlfriend - in which I could not remember her name.

There was booze, and lots of it, too. I remember Ondrej and Jakub went back and forth, ordering rounds for all of us.

Lets just say, I'm lucky to be in my own bed beside Ondrej right now.

"Last night was crazy," Ondrej chuckled, "We had a little bit too much at the concert, then headed straight to bed."

"To bed, you mean--"

"We were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow, sweetheart." He interrupted, knowing exactly what I was getting at.

"Where are Jakub and..."

"Nicole?" Ondrej finished my sentence.

That was her name.

"They went home."

"How do you remember all of this?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I didn't black out, like you did."

I had never really been known to handle alcohol well.

"Well, are you feeling all right now?" I asked, concerned, "Like, can you play tonight?"

"They're starting Mason tonight." He reassured me, "But, yeah, I'm totally fine. Just a minor headache, no biggie."

I took a deep breath in, before sitting up swiftly. My head was spinning, and I felt as though I had taken a shot to the head. Tears burned at my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away.

"I think the real question is," Ondrej started, "Are you all right?"

"To be completely honest," I shut my eyes, "I feel like crap."

"Okay," Ondrej rubbed a comforting hand along my back, "I'll just tell coach you're not feeling well, and--"

"So you can miss out on morning skate?" I cried, furrowing my brows once again.

"Well, yeah," he looked at me, "I want to be here to take care of you, and make sure you're feeling all right."

"I promised you unconditional love and care for twelve days, and that's what I'll give to you. From now, until forever."

I pulled him into a hug, then, placing a kiss on his cheek. I couldn't find the right words to say, so we sat there in silence, embracing one another. Until a soft laugh escaped Ondrej's lips.

"I hate to interrupt," he pulled away gently, "But, it's already 9:00. I have to give coach a call to let him know I won't be able to come."

"And as for you, lay back down and I'll grab you and Asprin."

He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of pyjama pants, before dialling coach Claude Noel. He explained to them, how I was under the weather and how he wanted to look after me. From what I heard, they were nothing less than supportive.

I continued to watch him, as he searched through his bag for medication. He had always been prepared on road trips, seeing as how you'd never know how you'd be feeling before or after a big game.

"Hey, I have an idea," he stood up, "How about I get us breakfast?"

That was one thing I loved about him, no matter the time of day, he was always willing to make an effort to take care of me. It didn't matter to him that I was so high maintenance, he was always up for the challenge.

After taking some pills, and eating breakfast, I slowly started to feel better. Ondrej had spent the entire morning - and early after noon - with me, in bed. We flipped through TV channels, talked, and even took a nap.

He truly did treat me like a queen, and I was not worthy. By any means.

"Oh, shit," Ondrej cried, noticing the time, "It's already 3:30."

I had already known what time it was, but I just didn't want him to leave. I knew he had to leave, so I didn't tell him. It was a cheap trick, but I didn't care. Though, if I were to have asked him to stay, he would've.

"Will you be okay here by yourself for awhile?" Ondrej asked, running the back of his hand against my cheek.

"Of course," I smiled, holding onto his forearm, "I'm a big girl."

A soft laugh escaped Ondrej's lips, before he placed a quick kiss on my lips. He then headed straight to the bathroom, where he got himself ready in ten minutes.

And before I knew it, he was gone.

The hours passed slowly. With no one around, I had nothing but time for myself.

Though, it didn't last long.

I sat up, and turned on the game. They were currently interviewing Blake during pregame skate. I tried my best to listen, but Blake's voice was quickly drowned out by the voices in my head.

Without Ondrej, they were always there.

Torturing me. Day in, day out.

I shook them out of my head, only to notice the game had began. I watched intently, as every goal was scored.

Luckily, I managed to keep the voices away long enough, to see the Jets defeat the Flyers 9-8.

It was a crazy, high scoring game. And even from where I was sitting, I could tell they were tired.

Turns out, so was I.

There was a quick post-game interview with Ondrej, which I made sure to watch, before rolling onto my side as my eyes began to shut slowly.

It was then, that the voices returned. But I was too tired to care.

"They won..." I whispered, as the dark engulfed me.

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A/N:

Fun fact: 9-8 was an actual score between the Jets and Flyers in the 2011-12 season. I attached a video of it, if you're interested!