Dessert - Jack Hughes

42

The next few days, Jack was dialed in. He was solely focused on hockey. He showed up early to practice and stayed a few hours later to put extra work in. He stayed in his own bed at his apartment with Luke and Ty.

Megan
Just thought you should know she can go home next week
Jack
Ok

Megan scoffs as she reads Jacks dry response. He hasn't seen Elyssa in days. He just stopped showing up. She was pissed.

Megan
Wtf is Jack doing
Ty
Dude I have no idea. I think he's scared
Megan
Well tell him to grow a pair and face his fears. He's being a bitch.
Ty
Yeah I will. It's like he's giving up
Megan
No he's not. Not if I have anything to do with it
Ty
He's exhausted
Megan
And I'm not?
Ty
She knows who you are
Megan
She keeps asking about him. She doesn't know why he's her lock screen or why he was here once. I don't want to be the one to tell her who he is. He has to get his sorry ass off the ground and face her.
Ty
I'll be sure to relay the message

"Megs?" Elyssa gets her attention.
"What?" Megan snaps. Elyssas face drops, shocked by her tone. "I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated." She apologizes.
"What happened to that guy from a few nights ago?" Elyssa asks.
"He's the one I'm pissed with." Megan admits.
"How come?" Elyssa wonders.
"Because he hasn't even made an effort to visit at all." Megan sighs in defeat.
"Well who even is he? Anyone important?"
"Kinda. He's uh, he's your boyfriend." Megan tells her.
"My boyfriend? And he hasn't even seen me in the hospital?" Elyssa is taken back by the information.
"He practically lived here while you were in a coma. He was so worried. Now he knows you have amnesia, he's going into ghost mode." Megan rolls her eyes.

"Dude you gotta go see her" Ty tells Jack, entering his room.
"I can't" Jack simply says.
"Dude Megan's pissed." Ty sits on jacks bed.
"It's best that I stay away" Jack says, keeping his eyes on his phone screen.
"That's not what Megan said" Ty says. Jack looks up from his phone. "You need to do it man. I know it's scary. I'll go with you. Just talk to her." Ty tries to comfort Jack.
"And say what? I'm a stranger. Dude it's like she's there, but she's not there" Jack tries to brush it off.
"You're being a bitch. Like a straight up wuss running from your issues." Ty tells Jack. Jack opens his mouth, ready to defend himself. "No bro you know I'm right." Ty talks before Jack got the chance.
"Fine. After practice" Jack decides.
"Good." Ty gets up, leaving jacks room.

Ty and Luke both follow Jack as they enter the hospital.
"What if she never remembers who I am?" Jack stops outside the door to the room Elyssa was in.
"We'll deal with the cards as they're dealt" Ty pats him on the back. Jack nods, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. Megan opens it, stepping into the hallway with them instead of welcoming them in.
"I could slap you right now" she looks at Jack.
"Look I'm sorry" he says genuinely.
"Whatever. She's wide awake and would love to talk." Megan tells him. He goes into the room. Ty and Luke go to follow him, Megan stepping in front of them.
"Let's not add fuel to the fire." Megan stops them from going in. The three of them sit in the chairs outside of Elyssas room.
"Hi" Jack says softly as he walks in.
"Hi" Elyssas smiles, weary.
"How are you?" He asks, standing awkwardly.
"I've been better" Elyssa jokes lightly.
"Right" he breathes.
"You're this guy, right?" Elyssa shows him her phone lock screen. It's a picture of them napping on the beach together over the summer.
"Yeah" he nods, remembering that day. "Uh, Jack" he forgets she doesn't know anything, let alone his name.
"Alright Jack. Tell me what our deal is?" Elyssa requests. Her demeanor is very lighthearted, not worrying much.
"Like what?" Jack wonders. He's very anxious, afraid he might say the wrong thing.
"Relax." She notices his body language. "You're my boyfriend right? Tell me about that, about you."
"Uh well I'm Jack Hughes. I play hockey for the New Jersey Devils. I am the middle of three sons. We met at a hockey game. Our first date was at a restaurant. You go to all my home games. After them we usually hang out at either of our apartments." He tells her. He stops talking because he thinks he's saying too much.
"Keep going" she encourages him.
"Um ok. I love seeing you in the stands at games. And I love when you get really into it. You love sunsets. And you're super competitive. And you spent this past summer with my family in Michigan. You had so much fun and you were so happy. I love it when you play with my hair. And I think you love it just as much." Elyssa smiles, listening to Jack talk.
"Tell me about summer" she requests.
"You came home with me. You met my parents and they love you. You and my mom, Ellen, got super close. You met my friends and we all spent everyday together. You were nervous and intimidated by them at first but once you got to know them you got more comfortable. They keep asking me about you. They want to know if you're ok. We spent basically everyday on the lake. I taught you to wake surf and drive the boat. It was great." He tells her. She smiles, liking the things that he just told her. Though she didn't remember any of it. He can see on her face that she couldn't remember. It breaks him.
"Here, explain these photos to me" she grabs her phone. She scrolls through her camera roll, going through pictures from the past year. Each picture is a different story he tells her. He likes telling her the stories from the summer photos. He explains who each person is and what they were all doing. He lights up when she gets to the picture of Elyssa on his shoulders surfing. He goes into detail, telling her all about the day. He gets caught up in the memories, he almost forgets that she doesn't remember any of it.