Therapy is Good for the Soul
Chapter 20
Tyler woke up around noon only to find himself in the same clothes from the night before and not remembering how he got there. As he slowly sat up, he felt like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer repeatedly. He noticed the bottle of water on his nightstand and guzzled it down hoping to get rid of the desert in his mouth. He went to his bathroom and fumbled around in the medicine cabinet until he found a packet of Alka-Seltzer and some Advil. He hoped they would both kick in quickly or it was going to be a very long and painful day. Tyler then took a nice, long, hot shower before he got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.
Tyler grabbed a Gatorade Frost from the refrigerator and a banana off the counter. Freddy walked in while Tyler was peeling the banana.“We need to hit the store because this is the last one.” Tyler said raising his banana towards Freddy before taking a bite.
“That’s all you have to say to me?”
“I’m sorry, good morning sunshine!” Tyler sarcastically responded.
“It’s the afternoon, you fucking asshole!”
“What the fuck is your problem?”
“Did you seriously just ask me that after last night?”
“Oh, you must be the one who got me to my bed. Sorry man I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but it’s no reason to get your panties in a wad. Tell you what you can have the place all to yourself today, I’ll head over to Bailey’s.”
Freddy laughed, “Yeah, like she’ll let you in.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to see me?”
“Tyler, are you really that arrogant? Bailey is a doll, but I don’t even think a saint would forgive you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Tyler, do you remember anything from last night?”
“Of course I do. I remember heading to the Garden early, joking with you and Bay about her game outfit, and….and. Well things get a little fuzzy after that.”
“I’ve never seen you as wasted as you were last night and that says a lot. In fact, I checked on you several times to make sure you were still breathing. You must have blacked out. Do you remember how you got that lovely mark on your face?”
Tyler moved his hand up to the cut under his eye that stung this morning. After a minute he responded, “I got in a fight, a fight with Kessel after he speared me in the face, fucking asshole! Bergy and Quaider had to pull me off of him. I got 5 stitches and the penalty kept me out of the rest of the game.”
“Right, now think hard, do you remember anything before the fight?”
After a minute, anger followed by hurt swept across Tyler’s face, “You kissed Bailey! How could you, she, do that to me? You know I’ve never like anyone as much as her!”
“I know that Tyler. You’re my best friend; do you really think I would hurt you like that? It was a fucking joke! The stupid camera kept coming back to us. I told Bailey that they wouldn’t give up until we gave in, so we should put on a show if they did come back. She hesitantly agreed. When the camera came back, she dramatically sat on my lap and gave me a quick peck on my lips like someone would give their relative. I tipped her backwards and she used my hat in an attempt to hide the fact we were laughing hysterically and not really kissing. There was absolutely nothing romantic about it!”
“I saw you kiss her.”
Freddy got off the couch and approached Tyler. “Still don’t believe me? Watch it for yourself and tell me you still think it was real.” Freddy handed Tyler his phone, which was opened to a twitter video.
Tyler pressed play and then dropped the phone to his lap and put his head in his hands. He realized Freddy was telling the truth and he let his jealousy get the better of him. The video clearly showed Bailey and Freddy started laughing as he tipped her head back and Bailey tried to hide their faces with his hat. If you looked closely, you could see that Freddy’s head was off to the side and they were not kissing.
“I’m so sorry Freddy! You’re right I should have known better. The truth is I’ve been jealous of the relationship you’ve had with Bailey for a while. She’s always found it so easy to talk to you and you have so much in common. Seeing your pictures and reading your conversations on twitter these past couple of days didn’t help things. I was afraid Bailey would realize I wasn’t good enough for her and chose you instead. Can you forgive me?”
“Tyler, I say this with love, but you’re a fucking idiot! First of all I’d like to point out that you’re the one who told her to invite me to the concert. I was her back up when you couldn’t go and her girlfriends were out of town and sick. Yes, Bailey and I have a lot in common, but we are just friends! Bailey spent last night hounding me about what type of girls I like because she wants to set me up with her friend Christina. When she wasn’t harassing me, she was gushing about you. She even told me that the two of you haven’t had a “real” kiss yet and she couldn’t wait for it to happen. She even joked that she thought it was going to be, and I quote 'a foot popping kiss like they have in old movies and the Princess Diaries.' She was head over heels for you.”
“Was?” Tyler asked.
“I’m not Bailey so I don’t exactly know how she feels or what she is thinking right now. I do know that you hurt her last night. Tyler, you basically called her a whore and told her she hurt your career. She also saw you making out with that puck bunny, Mandy. Marchy saw her in tears when she left the club. Bailey is an absolute sweetheart, but I don’t know any girl who’s that forgiving.”
“She was crying? What am I going to do? I can’t lose her!” Tyler felt like absolute shit and it wasn’t from his nasty hangover. The last thing on Earth he wanted to do was hurt Bailey.
“Well, for starters you owe her a major apology! I don’t know if it will be enough, but I do know she still cares about you. After all the hateful things you said to her, she was still worried about you and made me promise I’d get you home safely. ”
“I can do that, I’ll head over there in a bit and beg for her forgiveness. Before I do, I need to ask a question. Why would I say she hurt my career?”
“Oh, guess you forgot that part too. Apparently after you saw the so-called kiss, you got so pissed you came barreling down the ice and slammed Kessel into the boards. That’s why he came after you. The NHL player safety board is reviewing the play and you may get suspended.”
“I forgot about that. Can’t believe I blamed Bailey.”
“Technically you blamed both of us.”
“I’m so sorry I was such an asshole! I don’t know how you’re still talking to me after how I treated you last night.”
“It’s ok Tyler, I knew it was a misunderstanding and you had too much to drink.”
“Thanks. One more question, I’m afraid to ask, but if I’m going to ask Bailey to forgive me, I need to know everything I need forgiveness for. You mentioned Mandy, please tell me I didn’t hook up with her!”
“You didn’t, not from lack of effort on her part though. She’s a piece of work, clearly looking for a sugar daddy. Marchy got you away from her before you made that fatal mistake. He helped me get you home and into your bed too. You owe that guy big time!”
“I owe both of you! Thanks for letting me know about Marchy, I’ll be sure to give him a call later to thank him. Is there anything else you think I need to know?”
“Nope. I think that was a plenty, don’t you?”
“Yeah. My head’s really swimming, trying to process everything. I can’t believe how stupid I was last night! Is my car here or still at the club?”
“Still at the club, we took a cab home. Your keys are on the breakfast bar.”
“Thanks again for being such a great friend and taking care of me last night. I think I’ll walk to the club to try to wrap my head around everything. I need to figure out what I’m going to say to Bailey.” Tyler got up, grabbed a jacket out of the coat closet and took his keys before heading out the door looking completely defeated.
Tyler grabbed a Gatorade Frost from the refrigerator and a banana off the counter. Freddy walked in while Tyler was peeling the banana.“We need to hit the store because this is the last one.” Tyler said raising his banana towards Freddy before taking a bite.
“That’s all you have to say to me?”
“I’m sorry, good morning sunshine!” Tyler sarcastically responded.
“It’s the afternoon, you fucking asshole!”
“What the fuck is your problem?”
“Did you seriously just ask me that after last night?”
“Oh, you must be the one who got me to my bed. Sorry man I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but it’s no reason to get your panties in a wad. Tell you what you can have the place all to yourself today, I’ll head over to Bailey’s.”
Freddy laughed, “Yeah, like she’ll let you in.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to see me?”
“Tyler, are you really that arrogant? Bailey is a doll, but I don’t even think a saint would forgive you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Tyler, do you remember anything from last night?”
“Of course I do. I remember heading to the Garden early, joking with you and Bay about her game outfit, and….and. Well things get a little fuzzy after that.”
“I’ve never seen you as wasted as you were last night and that says a lot. In fact, I checked on you several times to make sure you were still breathing. You must have blacked out. Do you remember how you got that lovely mark on your face?”
Tyler moved his hand up to the cut under his eye that stung this morning. After a minute he responded, “I got in a fight, a fight with Kessel after he speared me in the face, fucking asshole! Bergy and Quaider had to pull me off of him. I got 5 stitches and the penalty kept me out of the rest of the game.”
“Right, now think hard, do you remember anything before the fight?”
After a minute, anger followed by hurt swept across Tyler’s face, “You kissed Bailey! How could you, she, do that to me? You know I’ve never like anyone as much as her!”
“I know that Tyler. You’re my best friend; do you really think I would hurt you like that? It was a fucking joke! The stupid camera kept coming back to us. I told Bailey that they wouldn’t give up until we gave in, so we should put on a show if they did come back. She hesitantly agreed. When the camera came back, she dramatically sat on my lap and gave me a quick peck on my lips like someone would give their relative. I tipped her backwards and she used my hat in an attempt to hide the fact we were laughing hysterically and not really kissing. There was absolutely nothing romantic about it!”
“I saw you kiss her.”
Freddy got off the couch and approached Tyler. “Still don’t believe me? Watch it for yourself and tell me you still think it was real.” Freddy handed Tyler his phone, which was opened to a twitter video.
Tyler pressed play and then dropped the phone to his lap and put his head in his hands. He realized Freddy was telling the truth and he let his jealousy get the better of him. The video clearly showed Bailey and Freddy started laughing as he tipped her head back and Bailey tried to hide their faces with his hat. If you looked closely, you could see that Freddy’s head was off to the side and they were not kissing.
“I’m so sorry Freddy! You’re right I should have known better. The truth is I’ve been jealous of the relationship you’ve had with Bailey for a while. She’s always found it so easy to talk to you and you have so much in common. Seeing your pictures and reading your conversations on twitter these past couple of days didn’t help things. I was afraid Bailey would realize I wasn’t good enough for her and chose you instead. Can you forgive me?”
“Tyler, I say this with love, but you’re a fucking idiot! First of all I’d like to point out that you’re the one who told her to invite me to the concert. I was her back up when you couldn’t go and her girlfriends were out of town and sick. Yes, Bailey and I have a lot in common, but we are just friends! Bailey spent last night hounding me about what type of girls I like because she wants to set me up with her friend Christina. When she wasn’t harassing me, she was gushing about you. She even told me that the two of you haven’t had a “real” kiss yet and she couldn’t wait for it to happen. She even joked that she thought it was going to be, and I quote 'a foot popping kiss like they have in old movies and the Princess Diaries.' She was head over heels for you.”
“Was?” Tyler asked.
“I’m not Bailey so I don’t exactly know how she feels or what she is thinking right now. I do know that you hurt her last night. Tyler, you basically called her a whore and told her she hurt your career. She also saw you making out with that puck bunny, Mandy. Marchy saw her in tears when she left the club. Bailey is an absolute sweetheart, but I don’t know any girl who’s that forgiving.”
“She was crying? What am I going to do? I can’t lose her!” Tyler felt like absolute shit and it wasn’t from his nasty hangover. The last thing on Earth he wanted to do was hurt Bailey.
“Well, for starters you owe her a major apology! I don’t know if it will be enough, but I do know she still cares about you. After all the hateful things you said to her, she was still worried about you and made me promise I’d get you home safely. ”
“I can do that, I’ll head over there in a bit and beg for her forgiveness. Before I do, I need to ask a question. Why would I say she hurt my career?”
“Oh, guess you forgot that part too. Apparently after you saw the so-called kiss, you got so pissed you came barreling down the ice and slammed Kessel into the boards. That’s why he came after you. The NHL player safety board is reviewing the play and you may get suspended.”
“I forgot about that. Can’t believe I blamed Bailey.”
“Technically you blamed both of us.”
“I’m so sorry I was such an asshole! I don’t know how you’re still talking to me after how I treated you last night.”
“It’s ok Tyler, I knew it was a misunderstanding and you had too much to drink.”
“Thanks. One more question, I’m afraid to ask, but if I’m going to ask Bailey to forgive me, I need to know everything I need forgiveness for. You mentioned Mandy, please tell me I didn’t hook up with her!”
“You didn’t, not from lack of effort on her part though. She’s a piece of work, clearly looking for a sugar daddy. Marchy got you away from her before you made that fatal mistake. He helped me get you home and into your bed too. You owe that guy big time!”
“I owe both of you! Thanks for letting me know about Marchy, I’ll be sure to give him a call later to thank him. Is there anything else you think I need to know?”
“Nope. I think that was a plenty, don’t you?”
“Yeah. My head’s really swimming, trying to process everything. I can’t believe how stupid I was last night! Is my car here or still at the club?”
“Still at the club, we took a cab home. Your keys are on the breakfast bar.”
“Thanks again for being such a great friend and taking care of me last night. I think I’ll walk to the club to try to wrap my head around everything. I need to figure out what I’m going to say to Bailey.” Tyler got up, grabbed a jacket out of the coat closet and took his keys before heading out the door looking completely defeated.
LOVIN' THIS STORY!!!!! OMG, SO GOOD!!!! :D
2/17/19