The Tandem

Tuukka's Point Of View:

Having Jesse, I mean Jocelyn back, has been amazing. It honestly killed me when I found out that I have left her to get arrested. I was drunk as hell that night and that was when my affair with Jackie had started.

I know, cheating on your girlfriend is wrong, but I was drunk and she knew what she was doing. That night, I broke the only rule we really had in the house; the no bringing girls home and having sex in the house rule. After she got arrested and benched and moved out, I guess reality hadn't set in yet about the severity of the situation. When she called me the night before the trade, I was with Jackie and ignored her call. In my defense, I didn't know it was her last call to me.

It hurt when they knocked us out of the playoffs. Man, it hurt bad. It hurt even worse this time because some dumbass call up basically steamrolled her into the crossbar and the ice. I remember it so clearly that it burns.

*Flashback to Game Seven*

The crowd quiets to a dull buzz as Jocelyn gets hit and collapses.

"Shit oh shit. Fuck", I mutter over and over as the whistle is blown to signal the stoppage in play and I immediately throw down my stick, rip off my helmet, and shed my glove and blocker as I skate furiously to the other end of the ice. Her damn boyfriend, Carey Price, has beaten me to her. Fuck him for being such a good two shoes.

I can't even form coherent thoughts, only my eyes filling with tears. I never cry, especially over an ex girlfriend. But after glancing at Carey and seeing big fat teardrops sliding down his face, I don't care anymore.

The medical team finally makes it over to the circle of goalies and it's obvious that she needs to go to the hospital. She's mumbling and jerking around. We help the medics load her up on the stretcher and I clutch her hand out of hope that she'll open her eyes and be alright. She stills further instead.

"Remember that I love you", I whisper, choking down sobs. I don't know if she heard me, but I hope she did.

*Back to reality*

No one except David knows that I spent every afternoon after the incident beside her hospital bed. Carey was there as well after the Habs were knocked out. She looked like an angel with her playoff hair spread out on the white pillow. I held her hand and prayed that she would wake up.

When I got the news that she would lose part of her memory, I cheered at the thought of her not remembering Carey as her boyfriend. But I also remembered that she wouldn't remember us dating either. That made me depressed, the thought of her not remembering me. Everyone tried to cheer me up, even Jackie, although I kept her in the dark about the origin of my depression.

One day, a tall girl with long brown hair was sitting in my spot next to Jocelyn. I vaguely remembered her face.

My sneaker squealed on the floor, causing the girl to jump and turn towards me. She had dark rings around her bloodshot eyes and tears welling up to replace those that had already dripped down her face.

"You must be Tuukka, the asshole who left her.", she said in a hoarse whisper full of accusation. I sighed and ran my fingers through my shaggy hair.

"Yeah, I'm that asshole. Sorry.", I said back, voice full of regret. She notices the redness in my eyes and does the thing I least expected from someone whose friend is in the hospital and I'm the asshole who got her friend arrested. She hugs me tight.

"I forgive you. I'm speaking for my best friend.", the girl said, taking her place beside Jocelyn's bed again. It clicked in my head. Best friend of Jocelyn. The girl in the room is Anabel.

"Why aren't you in Montréal?", I asked, sitting beside her and taking Jocelyn's hand. Anabel whipped around and glared at me.

"My best friend is in a coma. Why the fuck wouldn't I be here?", she said angrily.

"Sorry.", I said for the millionth time that day. An idea popped in my head. "Would you like to stay at the house with us?"

She looked up at my sincere offer and nodded.

We sat next to Jocelyn in silence for a few hours longer and I drove her back to the house with me, where Jackie was waiting on the couch, wearing an X rated piece of clothing per usual. Anabel glared at her and held back from saying something and then reconsidered.

The indication of how Anabel reacted to Jackie depended on the next word she said.

"Whore."

She left Jackie with her mouth hanging open and showed herself to Jocelyn's room.

Anabel stayed with myself, Krej, Ty, Dougie, and Torey for the next week. She was transferred to Providence and got an apartment about twenty minutes away from the house.

Jocelyn, at that point, had been in a coma for 2.5 weeks. The longest and most heart wrenching 2.5 weeks of my life. I'd honestly never felt worse. I had to fake being happy for the press, for my teammates, for my family, for Jackie.

I think what killed my world the most was when Tyler was traded to Dallas, along with Pevs. Ferbear went to Edmonton and Horty went to Columbus. We were all close to Fer and Pevs. I was really close to Ty and Horty. It all crushed me.

And then, I got the wonderful news. She had awoken. She was delirious, but conscious and out of her coma. I was on a 'date' with Jackie when I got the text from Anabel. Yeah, dates with Jackie were more like 'Let me go buy lots of things with your money and I'll pay you back with sex later'. I don't even know why I'm still dating her. The woman that I absolutely cannot get off my mind had just woken up from a three week long coma.

So obviously, I ditched Jackie and rushed to the hospital just in time to see Carey run into the room and hug her, my heart sinking at the sight. She is paler than usual, probably skinnier as well, not that it matters, and her playoff hair has grown in nicely. She looks beautiful. She starts to shake her head at him and the nurse tells him to get out.

"She doesn't remember me", he mutters in disbelief as he brushes by me. I smile a little before earning a whack from Anabel, who is scowling.

"You're driving her home", she pats my arm and starts to walk in the opposite direction, pausing after a second. "Oh right and she's missing about a year of her memory, have fun!"

I laugh and notice the doctor exiting her room.

"Doc, is she ready to go?"

"Ah yes Mr. Rask, I believe so. Are you taking her home?"

"Yes sir.", I take a second and pull off my team hoodie, handing it to the doctor. "Can you give this to her?"

The short man nods and whispers something to the nurse, pressing my hoodie into her hands. She nods and smiles in my direction before disappearing into the room with a pile of neatly folded clothes, my hoodie included.

I sat in the waiting room for a good while, fidgeting. Wondering if she would remember me. Just hoping and praying that she did. Asking for the strength to break up with Jackie. Don't get me wrong, Jackie is a lovely person. Intelligent, interesting sometimes, but all she wants is money and sex. Two things that I can give to her, but would rather not.

I was finally given the go ahead to enter the room. I plastered a smile on my face and entered the room, being as silly and fun as I could be. But on the inside, my jaw had dropped.

Even though she was wearing yoga pants and a hoodie three sizes too big, she was gorgeous. Her once shaved hair was now shoulder length and a soft brown that cannot be obtained by dye. She smiled and laughed at my antics. Her smile lit up the room and her laugh, oh her laugh, is the sound of happiness. Like little bells all ringing in harmony. I was instantly sucked back into being drunk in love with this girl. You only get to say 'I love you' for the first time only once to a person. I dropped that bomb in my depression and now the slate is wiped clean. It is fate.

After we got into the car, the gap in her memory started to show. She couldn't remember our friendship, or my betrayal of her, which I intend to fix. She thought she was still in college, which is typical of most amnesia patients as the doctor had told me earlier. Usually, most patients remember their most recent year in a school environment as their most recent memory. Jocelyn is no exception.

I really wanted to make a good first impression on her, so I had organized Anabel to come over and surprise her.

David greeted us with open arms, well he greeted her, and Dougie yelled something in Spanish. I'm Finnish, have no idea what the kid said. When I showed her the room that she had before the trade, she was in awe. Let me tell you, there is nothing more special than seeing someone else in complete awe. She looked unbelievably happy at the sight of it all.

"So tell me about me."

Her question startled me, but I smiled and sat on the bed next to her.

"Well you used to only go by Jesse or Jess. The guys are starting to get used to you being called Jocelyn. You always had the weirdest pregame rituals, a nap and such. You rambled on and on all about Anabel, she is seriously cool though. You always stayed up until 1AM every Saturday night talking to her on my laptop. You love talking to your cousin Claire and your younger brother Jay, his actual name is Jeremie, and you get along great with everyone. You're an amazing goalie and used to play for the Bruins, now you play for the Canadiens. But since you sustained a big injury, Montreal has given you back to us! Tyler was traded a few days ago and the house seems empty without him, but you're back now and that's all that matters", I said confidently, but with a touch of sadness remembering the trade.

She gave me a sad, understanding smile. I had eventually gotten her downstairs and Anabel attacked her and they both talked for hours.

During the entire fiasco, my phone had a mind of it's own. It kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing from texts from a certain person. She was beyond pissed that I ditched her, I don't blame her, and she wanted me to make it up to her later. Oh good lord, I need to break up with her.

As the night went on and Anabel had to leave for Providence, Jocelyn and I went on a late night adventure. Ever since Torey and Brad moved out and Ty got traded, the house had been quiet. It was just me, Dougie, and David and for the past three weeks, I was barely home because I practically lived at the hospital. So Jocelyn and I went to get a dog. But since we both are giant mush balls and cannot resist doggies, we got three. David and Dougie were so surprised to see the dogs that I think Dougie peed himself.

After both manly men retired to their rooms for the night, Jackie called. She wanted to know if she could come over and I said sure as always and assured her that I loved her. I don't know why I did that.

Jocelyn picked up on my smiling during the call with Jackie and determined that Jackie was my girlfriend. I had the worst situation on my hands at that moment.

On one hand, I have Jocelyn. A beautiful, smart, funny girl that I shouldn't love anymore but I do. On the other hand, I have Jackie. A pretty, nice girl that I love as well but shouldn't. Jeez Tuukks, you fucked this one up bad.

The door bell rang and I ran to open it. It's always a surprise of when she decides to wear. This time, it was a very revealing dress and tall heels. She smirked and glanced at Jocelyn on the couch before kissing me hard, it had taken me by surprise, there were people in the same room this time.

Jocelyn attempted to be nice and greeted Jackie, who turned her down with a cold stare. If looks could kill, Jocelyn would be dead by now. Long long gone.

At Jackie's cold refusal, a steely gaze stared her down.

"Didn't know that you dated total bitches, Tuukka.", she shot at me. I gulped, looking back and forth from Jackie to Jocelyn, seeking out who would crack first.

"Obviously he did because he dated you.", Jackie's chirp silenced the room. She just went there. Stiffly, I grabbed Jackie's shoulder and pushed her back outside.

"Don't come back. Ever.", I said in a firm voice. But really, I was scared shitless.

I slammed the door and ran upstairs, not wanting to look at Jocelyn's surprised and anger driven face. As soon as the lock slid into place, I sighed and collapsed onto my bed.

An hour or so later, someone knocked softly on my door. It's her and I think that she was beyond pissed off with me. I ignored the knocks and pretended to not hear them. She eventually gave up and slid a piece of paper under the door. Curious, I got up and looked at the paper.

All it said was 'Really?' in big black letters. I groaned and fell back into my bed.

In the hours that had followed, I couldn't sleep. It was like I was drowning in a sea of guilt and if I fell asleep, I drowned. That's how bad I felt. As her room was next to mine, I heard the bed squeaking and creaking and small footsteps pacing around the room.

Upon the realization that I couldn't and wouldn't sleep until it was resolved, I exited my room and knocked on her door. She answered on the second knock and stared at me for a minute. Obviously, like every other guy, I sleep in only boxers. I, before knocking on her door, had pulled on sweatpants in an attempt of decency.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that she was going to tell you.", I said as soon as she let me in the door and I sat on the edge of her bed. She sighed and sat beside me, running her fingers through her hair.

"Did I really date you?", she asked, rubbing her forehead. I nodded slowly, causing her to sigh again.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I wanted to start fresh as friends.", I said. She nodded and smiled in the dark.

"I'd like that.", she said and leaned against my shoulder.

We sat like that for a minute or two before I heard soft snoring from my shoulder and chuckled quietly.

She, the absolute angel she is, was so exhausted and stressed that she fell asleep on my shoulder. As gently as I could, I carefully placed her in her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Her hair billowed out on the pillow and she looks so peaceful when she's asleep. I don't think there is anything more precious than seeing someone you love fall asleep. You see them in their happiest and most relaxed state and I think that is incredible.

God I love her.

Notes

this is hands down the best chapter i have ever written omg i love it so much and my cousin and i have had many discussions about this story.

she is basically my editor, i send every chapter to her before it finally gets posted here, so is seriously the best.

if you guys wanna say hi to her, i'll screenshot it and text it to her aahaha

hope you enjoy this chapter!
-Es