Don't Forget Me

Chapter Eight





"Addie?" I heard a female voice, following by her gently prodding me awake. I opened my eyes, suppressing a yawn and opening my eyes slowly. I saw Emma, and remembered I had no intentions of falling asleep.

"Aveyah and Ryder" were the first words I spoke as I bolted upright. I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus on her figure in front of me. I felt stupid, falling asleep with the kids in separate rooms, the baby monitors shut off.

"They're downstairs playing with Jon" she stated calmly.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking around for a clock.

"Six thirty" Emma rattled off. My eyes went wide; she was supposed to get off an hour and a half ago. In our agreement, her hours would be 9-5 five days a week; slowly and gradually weening off her care completely the better Jon got. I wasn't particular on what days she worked; I would let her pick. "And before you say it, I know I'm late, and don't worry about it; I see how exhausted you are" she truly must be an angel sent from heaven.

"I don't think I can thank you enough" I finally began to wake up, gaining full functioning of my brain. I sat up getting out from under the covers and stretching lightly. I could hear the loud and distant laughter echo throughout the house from Ryder, Jon and Aveyah and I grew envious. I wish we could play as a family again.

"You don't have to thank me" she blushed a little. "It's my job" she added. "And speaking of which, I've made some progress with Jon..." She trailed off, biting her lip gently.

"Oh?" I asked, wondering how much progress she could have possibly made in a day.

"You don't have to tell me, but has he been acting distant towards you? Unusual?" She asked. I could tell she wasn't being noisy; she even seemed to genuinely care. I knew she would have had to have some idea he was behaving strangely; Ryder had made that clear earlier.

"He has" I replied with as little emotion as I could.

"It's nothing you have done" she assured me quickly. "I just want to put that out there before I press on" she added. I didn't say anything; I sat on the bed, curiously awaiting her words. "He's got PTSD"

"Post traumatic stress disorder..." I said it to make it seem more real. "From the accident?" I asked, not immediately making the connection. She shook her head no, and I understood. He's been in a coma for a year. He woke up, people telling him various stories over the past year he had missed. His little boy had aged a year, and he met his little girl for the first time. Obviously, I had changed; the last time he saw me I was pregnant, awaiting his arrival for the birth of Aveyah.

"He doesn't know how to deal with it" she explained. "He's fine with everyone just- with you it was the biggest shock; it's hard to explain" she fumbled over her words, trying to find an accurate description.
"I can completely see why he would have PTSD. I just- I- I don't- I mean I-" I stuttered, trying to find the right thing to say, "I don't get it, but I do get it. I mean, why is he like that towards JUST me? Did I do something?"

"No, I mean- no, no" she replied rapidly. "Look, Addie" she smiled, trying to lighten the situation.

"Obviously you were one of the most important people in his life pre-accident; and he's having a hard time adjusting to a non pregnant, different you. He- he feels like you-" she sighed heavily, giving up.

"How can I get him to talk to me again?" I asked, deciding to drop the subject.

"With time, obviously. But you and him should have a talk about it" Emma recited.

"I'm afraid to speak to him" I admitted with a heavy sigh. "I don't want to fight with him anymore. All Im trying to do is help him but every time I do, he freaks out and yells at me!" I Ranted in exasperation. It was getting tiresome, always arguing about the same thing. He would struggle to complete a basic, day to day task, I would offer my assistance, and he would proceed to argue with me he didn't need my help. It would always lead into a fight; he wouldn't accept he wasn't capable of doing everything he was before.

"I know Addison" she spoke calmly. "But you have to think; he wants nothing more than to protect you. He wants to look after you, not the other way around. He probably feels emasculated; he's use to looking after you, not the other way around" her words made a lot of sense.

"Stop being right" I teased her lightly. "Okay, I'll go talk to him" I knew it was unavoidable.
"Good. Trust me; it'll help" she smiled, letting out a long breath. "I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Of course." I smiled as we both hopped up from the bed. I noticed Brandon sleeping soundly in the corner of our bedroom, on the small area rug I had placed by the window. I smiled, happy he could be apart of our family. "Come on Brandon" I called, and he immediately hopped up, ready to play. He followed us down the stairs, and to the door where I said goodbye to Emma.

"See you later Addison!" She called politely.

"Thanks so much, really, thanks; see you tomorrow!" I called after her while she made her way out of the car. I closed my eyes and sighing heavily. I could still hear the noise of laughter, and the pre-game show in the background. I could hear Emma call out a "you're welcome" before shutting the door. I smiled, finding it odd to be watching the game beside Jon. Of course, during the time he was in the coma, i watched in support of Patrick. It was hard, there was rarely a game I didn't end up crying; they always seemed to mention Jon and his situation.

"Mommy!" Ryder called out as I made an appearance into the room. He ran over to me, and I picked him up in one swift movement. He smiled, pointing to the ground where he Aveyah and Jon were playing with his hot wheels cars.

"Whatcha playing?" I asked, going over to Jon and Aveyah and taking a seat. She held up a car and passed it to me, laughing as she did so.

"Trucks" Ryder informed me.

"We were wondering when you would wake up" Jon spoke softly and a little awkwardly. I Looked up in surprise; he spoke to me?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep" I found myself apologizing.

"It's ok" Jon answered.

"We're gonna watch uncle Patrick play tonight!" Ryder called out in excitement. He absolutely loved watching hockey games, especially watching Patrick and the Blackhawks. It was hard, even at two years old, to get him to go to bed during a game. In fact, I often found myself recording the games for him, so he could watch them during the day. It was the one thing he could do without even budging from the TV.

"Only for a little while, remember bed time is 9 o'clock" I told him.

"No" he replied simply. Jon gave a small smirk and I glared at him.

"Awh, come on mom, let him watch the whole game" Jon teased with a wink.

"Ya, come on mom" Ryder repeated. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Fine, you can watch the whole game. But it's right to bed afterwards!" I pronounced strictly. Jon and Ryder exchanged high fives, and for a moment I forgot he was even in an accident. I looked up to see him staring at me, regret in his eyes. For a brief moment, I saw a glimpse of the man I fell in love with. I didn't fully understand how a two year old could get so into a game of hockey, but I wasn't complaining. It was a full three hours I could almost guarantee would be in complete silence, him not looking away, not even during the intermissions.

"Addie, can we talk? After the game?" Jon asked, breaking the intense staring contest we seemed to me having.

"Sure" I replied a little nervously. What could he want to talk about?

"Mommy, game time!" Ryder cheered, throwing his truck to the side. I smiled, heading to the corner and pulling out his Hawks jersey; it typically never left the living room. He immediately made me put it on, sporting the number 19 on the back.

"I like your jersey" Jon grinned proudly.

"He wears it every game" I informed him, turning up the volume a little. They were getting ready for the opening face off, Patrick getting ready at the face off circle. Jon held Aveyah on his lap, Ryder sitting in between the pair of us.

"Shhh!" Ryder shouted, the puck finally dropping. The Hawks won the draw cleaning, passing it back to their blue line. Duncan Keith passed it off to Kane, who skated to centre before dumping the puck in the zone, and chasing not too far behind.

I was excited to finally be watching the game with my family. It would be better if we were watching Jon play, but as long as he was alive, I didn't care.

Notes

:)