“Haley?”

I looked up, my eyes red and bloodshot. I shot her a weak smile, unsure of how to begin. I knew she was going to ask why I was here. I knew she was going to ask what was wrong. I was just unsure of where to begin; of how to start.

“Hey Erica” I smiled, welcoming her into my office. It was past midnight, the firm was closed. I had been throwing myself into my work; I had been here since eight o'clock that morning. I had no idea what else to do; it was the only thing I could think of to keep my mind occupied.

“What are you still doing here?” She asked, a very worried expression on her face.

“Working” I mumbled unenthusiastically.

“No shit” she rolled her eyes, laughing for a moment. “Why? It's after midnight”

“Keep my mind off shit” I told her with a grumble my eyes wanting to cry but were dry; I had cried enough over the past forty-eight hours I was certain I wouldn't be able to cry for months.

“What happened?” She asked sympathetically, closing my office door behind her. She took the seat across from me, looking at me expectantly.

“My dad- he- he died two nights ago” I blurted out before I could chicken out.

“Oh my god Haley” her expression immediately softened. She got up from her chair, and pulled me into a big hug I didn't realize I was craving more than anything. “I'm so sorry- why didn't you tell me?”

"I didn't want to be a bother" I muttered honestly, closing my eyes and enjoying the hug I was getting. As much as it pained me to admit what I needed right now was the comforting hug and words from a friend.

"You're never a bother Haley, why would you ever-" she paused for a moment, pulling back and looking at me with a million questions in her eyes. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"No" I didn't even need to ask who she meant.

"You should-"

"He hasn't spoken to me since he left for Montreal" I interrupted her immediately. Obviously the first person I wanted to tell was Jamie. Obviously if he knew I'd be home, instead of crying whilst trying to keep my mind off of it.

I knew he was dying; for a long while. It wasn't something I ever brought up; it wasn't something I talked about. He lived two years past his life expectancy; it was a miracle he was still alive when he passed away. I had seen him two days before he passed away; and he seemed in good spirits. He seemed okay. But now; he was gone.

"You- what?" Erica looked at me, flabbergasted.

“He hasn't spoken to me since he left for Montreal” I told her with zero emotion. “They've had a rough two games” that part was true. They were coming back to Dallas to play game three, down two games to none. The first two games made us all wonder how the hell the Stars made the playoffs in the first place. They lost the first game 5-0, and the second game 4-0; they were goalless in their first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

I knew Jamie was taking it hard; I mean what captain wouldn't? One thing I wasn't expecting was him to cut me off completely. I had called him after the first game, not really sure what to expect; I shrugged it off when I didn't hear back that night.

The only phone call I did receive was from the hospital; my dad was gone.

Waking up and going through the day without hearing from Jamie was hard; especially with the news I had received the night before. I'm an only child, my mother having passed away at a very young age; my dad was the only family I had in Dallas.
I didn't know where to turn; I had nobody. So, I threw myself into my work; my dad wanted to be cremated so that made planning a funeral unnecessary.

“That's no excuse” Erica interrupted my thoughts.

“But-”

“Why are you making excuses for him!?” She asked me harshly. “Tyler isn't even my boyfriend and I've at least heard from him since he left” I could tell by the look on her face she regretted her words. “I-I'm sorry I didn't mean-”

“It's not your fault” I told her sadly, interrupting her this time.

“Are you okay?”

I was unsure how to answer her question. Was I okay? Absolutely not, I stifled a sarcastic laugh; of course I wasn't okay. My fucking dad died and my boyfriend was too absorbed in the playoffs to even give a shit. Well to be fair he didn't know…

“No” I finally admitted, deciding to be honest. “No I'm not okay”
She sighed with sympathy, unsure of what she should say next. But what do you say in this situation?

“Here, I'll take you home; I'll stay with you tonight” she finally spoke up softly.

“Are you sure? I mean I know Tyler is home and whatever” I muttered, unsure of how exactly their relationship worked. Did they see each other often?

“You're more important than sex” Erica smiled assuringly, grabbing my arm and pulling me from the seat I had been sitting in for hours.

“Thank you” I mumbled, before she led me slowly back to her car. According to her I wasn't to be trusted driving; I was too emotional. I guess she probably wasn't wrong. I felt like an emotional wreck; I wasn't sure how I was going to cope with the next few days. The Stars would be playing Montreal in game three in two nights time; would I even go?

What a stupid thought, of course I would be! Why wouldn't I be? It's so important to Jamie. But where's he when I need him? Right, I guess… Holy shit. I shook my head immediately. I was having a full conversation with myself. I really am an emotional wreck…

The drive back to my place seemed quicker than normal; maybe I was dreading going home. Maybe I was dreading having to look across the hallway and the see the door shut of the place I wished so badly I was in.

Walking in, we still were in silence. I handed Erica my keys as we made our way to my door.

“Erica, Haley” my head shot up at the sound of the male voice. I knew whose it was; Tyler.

“Hey Ty” Erica spoke a meek smile.

“Haley- shit are you okay?” Tyler noticed immediately my distraught appearance.

“Not overly” I laughed despite my situation. “My dad passed away the other night” the look on his face told me he expected me to complain about Jamie not speaking to me over the past three days. His worried expression fell even further. He approached me and pulled me in for a hug immediately. I did pretty good holding back my tears for the first few seconds; until I couldn't anymore.

“Oh my god- I'm so sorry” he muttered softly, pulling away and looking firmly into my eyes. I knew he was going to say something to excuse Jamie's actions; and quite honestly I wasn't in the mood to hear somebody defend him. In that moment, I didn't think I had ever been so pissed off at him.

“I- uh, it's been a long day- I'm gonna head to bed” I mumbled softly, offering Erica and Tyler a weak smile.

“I'll be in in a moment” Erica told me softly, and I nodded, brushing past her without another thought.

Collapsing on my bed I immediately felt my eyes get heavy; and only two things were on my mind; I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the next few days; and how I had never been more pissed off with Jamie since I met him.

Notes

only a few more chapters left! :( hope you're still enjoying!!