“Haley”

My nerves were beginning to get the better of me. I smiled weakly, my brother standing in the doorway to my apartment; somewhere I never thought he would be. I stepped to the side, opening the door a little wider allowing him entrance, before silently closing the door behind him. The pair of us made our way into the loving room, silently of course, where I took the seat I had just previously occupied.

He took the seat across from me, eyeing me nervously; I didn't think he knew what he wanted to say either.

After Jamie's talk, I decided to give him a chance to explain himself. I wished desperately that Jamie could be here with me right now; I was unsure how I was going to approach this.

Obviously there was a do or die game six tonight; they could successfully come back from their 3-0 series deficit tonight.

“So- uh Jamie tells me you've been sober for two years?” I asked, finally deciding the awkward silence was killing me.

“Uh- yeah. Yeah I have” he mumbled quietly; he was no where near as confident as he was when I saw him at the arena only days ago. “I still go to AA meetings sometimes” he added as an afterthought.

“What changed?” I blurted out, not being able to contain my question any longer.

“A lot of things did” he muttered softly. “I was going down a bad path. I could have been in the NHL right now; but I let drinking take over my life. I haven't picked up a stick since the accident” he confessed with a heavy sigh.

I found that hard to swallow. Hockey, much like to Jamie, was his life. He was well on his way to becoming something great; but then he discovered partying.

“They took away my scholarship to school, I was kicked off the team, I lost my license; I lost everything.. You and dad included” he told me miserably. “For awhile I let alcohol take away the pain of losing everything; but then I realized I couldn't keep going down this road; I had to change. So I did”

I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent, letting him continue.

“So I went to AA meetings, became sober, volunteered my time with MADD…” he trailed off thoughtfully. “I didn't want to try and talk to you until I knew I was changed; I knew you wouldn't want to hear from me. Then I heard about dad and I knew; I couldn't wait any longer” he let a quiet sob escape his lips, catching me completely off guard. My brother was never one to cry; he was one of the most emotionally stable people I knew; he was strong.

“I- I don't know what to say” I whispered honestly, trying to contain the tears of my own that threatened to spill over.

“I'm not asking you to forgive me right now, all I want is a chance to prove to you I've changed. You're the only family I have left, Haley. We both lost dad, I don't want to lose you too. We used to be so close! I'd do anything to have that back” he told me with sincerity.

I had an internal battle in my head. All Jamie did was ask me to talk to him; he didn't say I had to forgive him, right? But it was stupid; I couldn't keep getting mad at him for one mistake. Mind you, it was a massive one. But it genuinely looked like he was trying to get his shit together.

“Okay” I breathed finally, making my decision.

“Okay?” Josh asked, confused.

“One chance. You've got one chance to prove you've changed”
I don't think I've seen the smile appear any wider on his face. We both got up from our seats and embraced in the first hug in over three years. As soon as the hug began we both began to cry. From missing each other; from not having any contact for years; for our father.

We probably stood in the same spot, sobbing and holding each other for an hour or more; but I didn't care. It felt nice to have family; as much as I never thought I would ever let him back in, I was glad Jamie was there to get my head out of my ass.

*******


“So you and Jamie are finally together, eh?” Josh mused.
After composing ourselves from our cry fest in my living room, I decided it would be fun to take him out for some sibling bonding time. We went to the mall, shopped a little bit, and we currently sat in one of my favourite small diners for a late lunch. Of course since tonight was game six he would be accompanying Erica and I; I was ecstatic at the same time I was nervous as hell for the game.

“Yeah” I muttered, my cheeks turning red.

“I would just like to say I told you so” he smirked and I rolled my eyes; some things truly never changed. The night I had bumped into Jamie, I had told josh and my dad about it when they called to see how I was settling into my new place.

Josh wasted no time in telling me he was going to plan the wedding, despite me not having that “love at first sight” feeling. He told me nobody got that overly excited about making a new friend. I let him think what he wanted to; eventually he dropped the subject once he realized we were just friends. Guess he saw something I didn't all those years ago.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, well it's only been a short time” I pointed out.

“Still happened” he shrugged, taking a bite of his Caesar salad, a smirk on his face. “He's a great guy, Haley.” He had to add his fatherly approval.

“Probably one of the only boyfriends you approve of?” I asked with a chuckle. He was always so over protective of me growing up; guys were kind of afraid of my big bad big brother.

“You know, you're probably right” he snickered. I smiled. I knew I didn't need his approval, but it still made me happy nonetheless.
You'd be crazy to not approve of Jamie; he was perfect. “So when is your friend joining us?” He asked, pretending to search around the place for Erica.

“In a few minutes I think” I pursed my lips, looking towards the door.

“Is she hot?”

“She's taken” I bit back a laugh.

“So?”

“She's dating Tyler Seguin” I laughed. “But if you'd like to mess with him be my guest”

“I could take him” he mused playfully.

“Maybe back in your hockey days” I chirped with a wink.

“Hey I'm not that out of shape…” He pouted, holding his beer belly with a frown. “Okay so maybe the gym and I haven't been friends for a few months…”

“Months?” I teased lightly.

“Okay, years” he rolled his eyes.

“Don't worry, we can be gym buddies- if you want” I added tentatively. I guess I might as well as jump into this whole forgiving thing with both feet, right?

“Wow- yeah that'd be great” he looked a little caught off guard. “You know, if you can keep up”

I was about to answer when I felt my phone vibrate on my pocket; a message from Erica.

“Erica's gonna be late working- she's gonna meet us at the rink” I told him, putting my phone back in my bag. “Gross, that means it'll just be the both of us for a few more hours” I pretended to say in disgust.

“Something's never change with you, eh?” Josh smiled softly.

“They do not” I smiled, genuinely enjoying myself.

*********


The three of us sat in our seats, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the game. Erica and Josh seemed to hit it off; the three of us were having a great time. The atmosphere of the American Airlines Centre was excited but tense. We were all pumped for the game to start, but nervous there wouldn't be a game seven.

“You don't have to worry, the Stars have got this game” Josh announced after we sat down from the national anthems.
“They're on fire”

“Montreal is a good team” I reminded him. “And let's not forget that right winger sniper we can't seem to stop” I added, referring to Phil Kessel. Man was he fast. I didn't care what anybody said, he was one of the NHL elites.

“He's only one guy” Erica joined in.

“And Price has proved if he's rattled by an early goal, it's easy to put some past him” Josh informed me with a small frown. I knew exactly what he was thinking; he wished he was one of the ones on the ice.

“We can only be so hopeful” I murmured, the game finally beginning.

Notes