We've Got This

Two weeks later

My tattoo turned out absolutely amazing. It was a time turner, from Harry Potter, with the quote ‘the ones that love us never really leave us’ circling it, and it was on the inside of my left forearm. I got it to always remind me that, although I will lose loved ones in life, they will always be with me in spirit, and in my heart. The same can also be said if I ever have friends that move far away.

It didn’t hurt as badly as I was expecting, but it itched like a bitch when it started to scab over. It took everything in me not to scratch, but it worked a little bit to scratch around the tattoo, not on top of it. It was totally worth it though; I now had an amazing piece of art, and my childhood, to represent the ones I love for the rest of my life.

I was now getting off a plane in Dallas. Jamie was even nice enough to pay for me to fly down here, even though I told him probably a hundred times that he didn’t have to. I hadn’t used my crutches since about two days after I got hurt, because the pain had gone away, the swelling went down, and I could actually walk, but I was using them now. There were so many people in the airport, and I didn’t want to risk doing any more damage to my knee than I already had. It was strictly precautionary; I was walking normally, the crutches were just a little extra protection.

It was a little bit of a struggle to get to baggage claim, because I had to juggle my purse and carry-on with the crutches, but I was relieved when I saw that Jamie had already grabbed my suitcase when I got there. He smiled widely when he saw me, but immediately looked down at the crutches. “I thought your knee was doing better?” he asked, concerned.

I shrugged. “It is doing better. The pain and swelling are gone; this is just a precaution because there are so many people. I’m only gonna be using them in super crowded areas; mainly airports,” I replied. “It’s great to see you, Jamie,” I added, setting the crutches aside and wrapping my arms around his waist, squeezing tightly.

He did the same right away, and gently lifted me off the ground. “It’s great to see you, too, Gimp,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. He then put me down and turned to the blonde woman that was standing a little bit off to the side. “Jean, this is my sister Jenny. Jen, this is Jean, the girl Segs can’t shut up about and is the basis for Ali,” he said, introducing us and making me laugh.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Jen,” I said awkwardly, offering my hand out to her. I wasn’t the best at meeting new people.

Instead of shaking my hand, Jen went right for the kill. She came right over and pulled me into a tight hug. “It’s great to finally meet you!” she said happily. “I already like her better than Ali,” she added to Jamie. “I am going to make you look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous for the Awards,” she said, taking my carry-on bag and slinging it over her shoulder as Jamie took my suitcase, and I carried my purse and crutches out of the airport.

“Well I’m glad someone’s going to, because I don’t know a damn thing about dressing up all fancy and doing makeup or any of that,” I chuckled. She turned and gave me a shocked look, but it turned into a warm smile.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll take care of you,” she replied. “Well go shopping tomorrow and find you the perfect dress and shoes before we head to Vegas, and I’ll do your hair and makeup before the show.” I gave her a smile in thanks as we approached Jamie’s car.

After I got my stuff in the trunk, Jamie stopped me. “Let me see this tattoo you said you were getting,” he said as he closed the trunk. I held up my left arm so he could get a good look at it. “Nice. I really like the quote surrounding it. What is it?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes a little bit. “It’s a time turner, from Harry Potter,” I replied, and he nodded.

“Very cool,” he said with a smile. “I really like the quote going around it as well,” he continued as he stepped away from me and went to get in the car. I followed suit and got in the back seat, since Jen was in the front passenger seat, and we headed to Jamie’s house.

It was silent for a few moments before Jen turned to face me. “So, Jamie tells me you’ve got kind of a thing for Seguin,” she said, trying to hide the smirk on her face.

I scowled in response. “I really don’t want to even think about him; he’s basically been leading me on all summer,” I replied, handing her my phone to show her the kind of conversations we’ve been having.

I saw the smirk quickly turn into a look of shock, and I nodded when she looked back at me. “Holy shit! That little fucker! Don’t worry honey, we’ll go shopping tomorrow, and you’ll look so fabulous in Vegas that he won’t be able to keep his eyes in his head…or on his so-called girlfriend,” she said, the smirk returning. “We’ll show him what he’s missing.”

“Sounds good to me,” I chuckled, taking my phone back from her.

We got to Jamie’s house about fifteen minutes later, and I was in awe. “Holy shit,” I marveled as I got out of the car. “Three of my house could fit here.”

Jamie chuckled at that. “Oh come on, it’s not that big. Seguin’s is probably at least a little bigger,” he replied as he led me up the stairs. “And here’s your guest room. I’ll let you settle in for a few minutes.” He turned to leave the room, but turned back to me. “You look a little different,” he said. “I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s a good different,” he added.

I blushed a little bit, but hid it well. “Well, my hair is longer, a little darker. Um, I have lost some weight; gotten into better shape. I guess that’s what you’re noticing the most,” I replied.

He nodded. “I just thought your boobs looked bigger,” he said, shrugging like it was nothing.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Of course that’s what you would notice,” I replied. “Fortunately, they only look bigger; they’re not actually bigger. They just look bigger because pretty much everything else about me is smaller. They’re still the same size.” He just gave me a look, so I sighed. “So, how about a tour a casa de Benn?” I asked.

He smiled and motioned for me to follow him. “It would be my pleasure,” he replied, and he took me all around his house, which was ginormous. “And, believe it or not,” he said as we walked through around the downstairs, “we’re only about a block away from Loverboy.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him. “There’s no chance of me running into him, right?” I asked nervously. That was the last thing I wanted to happen’ getting prematurely caught in a lie, even though he had been lying to me first all summer.

He shook his head. “I doubt it; he’s been pretty busy lately. Really pushing the injury rehab to be ready for next season. But, if he does come over while you’re here, I’ll let you know first so you can stay out of sight,” he replied, and I nodded.

The rest of the night was spent eating pizza, watching TV and just catching up. After the house tour my knee started to hurt a bit, and Jamie gave me a look as I put my brace on. “I’m fine, really,” I reassured him. It just starts to hurt if I’m on my feet and walking around for an extended period of time. I’ll be fine in the morning,” I continued, giving him a smile.

He seemed to take that answer, but replied with a question. “When are you having surgery?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not really sure at this point. I know that it’s not going to fix itself on its own, so if I ever want to run or play ball again, I need to get it taken care of. But really, I can wait as long as I want to. Um, my uncle has Stars season tickets, and he invited me down again for the season ticket holder event you guys have at Six Flags Over Texas in October. I’ll probably have it done before then,” I replied.

“Well, this has been fun,” Jen said as she stood up, “but Jean and I have a hardcore day of shopping tomorrow, so we need to get to bed,” she continued, giving me a smirk and gently pulling me up the stairs.

Jamie chuckled. “Goodnight, ladies,” he called as he disappeared from view.

I was woken up bright and early the next morning by someone jumping onto my bed. “Wake up, sleepyhead!” Jen said excitedly, pulling the blankets off of me.

Without even opening my eyes, I managed to shove her off the bed and pull the blankets back up to my chin. “Give me a few more minutes,” I grumbled. “I’m not a morning person.”

She huffed. “Fine, I’ll give you half an hour,” she replied before I heard the door close again. That half hour seemed to fly, because it felt like only minutes had passed when she came back into the room and ripped the blankets off of me again and opened the curtains. “Get up! We have to find you the perfect dress for Wednesday!” she exclaimed, pulling on my arms to get me to sit up.

“Why the fuck are you this energetic in the morning?” I asked, finally opening my eyes.

“I’m always energetic,” she laughed. “And I love shopping. Now come on! We’re burning daylight! Our flight to Vegas leaves early tomorrow morning. Jamie is making breakfast right now,” she rambled, leaving me to get dressed.

It took me a few minutes to get out of bed, but eventually I did and got dressed before heading downstairs. When I got into the kitchen, there was another man there, and I recognized him to be the third Benn, Jordie. He turned when he heard me approach and smiled. “This must be Jean. Hi, I’m Jordie,” he said, offering me his hand.

I shook it with a smile. “Nice to meet you,” I said as I sat down at the counter and Jamie set a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of me. “I’m going to assume that Jamie told you pretty much everything about my little predicament?” I asked as I put a bite of egg in my mouth.

“Yep, he did. And Jenny told me about the texts you showed her. I just want you to know, if you ever need help with anything, don’t hesitate to come to me and Jamie. We’re on your side in this situation,” he replied.

“Well, I appreciate that. Thank you,” I replied. “So Jen, when are we leaving?” I asked.

“As soon as you’re done eating,” she replied.

I had put my purse on the table as I entered the kitchen, and I saw Jamie take it away. “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked incredulously. “Why are you even touching my purse?”

“Because you are not spending any money; everything is on me while you’re with us. Including the outfit you’re going out to find today,” he said simply. I gave him a look like I was about to argue, but he held up a hand. “Trust me, don’t worry about it. It’s the least I can do since you agreed to come to Vegas with us.” I just smiled and finished my food. “Now, get out of here,” he said as he took my plate away.

“Bye guys!” Jen shouted as she pulled me out the door. “Oh wait, shit, do you need your crutches or anything?” she asked as we approached one of Jamie’s cars.

I shook my head. “I have my brace on, so I should be fine. I just might have to take some small breaks from walking every now and then,” I replied.

She nodded. “That’s fine. Besides we’re only going to one place; I’m positive we’ll find the perfect dress for you from there,” she replied as she started driving. “Do you have any specifics in mind?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I’m not big on dresses, so I’m not totally sure what I like and what I don’t. I just know I don’t want pink, and I do want strapless. Nothing puffy either,” I said, and she nodded.

We got to the store about ten minutes later, and Jen led the way around. She found a blue dress inside of twenty minutes and took me and it into a dressing room. “I can try it on for myself, thank you,” I chuckled as I started stripping.

“I know you can, but I want everything to be a surprise on Wednesday, even what the dress looks like on you,” she replied. “So go ahead and try it on, but turn away from the mirror. I did as I was told and put the dress on, making sure to not look in the mirror. I just looked at Jen and she looked like she was going to cry. “That dress is perfect!” she exclaimed.

We subsequently bought the dress and a pair of shoes to match before going to get our nails done. After that, we went back to Jamie’s house to relax for the rest of the day before we had to catch our flight in the morning.

Notes

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