Chicago City Lights

Evelyn sat in the emergency room of a Chicago hospital, holding Ben’s hand. He glanced at her, and Evelyn frowned. The frustration on his face was clear. She sighed, all she wanted was for him to he healthy, to be able to play. Any athlete would feel worthless when they couldn’t do their job, and Evelyn got to see Ben go through those feelings, unfortunately.

Just when she thought that he was getting better and would be back on the ice, he had another set back, the nasty fall he had taken during practice. She turned to him, as they both sat on the edge of the emergency room bed, their legs dangling over the side.

“Hey…” She said, rubbing a hand over his back.

He didn’t respond, only quickly glanced at her again.

“Ben, it’s going to be okay. When you’re healthy - ”

“It is not going to be okay. Injuries like this… where I miss most of the season… this is what makes no team want a guy. Oh, he’s prone to injury… not worth it.”

Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, tears nearly coming to her eyes, but the doctor returned, the results of Ben’s tests in his hands.

“Mr. Eager, Mrs. Eager,” He started.

Both Evelyn and Ben blushed, but neither said anything.

“It appears you have another concussion, not as bad at the one a few weeks ago, but this is definitely going to postpone your return to the team.”

Ben nodded, and Evelyn wanted to punch the doctor. How dare he tell Ben that kind of news?

“The medical training staff did a great job dealing with your last one; I say they’re fit to take care of you again. If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to come in.”

Ben nodded again, and Evelyn didn’t like the sound of his silence. He was a vocal guy, always one to give his thoughts and opinions, so his silence made her nervous. She grabbed his coat and helped him get it on, as he was still feeling dizzy. He muttered a thank you and started walking to the parking lot of the hospital.

“Ben, slow down, please!” Evelyn begged, as he was almost running. “That’s not good for you right now.”

Ben stopped and turned to her, glaring, and she could only wince. He had never looked at her with a look like that before. She sighed, knowing he was frustrated and worried, and climbed into the driver’s seat of his Lincoln Navigator, him already buckled into the passenger side.

They drove in silence, not even the radio on. Evelyn was too scared to say anything, not wanting the wrong words to set him off. She knew how angry he got on the ice and the last thing she wanted to see was him that angry off the ice.

When they pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building, he stalked into the building without waiting for her. She frowned and rushed in behind him, just making it into the elevator as the doors closed.

“You should leave,” He told her.

“What? Why?”

“You just… should.”

“Ben, why?”

“I don’t want you to see me like this!”

“Ben, I told you I was going to be here for you.”

He sighed, unlocking the door to his apartment, as Evelyn continued.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“No, Lyn, it’s not! Stop being to fucking positive!”

“What?” She asked, raising her voice as well. “You want me to be negative and tell you that no team is going to want you now?” She asked, following him into the apartment.

She knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as she said it, but she couldn’t take it back.

“Son of a bitch!” Ben yelled, slamming his apartment door behind her.

Evelyn grimaced and placed his equipment bag down next to his couch. She walked into his kitchen and grabbed the bottle of aspirin, also grabbing him a water bottle from the fridge. She handed it to him. He glared at her, but took it.

“Leave.”

“No.”

“Lyn, for fuck’s sake, I don’t want you to see me like this!”

“Well, that’s nice, but I’m not leaving.”

He groaned and threw the water bottle, it hitting the wall and exploding open.

“Oh, nice!” She shook her head cynically, walking into the kitchen to get a rag.

“Lyn, I’m going to say this once more. Please, get. out.”

The calmness in his voice scared her more than his yelling, but she did as she was told. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, stopping just before she left.

“I’m giving you your fucking space,” She shot, bitterly. “Call me when you decide to be mature about this.”

Evelyn silently scolded herself for the tears that began to fall from her eyes, but she was too upset, too frustrated to care. She hadn’t realized how much she cared about Ben until that moment, until those tears… She took a deep breath and left the apartment building, hailing a cab when she got outside. She didn’t know how long it would be before she would be back there.

And inside the apartment, the door slammed shut behind her and Ben knew he had fucked up, but he was too angry at himself, at the situation to care. All he wanted was for him to be healthy. In Philly, he hadn’t gotten along with his teammates, aside from a few. He hadn’t gotten along with management; they saw him as a liability. It had really come to no surprise that he had been traded.

Now, he was in Chicago. He got along with his teammates, management… But, now he had a goddamned injury to deal with and he was frustrated. He picked up the water bottle he had thrown and wiped up the water. He felt dizzy, which was normal for a concussion, and he walked to his bedroom. It was only five in evening, but he had never been more tired.

He could only hope as he fell asleep, that he hadn’t fucked his relationship – whatever it was – with Evelyn up too much.