Nobody Wins

As I got dressed, my phone vibrated. I saw Carlie flash across the screen and immediately I picked up.

“What’s up with the kid and the door?” I said, wondering if she knew about the incident.

She laughed, “Oh, T.J. I had to work and you needed someone to show you around the city.”

Uh, no I didn’t. “Who’s T.J?”I was thoroughly confused. Carlie wasn’t the type to have random people in her apartment, and I knew from firsthand experience she didn’t like surprises.(a surprise birthday party that went bad years ago)

“He’s a friend of my boyfriend. And I’m surprised you don’t recognize him.”A smirk in her voice that I could practically see through the phone.

I racked my brain for a good twenty seconds, “yea, I got nothing,” I sighed, getting tired of the game already.

“You’re no fun,” she sulked, “think hockey, NHL.”

Then it clicked, “Oh.My.God. YOU KNOW HOCKEY PLAYERS!” I screeched, and then slapped my hand over my mouth remembering that he was in the other room.

“You missed a lot while you were in Denver.”She stated gently.

That was an understatement. Little had I realized at the time that my best friend had jumped heart first into a whole new world, which she was inadvertently dragging me into as well.
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“I’m ready.” I said after grabbing my purse from the kitchen table. I was surprisingly calm on the outside but on the inside I was freaking out. He was a hockey player. Breathe. He’s still a person. On the few occasions Carlie and I had fought, it was always about hockey. She once told me that I was so obsessed it was bordering on being a condition. And now she was friendly with one. I guess I really had missed a lot.

“So, where to first?” He glanced at me before returning his eyes to the road. He was beautiful, I tried not to stare but I couldn’t help it. His grey American eagle shirt hugged his large muscles in all the right places. He had short brown hair, which most of his fans weren’t happy with. Apparently, he had had long blonde locks before he needed a change, was what I remembered from a pregame interview with him on TV a few nights ago.

“Hmmm,” was all I could manage while in my teenage vegetative state. He smiled, and I blushed, all the images of me and him snapping out of my mind.

I tried to laugh it off, “This is your city. You’re supposed to be showing me around.”

“Right,” he mumbled. “How about we go to the Arch?”He said speaking up. My eyes widened.

“No thank you.” I shuttered at the thought of the 630ft high building, ever since I was little I had an extreme fear of heights.

He chuckled at me, “Well, I’m out of ideas. I have an errand to run, Want to come along?” I rolled my eyes.

“Sure, I have nothing better to do.”He smiled that adorable smile I was coming to enjoy.

Ten minutes later we were walking into a superWal-Mart. He picked a blue basket and began towards the pasta isle. He picked up five jumbo packages of spaghetti noodles, followed by seven fairly large bottles of spaghetti sauce. My eyes widened but I followed silently. He then picked up three boxes of Hungry Jack pancake batter. “Bergs is running low,” was all he mumbled while loading the cart with two bottles of pancake syrup. To top it all off, he casually threw four bags of sausage, cheese, and pepperoni pizza rolls in the cart before finally heading to the checkout. I was in full on gawk mode, I heard hockey players know how to chow down, but shit. T.J was about to feed a fucking zoo or something.

“Why do you need all this food?” I said shocked. My eyes were still wide; they just wouldn’t go back to normal size.

“During the course of about two weeks a lot of hungry people come by bergs and my apartment.”He just shrugged his shoulders like it was an everyday fact.

After a few wide eyes and whispers at the fact that T.J Oshie was in a wal-mart, we headed back to his apartment. The ride back to the apartment was silent. I glanced at the clock in the Chevy avalanche and it read 2:15p.m. Time had flown by; I checked my phone and had no missed calls. I figured that Carlie would have called (to make sure I wasn’t in a ditch somewhere )to make sure I was ok, but no. I glanced at T.J but he was focusing on the road. At this point, the silence was downright awkward so I decided to make conversation.

“So what do you think Carlie is doing?” I asked, wondering why my friend hadn’t even called to check on me. He gave me a sideways glance before answering.

“Probably fucking Perry on my bed,” He scowled, and then mumbled something along the lines of, “nasty bitch,” Which I chose to ignore.

“Ok, let’s talk about something else,” I mused hoping to draw his attention away from the thoughts that were making him angry.

Before he had a chance to say anything my phone rang. The caller id read Scott. I took in a deep breath before I hit the talk button.

“Hello,” My voice barely audible.

“Hey baby, I just wanted to call to say that Stacie and I need more room in the house. You need to come get the rest of your shit, like now.” He was slurring his words, but they still hurt.

“Fuck you Scott; I don’t want any of that shit!” I tried to sound confident but it came out a little too weak.

“Bitch! Good thing I never proposed to you, and I’m glad you had that miscarriage. Now I don’t have to deal with your whiney bullshit.” I ended the call but by that time but it was too late.

The tears were streaming down my face and I could feel a panic attack coming. “Pullover,” I instructed T.J. He looked at me with eyes full of concern, but did what I asked.

I jumped out of the car and crumpled to the concrete gasping for air. That was the one thing Scott and I vowed never to talk about. The questions and the what-ifs were strangling me. I pulled my knees to my chest to make sure I was still there, but it was as if the invisible hand grabbed tighter around my heart and throat. Just as I felt like my whole being would burst into flames, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. His heat reminded me that I was still alive, slowly pulling me out of the chaos.

“Shh, baby its ok,” T.J cooed in my ear.

I was shaking but I could breathe again. I felt there again, and that was enough. He let me cry into his chest for what felt like hours. When I was done, I risked a glance at those delicate eyes. They found mine easily; I could see the emotions flowing through them. He silently helped me up and into his truck. When he made his way around the front and climbed in the driver’s seat, he held my gaze for a moment and laced our fingers together. I didn’t know it then but that was the moment that changed everything.