Chasing the Sun

Tyler had been more than excited after Abbey had told him to come back the next day, in a way he believed- whether it was true or not- that these were the beginning steps to piecing everything back together. Things were difficult, but they were going to get through them.

After leaving the hospital and running back to the house to get his hockey bag, Tyler arrived at the CONSOL Energy Center just in the nick of time for practices start.

“Is Abbey okay?” Marc-Andre finally asked; pulling on his goalie pads right before the ten minute pre-practice buzzer rang. Since he had arrived, nobody had asked why exactly he was there, rather looked at him as if he had three heads.

“Another day, another dawn.” He mumbled, pulling on his skates and lacing them up. Around the room, guys looked at each other with deep confusion.

“What’s wrong then?” The Frenchman pushed just a little more, Tyler shrugged.

“You saw Abbey yesterday?” Marc nodded, not understanding where exactly this was going to go.

“If it upset you or anything I didn’t--”

“Then you know exactly what’s wrong…” Tyler didn’t mean for it to come out as harsh as it did, but at that moment the entire locker room fell silent. Never was the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room silent. Ever. Tyler got up and pushed past the guys standing in the doorway getting ready to go out on the runway.

He needed the ice. He needed the cold to clear his head, he needed his skates to feel the burn in the back of his calves when he pushed himself too hard, and he needed the sick and nauseous feeling he got after clearing the brink of his limits. The nasty feeling that made him feel on top of the world because he had gone farther than his body wanted to will him for.

That’s why he needed hockey. To clear his unbearably confused and hurt mind that almost felt like he had been kicked down like a little puppy.

“You should have let us know,” A voice came from behind him. In all surprise, Sidney- Mr. Fix It- was standing behind him as Tyler tapped his sticks. He didn’t bother to turn around. This wasn’t something he was particularly keen on discussing. “We could’ve understood why exactly a stick was up your ass in the locker room.” Sid was trying to make a joke—a terrible one at that.

“My own fiancée doesn’t know who I am. What makes you think I want to announce that to the world?”

“We’re your friends, we’re here for you. Through thick and thin, regardless of what happens we’re here for you. Understand that.” Sidney wasn’t in the mood for Tyler’s shit either- like the entire locker room. He skated away as practice began to commence, if he wanted to act like a total dick bag then let him.

Practice was just what the doctor ordered for Tyler. It cleared his mind, and put things in perspective while also getting his cardiovascular system a good work out. During the entire practice nobody joked with him, or even for the most part spoke to him. Keeping their space was obviously a good idea until he calmed down just a little bit.

“I’m really sorry for being a complete asshole this morning,” Tyler spoke, getting up on top of his stall and saying it to the entire room. “As you all know, I’ve been a little stressed out recently. That doesn’t excuse my behavior, but it is my excuse. Some of you may know, but Abbey, thus far, has no memories or recollections of her life. If I didn’t already have enough stress in my life, I have just a little bit more. It’s hard being around the person you love, and adore and she not knows who you are. I don’t want pity though. No, I just want to apologize to bother Flower and Sid especially for the way I treated them this morning. Everyone in this locker room has been nothing but fantastic these past couple of weeks, and I’ve been shit to all of you. So at the risk of sounding like a gigantic pussy, I apologize and thank you all for being considerate.”

With that, he hopped off the stall and grabbed his bag off the floor and made his way towards the hallway leading to the parking lot. Guys were surprised as to what he said. Usually Tyler wasn’t exactly the talkative one. He joked, and played practical jokes, but didn’t have huge conversation skills around his teammates. He was kind of quiet in someway.