Follow Me

Ben's baby blue eyes scanned the rambunctious arena, and he couldn't control the irritable groan that escaped his mouth. He was too hungover to care that this was a charity event and he should be teaching some ailing little kids how to ice skate and shoot pucks into an empty net. His coach threw him a ominous glance, wordlessly telling Benjamin to get his ass back onto the ice. With another groan, he reluctantly got up and effortlessly glided onto the ice. He wanted to trade the unyielding ice for his more comfortable bed, hell, at this point he was exhausted enough to take the couch. After being traded to yet another team, saying that he was exceedingly discouraged was an understatement in itself. His family and old teammates had tried to reassure him on numerous occasions, but Ben knew he was playing like shit and he didn't know what to do.

“Hey Ben!” Hopkins called out, “Not lookin' so eager today.”

He rolled his eyes at the stupid joke, “Like I haven't heard that one before.”

Ben continued to glide around the ice, searching for a kid who needed help skating. He gave pointers to a blonde haired boy who was attempting to skate backwards, and even taught a little girl how to tie her skates correctly. He hardly made conversation or eye contact with anyone though, and he was sure that some of the parents sitting in the stands thought he was the precise definition of an asshole. Ben didn't care though, so what if a few people didn't like him? He already knew a lot people considered him a goon and nothing more, he also knew that was something he was oftentimes hated for.

“Well maybe you should have been a little more aware of your surroundings!”

Ben frowned and came to a stop next to Taylor Hall who was standing in front of a confused woman. The lady was kind of short, maybe 5'5 or 5'6, with wavy chocolate brown curls that fell down past her breasts. It wasn't like the pretty loose curls that a lot of women did with their hair, these curls were more like ringlets and were imperfectly tousled. She looked pretty average with her freckles and plain brown eyes. The only thing that didn't seem so ordinary about her was the prominent scar that started near the middle of her forehead, passed through her eyebrow and eyelid, and ended just above the corner of her upper lip. It wasn't one of those pink or opalescent scars that could be covered with makeup, it was one of those scars that actually seemed to dig into the skin and had almost a purplish tint to it. It added to her ordinary beauty though, and made her seem not so average anymore. She was holding a little girl in her arms who couldn't have been any older than 4. He noticed how the little girl was pressing a wad of tissues to her nose while trying to get the profuse bleeding to stop.

Taylor runs a hand through his copper coloured hair and looks up at Ben, “I accidentally checked her little sister into the boards and I said sorry but she won't listen to me!” He put his glove covered hand next to his mouth and whispered, “I'm starting to think she's retarded or something.”

He shoves Taylor into the boards and rolls his eyes before turning to the confused woman, “Look, I'm sorry about my teammate, he can be a real idiot at times. He's just trying to say sorry and he didn't intentionally harm your little sister.”

She frowned, and Ben wondered if she spoke a different language and just couldn't understand him. It was like his apologies were falling on deaf ears and she just refused to listen. Ben sighed and opened his mouth again, ranting on and on about how his stupid teammate was sorry and that her little sister was going to be fine and that it was just a little nosebleed. He must have been going onto his fifth apology when she finally grabbed his stubbly chin with her free hand. Ben froze, not knowing what she was going to do or what she was trying to do for that matter.

She pulled her hand back and pointed to her ear, shrugging.

Both Benjamin and Taylor were now confused, and the strange lady pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead, obviously frustrated at the predicament she was currently in. Taylor gave Ben that 'I you so!' look, but Ben just ignored him and turned back to the lady who looked exceedingly annoyed. The lady grabbed Ben's chin once again, and even though he should have been annoyed, all he could think about was how warm and soft her tiny hands were.

She gave a pointed look in Taylor's direction, “Not retarded, deaf.”

At the sound of her deep and strained voice, both of the hockey players froze in horror. Ben watched as she pushed herself in between Taylor and the little group of hockey players that had accumulated during the altercation. He could have swore he saw tears poke at the corners of her eyes, but he wasn't quite sure. She handed off her crying little sister to what he presumed was her parents, and dejectedly made her way through throngs of parents. His teammates teased Taylor about how he had just gotten in a fight with a girl who can't even hear his irritating voice, but Ben couldn't find any humour in the situation. They were laughing at the expense of someone's imperfection, something she had no power over.

He silently exited the group of snickering men and headed in the general direction that he had seen her go. It took him a few minutes to make it through the crowd when people kept asking him questions about his Blackhawks days and if he still talked to Jonathan Toews, but he ignored those questions. It was obvious the people who asked those kind of questions didn't care about his career and Ben himself as a hockey player. Instead, he continued to the double doors with the neon red exit signs hanging on the wall above them, knowing that the mystery woman had probably exited the arena. Ben finally made it outside and was momentarily stunned by the bitter and unforgiving Edmonton winter winds. The sun was covered by sinister looking clouds and Ben knew a big snowstorm was coming at any moment.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly spun around so fast that he nearly passed out.

She had found him before he could find her, and for some reason that made him feel even worse about the whole situation. Ben scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. Sure, he had interacted with deaf people before, but even then there was normally someone there to translate. Now it was just this mystery woman and Ben, and he didn't even know if this woman could read his lips or not.

She pointed to the arena and raised her eyebrows in a confused manner.

“I'm really sorry for how my teammate acted in there,” Ben made sure to speak carefully, hoping she could read his lips, “He is still really young and seems to always speak before he thinks.”

She concentrated on his lips as he spoke and nodded when he finished, and turned around to walk away.

Ben's eyes widened and his hand shot out to grab her wrist, “Where are you going? A huge storm is about to hit this place in a few, you can't just be walking around alone.”

She stuck her lips out in a pout and rubbed her stomach, confusing Ben a little before he realized what she was getting at, “You want to go get lunch?”

She nodded and wrapped her hand around his bicep, tugging him in the direction opposite from the arena. Ben tensed underneath her soft touch, even through the thick material of his Oilers hoody he could feel the warmth of the palm of her hand against his arm and nearly shuddered. He wasn't really sure where they were going because he hadn't been in Edmonton that long, but he trusted her somewhat and figured that the petite woman wasn't going to murder him in the back of a butcher shop. He wondered how she so effortlessly dodged people on the busy sidewalks if she couldn't even hear them around her.

After fifteen minutes of them walking through the freezing weather, she finally pulled him into a diminutive cafe. The transition from the bitter cold to the warm cafe felt wonderful and Ben instantly felt relieved.

One of the waitresses waved at her with a warmhearted smile, to which she returned. They both sat in the corner of the cafe, content with how cozy they both were. She fidgeted nervously with the napkin in her hands, suddenly feeling bashful in front of the strange man. It didn't help that the man reminded her of a lumberjack with his powerful physique and his full-grown facial hair. All he needed was a flannel shirt, a toque, and an axe and he would look like your stereotypical Canadian lumberjack.

“What is your name?” Ben asked when he knew she was paying attention to him.

He watched as she took out an iPhone and tapped away at the touch screen before handing it to him, 'Delaney Beaumont'

He said the name out loud, wanting to hear how it actually sounded coming from his mouth. The name seemed to suit her for some reason, soft and delicate with a hint of innocence to it. She looked up at Ben with a questioning look, wordlessly asking him what his name was as well. He shouldn't have been so disappointed that she didn't know who Ben was, but at the same time he wasn't surprised. It seemed like the only people who had heard of him only knew him for his Chicago or Philadelphia days.

“Benjamin Eager, but everyone calls me Ben.”

She nodded and pushed her thick curls away from her face, “Ben.”

He could see her visibly struggling to speak, obviously she wasn't one of those deaf people who still talked to the best of their ability, but Ben could still understand her. The sound of her voice was breathy and even a little hollowed, but Ben couldn't help but to admire her anyways, he would probably go crazy if he couldn't hear anything. The waitress came by to get both of their orders, and Ben was about to tell the waitress what Delaney wanted, instead he watched as they said something to each other in sign language before the waitress grabbed both of their menus and walked away from the table.

“Were you born deaf?” Ben asked cautiously and mentally slapped himself, she probably didn't want to talk about the subject.

She started typing away on her iPhone once again, her mouth swished to the side and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she tried to come up with a proper reply to Ben's question. Delaney wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Ben about her deafness, she didn't want his, or anyone's pity for that matter.

Ben reached out and grabbed the phone when she held it out to him, his vivid blue eyes read the response carefully, 'No, I wasn't born deaf, I was in a car accident when I was little. That's where this scar came from.'

He frowned, the response was vague and there were still more questions that needed to be answered, but he figured that answer would be fine for now. Ben reached forward and touched the elongated scar that marred her pale flesh, even years after the accident the healed wound seemed like it would be painful. Ben couldn't help but to wonder if she cringed every time she looked into a mirror and had to see the grotesque mark, he wondered if she thought of herself as hideous. Ben hoped she didn't because the more he looked at her, the more beauty he saw. The waitress came back with their food and they both ate in a comfortable silence. Ben couldn't help but to actually relish in the quiet nature of the woman sitting across from him; he was so used to his teammate's boisterous banter or his family's constant pestering and asking him if he was alright. He watched with raised eyebrows as she pretty much inhaled her chicken alfredo and finished a couple minutes after he had finished his steak and potatoes, the typical meal Ben got when he ate out.

She sighed contentedly and sunk into the lush booth before patting her stomach with an adorable grin, the action caused Ben to let out a quiet chuckle. Delaney's phone vibrated on the table and her brilliant smile gradually fell into a frown as she looked at the words on the screen.

She looked up at Ben with sad eyes, “Home?”

“Oh,” He nodded and pushed her hand away as she started to pull her wallet out of her purse, “Don't worry about it, I'll pay. Do you need a ride home?”

She shook her head at him, “Not far from here.”

Ben gazed out the window, noticing how hard the snow was coming down. He didn't care if her house was only a block away, there was no way he was letting her walk in the middle of a snowstorm.

“I'll give you a ride, it's no problem. The guys probably haven't even noticed that I left the ice rink.”

She bit her lip and after a few moments of inner turmoil, she curled her arm around his and rested her hand on his bicep just like she had previously done. They both walked back to the arena where his car was located in the player's parking lot and she nodded her head at him with a polite smile when he opened the passenger door to his rental like a gentleman. He made sure to turn the heater on when he noticed her shivering frame, and she threw him another grateful smile. She gave him the directions to her home, every now and then uttering a 'left' or 'right' and before he knew it he was pulling up to a two story house with a blanket of snow covering the small lawn and roof.

“It was really nice meeting you.” Ben told her with a sheepish smile, “Maybe we can hang out again sometime.”

Delaney hesitantly pulled a pen out of her purse and gently grabbed Ben's hand, scribbling something onto the rough flesh. She unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over to give Ben a kiss on the cheek, right at the corner of his pink lips. Now flustered, she gave him one last grin before exiting the car and doing a gesture he had seen many times in his life. She placed the tips of her fingers near her lips and moved her hand forward. Ben knew this meant thank you, and he suddenly wished he knew sign language.

“No problem.” Ben replied and watched with a lopsided smile as she trudged through the snow.

He glanced down at his hand where she had written her phone number and realized that maybe Edmonton wasn't going to be as bad as he expected it to be.