For Her

The soft cry of little Kylie wakes Tyler from his sleep. He groans, finally understanding what some of the guys around the league have told him about having a newborn. It’s only her first night home and Kylie has woken him up three times already. He waits for the bed to shift as Kelsey gets up. It’s her turn, after all. But it doesn’t.

“Kels, it’s your turn.” He mumbles.

There’s no response, so he cracks an eye open. Kelsey isn’t in the bed. He sits up and looks around the room. Maybe she already left the room and is in Kylie’s room?

No, it couldn’t be. Kylie’s soft cries have turned into all out wails now. There’s no way Kelsey is taking care of her. Tyler grumbles and rolls out of bed. Even though it’s not his turn, Kylie has to be taken care of.

He loves his little girl, don’t get it wrong. He’s totally wrapped around her little finger already. She can do no wrong. He doesn’t even mind that he’s already changed three diapers of shit since she was born. Because she’s his baby girl.

But at the same time, he’s a professional athlete. He’s got a physically demanding job. He needs more than a couple hours of sleep a night to properly function. Sure, they’ve got a couple days before their next game. And tomorrow’s practice is optional. (One that his coach and captain have both told him he should miss to be home with his girlfriend and new little girl, but still.)

“Hey, princess.” He coos, walking into her room and picking her up. “What’s wrong, little one?”

She presses her cheek against his bare torso and he cuddles her close. He starts to rock her slowly and her wails turn back to soft cries. There’s no tears, fortunately. Which means she just wanted attention. At least, that’s what he thinks that means.

Shit. What if there really is something wrong with her? Something he isn’t picking up on. Tyler doesn’t know how to deal with babies. Not really. Kylie wasn’t exactly planned. He didn’t want to be a father. Not yet, at least. But that’s why he has a partner for this.

Speaking of which.... where’s Kelsey?

“Let’s go find mommy.” He whispers.

Tyler grabs a blanket and wraps it around his little girl before heading out into the hallway. He checks the master bedroom again, but she isn’t there. He heads downstairs. Maybe she went down to fix a bottle or something? And fell asleep?

Kelsey isn’t in the living room. She isn’t in the den. And she isn’t in the kitchen. She isn’t... well, she isn’t anywhere.

He sighs and grabs a glass of water before heading back up to his room. He left his phone up there, and he has to give her a call.

Turning the lights on, he grabs his phone from the charger on his bedside table and turns it on. He’s got no new messages. Well, he’s got a bunch. But none of them are from Kelsey. Actually, Kelsey isn’t even in his messages. Which is weird, since the two text each other every day.

Balancing his little Kylie in one arm and his phone in the other, he goes through his contacts, looking for Kelsey. But she isn’t in there, either. His recent phone calls have all been erased, too.

Tyler finally takes the time to look around the master bedroom, and is shocked at what he discovers. All of Kelsey’s things have been moved. Well, not just moved. Removed. Like. They’re gone. Completely.

At this point, Tyler is completely confused. It’s as if Kelsey has never even existed. Except she did. She does. Because if she didn’t exist, the little girl peacefully sleeping in Tyler’s arms wouldn’t exist either.

Tyler sighs. Now that Kylie is asleep again, he should probably get her back in bed. Maybe this is just some weird dream? If he goes back to sleep, he’ll wake up and everything will make sense. Everything will be normal.

He walks into Kylie’s nursery and places her in her crib. She’s absolutely perfect, lying there under her Stars blanket. She looks so peaceful and happy. It tugs at Tyler’s heart.

As soon as she’s settled in her crib, Tyler ruffles his hand through his hair, looking around the room. He’s proud of the work he and his teammates did in the weeks leading up to her birth. The light pink walls go perfect with the green accents. And of course, decorations are all Stars related. He can’t have his little girl growing up in a room that isn’t NHL-approved.

As he scans the room, he spots a folded up piece of paper on Kylie’s dresser. He picks it up and unfolds it.

Tyler,
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably realized that I’m not here anymore. I hate to do it this way, but it’s for the best.

I never wanted to be a mother at such a young age. I just want to be young and carefree and party. I’m not fit to be a mom. You don’t deserve the run around, so I’m just going to put it out there. I’m not coming back, Tyler. I’m getting on a plane and I’m not looking back.

I’ve already signed a paper releasing my rights over Kylie. Your lawyer should get them in the mail tomorrow. She’s all yours now. I know you’ll be a great father for her. But just not with me.

I’m sorry it has to be this way. I love you, Ty. And I love Kylie. But we just aren’t meant to be a family. Good luck with the rest of the season. Wherever I end up, I’ll be sure to watch every game. I’ll be cheering for you.

XO, Kelsey

Tyler collapses into the rocking chair. Kelsey is gone. Like. Completely gone. Forever. She just- she just walked away. From him. From Dallas. From her daughter.

How the fuck could she do that?

Tyler doesn’t realize he’s started crying until a tear falls on the paper in front of him. He’s frozen in time. He’s-he’s a single parent now. How the hell is he going to make this work?

Tyler grabs his phone and pulls up his captain’s number. It takes exactly four rings before Jamie picks up, his voice grumbly and filled with sleep.

“Seriously, Tyler. She’s just a baby. Rock her until she falls asleep. Check her diaper. Give her a bottle. But you don’t have to call me whenever she wakes up.”

“Kelsey left.” Tyler chokes out.
“What?” Jamie’s voice is more alert now.
“She- she left. She packed up and left while I was sleeping. She’s gone.”
“Segs if you’re fucking with me right now, it’s not funny. You might not have practice tomorrow, but I do.”
“I’m not fucking with you, Jamie. I’m freaking the fuck out. Kelsey left. She’s completely gone. She deleted her number from my phone and everything.”
“Is Kylie still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”

Tyler can’t help but repeat his sentiments.

“What the fuck do I do?” Tyler asks.
“I-I don’t know, dude.”
“I can’t be a single father, Benny. I don’t know shit about being a father. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do this with Kelsey. How the hell am I supposed to do this without her? Oh my God, I’m going to be a terrible father. Kylie is going to grow up so fucked up because her father is going to be the worst. What the fuck am I going to do?”

“Ty, chill dude!” Jamie’s voice snaps him out of his panic. “Call your mom. Tell her what’s going on. And then get some sleep. Bring Kylie in to practice tomorrow and talk to coach. We’ll figure this out. But freaking out at... three in the morning isn’t going to solve any issues.”

Tyler sighs.

“Yeah. Yeah, man. Okay. I’ll call my mom. And- and then I’ll sleep. Yeah.”
“Good night, Seguin.”
“Night.”

Tyler fumbles with his phone briefly before pressing the most used contact in his list.

“Mom? I’m sorry to wake you.”
“It’s not problem, dear. What’s the matter?”
“Uh. I don’t really know how to put this. But um... Kelsey left me. She just took off in the middle of the night. I woke up and she was just gone. She left us and now I’m a single parent and I have no idea what I’m doing and what if I screw up and Kylie hates me forever? Mom, I don’t know what to do!” Tyler sobs.

His mother takes a second, processing what he just unloaded on her.

“Tyler.” Her voice is soft and motherly. “Oh, Tyler. I’ll pull up flights right now. I’ll find one and be there as soon as I can. We’ll figure this out, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you, Tyler.”
“I love you too, mom.”

Tyler hangs up and rests his head in his hands, taking deep breaths.

This- this is going to work out. It will. It has to.

He doesn’t have the energy to get up and go back into his own room. He’s drained from the events of tonight. Instead, he reaches for the pink Stars baby blanket on the shelf and wraps it around himself. His head falls back against the chair and he’s out in a matter of seconds.

Jamie finds him like this a couple hours later. His mouth is open and he’s drooling on his own shoulder. Jamie wants so badly to capture this moment for future endeavors, but it really isn’t appropriate. This isn’t the look a guy should get teased for. No, not when his girlfriend just left him with his newborn baby girl all by himself. Not when his heart has been sent through the shredder.

“Ty, wake up.” Jamie says, shaking his line mate.
“What? What time is it?”
“It’s quarter of six. We gotta get the little one ready and go to practice.”
“Shit.”

Tyler rubs the sleep out of his eyes, taking in his captain’s serious face. So last night wasn’t just a bad dream. She really did leave him. Leave them.

“You look like shit. Go take a shower. I’ll get Kylie ready.”
“Okay.”

He pulls himself up out of the chair and deposits the blanket in Jamie’s arms. The shower water is scalding, and washes away a lot of the sweat and sleep that’s been building in Tyler’s pores. It does absolutely nothing for his tight muscles, though. But Tyler’s pretty sure they’re more from stress than anything else.

He changes quickly into his team-issued gear and heads downstairs where he can hear Jamie microwaving a bottle for Kylie, who’s sleeping in her carrier.

“What, you didn’t put her in her Benn onesie? I thought for sure you would have. It was your gift, after all.” Tyler jokes half-heartedly.
“Nah. I figured I’d save that for a game night.” Jamie responds.
“Okay.”

Jamie finds it weird that Tyler doesn’t even attempt to fight him. They’ve been having friendly arguments about what Kylie will wear to games since they found out Kelsey was pregnant. As her Godfather, Jamie feels that it’s his right to have her wear a Benn onesie occasionally. As her father, Tyler knows there’s no competition. She’ll wear Seguin clothing only.

“Hey, princess.” Tyler says when Kylie opens her eyes.

He’s never been as thankful as this moment that she inherited his eyes and not Kelsey’s. She looks at him like she knows he’s her daddy and smiles a little. It tugs at his heart, looking at her.

“How could she just leave this?” He asks, still staring at his little girl.
“I don’t know, man.”
“This is so fucked up.”
“I agree.”

The two make their way to the driveway where Jamie grabs his stuff from his own truck and transfers it to Tyler’s as Tyler straps Kylie into her car seat. They drive to the arena and make their way to the locker room.

The guys crowd around Kylie as soon as Tyler sets her down in front of his locker. She’s wide awake now, and staring back and forth between the scruffy men surrounding her.

“Hey, let’s back up from my baby, eh?” Tyler says. “I don’t need you guys scaring her too much. She’s finally stopped crying.”

“Seguin! I thought I told you to stay at home.” Lindy Ruff’s voice booms throughout the locker room.
“Uh. Yeah....” Tyler starts.
“Coach, we’ve got some things we have to discuss.” Jamie states in his captain’s voice. “I think we need to take it up to the front office, though.”
“Okay.” Coach says, pulling out his phone. “Everyone else get dressed and on the ice. You two, come with me.”

Tyler grabs Kylie and follows Jamie out of the locker room, towards the elevators to the office level. They have a nice chat with the higher ups about what happened, and each man assures Tyler that the organization is going to do everything they can to assist him in this time of need. Whether that means they give him extra time off, they let him bring her on road trips, or even if they take turns babysitting her during games in the executive’s suite. Whatever Tyler needs, they’re there to help him.

Despite all the craziness that’s ensued in the last twelve hours, Tyler suddenly feels like maybe this isn’t going to be as devastating as he originally thought. Sure, Kelsey left. And yeah, this is going to be ridiculously hard being a single father while still playing professional hockey.

But at the end of the day, Tyler isn’t alone. He’s got his Stars family here to support him. And his own family. Kylie isn’t going to grow up with her mom. But she will grow up with a hell of a lot of uncles who are willing to do anything and everything to take care of her.

And that’s all Tyler could ask for when it comes to his baby girl.