HOLD
Jack's Point of View
There's a glass of water on the floor, as if she dropped it because the glass is broken and the water is spilled.
"I'll clean this up, go find her." Dawson goes further into the kitchen. I go upstairs, assuming that's where her room is.
Her room is empty. She has floral bed sheets and her room completely matches her personality. There's a vase of different colored tulips on her nightstand, and a yellow chair in the corner. Next to it is a record player and different vinyls.
The library room is empty too. It had tons of books, most likely coordinates in some sort of way. The bathroom door is cracked and the light is on, she must be in there.
I open the door slowly, just in case she's behind it. I find her up against the bathroom counter on the floor. Her legs are brought up to her chest, she looks so small and fragile like this. Her hair is in a low bun, tiny strands falling out of it. Her cheeks are more red than usual. I immediately drop down beside her.
Her breathing is shaky, and she's clutching her chest. Her eyes are looking around frantically while tears spill down her face. She's vulnerable right now, and I have to be careful about what I do and say.
I cup either side of her face with my hands. The tears already on her cheeks get absorbed by my hands and the ones that fall, land on my hands.
She's having a panic attack. "Hold your breath." I say. I've never had one before, but multiple teammates have.
"Huh?" She says breathlessly. She hiccups a little. She looks shocked to see me, her phone is beside her on the floor.
"Hold your breath." I repeat. I show her how. I take a deep breath in and hold it. She mimics it.
When she can't do it anymore, she lets that breath out. "Good, do it again." I say. She repeats again. I smell something in her breath.
"Let out a big breath this time." I say and she does. I don't know what I smell, but I think it's alcohol.
"Breathe on me." I say.
"What?"
"Breathe out." I say. She does and I'm correct. There's alcohol in her body.
That cup that Dawson and I saw wasn't water, it was Vodka.
"Where you drinking?" I ask. She nods. I know she's not proud of what she did.
"Syd, you can't do that." I say sympathetically.
"I-I know. I'm sorry." She says. I scan her body for cuts. One, because she dropped that cup on the floor, and two.... just in case.
"I'm gonna tell you something, and I don't want you to freak out, okay?"
"Mhm." She says.
"We have dinner with my parents tomorrow." I say.
Her face changes expressions multiple times, I can't understand what she's thinking though. "They found out?" She asks, I nod.
"But it's going to be fine though, they come over, we eat dinner and then they'll leave." I say.
"That shouldn't be too bad." She says. Her eyes look towards the door, she heard Dawson downstairs. "Is someone else here?"
"Yeah, Dawson is." I say. She wipes her eyes quickly.
"He doesn't know I had a panic attack, does he?" I shake my head.
"No, why? He's just cleaning up the cup downstairs."
"He doesn't know about them, I don't want him to. Could you keep this between us?"
"Yeah, of course." I hold out my pinky. She locks hers with mine and I kiss my finger, she does the same.
"Hey, what's going on?" Dawson appears at the bathroom door.
"I-um-" I can tell she can't think of something.
"She started her ladies days." I blurt out. Her face goes cherry red, and mine probably do too.
"Oh."
"Yup. You guys should go. Thanks for checking up on me." She says.
"Mhm, any time. Bye, Syd." I say. I zip out of the bathroom.
Why couldn't I come up up with literally anything else than ladies days? Seriously, Jack?
Syd
you're a bad boyfriend
i'm sorry, but cut me some slack
i'm not experienced in the industry
you're not?
nope, never been in a relationship
i'm your first girlfriend 🤪🤪
even if it is fake
it's an honor
you're not that special
i sort of am
oh yeah?
i have almost 200 career points so..
100 assists and 68 goals
crazy good for someone so short
i'm not that short
5'11.....
why are you googling me
because i can, you have
a wikipedia page
i'm gonna stop texting
you now bc you're driving
bye girlfriend
I drive the rest of the way home, the roads were pretty empty. I'm completely exhausted by the time I get home and will most likely be sleeping in.
My house isn't a mess, so I really don't have to clean up much before my parents come over. I didn't think about food though.
I could cook, I'm not great at it but I don't suck. Or I could order food. I'm pretty sure Syd has seen the video about me not knowing how to cook broccoli, I don't want her to think I can't cook. But I also don't want her to think I suck at cooking.
I'm over thinking this too much, maybe I'll make Spaghetti, my mom taught me how when I was younger.
I have all the stuff for it, because I actually planned on making it this week. Now that I have a plan for tomorrow, I can actually get some sleep.
Every time I close my eyes, I think about Syd. She had a panic attack today, and it seems like she has them more often that she's letting on.
Where did she get alcohol from? She's 20, she can't legally drink yet. Has she gotten drunk before?
I never expected something like this from her, she looks so happy on the outside. Like a giant ball of sunshine.
But on the inside? I would've never guessed she's struggling. That only makes me hate John even more. He's the one that did this to her.
These thoughts can wait until tomorrow, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be too long of a day.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
the devils play today and i really hope jack breaks that record but i can't watch it 😭😭
the playoffs are so soon and i feel like i talk ab this every chapter but i'm so scared i love hockey sm but it's such a stresser
