Hi my lovelies! Posting two chapters today for the holiday as a treat. Be sure not to miss one by accident with the double update! So grateful for you all!
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Tatum couldn't to lie— she always wanted to see a hockey fight in person. She thought they were funny whenever she saw video clips of them. There were these grown men flailing around in the bulkiest padding she had ever seen, fighting over a game of all things. But what she didn't realize, was that when you knew someone in that fight, it stopped being funny.
The Falcons had gone undefeated all season. They were already guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. A lot of the teams in the league weren't exactly their biggest fans. The Falcons were one of the best in the league, and they weren't exactly quiet about that. They were known for many things, mainly their talent. But humility? Not one of them.
Honestly, she wasn't that focused on the game at first. They were winning, per usual. Brady's leg didn't even seem to be bothering him right now. Tatum couldn't help but be pleased with her work considering the results. She was scrolling through her phone, reading through some virtual flash cards she made for an upcoming exam. She had started to look ahead for her final exams that would happen in the next month or so. It was looking grim, if she was being honest. Her classes were brutal this semester. But she could handle it. She had to handle it.
She saw another hockey player sit down next to her on the bench. Tatum recognized him as the guy that she saw talking to Isaac at a few parties. They had spoken a couple of times before, and she was almost positive that his name was Jay. He raised an eyebrow at her, asking, "You think you'll watch the game at any point?"
"Has anything worth watching happened?" Tatum questioned, narrowing her eyes at the words on her screen.
"Well, Brady has looked at you every time he's scored. Is that something worth watching?" Jay said coyly. Tatum glanced up just as the buzzer went off. And sure enough, Brady's head darted over to where Tatum was sat. She felt her heart lurch and she dropped her phone onto her lap, clapping and cheering with the crowd. Brady beamed at her beneath his mask and Tatum couldn't help but smile back.
She felt Jay looking at her and she reluctantly pulled her eyes away, glancing at the hockey player next to her with raised eyebrows. He grinned at her. "Find something worth watching?"
"Oh—" Tatum started, ready to tell him off. But then she saw a player try and subtly swing his leg at Brady. Tatum sat up taller, crossing her fingers that Brady would notice but the player ended up catching his leg and Brady went crashing down. Tatum watched in horror as Brady went down. He seemed okay, more angry than anything else. He pushed himself off the ice, shouting at the guy who knocked him down.
The rest of the Falcons skated over, instantly shouting at the other players and the referees to throw the other player out of the game. It was clear that things were growing more and more heated the longer the argument went on. She assumed it would escalate to some sort of issue, but she just wasn't sure what. Well, she could take a guess.
Tatum was sure that Isaac would throw the first punch. But surprisingly, it wasn't him.
It was Theo.
Theo threw his hands out and pushed a player on the different team into the wall. And then, obviously, all the other players joined in, throwing punches and shoving each other. She kissed her teeth, realizing she finally got the hockey fight she always wanted. "Now, I'm interested."
Tatum saw Isaac get in a couple of good punches, grinning boyishly. She was surprised to see Theo seem so into the fight. But she assumed it was some sort solidarity that hockey players stood by each other. Tatum got bits and pieces of the fight as they shouted at each other while the referees tried to break them up.
"Fucking prick—"
"Says the guy who's a disgrace to hockey!"
The other player didn't seem to take well to that particular comment, the fight only worsening. It wasn't as humorous as Tatum thought it would be. She knew most of the guys on the ice, she didn't want them to get hurt. She kept her eyes on one player in particular, praying that his knee didn't get caught in the crossfire. So far, it seemed that would be the case.
But, of course, the universe just loved to prove her wrong.
One of the players swung his knee out, and she really couldn't tell if it was an accident, but he happened to connect to hit Brady's knee again. Tatum gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as Brady buckled to the ice. There was no missing how his face contorted in pain. Tatum didn't wait, she threw herself through the small doorway onto the ice, stumbling as she did her best to get to Brady. She slid over to where Brady was on the ground, dodging various hockey players as she went.
"Tatum? Are you crazy? Get off the ice!" Isaac called out to her, but she didn't listen. Tatum bent down next to Brady, eyes wide as she tried to get an idea for his condition.
"Brady? Brady," Tatum rushed out in panic, hands on his shoulder.
"Fuck, fuck. Tatum, it hurts," Brady groaned out and she jolted at his words. He had never actually admitted to his knee hurting him before. A new wave of panic rushed over her as she leaned down.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, looking over him carefully. "Can you move it?"
"No, shit, I don't know if I can get up," he told her honestly, clutching at his knee. His honesty was terrifying, to say the least. Tatum hadn't seen him like this.
"It's fine, you're fine. Don't be a baby about it," Tatum said, hoping to distract him. She was pleased when she saw a smile twitch at his lips.
Brady let out a strained laugh. "And you're definitely not supposed to make fun of your patients."
"You don't count," she disregarded teasingly.
"Wait, what the hell are you doing on the ice?" Brady asked, seeming to remember the fight around them.
"You got hurt," Tatum said simply.
"You could get hurt."
"Well, I'm not gonna call anyone a 'disgrace to hockey'," she quoted with a roll of her eyes. "So, think I'm in the clear."
One of the players on the opposing team turned around. "What did you just call me?"
"Oh, perfect," Tatum groaned to herself.
"Listen here you bitch—"
"Hey, mind holding that thought for a second?" Brady chimed in calmly, grunting as he pushed himself up. Tatum's eyes widened as she helped him stand, utterly confused as to what he was doing. The guy stared at him in question, holding his arms out. Brady huffed out, gathering his bearings as he pointedly kept his weight off of his right leg.
And then Brady punched him in the face.
Tatum gasped, eyes bulging from her head. She lunged forward as Brady toppled over again, catching him before he hit the ice. The guy stumbled back, falling into the rest of the players who were still getting as many swings in as they could.
Brady had an infuriatingly cocky grin on his face that made Tatum want to stick him in a box and shake that box very, very hard.
"Hey!" Tatum yelled, pulling Brady up. "I wanted to do that!"
"Course you did," he murmured with a humored scoff as she began to trudge off the ice with his arm slung over her shoulders. She grunted as she tried to keep steady, locking her legs so she wouldn't slip on the ice.
"Thought you couldn't even stand," Tatum scolded harshly, ungracefully slipping off the ice and onto the rubber mat.
This time Brady caught her, catching her before she lost her footing. His arm scooped around the front of her waist, lifting her up with ease. Her eyes widened at the motion, trying to play it off as he said, "Can't stand these assholes, more like it."
Tatum readjusted as she put placed Brady's arm around her shoulders again, trying to help him take his weight off of his leg. He grunted as he allowed her to take some of his weight, trying to hobble towards the hallway away from the rink. The other players were flooding onto the ice to join the brawl, which actually worked in their favor since it cleared up their path. Her eyes darted over to Brady, looking him up and down.
"You know, you didn't have to punch that guy," Tatum told him, slightly out of breath as she pushed the doors opened. "I can fight my own battles."
"Trust me, that was never in question," Brady told her in amusement, hobbling out the door. "But I've seen you try and stand on ice before. Didn't go so well. Figured throwing a punch on the ice would end with you being more injured than him."
"Hilarious," she deadpanned. "Now, would it be so funny if I just stopped helping you walk right now?"
"You wouldn't," Brady challenged knowingly. "Not when you're dying to do the plan and fix my knee right now."
She raised her eyebrows. "You admitting that I've been helping you?"
"Yes, Hartley," he said with a drawl. "You've been helping me. Happy?"
"Considerably."
"Tatum, hold on," someone called out. Tatum turned her head, seeing Doctor Evans follow them down the hallway.
"Doctor Evans," Tatum greeted with a nod of her head, hoisting Brady's arm up a bit to get a bitter grip on him.
"Hartley, ease up," Brady grunted as he tried to wiggle his arm away from her.
"Oh, shut it," she hissed, eyeing him in a scolding manner before turning back to her boss heading towards her. She cleared her throat, putting a smile on her face. "How can I help you?"
"Actually," Doctor Evans started formally, a smile twitching at her lips. "Was hoping to help you."
"Oh, with this guy?" Tatum questioned with an incredulous laugh, slapping her hand against Brady's padding on his chest. He grunted before forcing a tight smile on his face. "He's fine. Honestly, being a bit dramatic if you ask me."
"That wasn't what she asked," Brady grumbled quietly.
"Not with that," Doctor Evans clarified before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "With this."
Tatum tentatively took the folded piece of paper and opened it with her free hand, narrowing her eyes at the contents. And then she saw it. Her eyes widened, looking up at Doctor Evans in astonishment. "Are you being serious? Or am I gonna call this number and it's gonna be some sort of telemarketer who—"
"It's real, Tatum," Doctor Evans assured her with a gentle laugh. "You've done amazing work this semester. Brady even being willing to work with you is good enough for me."
Brady huffed out. "I don't know who should be offended this time."
Tatum fiddled with the small piece of paper in her hand, unable to fight the happiness bubbling inside of her as she stared at Doctor Ashford's contact information. It felt like everything she had done had led to this moment. Like it was all worth it. She could actually achieve everything she had wanted to accomplish. It didn't feel real, honestly. She hastily memorized the phone number in case it disappeared the second she took her eyes off of it.
Tatum ignored Brady's comment, shaking her head in disbelief. "Thank you so much, Doctor Evans."
"You earned it," she told Tatum firmly. "See you later."
"Bye!" Tatum called out cheerily. She breathed out with a smile on her face, turning to Brady with a mocking pout. "You ready to go fix your booboo?"
"I hate you."
They finally reached the locker room and Tatum helped Brady sit down on the bench. Luckily, it was empty in the locker room still. All the other players were probably still busy on the ice. And by busy, she meant fighting. They could've started playing again by now, but she didn't want to voice that to Brady. The game only had a couple of minutes left when she left with Brady and she was sure that they had a good enough lead to win despite losing Brady for the rest of the game. There was no need for him to go back out there and cause even more issues.
She pushed her hair behind her ears, squatting down in front of him. Tatum helped him pull his shin guards off, placing them over to the side. She rolled his hockey pants up and tried not to show her surprise by how swollen his knee was. There were already bruises forming, various colors already growing more and more visible. His knee looked irritated and angry, which was similar to how she felt. Part of her wanted to go back out there and punch those hockey players herself. They had no idea the damage they were doing. Or maybe they did, and that only made her angrier.
"Does this hurt?" Tatum asked in a level voice, despite clearly knowing the answer.
"Maybe a bit," he admitted stiffly. It was an obvious understatement, but Tatum didn't want to yell at him like she usually did. It felt like they were beyond that by this point.
"If you tell me the truth, I can help," she reminded him, sighing out once. "I'll know how to adjust the plan to help you."
Brady stood up from the bench and Tatum didn't miss the way he tried to hide his wince. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Tatum stood up with him, leaning to get in his way and stop him from walking away. "No, you're not fine. If you keep playing like this, you could do permanent damage. You might want to sit out the next game."
Brady laughed, surprising her as he shuffled past her. "Really? This again? Think we're past this, Hartley."
She shook her head. "No, Brady, I'm serious. Your knee is in really bad shape. You need to give it at least a week from playing hockey."
"Not happening."
"Brady, I—" Tatum tried unsurely.
"Tatum, I'm fine."
She stopped trying to convince him. He wasn't going to listen. And Tatum didn't want to ruin what they had right now. She liked being on Brady's good side. She liked being his friend. Or... whatever it was that they had right now. Either way, she didn't want to ruin things.
But Tatum also wasn't about to let him do permanent damage his knee.
If Brady wasn't going to listen to her, then she would have to take matters into her own hands.
She just hoped he would forgive her.
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Tatum "I wanted to punch him" Hartley and Brady "of course you did but I beat you to it" Parker, they're actually incredibly perfect.
Brady catching Tatum when she slipped on the ice and lifting her up like she's a ragdoll I'm OBSESSED with them.
The next chapters are soooooo.... Get ready.