Fixing Him (bxb)

Chapter2

Jackson’s POV:

It’s been 3 hours! 3 hours since practice ended and Declan is still practicing like a mad man. I’m sitting in this box playing on my phone. It’s been 4 days since I started as the hockey trainer and he’s stayed at least two hours after every day. To top things off he refuses to come get water because he’s childishly ignoring me. Like it’s been three years, it’s not like acknowledging my existence is going to mess up his popularity. So immature.

I can think of a couple reasons he would stay late and work himself to this level of exhaustion, I’m just not sure which is the correct answer. For starters he has a horrible relationship with his parents. They hate each other and in turn hate him because he’s the only reason they’re still together. He used to come over after school and beg to stay until my mom would force him to go home. Or from a less analytical point of view he could just be practicing harder because he hasn’t played as long as some of the other members of the team.

I look up and can tell he’s angry. Even during regular practice hours he didn’t skate this fast, and there’s something different in the way he’s mindlessly slamming the puck and skating back and forth, yesterday his after practice practice seemed much more calculated. I can tell he’s exhausted and with his refusal to drink water I’m actually concerned for the guy.

“Hey!” I yell.

He turns to look at me, carefully avoiding eye contact, and I can see pure exhaustion and anger on his face.

“what do you want?”

“To go home, but it doesn’t look like you’re done so I’ll settle for you drinking some water.”

Declan is a good bit away from me but I can tell he just rolled those brown eyes.

“Just go then, I can take care of myself.”

I’m watching him closely and notice his muscles are twitching. Then they start shaking and I realize that since he’s stopped his muscle exhaustion is catching up with him. I open the door to the box and start jogging towards him. He hits the ground before I can make it to him. The ice is surprisingly not that slippery and I hoist his arm over my shoulder. Not an easy task as he is at least 6’3” and built like a mountain. Silently I support him back to the box and help him sit on the bench, handing him water. As he grabs the water bottle from my hands we make eye contact for the first time in three years. His eyes are a chocolatey brown and I swear they see right through me.

“You need to rest and hydrated. You probably shouldn’t drive, I’ll bring you home.”

“No!”

The unexpected response scares me. I don’t think Declan meant to sound so urgent and he immediately continues.

“I mean. I just really don’t want to go home, not much has changed, ya know?”

I see a glimpse of the old Declan and respond without even thinking things through.

“You can come to my house.”

Why did I just say that? He’s definitely about to laugh in my face.

“I mean if that’s ok with you.”

Oh no.

…

Officially the most awkward car ride ever. Declan just needed to sit down for a moment so at least I didn’t have to support him to my car, I just didn’t feel right about him driving with shaky legs. We rode the whole way here in silence. Thank god dad isn’t home, he asked so many questions the summer after eighth grade when Declan stopped coming around, I’d hate to explain this. As we pull into the driveway Declan finally breaks the silence.

“Thanks for letting me come over. I’ll just rest for a little bit then walk home.”

“You really shouldn’t be walking, I can drive you home, or back to your car. It’s no big deal. really.”

“Okay. So where’s your dad?”

“His girlfriends house. He usually stays there because it’s closer to the hospital.” I say unlocking the door.

“Oh, did he get a new job?”

“Uh. Yeah.” I say hesitantly, hopefully he can’t tell I’m lying.

“Cool.”

And back to awkward silence. We head straight to my room and I wait for him to sit down first so I can sit myself as far away as possible. He chooses the bed and I decide to sit at my desk chair. I decide to break the silence this time.

“ I’m gonna do some homework if you want to take a nap or something. You can watch Netflix or play video games if you want to.”

“ I’ll try to take a nap, thanks.”

All of this feels stiff and awkward. He lays down pulling my comforter over him and all and I turn to pretend to do homework when all I can think about is how I hope my sheets smell like him later.