crossways: a jack hughes story

chapter 30

it's tuesday night. you grab a bag of peanut m&m's, hop in your bed and turn on the tv. jack has a game tonight, and you wouldn't miss watching it.

it's the end of the first period, and the devils are up 2-0.

jack starts skating with the puck, but he gets hit and falls down onto the ice. you cringe a little, but it's normal; hockey players get hit into the glass all the time. jack's fallen many times before, but this time it's different. he just stays laying on the ice, not moving. you start to freak out a little, but try to stay calm. he's gonna be fine, he'll get back up; it's jack. you try to reassure yourself.

jack is still not on his feet, and you're very worried. he tries to get up, but you see his facial expression and your heart shatters. he looks like he's in a lot of pain.

you're full on freaking out at this point. you have no way to get an immediate answer of what's wrong with jack. all you can do is watch the tv screen.

the announcers only make you worry more.

"hughes knocked to the ice with a big hit."
"not back to his feet yet."
"taking out hughes hard on the boards."
"he is certainly shaken up."

jack finally gets up on his own feet. you breathe a small sigh of relief.

his arm is oddly dangling, and jack attempts to fix his shoulder pad but winces and grabs his arm. you feel so bad for him, tears start to fill your eyes.

jack skates off the ice and goes into the locker room, disappearing from the cameras view. you only see jack on the tv again as they show the replay of the hit. you analyze it and realize his injury could be more serious than you think.

minutes later, your phone begins to blow up. all your friends are texting you asking if jack's okay, if you saw the hit, etc. you have no answers to their questions.

the other devils players start to fight the player that hit jack. you don't think he hit jack on purpose, but it kinda feels good to see him get beat up.

you sit in your bed in fear watching the rest of the game. no new updates on jack. you heart races for any little update, but you get none.

your phone starts to ring, it's luke.

"hey."
"hi...." you say.
"you saw what happened to jack?"
"yeah, is he okay? what's going on?"
"i have no idea, my mom is trying to contact him, but he doesn't have his phone i guess."
"ugh. i hope the injury isn't too serious and he can still play next game."
"hm i don't know. it look like he really hurt his shoulder." says luke matter-of-factly.
"really hurt?"
"yeah...he might miss a few games."
"i feel so bad for him."
"anyways, i'm sure he will be in the hospital for a day or two. i was wondering if you wanted to fly up to see him? i can just venmo you the money for your ticket."
"i'd love to. but, i have three exams i can't miss this week. i can come up this weekend, though."
"no i get it, i'll tell my mom to book you a flight. does friday night work?"
"yeah, yeah that works. thanks."
"oh yeah no problem. oh, i gotta go, my mom is calling."
"okay. hopefully it's an update from jack."

luke hangs up the phone and you're waiting for an answer. not knowing jack's condition is killing you.

about 30 minutes later, luke calls you again.

"did you get an update?" you ask.
"yeah. he's got a dislocated shoulder, and he's gonna miss about 5 weeks."
"WHAT?!" more tears form in your eyes.
"yeah...but the good news is he doesn't need surgery. just physical therapy."
"oh, okay. then that's good. but wow, 5 weeks? that's a lot of games."
"he's gonna be fine though."
"yeah..." your phone starts to vibrate, you pull it away from your ear and it's jack trying to facetime you.
"oh luke! i have to go, jack's calling me!
"wow he's calling you before me-"

you hang up on luke and answer jack.

"hey." he smiles. you can tell he's in a hospital bed.
"hi. how are you?"
"i'm assuming you saw what happened?"
"yes, i was a nervous wreck! luke told me what happened, you dislocated your shoulder?"
"yeah and i have to miss 5 fuc-"
"hey." you hear a stern voice say.
"5 freaking weeks." jack corrects himself. you give jack a puzzled face.
"it's one of my trainers." whispers jack. "he's very strict about my language." you giggle at jack's comment.
"well at least you don't need surgery."
"yeah. but i get to wear this 24/7 for the next couple weeks." he moves his phone in the air so you can see the giant sling on his arm.
"oh wow." you say.
"yeah." jack looks up from his phone. "oh zoe, i have to go. doctor just came in to tell me my physical therapy plan. i'll call you later okay?"
"okay."
"love you." he blows a kiss, and you pretend to catch it.
"love you too."

you hang up and sigh. this is one of the worst things that could happen for jack's career.

you reply back to your friends now that you have an answer to their questions.

you text carly how upset you are about jack's injury.

she responds with, don't be too upset, cole just got demoted to the AHL. THE AHL. 😭😭

WHAT
yep. carly sends you a screenshot of the news.
but why??
coach says he's not "ready" and needs more practice and time. 😐
ugh. both of our boys have hockey issues🤣😭
i'd rather have cole break his shoulder than get DEMOTED. i'm embarrassed for him.
yeah. i feel bad for him.

luke texts the link for your plane ticket on friday. he told you jack doesn't know you're coming, and he thinks you should surprise him. you agree with luke's idea to not tell jack you're coming to see him this weekend.

two days later

the media just released that jack has dislocated his shoulder, and will be out for at least 5 weeks. your dms are flooded with concerned fans, asking you hundreds of questions.

you and jack facetime this whole week. he tells you how his shoulder is feeling and that he's starting therapy soon. he tells you how much he wishes you could be here this weekend, but you have to hide your smile; jack still has no idea you're coming.

friday morning

the day has finally come; you get to see jack. you don't have any classes on fridays, so you sleep in and start to get ready for the airport. you pack everything into a tiny suitcase since you're just going for the weekend.
you take an uber to the airport, go through security and find your gate.

you land in new jersey, and ty is waiting for you at your gate. you give him a hug and he drives you to his shared apartment with jack.

jack's car is in the driveway, so you know he's home. ty slowly opens the door and you see jack sitting on the couch, but he can't see you.

you tip toe inside as ty closes the door behind you.

"hey bro." jack says, not turning around from the tv.

"i brought you something." ty says.

"oh did you get takeout? is it chinese food?" jack says, still not turning around.

"it's better." says ty.

"italian?!"

you start to burst out laughing. jack whips his head around and his eyes go wide and he has the biggest smile on his face.

"ZOE!"

he gets up from the couch as best as he can, the sling makes it hard for him.

he comes up to hug you, but has to give you a one armed hug. you hug him hard, maybe a little too hard because he grabs his shoulder and winces.

"oh no! i'm sorry!" you apologize over and over.

"no, it's not your fault. don't be sorry."

"hey ty, are you going to order takeout though?" jack asks.

"do you want me to?"

"yeah."

ty rolls his eyes and starts to call a restaurant on his phone.

the night ends with you, jack, and ty eating italian food for dinner. you and jack cuddle on the couch and watch a movie. you try to lay onto jack's arm, but it's uncomfortable for him with his sling, so you end up laying in his lap. you both end up falling asleep on each other.