Dessert - Jack Hughes

43

Jack started coming around more often. Elyssa liked having him there. He kept her entertained. She enjoyed being around him, even if they both just sat on their phones the whole time.

"Alright, check out time!" Megan sing songs. She hands Elyssa the bag of the things she had on her the day of the accident. Elyssa digs through it. She finds the gold, J engraved necklace. She holds it up, examining it.
"Didnt Jack give this to me?" Elyssa asks. Megan turns around, looking at what she's talking about.
"Yeah" Megan smiles, realizing that was the first thing she remembered. "Here, want it on?" Elyssa walks over to megan, handing her the necklace. Megan clasps it around Elyssas neck. Elyssas fingers fiddle around with the circle pendant like she used to do before.
The girls make their way out of the hospital and back to their apartment.
"My bed!" Megan cheers as they get inside. She goes to her room, flopping onto her bed. Elyssa does the same. Elyssa unintentionally falls asleep for a few hours. She wakes up, finding Megan lounging on the couch in the living room.
"Hey" Megan greets her, "there's uh, there's a devils game tonight, if you want to go." Megan suggests.
"I don't know" Elyssa sounds concerned.
"That's alright. We don't have to. Just thought it was worth an ask." Megan comforts.
"I don't know what's going on." Elyssa sits on the couch with Megan. "It's like, I feel like I should be back to my old life. I'm out of the hospital, I'm at home. So why do I still not remember?"
"It might take a while. Maybe when you get back into a routine, it'll help." Elyssa nods, trying to believe what Megan is telling her. "Lyss you know Jack. You have these memories. You can do it" Megan encourages.
"I don't feel like going anywhere." Elyssa says, before going back to her room. She lays in her bed, going through her phone. She goes through her instagram feed, racking her brain for any sort of memory. It's like she's staring at a stranger who looks identical to her. She then moves to her camera roll. She scrolls through, looking at pictures and watching videos. Tears silently roll down her cheeks. She feels lost, like her body and mind aren't quite matching up.

The next few days Elyssa spends in her room. She doesn't want to do anything or go anywhere. She's embarrassed to not have her memory. She feels vulnerable and weak.
"Hey, I know you don't want to go to the hockey game tonight but do you mind if Jack and his friends come over after the game?" Megan enters Elyssas room. Elyssa just stares back at Megan, not wanting people to see her like this. "Come on lyss, how are you supposed to remember anything if you don't try." Megan encourages.
"Yeah alright" Elyssa sighs.
"We can always tell them to leave if you get uncomfortable." Megan tells her before going to the living room.
That night, Megan turns on the devils game. Elyssa comes out of her room, hearing jacks name being said on the tv.
"You can sit down" Megan offers. Elyssa slowly moves to the couch, sitting next to Megan. Megan silently takes notice of jacks black devils hoodie that Elyssa was wearing. The girls watch the game, Megan pointing out Jack, Ty and Luke as the game goes on. After the game ends, Elyssa makes her way back into her room. Both girls wait for Jack, Ty and Luke to arrive.
After an hour, Megan opens the door to see the three guys. Elyssa hears indistinctive chatter in the main area of the apartment. She assumes Jack, Ty and Luke are here. She ignores the noise, wanting to stay in her bed. She lays on her side with her blanket pulled up to her waist. A few minutes later, she hears a knock.
"Come in" she answers, not moving from her position.
"Hi" Jack says softly as he walks into her room, closing her door behind him.
"Hi" she mutters. He quickly notices that she's wearing his hoodie. His heart warms a bit at the fact that she is wearing his clothes. He tries to remind himself that she probably doesn't even realize the significance of the hoodie.
"Good number" he gestures toward the sweatshirt. She looks down at the 86 on the upper sleeve.
"You?" She asks, referring to the number.
"Me" he nods.
"Here. I can give it back to you, it's yours." She sits up, ready to change.
"No, no. Keep it." He quickly stops her.
"Is that, like, normal? Me taking your clothes?" She asks.
"Uh, kinda. Usually I would give you a different sweatshirt every week. We'd kinda trade them. I would spray my cologne on it before giving it to you and I'd like how they smelled like you when you'd give it back." He opens up.
"Alright. Well, the next time I see you, you better have a new one for me." She partly jokes. For some reason, she feels comfortable around Jack. She can be herself easily, similar to how she can with Megan.
"If you say so" he smiles.
"How was the game? I mean I know you guys won, but how do you feel about it?" She changes the subject.
"Good. It was a really good game. I think I haven't had a game like that in a while. You should come to the next one." He suggests.
"I- I don't know." She hesitates.
"Are we watching a movie or what?" Megan yells from the living room. Jack and Elyssa leave her room, going into the living room. Ty and Luke reintroduce themselves to Elyssa. She makes herself comfortable on the couch, next to Jack. As the movie goes on, Elyssas head falls onto jacks shoulder. He notices that she's asleep, looking to Megan for what to do.
"Just go with it" Megan shrugs, letting Jack know it's ok. He guides Elyssa to lay down and rest her head in his lap. He gently plays with her hair, massaging her scalp as well. She relaxes into his touch, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
Elyssa didn't know why, but she felt safe with Jack. She didn't feel vulnerable or empty or lost. She felt like she could be herself. She questioned the feeling, not understanding why she felt that way when she didn't even remember who he was. But, the feeling was there, comfort.