Enchanted- jj mccarthy [UNEDITED]

24

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Once Val fell asleep I started to cry. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help all the feelings from the first time I had to save Val coming back up. I tried to not let the tears fall and hit Val. I kept wiping all the tears away, but I couldn't hold them in much longer. I quickly and quietly scooted out from under Val. I walked to the kitchen and finally let all of my tears fall. The boys followed me into the kitchen and all gave me a hug. I was thankful that they were all here for me. I always am strong in front of Val because I know she needs it, but it's great to have people there to comfort me when I need it as well.

As all the boys and I remained in the hug I heard Val screaming. "Stop! Please don't! I'm sorry I disobeyed you! I promise I'll behave!" I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. I saw Val flailing around on the couch trying to protect herself and JJ trying to calm her down. I moved him aside and he went to go stand with his family who are all looking concerned. I bent down to Val making sure that I was paying attention so she wouldn't accidentally hit me. "Val it's me Rutger. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you. I'm right here with you." I kept repeating that until she stopped flailing around. Once she did I moved her to lay on me. Just like the first time I was with her in the hospital she crawled onto my lap and I rocked her back and forth. In this moment you can truly see the damage he has done to her. As I continued to rock her back and forth she formed a death grip on my t-shirt. I knew that her throat had to be sore from screaming so I had Luke grab her a bottle of water. Finally, Val was calm, but when I tried to place her back onto the couch she tightened her grip on me. I even tried to coax her off by telling her JJ would want to cuddle with her, but that also didn't work. I decided I would allow her to hold onto me for as long as possible. When I looked around the room JJ and the boys looked worried and unsure of what to do to help while JJ's family still had questioning looks on their faces.

I sat us both up and handed Val some water. While she was drinking her water I pulled my phone out and ordered Val her comfort food and snacks. Once everything was ready to go I looked around the room. First I looked at JJ and the boys. "She'll be okay. Don't worry too much because you'll run yourself crazy trying to come up with new solutions. This is normal for us now. After coming down from the panic she'll be sleepy for a while and only eat or drink her comfort things." Then I turned to JJ's family; "I'm sure you all have questions. I'll answer as best as I can, but if it isn't part of my story to tell then I won't be telling my sister's story for her without her permission." They all nodded understanding that while this is partly my story I can't share the parts of the story that are my sisters out of respect for her.

The Mccarthy family all looked at each other, seeing who would ask the first question. While they were thinking I felt Val try to stand up. I was confused at first as to what she wanted to do, but I let go. When I did she walked over to Luke and cuddled up to him. This has also been similar to what Val did when she was in the hospital. I looked over at JJ. I knew that this was hard for him because right now all he wants to do is comfort Val, but she wants comfort from only Luke and I since we've been through this with her since right after the worst incident with Rhett.

The tension in the air was palpable, but one of JJ's sisters finally spoke up trying to cut the tension. "Who is Rhett?" I knew I could answer, "he's her ex boyfriend." They nodded then his dad asked the one question I could answer just not in full detail. "What happened between them to make her react like that?"

I took a deep breath before telling the basic details of what happened to her. "Rhett wasn't the kindest and most caring boyfriend in their relationship. In the beginning he was the picture perfect guy and I was happy that my little sister found someone who takes care of her and makes her happy. As time went on things got worse and then she decided to come to Michigan. I can't tell you much more than that because the rest is Val's story to tell. I can only tell you the rest if she'll let me."

They all nodded in understanding. After talking with the Mccarthy family I turned my attention back to Luke and Val. She was laying her head on his shoulder as Luke was scrolling through tik tok on his phone. They both laughed at one of the videos that played. I quickly realized that Val was laughing at Luke. It must have been a video of Luke when he was younger and doing something stupid. He jokingly glared at Val, but I knew Luke was just happy that he was able to get her to laugh. Now that she is feeling better and having some laughs Val walked over to me to join the conversation with the Mccarthy's. Before she fully made it over to me Ethan walked over to her and picked her up spinning her around. After he spun her around Ethan walked her over to me and placed her next to me. Once she was steady Val looked up at me and smiled. She then stood in front of JJ and leaned into him, which prompted JJ to wrap his arms around her waist. As we were standing there Val tapped my shoulder, having me lean down. She whispered in my ear "did you tell them the story?" I nodded my head, but added "not the whole thing, just the basics." Val smiled as a thank you to me.

The Mccarthy family and I were talking about how the hockey season was going and what it was like for me to play for team USA and be a captain. "The hockey season is going well so far. We're 2-0. Playing for team USA has been an amazing experience. I've been a part of the USNTDP for a couple of the Word Juniors now. They've all been special as I get to travel internationally and play with some of my closest friends, some who are current teammates at Michigan and some who we play against. However, this past World Juniors was the most special to me. This time around I was named captain and not only had the honor of wearing Team USA across my chest, but also had the C on my uniform as well. Plus Val surprised me. She told me that she wasn't going to be able to go to the Czech Republic and watch me play. It was in the later half of the tournament when games started to matter more and more when she was waiting for me in the lobby of the hotel. I called her a couple of days before she came to surprise me, stressed and anxious that I wouldn't be a good enough player and captain to lead my team to the gold metal. So having her there was a welcomed surprise and something I truly did need at that moment because just like I am her rock she also is my rock."

After finishing that speech I looked over to my side and I saw Val smiling at me with her big, wide smile. The smile that I knew was her true smile. I guess this speech also sparked some more questions from the Mccarthy family. "What made you guys so close?" I looked at Val silently asking her if she wanted to answer or if she wanted me to answer. She was going to answer so I waited for her to respond. "We've always been this close. Rutger has been my best friend and protector since we were toddlers. Our bond continued to grow and flourish and we got older. Since we both competitively played sports we were constantly going through similar things so we always ended up leaning on each other for advice and support. No matter what we had going on other than our own sports schedules we always made sure to show up to each others sporting events. Even when I was at BC he came to watch my game the day after he played BC. He was able to get an extra day to stay and watch me play. Even though I didn't play my best that day and had suffered an injury Rutger was there waiting for me with a big hug and words of encouragement."

JJ's mom looked shocked, but also had a smile on her face. "It's great to see and hear that you two have such a strong bond together. I'm sure it helped always having each other's support growing up. Val if you don't mind me asking and don't feel pressured to tell us, but what happened with your ex boyfriend that makes you so terrified." I clenched my fist as I heard that question. I looked at her and saw that she had physically tensed. It was so subtle that I don't think anyone else has noticed, but she looked at me and nodded letting me know that she's okay with me telling them the full story.

Once I finished telling the whole story JJ's mom and sisters were crying and hugging each other while his dad looked pissed off. I'm glad the boys and I aren't the only ones pissed off about Rhett. They finally all looked at Val. None of them wanting to push her boundaries went for a hug, but they all gave her condolences to her for going through something that was so terrible.