Daughter // Tyler Seguin

0.6

"Now isn't the best time Tyler. I'm at my parents for dinner." I say into the phone and all I get is silence.

"Ty? You there?" I question and then I hear a quiet sniffle.

"H, I'm so sorry."

"Tyler what's going on? Why are you sorry? And are you crying?"

"I just wanted to say she's mine. Why can't I say she's mine."

"Oh no Ty please don't cry. I hate when you cry, please."

"Why don't you get it H? This whole thing is only what's best for you, it's not fair! It's not fucking fair!" I hear a loud crash in the background and I pull the phone away from my ear.

"Tyler are you okay? What was that crash?"

"I just want to wake up to her giggling as you shush her when you try and scare me. And I want to read her stories before bed and tuck her in and have her call me dad and not Tyler. I want to be with you and her as much as possible. Why can't that happen Harley?"

"Tyler. You know why."

"No I don't! Tell me why, I want to hear you say it." He's angry now and I'm scared of the way he's yelling at me.

"I love you Ty but you're scaring me."

"You don't." He whispers.

"I don't what?"

"Love me. You don't love me if you did you would be here in Boston with my daughter."

"I do Ty, you know I do! It may not be the way you want me to love you but I love you so much, please believe me."

"I want to tell everyone. I'm going to tell the team tomorrow at practice."

"Why?"

"They're my team, my brothers, I tell them so much. You know that, teams are family and family take care of each other and tell each other everything."

"You do what you want Tyler."

"The season is almost over, I'm coming home for off season. I'll visit you a lot okay?" He changes the subject and his tone of voice softens.

"Sophia would love that. I'm taking summer courses though, it's my last semester for my degree."

"I can babysit her while you're at school then."

"Yeah of course, she's in 2 weeks of a day camp at the start of July, but after that you're free to see her whenever you want."

"You mean that H?" Tyler sounds excited and I smile at his sudden  enthusiasm.

"Yeah Ty, I do."

"Thank you Harley."

"You don't have to thank me, she's half yours anyways so you can honestly see her whenever you like."

"I know but still- I don't know I'm happy."

"You were so upset earlier. Is it just bc of Sophia or is there something else?"

"No, I'm fine. I don't know I was overly emotional after an interview I had so."

"Yeah I saw it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Soph watches everything that even mentions the name Tyler Seguin, so." I smile slightly and I can see the proud smile on Tyler's face.

"She does?"

"Yeah, for some reason she loves you so much. She literally wants to be just like you."

"That makes me happy." I hear someone calling Tyler's name in the background and then some quiet mumbling.

I stay quiet and try to hear but I can't make anything out.

"H?"

"Mhmm?"

"I gotta go okay? I'll call you later and maybe I can talk to Sophia?"

"Yeah maybe. Bye Ty."

"Bye H, love you."

"Yeah, you too." I hang up quickly and set my phone back into my pocket. I think back to what my mother said just moments before, about finally giving it up and telling everyone Sophia is Tyler's daughter.

I sit on a deck chair on the back porch, hoping to come to some sort of conclusion on my own. My thoughts are spinning around my head and I can barely think straight.

"Harley, dinner's ready!" I slowly stand and follow my mother's voice back into the house. I sit down to eat next to Sophia and she gives me a big smile.

I fill Sophia's plate with food before getting my own. We eat in silence for a bit before my mother speaks up.

"Who was on the phone Harley?" I turn to her and shrug while I swallow my food.

"Ty, had some questions to ask me."

"About what?"

"A possible trip to Boston for a game." I lie and mouth 'tell you later' before looking at Sophia, who's face lights up at the mention of going to Boston.

"Mommy, can we do that?"

"I don't know baby, that's a lot of travelling and we don't want Tyler to pay for it all. We have to see, okay?" She nods and goes back to eating her food.

It's silent again until Sophia announces she's finished all her food and asks for permission to leave the table. We let her and she runs off to play with some toys.

"So what did Ty really want?" My dad asks and I shake my head.

"Just said he's telling the team about Sophia being his daughter and he was quite emotional and all over the place."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"He can do what he wants, I understand his team are like his brothers and their family is his family and all that so he can tell them as long as he trusts no one will send the info out to people who don't need to know."

"Why are you letting him do this? You never wanted him to before?"

"I honestly thought it'd be something like 'oh the new kid on the scene knocked up a girl in high school, he's a bad guy' or some shit like that. And I didn't and don't want that for him as a young guy just starting a career in the big leagues you know?"

"Well I'm glad you're letting him do that, God knows the kid could use some positivity with all of this." My dad says and I sigh.

"I want Tyler to be happy dad, I just don't want mine and Sophia's face all over the place because of wild child Seguin. Like I love Ty but he takes everything too far, especially his partying and you guys know that. And I never wanted to be known as the girl who got knocked up by Tyler Seguin and I don't want to be just another on of his 'puck bunnies' or whatever."

"We understand where you're coming from Harley, really we do. But don't you think about how you do mostly think of this in your terms and not his own." My mom asks as she clears the plates from the table. I sigh and follow her to the kitchen sink.

"I don't know. I do sometimes feel like all my thinking is one sided but I'm also a single mom trying to get through school. And Tyler is Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins and everyone is in love with him."

"Especially you." My dad says from the table and I laugh, shaking my head at him.

"You and Ty need to sit down and discuss all the pros and cons of everything regarding Sophia and your relationship. It may be hard but it's the right thing to do for your daughter."

"I know mom, I know." I watch Sophia sitting on the living room floor, her eyes on the TV as she watches the interview Tyler did earlier over and over again.

This whole situation is harder and more complicated than I ever thought it would be and I need to figure it out.