I Forgot // Olli Määttä

33%

On the edge of my seat, I lean forward to see down the ice and watch Olli. I bang my palms on the glass with the rest of the fans as the puck zooms up and out of play. Olli skates by me, blowing me a kiss as Crosby takes the face-off in their own zone. "That's my boy, woo!" I shout, ignoring the looks from the other fans. He is my boy, after all. 

Speaking of him, he's already gotten an assist tonight, so the night's going pretty well. Not to mention that the team is winning 2-1 after 2 periods. 

With shouts, curses, and whatnot, I've gone from an insider to a spectator as the game progresses on. Letang crosses the puck to Olli, and I hear them shouting at each other about "man on" and "back, back--no side" and such. 

I see Borowiecki headed towards my boyfriend, who's trying to dig the puck out from Lazar's skates. The big defenseman plasters a huge hit on Olli, who immediately collapses. I stand up, looking across to the bench side of the rink as he rolls around in pain. I see him cry out in pain, and my eyes darken with worry when I see him reach for his shoulder. 

"Not that again..." I whisper, hands to my face as I try to stay calm. "It's okay, baby, it's okay, you're gonna be alright." 

"Agh!" I hear his clear shout as Chris Stewart, the trainer, lifts him to his feet. I clench my fists angrily, glaring over at the perpetrator. There's only 5 minutes left of the third, and the Penguins are still winning 2-1. Right now, I'm more concerned about Olli being okay. 

I rush out, and finally make my way to the locker room. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I breathe, looking around at the five men gathered around my boyfriend. "I'm going to school for the management of a hospital, they've taught me some things."

"Have they taught you how to heal a torn muscle?" One asks, and I take a step back. I shake my head in horror. "His shoulder isn't like that, but it sure is bad. He injured the same one he'd had an operation on earlier this year. If it heals within a month or two, he won't need it again."

"I can speak, you know," Olli says weakly, and I kneel by his side. I firmly clutch his hand after making sure it's not attached to his injured shoulder. 

"Are you feeling--"

"Awful," he groans, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling. He doesn't say another word, but I can tell he desperately wants to. "I-I'll be alright." 

"You better be, munchkin." He smiles despite the pain, pursing his lips as he stares at me with soft, welcoming eyes. I lean down and give him a quick kiss before I'm asked to leave, but Olli protests. 

"Let her be here," he insists, but the head trainer shakes his head. 

"She can't, we have to do this without her."

"Sir, I-I'm afraid I don't understand why," he gets out through gritted teeth as one trainer moves his arm up and down a bit. "Please, sir, can she stay?" He shakes his head, and Olli squeezes his eyes shut. I sigh sadly and step out of the room. I hear one more strangled cry before the doors to outside open and I hear a siren. 

I step back into the room in time to see him placed on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. He catches one last glimpse of me waving and tries to get the men to allow me to come. The doors have shut by the time he gets their attention, and as one trainer closes a door I watch the emergency vehicle head to the hospital.