Slapshot

Chapter 18: Day Off

Taylor's POV

"Jonathan, wake up." I say, tapping his shoulder lightly. This was the fourth time I've had to do this since we've went to bed. This time, however, Jonathan was sleeping on his side, almost on top of me. I had to roll over a bit so he didn't hit me when waking up.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up." he mumbles, not opening his eyes.

"It's ten. I'm gonna get up now." I say, grunting in pain as I sat up on the bed.

"Huh?" he says, finally opening his eyes. He looks up at me, pushing the hair back off his forehead. "Do you need help?"

"No, no, I'll be fine. Keep sleeping." I instruct.

"Here, I'm coming." he says, beginning to sit up, but I push him back down.

"You need sleep. Doctor's orders." I say.

"What if you trip, or can't get down the stairs or something?" he asks.

"I'll be fine." I say, taking my crutches from the wall and standing up. I go into the washroom first, cleaning myself off and getting ready for the day. I realized that I hadn't changed from last night, but it didn't really matter. I was still wearing Jonathan's hoodie and my shorts, but I didn't care. I was comfortable.

I head out of the bathroom and pass through my bedroom, trying to make as little noise as possible, but Jonathan seemingly hears me. "Don't fall." he mumbles. He's back to laying on the bed, and I know he's gonna fall asleep again, which is alright. The doctor told him to sleep lots.

I carefully got down the stairs, and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Instead of anything complicated, I just took out a cereal box and some milk.

While eating my breakfast, I had some time to think. I had hurt my ankle before, but it was a while ago and I don't remember it too well. I didn't use crutches then, though. And I didn't have a big boot, either.

I realized that both mine and Jonathan's injuries would impact our hockey team. I'd be out for who knows how long, and Jonathan obviously couldn't play for a while with a concussion, especially because of the risk of him getting another.

Jonathan was such a key player on the team, I couldn't help but think that without him they'd lose. It was a bad thought, yes, but he really was impactful. He was also the captain. I don't know if he'd be in the dressing room or not, but from what I've heard he's given good speeches during games. Without that, where would the team get their motivation from?

After breakfast, I decided to do some homework. I had some catching up to do, plus some extra work in order to be ahead. It didn't hurt to get ahead, plus I had some spare time.

I was a bit bored, but this Saturday was no different than the rest. Usually I was at my kitchen table, doing homework. I didn't normally text friends or play on my phone, just schoolwork. On a regular Saturday, I would've probably gotten a visit from Braden.

Braden. This breakup was going to hurt. Especially because it's not like we broke up on purpose, it's because we were forced apart. So obviously our feelings for each other were still there, and mine were definitely evident. Braden was so cute, and nice to me, and funny.

But I had to consider what he had done to Jonathan. He was the reason Jonathan had a concussion. He was violent and abusive, and from what I know, he slammed Jonathan's head against the wall. I mean, obviously that wasn't okay. And I don't know why Jonathan didn't want to say anything to Coach. If Coach knew, Braden would've definitely gotten punished. And I already knew that Jonathan hated Braden, I mean both of them obviously hated each other.