song: kill the messenger by jack's mannequin.
*Ryan's POV*
Anna stayed true to her word and moved out right away. It was the hardest thing in the world to tell Remy that Mommy and Daddy needed 'some time apart'. Her favourite question was always, 'Why?' and I had a hard time keeping up with her. I made sure Anna called her every day, and she seemed to start to understand. It was the most gruelling two months of my life.
It was all really taking a toll on me. I had to take Remy to school each day, run to practice, perhaps do an autograph session or two, go to charity events, run the Steadfast Foundation, and of course, do my job as a goaltender at Sabres games. On top of all that I still had to grocery shop, make sure she was washed and fed, and endless things. I was not giving up on being a father, that was for sure- and people were noticing, even as I walked into the Buffalo locker room.
"Hey SuperDaddy," Pat Kaleta said with a nod.
"Hi Kallie, can you take Remy for a minute?" I handed my daughter to Tim Connelly, who didn't object, "Look, I need to ask a favour." I suddenly started coughing. My throat had been killing me for two days, but I hadn't done anything about it; I figured it would pass. I made sure not to get any germs on Remy in case I was contracting something.
"Jesus, Miller. Your salary cap's bigger than mine."
I laughed a bit, "I'm not asking for money. I'm asking if you could watch Remy for me tomorrow night."
Kaleta frowned, "What for?"
I sighed, "I'm having a guest over."
"You and Anna patching things up or something?"
"NO!" I practically yelled, causing everyone in the locker room to look at me, "I'm having a friend over."
"Which friend?"
"What's it to you?"
"Millsy, you've mean a hot mess ever since you broke it off with Anna," Jason Pominville noted, "Seriously, what really happened between you two?"
I gritted my teeth, holding in another cough, "I already said I am not going to talk about it."
"Daddy, Mommy has a boyfriend. Do you have a girlfriend?"
The room fell silent. My mischevious four year old escaped Tim's clutches and was now practicing with a spare stick. I felt the eyes of every single one of my team mates looking at me. I groaned.
"I kind of do, sweetie, but it's hard to explain."
Drew Stafford patted me on the back, "Atta boy. Who's the lucky lady?"
I shook my head, "I'm not talking about that."
Remy took a shot with the stick and scored the tape ball she made in someone's hanging jock, "She shoots, she scores!"
"Miller, I already told you," I heard the voice of Lindy Ruff booming in the doorway, "This is no place for a child. Especially a little girl." His voice seemed unusually loud. My head hurt.
I stood up quickly, feeling a slight head rush, "I'm sorry, Lindy, but I don't have a choice."
"There's plenty of weekend daycares in the area, you know," Lindy explained, "Seriously, kid, you're setting yourself up for exhaustion."
I shrugged, "I feel fine."
Derek Roy passed by, "You look like shit." Pat punched him in the side, motioning to Remy. "Oh, I mean, you look awful."
Remy was already on it, "Bad Uncle Derek! Go on, go in the corner. Hide your face! Ten minutes for missy crom ducks!"
I held in a laugh. Remy couldn't say 'misconduct.'
"Look, we're playing the Panthers tonight," Lindy said, "Lalime, it's been awhile since I gave you a start."
"Wait, I can-"
"Go home, Miller. Get some rest." Lindy nodded at Stafford, "Can you handle the kid?"
Drew Stafford swept Remy up in his arms, "Sure thing. Melissa loves her. Jake and Lily will love to have her for a sleepover."
"Sleepover?" Remy's eyes went wide, "YAY STAFFY! Sleepover! Can I Daddy? Can I?"
I had no choice but to say yes, leaving my daughter with Melissa Stafford shortly afterward, explaining I would pack Remy a bag later. I trusted them and I had before, but I felt stupid. I really was trying, but getting sick had messed up an otherwise excellent attendance record. This made me a terrible father as far as I was concerned.
Calling Julie was the first thing on my mind when I got home.
"Hello?"
"Hi Jules," I said, sniffling as I felt another sneeze coming on, "Did you say you'd be by around seven?"
Julie replied, "Ryan, you sound terrible."
"I'm fine!" I insisted, "Don't worry, I'll be good by tomorrow."
"Ok then," Julie said quietly, "See you then."
"Yep."
I hung up the phone and collapsed on the couch.
-
It must've been around six when I woke up to the smell of Windex. I rubbed my eyes, sore as they were, and saw someone was cleaning the window in the kitchen. And the kitchen was immaculately clean. Standing up and looking around, I saw my entire house was clean. That was when my head and throat began to ache, and my knees grew weak and I fell over.
"Ryan!"
I opened my eyes and saw Julie's pretty face looking down at me.
"What...is it tomorrow?"
"Jesus, you're burning up," she said, touching my forehead, "You need to get to bed, pronto."
"I...I don't know what you mean..."
"Bullshit, Ryan," Julie said, putting my arm over her shoulder and dragging me up the stairs, "Come on, sweetheart. I'm going to take care of you." Somehow we made it upstairs and into my room. I noticed she had even made my bed for me. Julia had cleaned the entire place!
She gently laid me down in bed and began to pull off my pants. I grabbed the waist and objected, "HEY!" before erupting in a sneezing fit. Great, now I was sneezing.
"I'm getting you into your boxers, silly," Jules said simply, "So you're comfy. Ok?"
"Oh...ok."
I let her proceed and then I got under the blankets. I felt like I hadn't slept in years. My throat hurt all the way to my ears, and my cough had made its way to my chest. Julie disappeared for a moment into the bathroom, and came back with a cold cloth. She placed it gently on my forehead and ran her hand up and down my bare arm. It felt nice.
I closed my eyes, "Mmm..."
"Tell me where it hurts."
I sighed, "My throat, my chest...my muscles ache..."
Jules nodded, "I know exactly what to do for you, then."
She disappeared again and came back with a bottle of cough syrup, some Advil Cold pills, and Vicks Vapour Rub.
"It'll be a bit cold at first, but it'll help..."
I laid there and let her spread the Vicks on my chest and felt instant relief. Maybe it was the Vicks, maybe it was simply her touch. After that I took some pills and the cough syrup before collapsing on my pillow.
"I brought chicken soup too," she told me, starting to massage my temples, which felt like heaven against my headache, "For when you get hungry."
"Mmmm...please stay forever." I groaned.
I felt her kiss my forehead, and I wished I had to strength to put my arms around her, but I failed. Julie realized I was achy and took note. She crawled in next to me, her feet touching mine. We hadn't done this since the night Carey cheated on her.
"Turn on your side," she whispered, "I'll help you sleep, Miller..."
I did as she said and felt her hands starting to work on my sore back. I sighed happily. So this was what romance was like. Anna would never in a million years give me a massage, let alone take care of me if I was sick. Julie's touch was soft and kind. Her sweetness began to seep through me, and I felt sleepy again. Once she had me completely relaxed, I drifted into a blissful slumber.
I only hoped she'd still be there when I awoke, and that it wasn't a dream.
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