Andrew #3
“He lost you the Stanley Cup!” the guy shouts, getting into Oher’s face, struggling against Petrov’s grip. “He lost us the Cup! He deserves it! ”
“Shit happens, bro!” Petrov yells as Andrew pulls his truck door open and gets inside. “You can’t throw eggs at people who piss you off!”
Andrew closes his door and starts his truck with shaking hands, speeding out of the lot as fast as he can and ignoring the way the egg feels as it dries on his skin and clothes.
He has a missed call from JT, and a text from his mom asking if he’ll be home for the off season. He throws his phone in the back seat, and hits his steering wheel.
He’d been having such a good day.
He gets to Lake Placid at four in the morning, after driving all night with Roscoe stretched across the back seat.
The minute he had pulled into his driveway he had gone straight up the stairs, made a split-second decision and texted Coach, and the team group chat before jumping in the shower to get the egg off of him.
He was lucky that he hadn’t been seriously hurt by the egg that had hit him in the face. He could have gone blind if it had hit him in the eye, then people really would have had a problem with him .
A lady in Ireland had gone blind from the same thing, he’d Googled it as he’d waited for his shower to heat.
As soon as he was changed, he threw two months’ worth of clothes into three suitcases, grabbed Roscoe’s leash and food bowls, and started driving north.
And that’s how he finds himself at JT’s door in the mountains. The sun is just about to rise, and Roscoe is sitting on the steps beside him as he knocks, rings the bell, knocks again.
“JT!” he yells, knocking again. Inside the house, a dog starts barking and a light flips on in the foyer.
He stops knocking.
Jamie Thompson, his best friend, former Alternate Captain and right defenseman, opens the door, shirtless and bleary-eyed. His mouth falling open in shock.
“What?” he asks, blinking.
“Jamie?” his wife, Ainsley, says from behind him. “What happened? Who is it?”
“It’s Andy,” JT responds. Ainsley’s head peeks around his shoulder and she offers a wave. “Go back to bed, hot shot, it’s alright. ”
“I’d hug you, but I’m not exactly decent right now,” she says to Andrew with half a smile. She stays hidden behind JT, and her bare arms slip around his waist.
For the first time since they opened the door, Andrew takes stock of their appearance. Ainsley’s hair is mussed and JT has a red mark that looks fresh on his neck.
“Sorry bro,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t mean to show up like this.”
“Ains,” Jamie says quietly, turning slightly and shielding her from view. “Go back upstairs, I’ll take care of it.”
She shakes her head. “I was awake anyway. I’ll get dressed and put the coffee on.”
Jamie nods and drops a kiss to the top of her head. “To be continued.”
Ainsley rolls her eyes and smiles fondly. “You owe me, Thompson.” She glances up at Andrew. “I guess I’ll see you when you’re ready?”
Andrew nods. “Sorry, Ainsley.”
She shakes her head with a smile. “All good. ”
JT closes the door slightly to keep her hidden as she disappears from view. As soon as she’s gone, he opens the door wider so that Andrew and Roscoe can step inside.
“Dude, your wife is so chill,” Andrew says, glancing back at JT.
“She wasn’t always this way, trust me.”
Sokka is on Roscoe in an instant, sniffing all over him before letting out an excited bark and taking off through the house. Roscoe glances up at Andy, then takes off, assuming that he’s fine now.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but… What the hell?” JT asks.
Andrew offers him a shrug. “I can’t be in Raleigh right now. The fallout from the Cup is actually killing me. I needed somewhere to go, and y’all were the first people that came to mind.”
“You drove thirteen hours to get here?” Jamie asks. “Through the night?”
“Yeah,” Andrew replies, “and I’m dead tired. Is it alright if I stay here? Maybe for a while?”
“Of course,” Jamie says. No questions asked. Andrew loves his best friend. “The basement apartment is empty. Do you need help unloading? ”
“I’ll get it later.”
Jamie leads him to the basement door, flipping on the light. “Next time, text me and I’ll stock up on some stuff for you.”
“I didn’t think, I just reacted.” Andrew says, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.”
Jamie shrugs. “Don’t apologize. I’ve done weirder things for you.”
“Farm team in Albany was a fever dream,” Andrew says, “if anyone asks I’ll deny whatever you say.”
“Bro,” JT says, “you got pulled over and tried to tell the police you were me.”
“How was I supposed to know you went to high school with someone in the Albany PD?” Andy asks, throwing his hands up in the air. “It’s not like it’s close to Lake Placid.”
“That’s not even the worst thing!” JT says, rolling his eyes as he steps away from the door.
“Again, plausible deniability will be evoked,” Andrew says.
“Yeah, yeah,” JT says, “just remember, my stories about you are just as bad as yours are about me. ”
“JT?” Andrew calls over his shoulder as he starts down the stairs. JT turns to look at him. “Thanks.”
His friend smiles. “What are friends for, if not to open their homes at five in the morning?”