by Kat Obie
“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind that I thought Petey would be better to stay over tonight instead of Scotty.” Jenna was starting to regret not choosing Scotty if only for her best friend. She knew that Alice loved when Scotty spent the night.
“It’s totally cool. I get it. Corey and Petey are like attached at the hip. I was actually expecting that when he asked if he could go back with you to the pre-op area.”
“Thanks.”
The two of them headed back to the waiting room. There was lots of conversation. It was like being a fly on the wall of a locker room.
After two hours, it was time for the Sound guys to leave for their trip. Jenna felt bad that Corey was still in surgery and hadn’t realized how late they were there wishing him luck before the road trip.
She had to admit, it was wonderful to have the peace and quiet in the waiting room with only Petey, Alice and herself. After another couple hours, the surgeon came back out to the room for an update. The surgery went well but they did have to remove the lymph node from both sides of the groin, exactly what Corey didn’t want.
25
Corey
Corey woke up. Like usual, it took him a few moments to orient himself. It didn’t take too long to remember that he just had surgery. He felt stiff but he wasn’t in pain. He took a few breaths.
Almost immediately two nurses came into the area to check on him. He was asked if he needed anything. He was surprised when he was offered hot tea. Given how fucking raw his throat was from being put under, the hot tea actually didn’t sound half bad.
Then he was being asked to get up and move to sit in a chair. He tried to not have the nurses deal with his full body weight as they helped to walk him over to the chair. The short walk across the hallway made him fully realize just how truly stiff he was from the surgery.
The younger nurse brought over some ice packs to place on the various incision sites on the groin and the arm pit. “Sorry, doctor’s orders.”
He was just glad it wasn’t a full ice bath. He could handle a few isolated spots getting iced. He was drinking the tea super slowly. Despite not having any food since last night, he still wasn’t hungry at all.
Dr. Foci appeared in the room with a smile on his face. “So how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” said Corey.
“Good. So it was best to test both sides of the groin. I know you want to get out on the ice as soon as possible, but with both sides of your groin getting opened up, I’m going to need you to be super careful with your stitches. You also will need to sleep on the left side to keep pressure off the right side and the back.”
Corey nodded that he understood what the doctor said. He just absolutely hated it and wanted to get back to hockey as soon as possible.
“So I’ll just need to do some follow-up in two weeks and I’ll take the stitches out of your back. You’ll have to call my scheduler to get that on the books.”
“Okay.”
Then the doc left the area unceremoniously. Then again he might have said something but Corey was still pretty groggy. He just hoped he would continue to wake up, that way he would get released quicker and wouldn’t be an issue for Jenna.
All of a sudden, he saw the wall full of muscles with tattooed arms. He literally groaned in disappointment and was a bit hurt not to see the love of his life. Of course, Petey picked up on his disappointment and in a teasing voice said, “What, you don’t like me, asshole, or did you want to see her?”
Petey stepped aside to show Jenna’s sweet smile. If he didn’t feel so stiff, he would have reached out to kiss her. He knew he had a dopey smile on his face since he was so happy to see her sweet, soft lips turned upward.
“Yeah. I definitely prefer to see Jenna,” said Corey with a totally dry mouth. He wanted to reach out for her but since there was an ice pack under his arm, he knew he shouldn’t move.
Thank the lord, she was on the same page and leaned down and gave him an awesome kiss. He wanted to do so much more than the kiss but they were in public so that would have to do for now. He couldn’t hold her neck and feel her up.
“I’m glad to see you too,” she said as she pulled back with a sly smile. Her hand continued to touch his skin and send sparks through his body. “How are you feeling, babe?”
“I’m fine. Ready to get home and sleep some more.”
“Already?” teased Jenna.
“Yeah. I know it’s crazy.”
“Not like you didn’t just have surgery,” said Petey, reminding Corey of his presence. Not that he would ever admit it, but he actually thought he’d dreamt up Petey’s presence. The last thing he needed was to be teased for saying something dumb like that.
“Didn’t you have a flight earlier today?” asked Corey.
“Nope. I’m here to help get you into bed and not kill anyone in the process. I fly out for the game tomorrow.”
Corey scoffed, “You think I would kill anyone today?”
“By falling on them, hell yes, I think you will.”
That got Corey laughing. The image of him falling over didn’t seem that realistic but it was funny. He was just tired. “Alright, point taken.”
The nurse who brought him the hot tea came back into the room and said, “Ready to go home?”
“Hell yeah,” said Corey. Maybe he was a little too excited but he was ready to get dressed and go home with Jenna. He didn’t care if Petey was there to help supervise.
“So let’s go over the last-minute details.” She started to bring out the usual paperwork. He got the script for a painkiller that he really didn’t want to fill but was going to just in case. He was told about the wound care again: the glue would slough off, he could have some showers, and a reminder that he needed to make his follow-up appointment tomorrow.
Then he was given the green light to get dressed, and Jenna and Petey helped him. It was a fairly smooth process and then it was time to get into the wheelchair so he could go home.
Jenna
Jenna and Petey got Corey home and settled down with no problems at all. She was actually pretty damn disappointed that he wasn’t out of it, after hearing about how Scotty was just infatuated with Alice and kept asking for hockey and kisses. Corey was tired but apart from that he had his wits about him.
Petey basically left the moment that Corey got settled with some food and then moved into the bed.
She got changed into her pj shorts and lacy cami before sliding into bed with Corey. She was surprised that he was reading a book on his iPad. He immediately pulled her close with his good arm into a kiss. She asked, “Hey baby, how are you feeling?”
“Just stiff.” He paused for a moment. “I probably should put some more ice on again.”
“Okay.”
Jenna slid off the bed to get the ice packs. It was cold carrying the four long white ice sacks that the hospital gave them to help prevent swelling. She settled an icepack on either side of his groin, one for his right armpit and then he moved up from the pillow to get one on his back. He was so compliant and easy to handle. Then again, he was never too bad when he was hurt.
“How’s your book?”
He quirked his head and she knew that she asked the right question. She didn’t want to keep dwelling on the fact he had just had surgery. Besides, she almost never saw him reading, so it was interesting to see this side of him.
“It’s alright.”
Jenna pulled her Kindle out as well and cuddled up to Corey. It was like absolute heaven to be tucked into his side, the two of them reading their e-books. It was something they never did together but it was pure bliss.
After reading a few chapters in silence, Jenna pulled away and said, “I think that’s it for me.”
“’Kay. Sounds good.” He handed her his iPad and she stacked the devices on the nightstand.
“Do you need anything before I turn off the light?” asked Jenna. She looked over at his nightstand. His bottle of water was still mostly full and the bottles of both Advil
and Tylenol were next to him. The prescription was filled but put in the medicine cabinet since she knew that he wouldn’t want to take it unless absolutely necessary.
“Nah. Just need to hug you. It’s going to be so fucking weird to sleep on my side tonight.”
Corey almost always slept on his back. She actually would love it since she could just lay her head perfectly on his shoulder. But the doctor wanted to keep Corey from putting any pressure on his back for fear of popping the stitches.
He rolled onto his side as she was turning off the lights. She thought that she might have to help to roll him, but he did that without a problem. She scolded herself; he was a professional athlete. Of course he wouldn’t want to have too much help.
They immediately started to spoon each other. While his body was toasty warm, the two ice packs froze her ass. But they were part of the doctor’s orders, so she would put up with the cold. She was amazed at how he was still so warm.
When she woke up, she felt his morning wood against her back but since he wasn’t tucking it away, she figured he was still asleep. She slipped away from his hug and he didn’t move. She crept around to remove the ice packs and put them back into the freezer.
As she was in Corey’s kitchen, she started to make a quick meal for herself and Corey. She decided to make an egg-white frittata. It was one of his favorite breakfasts during the season. While he loved waffles with maple syrup and bacon, that was something he had on the off-season. She didn’t want to screw up his diet.
She was starting to put everything on a tray when she heard him come grunting down the hall. If she wasn’t so taken aback, she would have scolded him for getting out of bed and trying to move around too much.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said in a rough voice.
“What are you doing out of bed? I was going to bring you breakfast.”
“I’m fine. I can’t stay in bed all day,” said Corey. Jenna knew that he wasn’t completely fine but she wasn’t going to push him. As long as he behaved and didn’t try to do too much. He kissed her ear before he gingerly sat himself on an island chair.
“I didn’t think you would. I just thought you might want a little breakfast in bed. Today was the first day I could return the favor.”
“You flirt.” He winked as he took a bite. “Oh God, I always forget how good that is.”
Jenna laughed in amusement. He looked so happy with his breakfast. She grabbed herself a plate and stood across from him on the island. It was a quiet meal since they were both stuffing their face with food. When he was done eating, she cleared the two plates and put them in the beloved dishwasher.
“I take it you want that more often while you’re home.”
“Oh, hell yes.” He started to get up from the chair. There was so much pain on his face and she hated it. But she knew he would probably snap at her if she asked if he wanted any painkillers.
“Alright, babe, where do you want to set up shop? Do you need any ice?”
“I just want to lie on the couch today. Yes to the ice. Also can you bring me some of the Advil?”
“Sure thing.” She frowned knowing he had to be in way more pain than before. She went for the Advil first, then she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then the ice packs. By the time she got the supplies, he was settled with his legs extended out and a pillow high on his back. “Here you go, babe.”
26
Corey
Corey felt miserable. It’s been three days since his surgery. He was struggling with the painkillers. The swapping out Advil and Tylenol every six hours didn’t really seem to be working the way he wanted to do it. So he needed to take the hard stuff.
Jenna was being an absolute doll. She just took care every need he had. He was trying not to take advantage of her. Her nurturing side had him fall more in love with her, which he didn’t think was possible.
He struggled to get up from the couch but he didn’t want to ask Jenna to help him. Especially not for a trip to the bathroom. After taking a shit, he decided to go upstairs. It was a decision that he hated. Every step sent little daggers into his groin but he gingerly journeyed upstairs to get his guitar just to break up the day. He hadn’t played with it enough lately and he knew that Jenna always loved when he serenaded her and he wanted to prepare a new song for her.
He walked by Jenna’s office. He peeked his head in. “How’s work going, beautiful?”
She jumped so high in her seat with a squeak that it made him laugh. He couldn’t help it, it was so adorable. He made a note that he needed to sneak up on her more often. She turned in her chair and faced him and said, “Not too bad. Just making sure I’m ready for the trip back to Philly next week.”
“It’s that time already?” asked Corey. With the hockey season being in full swing, it was easy to lose track of time and when Jenna had to travel back to Philly.
“Unfortunately so,” said Jenna. “I can’t believe you came up here.”
“Yeah. I needed a change of scenery plus I wanted to grab the acoustic.”
“Nice. I should have brought that down days ago.”
“Dude, you have been so damn good to me with all of this. I was enjoying the Xbox time. I don’t need you to get everything. Where did you hide the prescription?”
Corey knew that he had to stop trying to push through the pain and use the medicine that he was prescribed. Taking a couple tablets over the next few weeks wouldn’t be that bad. He had to monitor himself.
“I’m sorry to hear that things are getting worse. I put it in the bathroom of the bedroom suite. I can get it for you.”
“You don’t need to do that. Work, babe. I know you have to be productive during the day. Besides, it’s good to be up even if I’m moving at the pace of a two-year-old.”
He walked down the stairs, took the stupid pill and then started to puck his guitar. It didn’t take long for the medicine to kick in with both the positive and the negative side effects as an entire fog settled over his brain. He lost the rest of the afternoon but he was sure that Jenna had joined him on the couch.
Jenna
Jenna went to the doctor’s office with Corey. Today was a bit of a judgment day: he was going to get the stitches out of the back and find out the biopsy results. He had been miserable the past two weeks without hockey and with his general pain levels. While on the outside, he looked so tough and even carefree, she knew that he was nervous. He didn’t like having so many lymph nodes tested. Add in the fact he couldn’t sneak downstairs to the rink. All he had was their sex, which was pretty damn good.
They were sitting in the lobby waiting. When they called him and he started to head over, she said, “I’ll get us both some coffee.” Corey nodded and went back for his appointment.
Jenna went down to the little coffee shack that they passed when they walked in. There was no line so she made it through pretty quickly. As she was waiting for their coffees, she heard a familiar voice say, “Jenna. What are you doing here?”
Jenna turned toward the voice and realized it was Leah who said something to her. Alice played hockey with Leah and they had all gone out drinking after games more than a few times. It was a surprise to see Leah since she completely forgot that Leah was a doctor at that hospital.
“Oh, I’m waiting for Corey.”
“How has he been doing? I know he’s been out of the lineup for the last two weeks.”
“Going a little stir-crazy.” Jenna was still trying to be vague. Very few people knew that Corey was even getting tested for cancer. All the Sound had released thus far was that he had an upper body injury. She wasn’t going to break Corey’s confidence and reveal too much, even to Leah.
“I bet. You should totally hang out with us after hockey on Wednesday. Take a break from it all.”
“Yeah. That sounds like fun.”
“I would love to stay and chat but I have to get back to work.”
“No problem. See you.”
Jenna then headed back up to the lobby.
She slowly drank her coffee and played on her phone while she waited for Corey to finish up with his appointment. It was taking forever, she was starting to get concerned.
When he walked out of the doors, his eyes were so sad. That was his only tell at that moment that something was wrong. Jenna wanted to hug him and find out what was up but if he was trying to keep himself together, she didn’t want to mess things up. So she simply handed him the coffee and said, “I think you might need this right now.”
He did a half smile and said, “Yeah. Thanks, beautiful. Let’s get to the car so we can talk.”
She nodded. They headed to the parking lot in relative silence but at a super-quick pace with long strides. As soon as they got into the SUV, she asked, “Alright, babe, what’s wrong? I know the appointment was taking forever.”
“It spread. They had to do a scan to see where, and it’s in my stomach.”
“Fuck. So what’s next?”
“Right now I have to talk to my agent and the coach. Then my parents. They will start treatments as early as next week.”
She grabbed his hand and kissed it. “Alright. So we fight this. Let’s get the calls done first. But please know you will get through this.”
Corey
Corey was devastated. Everything except for Jenna seemed to be stripped from him. Sure, the guys were going to support him but he wouldn’t be allowed to keep going to practice. There was no hockey to keep his mind off of things. Instead he had fucking cancer. Not just a spot of melanoma that they already removed, now it was everywhere.
Corey called his agent first with Jenna holding his hand throughout the call giving him so much fucking strength. On almost the first ring, Matty Sloan said, “’Ello, what’s going on, my man?”
“I might need you for a situation.”
“Fucking hell. What is it now? I thought you got that shit out of your system during your rookie year.”
