Hockey Imagines

I Can't Anymore - Jack Hughes

Jack and Carla are a bit too happy..

TW: suicide, death, grief

"I'm sorry, Jack." Carla whispered as she stood on the edge of the bridge. Jack sobbed loudly as he tried getting his girlfriend down. "I'm sorry~" She trailed off as she stepped backwards and plummeted to the shallow river below.

"NOO!" Jack yelled, sprinting to the edge. His sobs only got louder as he saw nothing but the dark water and stones below. Carla..

He grabbed his phone quickly and dialed 911. If you don't know, 911 is the emergency services. They answered and he frantically told them what happened and his location through his cries, which they reassured him they were on their way. After they hung up, he called Quinn.

"Hey what's up?" Quinn asked once he answered.

"Carla! Sh-she jumped." Jack sobbed into the speaker. Quinn tried reassuring him but he wasn't having it. "S-she's gone, Q-Quinn." He continued ranting.

Quinn, on the other hand, was listening and booking a plane ticket to New Jersey as soon as possible. A flight was leaving in four hours, so he booked a ticket on there. Sure it was expensive as hell, but his little brother needs him. He'll do anything for both his brothers.

He put in his airpods and placed his phone on the nightstand while throwing only the necessities into a duffle bag. Eventually, Jack started to quiet down his sobs and talking was heard in the background, the emergency services.

Quinn's heart broke for his brother going through the pain he is. He's only young, why did the world think he deserved this? He texted Luke quickly and told him that he was on his way to New Jersey and needed to be picked up to avoid taking an Uber at that time. 

"Hey kid, I need to go now. I'll talk to you in a few hours alright?" He reassured as Jack went to protest. With a sigh, Jack accepted it and hung up the phone.

Back with Jack, the people had gone down and instantly found Carla's body in the river and pulled her out, putting the body in a bag. He looked away quickly and once they were all gone, he left as well.

Walking into the apartment, Luke looked up and saw his brother. Knowing what happened he walked over and pulled him into a comforting hug. Jack hugged his brother tightly and sobbed. Luke, having been taught how to comfort someone from his mother, rubbed his back softly and just let him cry it out. 

Jack had already contacted her parents and told them everything. They had called him while in the car and told him that there was nothing that he could have done to stop her, that they don't blame him. They reassured him they still think of him as family. 

Twenty minutes later he told his younger brother that he was gonna go to his room, which Luke nodded and told him that if he needed anything he was there for him. He had left to get Quinn but was able to come back within 30 minutes with their older brother. The two Hughes' ran into the apartment and saw Jack sitting silently on the couch, staring down at a picture of Carla on his phone as tears came down his cheeks.

Quinn walked over and sat beside him while Luke gently took the picture away, Jack not resisting whatsoever. Quinn pulled his younger brother into his side and whispered soft things in his ear to try and calm him down, which somewhat worked after a while. A bit later Jack had fallen asleep on the couch. Luke placed a blanket over his legs and shared a sad look with Quinn.

*Two weeks later*

Quinn requested a bit of time off to help his brother get through this, which was granted to him. Jack has started getting a bit better since Carla's funeral the week before, but he still was grieving hard. He lost a shit ton of weight, dropping to around 140 lbs 63.51 kg which isn't exactly good for an NHL hockey player. Well, not like he's been playing much hockey.

Oh yeah, did I mention he hasn't been going to practice or games? He's on the brink of getting cut but coach is being slightly lenient, judging that he witnessed first hand his girlfriend kill herself. His brothers have been bringing him out more often and have actually been bringing his weight back up, but the one thing they haven't been able to sort is sleep.

Every time Jack sleeps he sees Carla, and it's messing with his mind. They have sent him to a very good therapist who has been trying to sort through the sleeping issues but he's having none of it. He's overall frustrated with the whole thing. He's frustrated, he's sad, he's angry..all he's feeling. His anxiety of the same situation happening to his brothers has gone up. Not so much with his parents since he knows they'd never, but since he's been seeing them so much lately he's scared.

Whenever they leave his eyesight for a few minutes, even to just use the washroom, he always gets extremely anxious. What happens if I don't see them again? Is what he always thinks. When they come back into the room he leaps up and hugs them tight.

Quinn is extremely scared for his brother. What happens is he does the same thing? Is what he always thinks whenever he sees Jack finally fall asleep, always on the couch. He couldn't bare losing either of his brothers. The three of them have been through it all with one another. Hockey tournament, USNTDP, even the NHL. He doesn't know what he'd possibly do if Jack can't take it anymore.

Luke all of a sudden always needs to be around his brothers. What happens if I don't see them again? Is what he always thinks whenever he's alone. Being the youngest, his brothers have naturally helped him with everything. Learning to play hockey, his injuries, when hockey was cancelled because of COVID..they've always been there. 

To sum it up, they're now always seen together. Always worried about losing each other, they're once again attached by the hip. But it's rough for Quinn because he needs to leave in two weeks. His baby brothers are all that he cares about now, not even hockey as much. But he needs to.

"I can't anymore." Jack blurted out of nowhere. Luke's head shot up while Quinn's eyes widened. 

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked cautiously. Jack's bloodshot eyes met his younger brothers.

A feeling of guilt loomed over Jack's head. "I can't live a life not knowing why." He mumbled. His two brothers sighed and sat next to him.

"She wouldn't want you doing this to yourself, you know?" Quinn told him. After a few more words that the oldest and youngest brothers said, Jack nodded.

He agreed to work on it.

*One month later*

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IS THAT, IT IS! JACK HUGHES HAS RETURNED!"

Jack made a surprise return one month after agreeing to work on getting himself back up and no one, not even his teammates, knew. The only people who knew were Luke, Quinn, his parents and his GM. 

"JACK HUGHES HAS SCORED! HE'S BACK!" 

Jack laughed loudly while skating by the bench at the announcer announcing his goal. It's good to be home he though aloud.

Quinn, who was sat on his couch back in Vancouver, smiled bright and laughed with his brother. He yelled and jumped in the air. Elias Pettersson, came running out but smiled once he saw Jack cellying on the large screen in front.

The two men both yelled in joy at the two younger Hughes brothers sharing a massive bear hug after Jack's goal. Quinn wiped a not noticeable tear from below his eye, watching his little brother actually smile for the first time in a long time. 

***

I was originally gonna do Bedard, but I've put he and Mia through enough shit lol

This is wayy longer than I actually expected it to be

WC: 1333