She made her way into the locker room while I slid down the hallway's wall so I was level with Lyla. The toddler giggled at my frustrated demeanor, knowing she could change it quickly. I sighed, hugging my best friends daughter while my anger towards her mother melted away. I felt calm, that is until the visitors locker room door swung open.
"Nat?" I heard a soft whisper. My eyes shot up towards the voice and they instantly filled with tears. I rushed towards the man who stood with his arms wide open to me. Andrew's face was instantly wet with tears and I know I look exactly the same.
"Hey Mutt, how are you?" I chucked, wiping the moisture off my cheeks. He gave me a happy smile as if seeing me was the best thing to ever happen to him.
"We all miss you, you know?" I just nod, not being able to find the words I want to say. "Please come home."
"I'm beginning to think DC is my home, Andrew. My best friend is here and I want to be there to see his kids grow up."
"But your family is back in Chicago. Mark says you've never visited him since he moved in with Barb. Plus we're all there. Don't you care about us?" He whispered, a sad expression filling his face.
"Of course I miss you guys and Mark, but it's too hard to be there right now. DC is a fresh start that I really need right now."
"It's been almost 5 months now, Natalie. You can't just pick up your life and leave a whole group of people that love you unconditionally just because of your parents dying. We wanted to be there for you, but you deserted us. You deserted Jon."
"Don't you dare say his name right now. You know he's the reason I had to leave Chicago."
"Why though? Because he came home drunk one night? That's the stupidest excuse of a life change I've ever heard."
"You know what, I'm not taking this right now." I scooped up Lyla and began walking down the empty tunnel. There were loud footstep running towards me so I sped up, expecting it was Andrew to apologize. What I got was so much worse.
"Can we please talk?" Jon begged, cupping my sobbing face. I pushed him off of me, but he held a tight grip. "I'm begging you, baby. Please, I need to talk to you."
"I have plans tonight. I'm sorry." I stated, hoping it would get him off of my case. I wasn't completely lying, but I'm sure I could've squeezed in a quick chat before dinner.
"Cancel them. I'm begging you Natalie." I sighed, kissing Lyla's head and shooing her towards the dressing room. The jersey I was wearing felt wrinkled, so I quickly smoothed it out. "You know I think you look better in my jersey."
"You know blue looks good on me though." I joked, smiling at the boy I was terrified of just minutes ago. He chuckled deeply as we walked away for the arena.
"Look, we're kind of ignoring the giant elephant in the room."
"Look Jon, I'm sorry for just running away, but I was so pissed at you. Why the fuck would you drive home drunk when you know that's how my parents died?" I felt the tears brimming my eyes. I hadn't cried over my parents since the month of their death, but sometimes I would randomly think of them and my heart would tighten and break all over again.
"I messed up. I'm a terrible person, I know that. But I'm so undeniably in love with you and honestly, I don't think I will ever love anyone other than you."
"Jon-"
"No Natalie. I'm completely serious. You're the love of my life." He cried out, cupping my cheeks. I was crying by now, but I craved Jon's touch. He seemed to sense it as he softly placed his lips against mine. There was loud cheers from down the hallway and we instantly broke away to be faced with our dorky friends. Osh made his way towards us, slapping Jon's back as they bro hugged.
"He's the best boyfriend you've had. Don't let him go, Bubs." TJ whispered, kissing my head while pulling Lauren into his side.
"I dated you, Chubs." I chuckled, leaning into Jonny's side. He placed his hand tightly around my waist and pulled me closer.
"And I was a terrible boyfriend." He chuckled. "We've got to get going to Jul's party. You guys in?"
Jon nodded, grasping my hand and pulling me out of the stadium for a night filled with drinking, laughing and a whole lot of love.
*****
"Sweetcheeks, Julianne is literally going to kill you if you don't hurry up." Jon shouted impatiently. I adjusted my dress for the last time and rushed out of the hotel room we were staying at. Jon greeted me with a kiss, telling me how beautiful I looked. Of course, he looked 100 times better than I ever could.
"I can't believe she's getting married today. I've been a fan of her since I was younger and now I'm watching her get married." I sighed, realizing how amazing my life was at this exact moment. My friends would drop anything for me, I loved my new job with the Hawks, and I had the most amazing fiance in the entire world. Literally nothing could make my life any better.
Jon and I found our seats next to TJ, Lauren, Lyla, their baby girl who was now nearly one, and Derek. Derek kissed my cheek and Laur gave me a tight hug. We sat down and waited until the music played. In walked Julianne, looking outrageously gorgeous. She was one of the most beautiful humans I'd ever met, inside and out. The crying couple exchanged their vows and the entire church was smiling ear to ear.
"I can't wait until that's us." Jon whispered, leaning close to my ear. I turned towards him and grinned.
"Soon baby, soon."
Okay only one more chapter :( I tried to make this super long, but it ended up only being like 150 more words than usual so I apologize. Hope you all like this part :)
Q: What book are you currently reading?
A: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Almost done and not sure if I like it or not yet.)
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Faceoff
Fanfiction"It's my job, I can't just drop everything for you." Jonathan scuffed, throwing clothes in his bag. He glanced back at Nat who wore glossy eyes and a frown. It broke his heart seeing her like this. She never cried. "I guess this is goodbye then." H...
Chapter 44 -Epilogue Part 1
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