"Pain is temporary but victory is forever." -Jeremy H.
Jonathan's P.O.V
I threw my bag in the trunk of my rental car and let California's heat drape over me. Natalie sat in the front seat wearing one of my old t-shirts and Nike shorts, her hair pulled up to combat the warmth. She smiled widely at me as I slipped into the passengers seat. She gave me a quick kiss before pulling out of the airports parking lot. Her smile didn't leave her face the whole ride back to my hotel.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Well I missed you, and you won. Plus I got that job with the Cubs." She smiled, parking the car in the hotel's parking lot.
"Congrats baby, I knew you would get it." I took her hand in mine and led her to the restaurant where the rest of the boys were. We sat at a table in the back with Sharp, Teuvo, Corey, Versteeg, Patrick, Andrew and Brandon. We ordered various dishes, I got steak while Nat got pasta.
"Andrew you had a hell of a game." Andrew smiled at the compliment. "Actually all of you did."
"Thanks Nat, we missed you there." Brandon said, taking a bite of his fish.
"Well I'll be there tomorrow so you better win for me."
*****
Natalie's P.O.V
Jonny and I made our way up to the hotel room we were sharing with Peaks. Amanda decided not to make the trip out due to trouble in paradise. Jon pressed the elevator button to the twelfth floor, tugging our suit cases behind us. Our floor was mostly the team with a few random citizens that had begged Jonny countless times for autographs. We opened the door to the room and I was greeted by the stares of two middle aged adults who I instantly recognized as Jonny's parents.
The thing was, I hated meeting parents. They were always overly friendly or just straight up rude. And it wasn't just the parent's of boyfriends I didn't like to meet. Hell, I hadn't met TJ's parents until just a few months ago and he was my best friend. Jon's parent's hugged him, even though they'd seen him this whole week. I'd ditched out of Chicago the day they'd flown in so I could avoid meeting them. Yet here they were, standing in our hotel room.
"You must be Natalie." Andree stated, her mouth in a straight line. Jonny protectively wrapped and arm around me, pulling me so my back was flush with his chest.
"Yeah, it'a great to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Toews. Jonathan never stops talking about you both." I mentally cringed at the use of his full name. That was strictly used for scolding and when we were intimate.
"Call us Andree and Bryan." She said matter-of-factly. "Patrick agree'd to switch rooms with us so we'll be staying in here tonight."
"Well I'll be in my room then." I lied, grabbing my suitcase and purse, leaving the room swiftly. I found Patrick's room which just so happened to be across the hall and knocked on the door. He answered, wearing only a pair of sweats and his blonde curls going in every direction. It looked as if he'd just woken up from a nap.
"Plags long time no see. Come on in." He joked, stepping out of the door frame to let me through. "I was expecting you to come crawling over here. Jon's parents aren't too keen on new people. I'm fairly sure they still hate me."
"To be fair not many people do like you." I threw my bag on top of the dresser, taking in the room. It wasn't as big as Jon and I's room since it only had one bed instead of two. There was a cot against the window that provided a beautiful view of the city. "You'll take the cot, ay?"
"I thought we could just cuddle in the bed." He smirked with a wink. I shook my head at his stupidity and begun unpacking some of my clothes. Patrick was texting someone while I scrolled through twitter. We were coated in a comfortable silence until he rudely broke it.
"Wanna get a beer?" I sighed, pulling on a jacket since California managed to drop 20 degrees at night.
"You know I can't resist that offer." We made our way down to the hotel's bar, instantly ordering beers for each of us. I got a Guinness which caused Peaks to raise an eyebrow. "I'm Irish, let me live."
Patrick laughed, taking a swig of his Budweiser. His eyes landed on a petite blonde near the check in desk. Even from this far away I could see the blue-gray sheen of her eyes. Her hair was pulled back in an loose braid. She was wearing jean shorts and a plain baseball tee with high top converse. It was such a simple outfit, yet she managed to make it look runway ready. I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't put a finger on it.
"Don't even think about hooking up with her, we're sharing a room." I joked. Patrick shook his head, still staring at her.
"I think that's Lindsey." Where had I heard that name? She turned once again and the realization hit me like a truck. It was Lindsey. As in Jonny's last girlfriend, Lindsey. The only girl Jonny had ever loved, or so he told me. How could I not have recognized her.
"Patrick Kane is that you?" She smirked, throwing her arms around his neck. He smiled, finishing his beer and wrapping his arm around her small waist. Patrick tossed a twenty dollar bill on the surface of the bar as walked out of the hotel, laughing with the girl he'd known for years. The girl that he would always be closer with. And I sat there, a wave of self pity washing over me.
*****
I wasn't perfect. Hell, I was far from it. Lindsey on the other hand was. Next to the definition of 'Perfect' in the dictionary was a picture of her. The internet was a shitty thing for moments like this, especially now that I was dating a professional athlete. There was this deep part of tumblr that I'd never even knew existed. It was a blog completely dedicated to hockey girlfriends and wives. I'd never needed to know about this. I'd known all of my friend's wives and if I wanted to know who someone was with I could always ask TJ. But now I was across the country, scouring through websites to try to piece together Jonny and Lindsey's relationship. The blog I was on had posted a picture of her today in LAX airport wearing that damn outfit that made her look like a model. The caption read "Jonathan Toews' girlfriend makes the cross-country trip to see him compete in Game 7 match-up".
Girlfriend.
The world still thought they were together. I didn't even exist in the public's eye. Normally this would've been good. If the press didn't know who I was, they wouldn't intrude on my daily life. But today it mattered. I was alone, cooped up in Patrick's hotel room in a city I didn't know. And where was my roomie? With Jonny's ex, whom he'd dropped everything for when he saw her.
Including me.
The worst part was knowing why they'd broken up. "We acted more as friends, so it didn't feel right." He'd told me. There wasn't some huge cheating scandal that was unforgivable. It wasn't some annoying trait she had that he couldn't live with. They were just too good of friends. Wasn't it a good thing to marry your best friend? It terrified me that one day he would realize that was the case and would leave me at the drop of a hat. It was completely possible, Peaks had done it just a few hours ago.
"Pat, Coach just texted me that we have practice at 10." He glanced up from his, phone our eyes meeting. "Oh it's just you Nat."
Just me. One part of me was glad he didn't notice my tear stained cheeks and the still wet tissues covering the bedside table. The other part of me was hurt. He couldn't even pick up on these obvious signs that I was upset.
"Baby, what's wrong?" I'd spoken too soon.
"I just miss St. Louis that's all. Just a bit homesick."
"Well when this season is over we can spend a couple week there, okay?" I nodded. He'd fallen for my lie. Clearly this love was one sided. From the minute I'd met him I'd known when he was lying. He would look past you to avoid eye contact. My mom would always tell me, "The reason people in love don't lie is because the other person can tell when you're lying. And if they can't, they don't actually love you." It was something I'd always lived by. I knew I wasn't in love when I didn't know how someone lied.
Jonny was instantly, I instantly loved him. But now, sitting in bed next to him I doubted the theory. I knew how Jonny worked, but I didn't truly know him. In return, he didn't know me. He didn't know my hobbies, my fears, my first teacher's name. Sure, in the grand scheme of things these fact's didn't matter. All that mattered was if you loved each other. But they mattered to me. My heart and my mind were viciously fighting each other. My heart loved him, but my mind refused.
I was at war with myself and I didn't know how to save myself.
I get my braces off in 12 hours, oh lord. But that also marks the official 'back to school prep'. I get my class schedule, ID and books tomorrow which also means there's only a week left off summer for me :( And of course I have a full schedule until then and have to try super hard to even see my friends. Oh aren't fall sports just the greatest? (sarcasm intended).This also means my Cub's games are going to come to a halt unless somehow they play the Twins during the playoffs at Wrigley which is very unlikely. Oh and I've manged to convince my mom to go to San Francisco during Spring Break and guess who's playing San Jose that week ;) THE STARS. I'll finally get to see the love of my life, Jamie Benn. And to add the the Dallas love, I found a Benn jersey for $30 on eBay that still has it's NHL certified tag on it. Oh the perks of being able to fit into kid's sizes.
Q: Favorite WAGs?
A: Chaunette and Elina are my WCWs everyday