"Why didn't you call me?" Will ask ed me for what felt like the millionth time.
"I didn't even call her fucking mom Will!" I said, my voice finally raising above my quiet tone.
Auston had talked to Mitch and Will that Karmina was in Toronto. Will rushed back, and as soon as he saw her, demanded to know everything. It took Karmina breaking down into a sobbing mess to keep him from calling the police, or even driving down to her school himself to find the guys who hurt her, and completely ruin their lives...and faces. She went and laid down for a nap, and I continued to get the wrath of Will. I knew he wasn't upset with me, but I was the only person he knew he could yell at at this moment in time, and I knew he needed to deal with it in his own way.
He sank down into the couch next to me, and I put my arm around him, resting my head on his shoulder. He put his head in his hands, and I knew he was at a loss for what to do.
Even with the little amount of time they had spent together, they were close. I knew that they talked every day, and had a closer relationship than anyone even realized. They hadn't made anything official because of the distance between them, but I knew Will wanted to.
"Why did she go there in the first place? I thought we were...something." Will said, his voice shaky.
"Karmina has always been uneasy about real relationships. Her dad was awful, and that kind of ruined guys for her. She's never gone for the good guys. She's flirted with this line an few times, but she's always managed to get out of any kind of serious situation. She was just outnumbered. I know she cares about you Will. Maybe this will just be the thing to show her she needs to trust the good guy for once." I consoled him.
"I didn't mean to yell at you." He said, looking up at me, his eyes red.
"Don't worry about it Willy. We all handle hard situations differently, and I can't blame you for freaking out on me."
He pulled me into a hug, and I relaxed into the hug. I needed my guys back. I needed my Auston back.
+
I was anxious for Auston to get back, but he hadn't been super specific about when exactly that would be, just the day he was coming back. I tried to stay busy, cleaning up the apartment, watching tv shows, but all I could think of was finally seeing Auston again.
I was exhausted. My mind and body were completely spent. So it wasn't surprising that I fell asleep on the couch while trying to watch The Office to pass the time. The warmth from Auston's sweatshirt, and the familiarity of the Office had me out in minutes.
"Baby." A whisper broke me from my slumber.
"Hmm." I said, my eyes not wanting to open.
"I'm home." The voice said.
"I'm tired." I whined.
"I know. But I want to see you."
My eyes fluttered open to meet his deep brown ones. A tired smile fell upon my lips, and I reached my arms up gesturing for him to hug me. Auston sat on the couch next to me, and pulled me into his lap. His cologne hit my senses, and tears hit my eyes. I covered my face quickly, unable to stop the flowing tears and the light sobs that escaped my lips.
Auston held me close, gently rubbing my back.
"What's wrong Fin?" Auston asked after a few moments.
"I'm just so happy you're back. It's been so hard, and no one was here, and I'm just so overwhelmed." my voice said, breaking every few words.
"I know Fin. I'm so sorry. The timing of this couldn't have been worse. But I'm here now? Okay. I'm here."
Once I finally calmed down, I went and cleaned myself up. My eyes were puffy and red, but there was nothing I could do about that. I went back out to the living room to find Auston grabbing things out of the fridge.
"What are you doing?" I questioned, sitting on the breakfast bar watching his movements.
"I'm cooking you dinner." He shrugged.
"Can't we just order something?" I asked, trying to hide my nerves.
"You eat out almost every day. I'm cooking something for you. Deal with it." He deadpanned.
"Can you even cook?" I groaned.
"I am hurt. Of course I can cook." He placed his hand over his hear, feigning hurt.
"Fine. Wow me boy wonder." I smiled at him.
I watched as he moved gracefully, and I wondered if there was really anything Auston couldn't do.
"So you had fun?" I asked, just wanting to hear his voice. I had missed him so much, and it was just nice to have him back and hear his voice.
"Yeah. It was a blast. It's been different both years I did it, but it's been really fun both years. I wish you would have come with me. It's a really fun weekend, and I didn't realize how many of the guys bring their girlfriends and families."
"It's still pretty early for us though." I shrugged, putting myself down like I tended to do.
"And?" He asked, giving me a look. "I'm not going anywhere. Are you?"
"Where else would I go." I smiled at him, as he sent me a wink.
+
karmina_xo : Fin is starting to even dress like her man. #bestfriends #morelikesisters #hotassbitch
Tagged : finyourface
jazzmatazz : 🔥🔥🔥
marner_93: Oh my lord 🤦🏼♂️
finyourface : I had style before I met him. He's just given me hints. @ austonmatthews
austonmatthews : Baby, it's fine, It's okay to take some hints from me @ finyourface 😉
leafslyfebby : He called her baby alkdsjf;alkdkldsj;asldkjf
showemthefivehole : Matthews with a dime. Who would have guessed.
leafslyfebby : @ austonmatthews is a dime. So it makes sense.
finyourface : You said it @ leafslyfebby . Matts is an absolutely dime piece.
+
"I thought there was a rule against PDA in the building?" I asked, as Auston refused to drop my hand as he walked me back to my locker room.
"Holding hands isn't really PDA." Auston shrugged.
"So you and Mitchy hold hand as you walk to the locker room together?" I grinned up at him.
"Well yeah. It calms me." He nudged me slightly as I giggled at him.
"We're still on for after the game right?" Auston asked, and I gave him an odd look.
"Of course. What else would I do?"
His cheeks flushed up a light pink, and I rested my head on his arm as we neared my locker room.
"I'm just excited. That's all." He smiled down to me.
Once we were outside my locker room, he pressed his lips against mine, and giving me a quick hug.I wished him luck, and told him to play hard. It was our new ritual since we were getting back to normal.
What did feel normal, however, was the tension in the locker room. Since I found out about Auston and Katie, she hadn't so much as looked at me. I kept to myself, and did my job. I set up my stuff at my station, and started in on my make-up.
"Naz said none of the guys actually like her." Katie came in talking loudly with Britt.
Clearly she was talking about me, but this was the first time she had started anything. I was going to ignore her. I had all the family and friends I needed, I didn't need some fake girl who was salty that I had gotten the guy. It wasn't my fault that he didn't love her. I didn't love what Auston had done either, but it wasn't my choice to make.
"I'm not surprised. Have you seen her desperate instagram posts?" Britt laughed.
"He also told me that Auston just feels sorry for her. Apparently some kid tried to kill himself in front of her, and she told him to do it."
My blood began to boil. I doubted that Nazem had said any of this, but somehow they found out about Blake and to hear them talk about something that they knew nothing about make me angry. I needed to calm down, because if I didn't, I was going to do something stupid and get fired.
"Looking at her makes me want to kill myself." Britt laughed.
Why they chose to start with me tonight amen no sense, but I had to move past it. Reacting to their words were going to do nothing for me.
I had spent so much focus and energy on my look, Natalie had offered crowd work for me for the night. As much as I liked to see Auston as I skated by, I needed a break from Britt and Katie, and it was the perfect opportunity to do so. The outfit was different for crowd work, but I would have worn anything to get away from them.
As everyone walked out of the locker room, Natalie pulled me aside.
"Hey, I wanted to talk to you really quick." She said, as I nodded, concerned at any possible trouble. "I hear more in the locker room than you probably think. I know all the rumors and all the crap that goes on."
My body started to shake. I didn't want to have to chose between this job and being with Auston.
"I just wanted to say how proud I am of you for rising above it all. I know that what Britt did was intentional, and that Katie is mad at you now, but you come in, do your work, and don't cause a fuss. I don't care what they say about you. It doesn't happen in front of fans, so I have no problem with it."
"I really appreciate that." I smiled at her, my body relaxing slightly.
"Go enjoy that crowd work. You earned it."
+
I pulled on my dark jeans, and straightened out my sweater. I slipped on my booties, and my ensemble was complete. The game had went extremely well for me, and less so for Auston. It had went to overtime, but they had lost. Auston got scored on, and I could tell he was going to be upset by it.
The press tended to be brutal on Auston no matter the outcome of the game, so I wanted to get ready as quickly as I could so that I could meet him outside of his locker room instead of mine.
Steph was done waiting on Mitch, and she pulled me into a hug as I walked up to her.
"It had to happen like that tonight?" Steph sighed.
"You're telling me." I chuckled softly. "And Katie finally figure out that she can get to me by talking shit about me loudly. Apparently she's getting all kinds of information on me from Naz."
"I think he still thinks you're cool. All you have to do is talk to him, and that shit will stop immediately. He's a good friend, and would never do that on purpose."
"She just brought up really sensitive things, and it threw me." I shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. Just worry about your boy."
Britt and Steph walked up, and stood uncomfortably close to Steph and I, and I immediately tensed up. I hadn't had to endure them since the beginning of the night, and I just wanted to keep it that way.
"Kapanen will definitely be interested. Naz told me he's like obsessed with you." Katie assured Britt.
Steph gave me a side glance, and I rolled my eyes. Kappy had a thing for a girl that lived in his apartment building, and anyone who knew him knew that.
Jake came out first, and gave Steph and I a weak wave, ignoring the words that Britt and Katie aimed at him. Freddy did the same. Will came over, and took me into a hug, and let me know that Karmina was staying at his place for the night. Kappy came out while I was talking to Will, and came straight over to me, dropping his head onto my shoulder in a pout.
"You played a good game Kappy. That assist was amazing." I assured him, reaching my arm around to pat the top of his head.
"Kasperi." Katie called over to him, making him take his head off my shoulder, and turned to face her. "I'm Katie. Naz's girl? This is Britt."
Britt smiled widely, and stepped forward to reach her hand out to shake his.
"Ice girls right?" He asked, but not shaking her hand.
"Yeah. Didn't Naz tell you about Britt?" Katie asked, getting annoyed.
"No." He shook his head. "Fin, why would Naz talk to me about this girl?"
The fake smiles on both of their faces as Kappy turned to face me completely made my night.
"No idea. Maybe it would be to tell you about how desperate she is to land a player." I shrugged.
"Don't be like that Fin. She's such a joker." Britt cackled, and both Kappy and I gave her an odd look.
"I'll pass." Kappy laughed, shaking his head as he turned his back to them.
Auston came out of the locker room as Katie consoled Britt from getting shut down so aggressively. I couldn't care less about anything else going on from that point, because I could see how upset Auston was.
His eyes met mine, and I stepped forward, and he pulled me into him. His arms wrapped around my waist, as I put my arms around his neck. His head fell to my shoulder, and left a kiss on my neck.
"It's my fault." He said, quiet enough so only I could hear him.
"You played your hardest, like you always do. I am always proud of you Aust." I whispered back.
He lifted his head, and left a quick kiss on my lips in appreciation for my words. The number of people watching us make me uncomfortable, and I just wanted to go.
"Do you need to go home to change?" I asked, he was still dressed in his dress shirt and dress pants.
"Yeah, but it'll just be quick." He assured me, as he laced his fingers through mine, and started to walk towards the exit.
"Baby killer." I heard as we walked past the girls.
Rising above it may have been what I had done so far, but those two words sent me over the edge.
Tonight Auston and I were supposed to go on our first date since he had asked me out. Instead, the team doctor stitched up my knuckles while I was being interviewed by the police.
+
"Finley Marie, you are lucky I'm not moving you back home immediately. I don't care what this girl said to you, you are lucky you weren't arrested." My mom condemned me over the phone.
Katie and I were both suspended for two weeks with no pay from work, but I had zero regrets for what I did.
"I don't even know you are anymore. You're drinking again and fighting. Are you even taking your meds?" She continued.
"Yes mom." I said, trying to keep the attitude out of my voice.
"Maybe you need to go back to therapy. Have you even tried to find a place up there?"
"Mom, please just listen to me. I don't know if I need to find a therapist or not. I'm actually in a really good place right now. That girl said something completely over the line, and I just snapped. I am in probably best place I could be right now, and I'm technically an adult. I know what it looks like but you have to just trust me mom. Please." I tried to reason with her.
The line went silent as she took in what I had said.
"What did she say to you?" My mom asked after a few moments.
"She called me a baby killer." I whispered, not wanting to to even say the words.
"And you broke her nose?"
"Mmhmm."
"Good."
Finally I had calmed my mom down, and went and joined Auston in my bedroom. He laid on my bed in his favorite shorts, and a t-shirt. His hands were under his head as he stared up at the ceiling.
"How mad was your mom?" He asked, without looking at me.
"Super pissed, but I calmed her down."
"Did you tell her what Britt said to you?"
"Yeah, that actually made her kind of proud of me." I chuckled.
I climbed onto the bed, and straddled Auston. I had ruined our date night, and I felt awful.
"How's your hand?" Auston said, taking my wrapped hand into his.
"Not bad actually. I still don't think I needed stitches."
"But doc did, so I trust his word over yours."
"I'm sorry I ruined our night. I know you've been wanting to do this and I wanted to go so bad, and I just messed up." I frowned.
"You didn't ruin anything Fin. I swear."
"Promise?" I asked, his eyes meeting mine.
"I promise. And besides, do you know how hot that was to see you hold your own? I never want to see that again, but you were hard to pull off of her. Like I figured you would stop right as I pulled you back, but it was not easy." He said, a smile sneaking on to his lips.
HIs hands moved to my sides, and found their way under my shirt. His touch sent shivers down my spine. I leaned down, and ghosted my lips over his.
"I should make it up to you. But how?" I lightly pecked his top lip.
I felt him grow beneath me, and his hands move across my skin.
"I think I know how." He grinned.
AM with facial hair? Something I had no idea I needed until now.