A Little More You (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter 30

  "This might be the heartache that don't stop hurting
It just keeps working on me
It just keeps picking on me
And this might be the tears that keep on falling
They won't stop coming on down
They won't stop raining on down
And baby it's too early to know for certain
But this might be the heartache that don't stop hurting"  -Jason Aldean

A week later, all Jon had heard from Mati was an "I'm fine" after he had several unsuccessful attempts to talk to her. Finally, she gave him two words after a desperate text in the middle of the night of "I just need to know if you're safe."

Mati had spent the first 48 hours in Texas alternating between crying and sleeping, exhaustion from her impromptu road trip settling in.

After that, Taylor and Tyra had dragged her out and now she didn't want to stop. She had been catching up with old friends, family, neighbors, teammates. She was helping Taylor on the ranch, bringing her sisters to school, taking Tyra lunch on her break from her nursing job. The three were going out almost every night, despite her mother's side eye. Anything to not have a moment of downtime to think or give into the sad voicemails and desperate texts that Jon was leaving on her phone. He'd only called once and when she didn't answer, she figured he got the hint.

She was trying to be strong. Did he truly cheat? That was up for debate, but either way, it stung, and it only made it clear to Mati that they were on separate paths and their lives were too hectic to be intertwined.

It really fucking sucked.

Avoiding hockey was easy to do in McKinley but she'd heard (from Jamie) that things hadn't been pretty for the team since she started her sabbatical of sorts.

Karma she thought smugly.

Jon had been avoiding letting himself have downtime to think too. He screwed up, but she wasn't willing to listen or talk things out. Even if she wanted to end it, he deserved to hear that.

Jamie had scolded him and told him to give her some time. Jon was sick of time though. He wanted her back, and at the very least just wanted to know where they stood because guessing wasn't exactly fun. He didn't even know where she was...Nashville was his first guess because writing was usually her outlet.

And then, Jamie let it slip that she'd been texting Mati. Pat had apparently known too, and Jon kind of wanted to hit him for not telling him that. After hours of pleading, Jamie still wouldn't budge on telling him where she was.

"Jon, that's not for me to tell you. She would if she wants to see you." Jamie replied slowly like she was disciplining a child.

Jon groaned in frustration, pushing the pasta on his plate around mindlessly.

Jamie looked at him concerned. His eyes got glassy.

"Jamie, this is important. I need to find out where we stand right now...uh, I, uh...bought a ring. For her. To propose with."
The trainer's eyes got huge.

"Wait what? Before or after...this?" She waved her hand as if she was wrapping all the shit that had gone on into one giant mess.

"Before." he replied, sullenly.

She sighed.

"She's going to kill me. But she's home. Like home home."

Jon could have smacked himself. Of course she went home.

"Texas?" he clarified. Jamie nodded.

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Mati stood outside The Corner, the bar of the night (and one of the two in McKinley that was worth going to), waiting for Tyra to finish her cigarette, a bad habit when she drank. Taylor was grinding on her fiance inside, so the two took a hint to step away for a moment.

She was drunk. Jack and Coke had been going down smooth tonight, and since Cody's rodeo travel crew was with him so that they could take off early in the morning, she hadn't bought a drink since her first one that night.

She giggled, drunk contentment settling in as Tyra threw her cigarette down.

The pair linked arms to head back in, when her phone started vibrating in her pocket.

She pulled it out and was met with Jon's smiling face, signaling an incoming call.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck."

Tyra stopped in her tracks and gave her friend a weird look as Mati turned the phone around to show Tyra who it was.

"Fuck." Tyra affirmed.

"Ty, what do I doooooo?" she whined in a way that only drunk girls can.

Tyra's eyes went wide and she shook her head as if to say "don't ask me to make this choice."

Mati took a breath and slid to answer.

"Hello?" she tried to hide her slurred words.

"Ma-Mati?" Jon stumbled, not expecting her to answer.

"Yeah." she curtly replied.

"Um, how are you?" He stupidly mumbled.

She sighed.

"Been better. You?"

Jon tried to form a coherent sentence but was interrupted by Mati's sudden exclamation.

"Shit....Ty you have a charger?!"

No wonder she actually answered...she was definitely drinking.

"Jon my phone is gonna die I'll talk to you later." she slurred.

And with that, his glimmer of hope was gone. At least for now.

Mati blankly stared at her black screen and mentally thanked the phone gods for letting it die before she did anything stupid. Tyra wrapped her arm around her and they wandered back inside but it wasn't quite as fun as before.

Jon quietly laid his phone down and put his head into his hands. He really needed to get to bed for morning skate but he doubted he'd be able to fall asleep now.

As he guessed, he watched the clock turn to 5:30 before he finally gave up the notion of sleep and decided to go for a run.

That did little to clear his head, and morning skate was a mild disaster. He should have kept his blissful bubble of pretending hockey was the only thing in his life

Those were the days.

He slammed his protein shake and laid down on the couch. Love was exhausting.