ondrej

Chapter 9

Ondrej, as well as Felicia, refused to let me go home and sleep in the townhouse alone. Her and Rebehka offered to let me spend the night in either of their apartments, but ultimately, I just wanted to be with Ondrej. He not only made me feel the safest just by being around, but he was blaming what happened on himself. Like he had any effect on it, other than saving me. 

After saying our final goodbyes to the two couples and Tyler, he walked me to his Land Rover and pulled onto the empty street. My hands fumbled on my jeans and the hems of one of Alex's hoodie crowded my palms. He was quiet, almost too quiet, but I knew his head was going at a thousand miles. 

"What are you thinking?" I asked. 

I looked over to him, his eyes sternly fixed on the road. His face didn't move, he didn't smirk or press his lips together like he usually did; it was just blank. I was sure he wasn't going to give me an answer, but he finally spoke up, 

"How much this night turned into a disaster." 

I followed his stare, the car approaching my street. I couldn't help but feel terrible. I had no control in what happened, but it was Ondrej's night, his first NHL hat trick and the memory was ruined. The little expression I had dropped, almost frowning. 

"I'm so sorry." He didn't respond. 

The car pulled against the curb in front of my house, which look like it had been completely vacated. My feet began following their routine, across the sidewalk, up the set of stairs and to the walnut door.  I dug into my back pocket, fishing out my keys to dig into the knob. Ondrej's breath met the back of my neck and lightly rested his hand on the small of my back to lead me into the house. I offered him to spend the night in my bed, while I slept on the couch, but he, the obvious gentleman, refused. 

Once safely inside, I locked the door and set my keys on the long table to my side, flipping the lights on. 

"I might have some of my brother's clothes that'll fit." I stated, quietly, matching the volume of the room. 

He didn't answer, just silently examined the living room, which led out to the garage that held a car I didn't have. The specific room hosted the picture of London on the far wall. He slowly walked towards it, studying Big Ben in black-and-white, his dress shoes scuffing against the rug. I wondered what he was thinking again. This curious side of Ondrej is one I had never seen before and it intrigued me. He looked like a child again, studying everything down to the grave detail. 

My body gave way to exhaustion and I silently went up the steps into the kitchen and dining area, holding a photo of Moscow. I flipped the lights on, reflecting against the granite of the bar looking into the cooking space and poured myself a glass of water. I hoped Ondrej would know to make himself at home and take his time to look around. I always wanted to bring him home, but not in this way. 

I imagined us going out to a nice dinner, months into the relationship and coming home to a bed, but it would never happen. I ran my fingers through tussled blonde hair and sighed. 

Ondrej's footsteps broke my train of thought. For the first time since leaving The Killorn's apartment, he looked me in the eyes. His smirk didn't follow, but I was glad he was trying. I wanted so desperately to run into his arms and cry again, although I had no energy to. Luckily, he stepped towards me and brought my hands in front of us. 

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, referring to the earlier conversation. 

I watched him play with our fingers, thinking of the right words to say. 

"This was your night. And I ruined it." I didn't meet his eyes, even though I knew they were searching for mine. 

He lightly forced my eyes up, his fingers tugging at my chin,"None of this is your fault," His forehead scrunched together, "Don't try to blame this on you." 

I pressed my lips together and shrugged. "If we were never together, you wouldn't have had to punch that guy, you wouldn't have to come to my house and protect me-" 

"You think you made me do all of that? Did you ever think I hit him because he tried to rape you? Kaytie, I would've done that anyway. I would've gotten him arrested if it wasn't for Ben," He looked around the room, his temper obviously rising again, "Kay, I like you. I would do anything to protect you, not because you make me, because I want to." He leaned into me, his forehead resting against mine. 

I knew he wanted to say more and I wasn't sure why he didn't. Nonetheless, I just let the silence fall between us, Ondrej pulling me closer into him. I wanted to thank him, I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me, how he was everything to me now, but I was too exhausted to do anything except lead him up two flights of stairs into my bedroom.

*~*

I woke to eager buzzing on my nightstand, but when I moved my hand up to the wood, I found it wasn't mine. I looked to my side, my eyes settling on a pleasant sight; Ondrej sleeping, with soft snores escaping the lips I became quite familiar with. I almost went to shake him, but I saw the caller ID was Johnny. 

I stretched over him and quietly answered the phone. 

"Kay?" He asked. I responded with a whispering yes, quietly entering the bathroom on my side of the room. 

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure Pally was up, we have a flight at eleven." My heart jolted and looked at the time, realizing it was only eight thirty. 

"I'll make sure he's up, thank you." I knew Tyler wanted to ask how I was and plenty of other questions, but he just politely said 'okay' and hung up. 

I slowly slid the bathroom door open, only to find a sleepy boy with his hands rested on the back of his head, looking directly at me. I was too tired the night previous to set a bed up for him, so he bunked with me. He was very courteous not to get too close, even though I desperately wanted to cuddle into his side. 

"Good morning." I said, tiptoeing back to the bed. The duvet was bunched in so many different places, giving it the appearance of a cloud. I wanted to jump under the covers and snuggle into him for warmth, but time was of the essence. 

"Good morning, princezna." He smirked. 

My face scrunched and I chuckled, "Princezna?" I asked, with my failed attempt at pronouncing the Czech word. 

He smiled, lifting himself higher, "It means princess." 

I scooted under the blanket next to him and rested my back against the maple headboard, "So I'm your princess?" I scoffed, not really expecting a reply. 

He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me into him, our bodies facing each other under the duvet, "My everything."