What's The Name Of The Game

The next morning, Tianna was surprised to find herself in Jon’s arms.

Not that it was a new thing, but after everything that had happened yesterday she felt like he would try and distance himself. He didn’t seem like the type to deal with the drama.

She was facing him, with her head in the cook of his neck. His arms wrapped tightly around her, keeping her close. She tried slipping out of his grasp without waking him, but every time she moved his hold would tighten. After a while, Jon started to stir.

“Hi,” he greeted sleepily.

“Morning,” she replied, trying to get up again.

“Where are you going?” Jonathan asked, holding her back. She smiled slightly.

“It’s the morning of the party, which means I have to help my dad-”

Her face suddenly fell, and she came crashing back to reality. Jon knew she had dreamt about her dad, because she called out to him in her sleep. She probably momentarily forgot he was dead.

“It’s just, my and my dad, we used to decorate…” She trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. “I should shower,” she switched. Jon nodded and let her up, and she disappeared into the bathroom.

Later, after they both had showered and gotten dressed, they went downstairs into the kitchen.

“Well, look who decided to finally get up,” Tianna’s mom quipped. It was only ten A.M., so it’s not like she had slept the day away or anything.

Pat and Kara waved from the table where they had just started breakfast, and then Jon came in soon after.

“Oh Jon! Did you have a good sleep? You must have been tired!” Tianna’s mom exclaimed, handing him a plate of breakfast. Tianna rolled her eyes at her mom’s two faced qualities as Jon took a seat at the table. Tianna’s mom made another plate and sat at the table, leaving Tianna to serve herself, apparently.

Only when she went to get some food, she saw there was none left. She went and plopped down at the table, and Pat looked at her funny.

“Aren’t you gonna eat?” He asked. Tianna shook her head.

“There’s none left,” she shrugged. Pat looked at his aunt accusingly, but she just waved him off.

“It’s better that way anyway dear. You don’t exactly need it,” her mom remarked, looking her up and down critically. Tianna frowned and looked down at herself. She knew she wasn’t light as a feather, but she didn’t think she was that bad.

Was she?

“Here, have some of mine,” Jon offered, pushing his plate toward the middle of the two of them.

“Um…no thanks,” she murmured, getting up and exiting the kitchen. Jon already knew that Pat and Kara were giving him ‘the look,’ so without even glancing at them he got up and followed Tianna. She was trudging up the stairs, so he jogged to catch her.

“Tia,” he called, grabbing her hand. She turned around and looked down at him, since he was a few stairs below her. She had tears in her eyes but she blinked them away.

“I don’t get it,” she choked. “I mean, I know she blames me for stuff, but I’m her daughter.”

“I know,” he replied, not knowing what else to say.

“You know, even before my dad died she hated me for some unknown reason. I don’t know if I can ever live up to her standards,” she muttered, looking at her feet. Jon stepped up a few stairs so he was once again taller, and then lifted her chin up to look at him.

“Hey,” he said. “Listen, it’s envy, that’s all it is. Since you were little she probably noticed how bright and beautiful you were, and she knew eventually you’d outshine her. She’s jealous. Jealous of your opportunities, jealous of your integrity, and beauty and kindness, and she was probably jealous of how close you were with your dad. But you can’t help any of that, so don’t go around thinking it’s your fault somehow.”

Tianna’s eyes finally shed a few tears she had been trying to hold back, but Jon brushed them away before kissing her forehead and bringing her in for a hug. She clung on to him for dear life, and a thought popped into his head that he was kind of guilty about.

Thank God he was leaving tonight and could get away from all this bullshit.

Tianna and Kara pretty much spent the rest of the day packing Tianna’s stuff, since it was pretty evident she wouldn’t be living here anymore. She didn’t have much to pack; just whatever was in her room, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. People began to arrive around the late afternoon, which brightened everyone’s spirits.

Jonathan could see the drastic change in Tianna’s personality when she was around people that weren’t like her mother. She was smiling, laughing, and just gave off that aura of happiness. Whenever she glanced at her mom however, the aura would dim a little.

“Dude,” Pat said, handing Jon some eggnog. “Staring at my cousin isn’t going to make her fall for you. It’s just gonna creep her out.”

“I’m not staring,” Jon defended, turning his head away from Tianna quickly. After a few moments he heard her laugh, so he tried to discreetly look at her without turning his head.

“Right,” Pat chuckled. Jon’s cheeks turned a little pink. “So…do you like her?”

“I dunno, man,” Jon replied, sighing deeply.

“You don’t know? It’s kind of a yes or no thing,” Patrick teased.

“I mean, I kind of can’t stand her, but I find her attractive, so I dunno. It’s weird,” Jon replied. Pat cleared his throat awkwardly after that, and Jon looked up at him. Patrick was looking behind Jon uneasily, so Jon turned around, coming face to face with Tianna.

She smiled sadly at him before walking into the kitchen past her smirking mother, who had heard the whole thing.

Jon followed Tianna into the kitchen, and saw her sitting at the island.

“Tia,” he said, announcing his presence.

“Hey,” she replied softly. She didn’t want to seem angry at Jon, because she wasn’t. He didn’t like her, and it’s not like he had ever told her otherwise, so why should she get upset? They pretty much butted heads since day one, so it was no surprise he couldn’t stand her.

She was however, upset that he faked caring about her. She thought that maybe he had come to her aid all the time because he was compassionate, not because he pitied her or thought there was a chance of getting in her pants. Now, everything was piecing together for her. Jon never came to her on his own, it was always because of Patrick or Kara.

She had never felt more unwanted in her entire life. She was constantly being pawned off for others to deal with, and she didn’t know how much longer she could take it.

“Listen, about what you heard-”

“Don’t worry about it Jon,” she waved off. “I’m used to it.” He frowned at her, but didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter anyways, because a loud commotion was suddenly heard out in the living room. Jon and Tianna went to see what it was, and it turned out Patrick’s family had just arrived. Jon looked at his watch, and let out a long breath.

Only a few more hours until he could get the heck out of here.

Tianna had brightened up a lot since the Kane’s came in, but Jon could still see the sadness in her features. He felt like a jerk, but at the same time he didn’t care. He didn’t want to deal with this anymore, and he was literally counting down until he had to leave. He had a late flight though, which meant he’d have to endure dinner and dessert before he even considered excusing himself.

Drinks were flowing freely, and by dinner time all of the adults were seriously buzzed, if not totally wasted. Jon was kind of amused by this, because for one thing pretty much everyone in this family was hysterical. And another thing, it was only like 8:30 PM, and these people showed no signs of stopping. Jon was just about to get up and excuse himself when someone stood up to make a toast.

It was nice and all, but Jon found himself zoning out of the speech until something snapped him back in.

“And in loving memory of Steve, who will forever be missed.”

Jon knew that Steve was Tianna’s dad’s name, so his gaze immediately went to her. She smiled politely and raised her glass, but her mom’s mood suddenly took a turn for the worse.

She snatched the cup out of Tianna’s hand before he could drink, and slammed it on the table causing the contents to spill over a little. Tianna’s eyes got wide, and she stood up to back away from her mom. Her mom just followed, cornering Tianna against a wall with a finger pointed at her face. Jon and Pat both stood as well, ready to intervene if things looked to be heading in that direction.

“How dare you, of all people, drink to his memory. You’re the reason he’s gone!” Her mom screamed. Everyone went silent and just looked on with wide eyes and open mouths.

“I…I was just-”

Tianna’s mom suddenly slapped Tianna, and Tianna clutched her face, horrified. Jon looked at Pat to go do something, but saw his teammate was frozen in shock. Jon approached the two women and grabbed Tianna by the waist, pulling her away.

“Why?” Her mom suddenly stated, causing Jon and Tianna to turn back towards her. “Why do you burden everyone with your presence? No one wants you here. Now that your dad’s gone I never want to deal with you again,” her mom spat. She continued to rant at Tianna, but Jon pulled her away and took her upstairs.

When they got to their room Jon shut the door and tried hugging her, but she pushed him away.

“Please don’t,” she whispered, crying.

“Tia, just let me-”

“Stop calling me that!” She yelled, frustrated. Her eyes widened after she realized her outburst had silenced Jon. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just, my dad used to call me that, and…you’ve done it a few times and I let it go but I can’t anymore.” Jon nodded and went into the bathroom, and Tianna thought he was mad at her until he came back with a wet cloth. He put one hand on the small of her back to pull her close while the other held the towel to her face where she was slapped. Her lip was busted open, so he cleaned that and since he didn’t have any ice he figured the coolness of the towel would help a little.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door, but before Jon could even answer it Pat and Kara burst into the room.

They shot out questions and apologies and Tianna started feeling dizzy. Jon rubbed her back, calming her.

“I’m so sorry T-Bag. I should never have asked you to come here, I didn’t think-”

“It’s okay Pat,” Tianna replied. “I had to pack my stuff anyway.” After a few moments of silence, Pat answered Tianna’s unasked question.

“We put her to bed,” he said, referring to Tianna’s mom. “She was about to pass out anyway.”

Tianna nodded, knowing how her mom was when she had too much to drink, and instinctively snuggled closer to Jon.

“You need me to take you to the airport soon?” Patrick asked his captain. Tianna tensed, realizing her source of comfort was going to be gone soon. It was a phony comfort, sure, but it was comfort none the less.

“Yeah, give me like a half hour to get my shit and then you can drive me,” Jon said.

“PK, do you think you can take me home after?” she requested.

“But…you’ll be all alone,” he replied, shaking his head.

“It’s better than here! Please, I can’t stay here,” she begged. He looked up at Jon before looking back at Tianna. She knew he was trying to think of some solution, but Tianna was not going to let this go.

Suddenly, Jonathan spoke.

“Come to Winnipeg with me.”