I'll Be

Rylo woke to the obnoxious buzzing of her alarm clock. She pulled her arm out from under the covers and in attempt to turn it off properly, whacked the clock across the room. It landed on the floor with a low thud. Ever so slowly she made her way out of bed and checked her phone for the time. She saw that it was a little after eight as she dragged herself into the bathroom for a shower.

Not too long after, she was finally awake enough to make it through the day. Rylo quickly pulled on a white top and a pair of black skinny jeans along with her red flip-flops. She grabbed a light jacket from the closet and slung it over her arm while she grabbed her keys and phone. As she made her way out and locked the door, she sent Niki a quick text message say that she was on her way.

It was no better outside than it was the day before. The air was cool and damp, and the sky was gray enough to make the happiest person feel sad. There was a soft breeze blowing through her hair as she made her way further down the street. Unexpectedly, Patrick Kane skated his way into her thoughts. Her hands gripped the straps of her bag as she went over the events from earlier in the morning. It bothered her how distraught he seemed to be, and how she actually seemed to care.

Patrick Kane’s mistakes were easily avoidable and definitely stupid, but for some reason…Rylo felt kind of bad for him. There seemed to be some much scratching to Patrick’s surface. So maybe it was inevitable that she would feel bad for him and maybe even help him if given the chance. She stopped walking for a moment and analyzed her thoughts, her face twisted in surprise at the thought of wanting to “help” Patrick Kane. What would she do, be his wing-woman? Give him tips? She shook her head and continued to walk for a short while longer until she made it up to Niki’s apartment.

Her knuckles knocked against the wood of the door, as she let out a tired sigh. When Niki opened the door, she smiled and hugged her close. “I’m ready to look at those apartments!”

As Niki pulled away, she placed her hands on her own hips and tilted her head knowingly. “You sent me a text saying that I would never guess who you served hot chocolate to last night,” she said while closing the door behind Rylo and walking over to her laptop. “So tell me, who got hot cocoa because I don’t have any guesses for you right now.”

Rylo hesitated, she was so unsure of how to explain it. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, but it worried her that she might say too much. Patrick’s life is already too public and the way he was talking, it seemed like he trusted her not to tell the world. She quickly realized that she was thinking a little too long because Niki started to look a little too anxious. “Patrick Kane.”

“You WHAT?!” Niki shouted and jumped up, clasping her hands together. “Wow, what was he like?”

“Okay I guess. He asked me when I got off of work-”and before she could finish her statement, Niki’s jaw started to slowly drop. “Whoa definitely not that. He said he didn’t have anyone to talk to that will listen to what he had to say. I was chill about it. Since he came in after my shift, I sat down and talked with him. I honestly felt kind of…bad for him.”

“Coming from the girl who thinks he’s a disgusting human being,” Niki said with a laugh. “I’m kidding. What else happened?”

Rylo shrugged and sat down on the couch. “His black eye still looked pretty nasty, so I gave him ice for it. We continued to talk, and then I asked him to walk me home because well, it was almost two in the morning. When I got home, we said good night to each other and I went inside.”

She felt the other side of the couch dip as Niki sat down, and she could see her smiling. “Did you get his number or anything?”

“Of course you would want to know that,” Rylo said with chuckle. She leaned her head back against the cushions and looked towards Niki. “He asked me when I usually work at Starbucks and I told him. That’s all really.”

“Rylo, dear,” Niki said while scooting closer. She placed her hand on Rylo’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “That’s almost as good as getting a number. He wants to see you again. Before you say anything, I’m not implying that he wants to sleep with you.”

She slowly sunk deeper into the cushions and sighed dramatically. A smile made its way to her lips as she thought of how nice it was of Patrick to walk her home. But before she could let her thoughts to continue, she grabbed Niki’s laptop. “Alright, enough Kaner talk. It’s time to look at apartments.”

They sat together for the next hour going over each apartment Niki had picked out the night before. Each apartment was compared, and some were easier to eliminate than others. Rylo bit her lip when they got to the final two. She looked over to Niki, who looked just as unsure as herself, then down at the time in the corner. “Shit, Niki, it’s a quarter to ten! I’m going to be late for work,” Rylo shouted as she rushed to put her jacket back on. “Text me and let me know which one you pick.”

Niki sat there stunned before letting out a laugh. “Will do, Ry. Oh and if you see Playboy Kane, tell him I said hello.”

“My chances of seeing him any time soon is slim to none,” she said as she gave Niki a hug. Rylo grabbed her bag and ran out of the apartment.

Rylo’s run became more of a sprint as she neared Starbucks, knowing that she maybe had five minutes to spare at the most. As she made her way to the doors, she ran inside and straight towards the back to clock in. Her breathing was heavy and she could feel sweat dripping from her forehead. She heard a cough from beside her and looked over to see her manager.

Jeff looked at her and shook his head, before reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulder. “Callaghan, you aren’t going out there looking like that.” When he got a quizzical look in return, he continued. “You are sweaty, and your makeup is smeared. Go fix that.”

“Oh shi- I mean…Oh snap. I’ll get on that,” Rylo said, still somewhat breathless. She picked up her purse and walked into the bathroom. When she looked into the mirror in front of her, it became clear what Jeff was talking about. After digging through her purse for the small amount of makeup she usually wore, she washed off her face and reapplied it. She then grabbed a hair tie and threw her hair up in a messy bun.

As she walked out, she took off her jacket and set down her bag. Rylo made her way to the front and threw on the apron that was waiting for her on the counter. “Sorry about that,” she whispered to her coworkers Dana and Chris. They looked back at her and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it, Rylo,” Chris whispered back. “We got this.”

Rylo loved working with Dana and Chris. It was probably because they had so much in common with each other. When they weren’t busy, they often talked about sports scores and sometimes watch some of the games on Dana’s phone. They made working a second job much more bearable for her.

But the time was just going by so slowly for Rylo. She figured it was because of the lack of sleep. Just as she thought of that, her conversation with Patrick Kane made its way back to her again. It got her thinking that maybe her interpretation of him was even further beyond wrong. The way his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and the purple and yellow of the bruise around his eye…it all made her question herself. What she thought sarcastically earlier, about being his wing-woman and giving him tips got her to wonder that maybe she should help the guy out. Clearly his plans are flawed.

When Chris nudged her with his hip, she realized that she must have been spacing out pretty badly. Rylo looked back at him and shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said when he gave her the same quizzical look Jeff had given her when she arrived. “It’s nothing.” Then Dana joined in on the stare down, making her think twice about her answer.

She told them an even shorter version of that morning than she had given to Niki. They looked absolutely stunned, even though it wasn’t their first time seeing a hockey player show up for a cup of coffee. “So Patrick Kane walked you home and now he knows your hours?” Dana asked, looking completely intrigued.

“Well, yeah,” Rylo said with a shrug. “What was I supposed to do? I could have said no…but I felt kind of bad for him.”

Chris patted her back and smiled brightly. “That’s the Rylo I know – always caring for others around her, regardless of their past errors.”

“Oh hush, Chris. The girl is somewhat unsure of what to do in such a situation,” Dana added while filling an order Chris had just taken.

Rylo sighed to herself and headed towards the back as she shouted, “I’ll be more productive sweeping the floor. Turn on the radio, Chris?”

After grabbing the broom, she retreated to the front and started in one of the corners. Chris had since turned on the radio, and soon she was bobbing her head to the music. Her sweeping became more dramatic as she occasionally made a few turns. With her hips swaying, she pushed the dirt and various straw wrappers to a dust pan she had left near the door.

Katy Perry’s “E.T.” began blaring over the speakers. Rylo stopped dead in her tracks, and placed one of her hands at the top of the broom. She began to belt out the words perfectly, pushing the broom dramatically as she made her way across the room. A couple of the customers whistled out to her, another approached her with a small tip. A laugh emerged from her lips as she continued to move her hips.

By the time her break rolled around, Rylo was ready to go home and sleep. It was only four, and she still had two hours to go. She pulled her phone out and dialed Niki’s number, sighing as she put it to her ear.

“Are you calling to tell me Patrick Kane visited you?” Niki said when she finally answered, amusement evident in her voice.

Rylo let out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever happened to a simple ‘hello’? I actually called to ask if you picked your apartment yet.”

“Yes! I did, I picked the one closest to Central Park,” she responded excitedly. “I even called the real estate agent. He said that I have a month to move in.”

A month? She asked herself. “That’s wonderful! We have to start getting you packed up and soon. You have so much crap,” Rylo said happily, looking down at her nails. “Did you put yours up yet?”

“I know, I know. Don’t remind me, it makes me feel like a hoarder,” Niki laughed. “I did that, too. I’m really excited about this, ya know? The only down side is that we won’t see each other every day now.” The happiness in her best friend’s voice was starting to disappear now, making it even more real for Rylo.

“I’m going to miss you, Niki. So, so much,” she said softly. Rylo bit her lip to hold back any sadness in her voice. “We’ll have Skype dates, and write each other letters and stuff.”

Rylo could hear that Niki had started to cry. “Rylo, promise me something?”

“You’re acting like you’re dying,” Rylo said, receiving a bout of laughter from the other end. “Okay, what do I need to promise you?”

“Promise me that you will be nice to P.Kane?” Niki could hear the sound of protest on the other line, so she continued. “Come on, Ry. He obviously reached out to you. Be nice to him. I won’t be around to stop you from being a brat.”

“Fine, fine, fine; I promise you that I will be nice to Kaner,” she said softly, looking down at her feet. “But hey, I have to get going. Do you want to stop by later for a later dinner?”

“I would love that, Ry,” Niki replied. “I’ll see you then.”

“Au revoir,” Rylo replied before ending the call.

The phone went back into her pocket as she headed inside. She signaled to Dana that it was her break time and went back behind the counter. Chris looked at her for a moment and then turned to the customer that just walked up. Rylo knew she must have looked upset, but she plastered a smile to her face as a customer began to give her an order.

“So why do you look so down, Callaghan?” Chris asked after a busy hour. “You aren’t as cheerful.”

“Niki’s moving to New York City in a month.” She looked at him and shrugged. “I’m just so used to having her around, ya know? We do so much together. It’s like we’re twins or something. The only thing I can compare it to is the Sedin twins getting separated at the All Star game.”

With that, Chris let out a laugh. “Leave it to you to make a sports reference. But I know what you mean and it’s going to be hard. Dana and I will be here for you. Maybe Kane, too since he asked about your working schedule already.”

“Why do you guys have to bring him up? Y’all are killing me here,” she said with fake annoyance. “Thanks, though. That really means a lot; I’m going to need that bit of support.”

Rylo was pulled into a hug, and she smiled softly. Hugs from Chris were comforting, and he always seemed to know when they were needed. There was a sudden tug that brought us apart. Dana had inserted herself between us, joining in on the embrace. They all laughed for a moment and soon pulled apart when they heard Jeff cough beside them. “Alright, I feel the love in here. Shift’s over.”

Over an hour later, Rylo was sitting next to Niki on her apartment floor. A half-eaten deep dish pizza sat in its box only a few feet in front of them. They stared at it for a while and joked about how they could have eaten so much. New York soon became a topic of interest; it was almost a disappointment to Niki that she had to give up deep dish pizzas for flat crusted ones.

Eventually, Rylo stood up and grabbed the dirty dishes. Those along with the pizza were brought into the kitchen and put away. When she reemerged into the living room, Niki was curled up on the couch. “You okay, Nik?” Rylo asked quietly, unsure if she was falling asleep or not.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Niki said, peeking up. “Chicago pizza makes me tired.”

“You can stay here tonight if you’d like,” she said looking back at Niki, receiving a nod in return. Rylo walked back to her room and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket. After returning, she had Niki lift her head, where she placed the pillow. Next, she covered her with the blanket and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Shortly after, she was in her own bed. Her mind was reeling as she stared up at the ceiling. The clock told her it was a quarter to eleven, and as tired as she was all day, it suddenly didn’t matter to her. It was like the feeling of being tired was just gone, and replaced with curiosity and wonder. Rylo sat up in bed and ran a hand through her hair. She got out of bed and slipped on a pair of sneakers and threw on her slightly oversized Blackhawks’ hoodie.

She walked into her living room and over to wear Niki was sound asleep on the couch. Nudging gently at her, Niki began to open her eyes. “Hey Rylo, what’s going on?” she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m going for a walk. I can’t sleep, my mind is working overtime…I think I just need some fresh air.” Rylo could see that Niki was confused, especially when she looked at her phone.

"But it’s like…midnight,” she deadpanned.

“It’s a quarter to eleven,” she said quietly. “I’ll be back in a little while, alright? My phone will be with me and I’ll lock the door on the way out. Get some sleep.”

Niki all but nodded at her, and slipped back down onto the couch. With that, Rylo’s phone went into her purse and she grabbed her keys to lock the door behind her. When she got out of the apartment building, the cool air hit her. Her muscles began to release their tension as she walked forward. There was no actual destination in mind, just time to clear her head.

As she walked down the streets of Chicago, clubs and bars were in full swing yet. The more she passed, the more she wondered what it was like. What it was like to go into a club and walk out with someone, spending the night with them and leaving in the morning like they had never met at all. It was senseless to her, but the curiosity and wonder were still there. She had only ever slept with two people, and she was dating them. One night stands weren’t her thing, and she was set on never having one.

At this point, Rylo was starting to feel better than she had earlier. She knew sleeping was out of the option while she stared up at the ceiling for a good hour. While looking at the line at a local club on the other side of the street, she walked into someone, and pretty hard at that. Her focus snapped straight to the person she had just walked into. Rylo blinked a few times to be sure of who she was actually staring at.

“Oh shit, Rylo?” Patrick Kane seemed shocked that Rylo was walking this late at night. His hand came to rest at her elbow.

“Um Patrick, hey, sorry for walking into you,” she said quietly, looking down at his hand. “I usually pay attention to where I’m headed.”

He laughed softly at her, his hand falling away from her. “It’s alright. Why are you out so late?”

Rylo shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck. “I was staring at the ceiling for an hour, and I couldn’t fall asleep. So I decided to take a walk.”

“Would you mind if I joined you?” Patrick asked her, somewhat shyly.

“Not at all,” she said with a small smile, starting to walk once again.

They walked in silence for a while, and much to her surprise, it was a comforting sort of silence. He walked in step with her and left a small amount space between them. Rylo enjoyed it, and every now and then, she could see Patrick looking up at the sky. There wasn’t much to see in the sky with the weather being the way it has been. It made her wonder what he was seeing.

“What’re you thinking about?” Rylo asked, looking over at him momentarily as they continued to walk.

Patrick shrugged and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “How I almost made the same mistake tonight if I hadn’t walked out,” he started. “Then how thankful I am that you were out walking, and with that thought, I realized it’s because I can talk to you about anything. And that I am also thankful that you aren’t a puck bunny trying to get in my pants.”

“I’m glad I can do that for you.” She smiled at him and crossed her arms under her chest. “Same mistake again? You mean, sleep with another club floozy?”

His eyebrows rose momentarily and his shoulders slumped. “Well, yeah. They aren’t all like that, though.”

“Yes,” Rylo said with a laugh. “Yes, they are. They are easy, and will have sex with any guy who looks at her twice. When they’re a famous hockey player, it’s a bonus. Like you, big guy.”

Patrick stopped walking, causing Rylo to turn back and look at him. He blinked a few times and bit his lip. “What’re you getting at, Rylo?”

“What I’m getting at here, Patrick, is that you need to be careful about who you take home at night. Clearly, you’re not. On top of that, you’re letting them SLEEP with you, in your bed, all night” Rylo stressed, her arms raised above her head. She let her arms fall back to her sides when he looked back at her uncomfortably. “Look, I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life.”

When he continued to look at her without saying a word, she took that into consideration that she could further explain herself. “Pat, when you came into Starbucks, you looked like shit. You were clearly not okay. I’m not going to lie; I thought you were such a disgusting human being before I met you. It was a shitty way to assume you as. But I was wrong about you, and after talking to you, I actually started to care about you.”

At this point, he just stared at her completely stunned and absolutely unsure of what to say. “Well shit,” he said softly. “It’s not everyday someone verbally bitch slaps you and then completely turns it into something sweet. You’re an odd one, Rylo.”

Rylo laughed and smiled at him. “You aren’t so far off, Casanova.”

He walked up to her and threw an arm around her shoulder as they started making their way down the street. Leaning into him slightly, he tightened his grip around her. They continued to walk that way until they eventually made it back to her apartment. Rylo reluctantly pulled away in front of the steps and looked up at him with tired eyes.

“I can tell this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Patrick Kane,” she said with a gentle smile.

“Casablanca, nice,” he said with amusement in his voice. “I agree nonetheless, Rylo Callaghan.”

Patrick pulled his phone out of his back pocket and handed it to her. “I do believe we need to exchange numbers.”

Taking his phone, she entered her number and saved it. When she handed it back, he sent her a text message so she would have his number in return.

They waved at each other before she headed inside. When she got into her apartment, she set her things down before heading to bed. After removing her shoes and hoodie, Rylo lay in bed and opened the text message from Patrick. Goodnight, Rylo. As she read it quietly to herself, a smile spread across her lips.

She sent him a quick Goodnight in return before setting down her phone on the side table. Rylo finally fell asleep.