Some People Stay

Jonathan was officially back in Chicago, and he absolutely hated it. He used to love coming to the city, especially when it was time for preseason. It meant that he was going to get to play hockey again, and he loved that. But, right now, the only thing that was on his mind was that he had just left Amelia and Bridget in Nashville, and he wished that he was with them right now.

Neither of them had spoken to him when he had left. Amelia was obviously still furious at him, feeling that he was abandoning her or something. He had tried to talk to her, explain to her that he had to leave, it wasn’t really his choice. But, she didn’t want to hear him. And, he wondered if she would ever talk to him again. He had only really gotten to know her over the past several weeks, never being close with her before. But, he would now consider her a close friend of his.

Bridget was different. He had known her his entire life, and he’d been close with her that whole time. It killed him that she was giving him the silent treatment. He had asked her to talk to him, but she refused. Even when he told her that he was going back to Chicago for preseason, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she simply nodded her head and walked away. He didn’t know how she felt about him leaving. And, he wished he could have worked everything out with her before he left, but that just wasn’t the case.

So, now he sat in the locker room with hockey the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, his mind was on the sisters. He knew he needed to focus on the game. If he didn’t, he was bound to get hurt somehow. And, he owed it to his teammates to be fully focused on the game, not on two people who weren’t even talking to him right now. He tried to push them out of his mind, but it was obvious to his teammates that his mind wasn’t with them or the sport.

“What’re you thinking about?” his teammate, Dave Bolland, asked him, noticing that Jonathan seemed to be off in his own world.

“Nothing,” Jonathan shook his head, lying to his friend. He didn’t want the team to know where he had been during their break. None of them needed to know what had happened to Amelia and all of the pain she had gone through. He knew they wouldn’t understand any of it, and no one would understand why he was hurting now that he was away from her and Bridget.

“Sure,” Dave replied, obviously not believing the captain. “Well, whatever it is, you better get it off your mind before you get out there. You’re always the one telling all of us that if you’ve got your head in the wrong place, your bound to get your head knocked off.”

Jonathan nodded his head, knowing that he did indeed say that to his team. “I know, man, and I’m fine,” he reassured his teammate. Dave took that as the end of the conversation, and turned around to look at the guy on his other side, beginning a conversation with him instead, leaving Jonathan to his thoughts once again.

Fortunately for him, he was able to focus on the game well enough during the first practice and he made it out alive. He didn’t waste any time in the locker room afterwards, something that didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates. Usually, Jonathan was one of the last people to leave the locker room, but today he was the first one out, quickly throwing clothes on after he took the fastest shower anybody had ever heard of, and practically running out the door. He went straight to his car, not stopping for any of the fans that were outside, another thing that was unusual for the fan-friendly captain. But, tonight, all he wanted was to go home.

He thought about trying to call or text Amelia, but he knew better than to do that. She hadn’t answered the three previous texts he had sent her or the two phone calls he had made. What made him think that she would talk to him this time? He knew the same went for Bridget, but he decided to try her phone anyways. After hearing the fourth ring, he was about ready to hang up the phone when he heard someone pick up. “Hello?” he heard her say. He wasn’t sure if she was finally ready to talk to him or if she had picked up the phone without looking to see who was calling. Either way, he wasn’t about to waste his chance right now.

“Bridge, hey,” he began.

“Jon,” she sighed, and he could tell that she regretted picking up the phone. “Can’t you take a hint? Please leave me alone.”

“Bridge, you have to talk to me,” he cut in. He prayed that she didn’t hang up the phone on him, and he was surprised that she didn’t do just that. When he realized she was still on the line, he continued. “Listen, I’m sorry for keeping things about Amelia from you, I really am. But, I thought I was doing what was best. And, part of me still thinks that I did do what’s best. But, I don’t want to lose you over it! That’s the last thing that I want. We’ve been friends for how long? Are you really just going to give me the cold shoulder the rest of our lives?” he asked.

She sighed once again, and he knew he was wearing her down. “No,” she finally said.

“Good, because I don’t want that. Listen, I know you’re still mad at me, but what can I do to fix that? I know it’s going to be hard from here, but tell me. I’ll do whatever you want,” he promised her.

“I don’t know, Jon,” she replied.

“Look, we have a preseason game there in Nashville in a couple of weeks. If I get tickets for you and Amelia, will you two come? I really want to see you two,” he told her. She didn’t say anything for several moments, and Jonathan started to wonder if she had hung up on him. “Bridge?” he called out her name.

“I’ll come,” she finally said, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “But, I can’t say anything for Amelia. I’ll let her know you’ll get us tickets, but it’ll be up to her if she wants to go.”

“Totally understandable,” Jonathan told her. He took a deep breath before asking the next question. “She’s pretty pissed at me, isn’t she?”

“She’s hurt, Jon,” Bridget replied. “Everybody keeps leaving her, and it’s not fair.”

“I didn’t want to leave!” he yelled out loudly. “I had to!” he said, lowering his voice a little bit, but still making sure that his emotion was getting across clearly. “I didn’t want to leave her, Bridge. But, I had to. I had to come back for preseason. And, I tried to explain that to her, and she didn’t want to listen to me. I’m still here for her, if she would just talk to me.”

“Don’t yell at me!” Bridget told him. “I get it. You had to leave. I’m not saying you were at fault for anything. I’m just saying that that’s how she’s feeling, at least that’s what she told me.”

“She told you that?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah,” Bridget answered. “You leave, and she’s finally opening up to me.”

“Well, I’m glad my leaving has benefited someone,” he spoke bitterly.

“Don’t act like that, Jon,” Bridget told him. “This is what I wanted the whole time, for her to open up to me. She’s my sister, not yours. She should be opening up to me, the person that’s been there for her the entire time. Not one of my lifelong friends that she’d hardly spoken ten words to before David dying.”

“You asked me to come there so I could help her! Then I help her and you’re mad! I just don’t get you, Bridge!” he exclaimed.

“Do you really want to start this argument all over again?” Bridget asked him.

Jonathan sighed. “No, I don’t,” he told her. He had just got her talking to him again. He didn’t want to ruin that by arguing with her again. He decided just to keep his mouth shut and let her believe that she was right about everything, even if he didn’t truly believe that. “I’m sorry, Bridge. I’ve missed talking to you, though,” he told her.

“Me, too,” she admitted.

“So, I’ll see you in a few weeks?” he asked.

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” she told him, though the emotion in her voice didn’t coincide with the meaning of the words, leaving Jonathan wondering if things were permanently going to be different between him and the girl he’d been friends with for as long as he could remember.