Secret

Saying goodbye to Kris was hard for me. I had spent an entire month with him, and it was great. It felt just like the old days, when we were still in high school. It was a comforting feeling to have someone who understands me through and through. He knows all about the struggles I've dealt with before, and I know all of his. Seeing Tori again was a great feeling, however. The minute I saw Tori in Kris's driveway, I knew Kris had broken his promise of not telling anyone where I was. If he had told anyone other than Tori, I probably would have killed him. Lucky for him, I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut, and I was expecting this to happen. I was surprised it didn't happen after a week, to be honest.

It wasn't long until we were back in Chicago. The three-hour flight from Sunrise to Chicago would normally feel long and dreadful, however, with Tori, three hours felt like 20 minutes. Acting like teenagers again, the two of us spent the entire flight telling jokes and giggling to one another. If the flight was any longer, I'm sure the others on the plane would have thrown us off.

Once we got back to Tori's apartment, we each went to our rooms to unpack and shower. Not long after taking care of that, we decided we could both use a cliché girls' night. Ordering a bacon, ham, sausage, and pepperoni pizza from Domino's, we spent the entire night watching hockey movies, painting each other's nails, and gorging ourselves in our favorite fatty foods. Normally we would watch Titanic or The Notebook, but we both knew it was way too soon to do that. I still needed time to forget about a certain enforcer. Shoveling a bite of Chunky Monkey ice cream into my mouth, I decided to ask Tori a question that was bothering me for quite some time.

"Hey, Tor?"

"Hm?" She asked, distracted by bit of nail polish that got onto her skin.

"What has Daniel been up to?" I hoped I didn't sound too...needy.

"Maybe you should answer one of his calls. It'll keep him from calling me 24/7." I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

"You know I can't do that." I was almost annoyed by the suggestion.

"He's not doing well. Worse than you. He feels awful. He calls me all the time, asking me if I know where you are. He's been so worried, I wouldn't be surprised if he's forgotten to eat by now. He really misses you, you know." Tori got serious very quickly.

"I know, and I miss him too, but I just can't go back. I don't want to get hurt again." I frowned at all the memories.

"You know what you need?" Tori sounded like she had an idea.

"A new job? A new car?" I replied, realizing that I had no income or source of transportation and I couldn't keep bottom feeding off others.

"No...well, yeah you do, but that wasn't what I was implying. You need a night out! And not like the ones in Sunrise. We'll get all dolled up, and Kaner can call his friends, and we'll call ours and it'll be a great time! What do you say?!" Tori was obviously very excited by this idea.

"I don't know..." I wasn't sure if I was ready to go out and flirt with other guys.

"Come on Natalie! It'll be fun!" Tori pressured me.

"Well...Alright. I suppose." I reluctantly agreed.

"YAY! This is going to be so much fun! This Friday we'll go out and have a great fucking time!" Tori exclaimed. Tori got excited over even the smallest of things.

The week passed by very quickly. I spent almost all of my time keeping myself busy, in order to keep myself from thinking about Dan. I'm not even sure how I managed it, but I was able to find myself a job and a car. Being friends with Patrick Kane certainly had its perks. This time was definitely one. He helped me get myself back on my own two feet financially, and I owed him big time.

Friday evening came along very quickly and Tori insisted we spent the entire evening making sure we both looked fabulous. When all my hair was finally curled and hair sprayed accordingly, I took a look in the mirror. I looked great. Tori looked amazing as always. It was around ten at night when Kaner arrived at Tori's doorway, and the minute he saw Tori, I swear I saw his jaw drop.

"Wow, uhm, wow Tori, you look amazing. You too, Nat." I saw Tori blush and it made me crack a slight smile.

"Thanks, Kaner, but let's get going, I'm in the mood to dance my heart out tonight!" I was getting pretty excited. Going out and dancing was one of my favorite past times. With no hesitation, Kaner took each of us by the arm and escorted us towards his car.

The car ride to our destination was very short, ten minutes at most. When we arrived to the nightclub, it was packed. There was a line so long, I wished I had worn better shoes. Patrick marched right up to the bouncer; said something to him, and just like that we were in. Like I said earlier, being friends with Patrick Kane had its perks.


The minute we entered the club, I immediately lost sight of Natalie. Glancing around, I noticed she was at the bar, with a guy at each side. They were buying her drinks and she was just eating up the attention. Figures Kaner was out of sight too, but when I tracked him down, I saw him talking to a group of girls. He too, was eating up the attention.

Just when I thought I would spend the evening alone, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, my scowl immediately turned into a huge smile. It was none other than Jonathan Toews.

"Hey Tori! You look beautiful tonight. Can I get you a drink?" Jonathan yelled over the music.

"Thanks Jon, and yes, I would love one!" I smiled as Jonathan took me by the hand to the bar. While Jonathan was ordering, I allowed myself to take another look at Natalie. She was obviously getting tipsy, so naturally I filled with concern. When Jonathan came back, however, the smile on his face made me forget everything thing.

"C'mon Jonny! Let's go dance!" I begged of him, knowing that Captain Serious would have nothing of it.

"No Way, I don't dance." Jonathan refused.

"C'mon, Captain Serious! You have to loose your serious-ness once in a while! We danced when we were at that benefit!" I continued begging, giving him the puppy dog look.

"That was different, though"

"How?" I challenged him.

"Well, for starters, it was ballroom dancing. To sounds that actually came from an instrument. Also, I had already had a few drinks in me. Not to mention, I wanted to get you to talk to me."

"Please? For me?" I begged.

"...Alright." Jonathan finally agreed.

"Yay!" I exclaimed, leading him to the dance floor. We danced for God knows how long, when I looked over and saw Natalie hardly even standing on her own anymore.

"Hey, Jon, maybe I should take Natalie home now, she looks like she's going to get herself into some trouble."

"Relax Tori, she's with a good buddy of mine, he'll take care of her. Now I think you and I should get out of this place...the party seems to be dying down." I knew what that meant, but the alcohol had taken over my senses, and I couldn't oblige.

"Okay" I agreed, knowing exactly what I was getting into. Jonathan took me by the hand, and led me into the night.



I'm not sure what time it was when I started to wake up. Curled in Daniel's arms, I felt safe and secure. Wait a minute...I'm not in Philadelphia. Immediately realizing that I was in fact not with Daniel, I opened my eyes to reveal a complete stranger beside me.

"What the fuck?!?" Were the only words that could escape my mouth before I realized I was about to throw up. Spotting a bathroom with the corner of eye, I shot out of the bed and ran as fast as I could.

With my head in the toilet, I threw up everything inside me, except my memories. I'm not sure how much time passed before I felt a pair of hands on me: One holding my hair, and the rubbing me back. After a solid one or two minutes, I flushed the toilet, put the seat down, and rested my head on the cool toilet cover. The mystery man disappeared for a minute, only to come back with Advil and a bottle of water. Handing both to me, I gladly accepted.

"Thanks," I mumbled before popping an Advil in my mouth, and chasing it down with water.

"Anytime." He said in a kind voice.

"So...what exactly happened last night?" I asked, even though I'm pretty sure I knew exactly what happened.

"Well, to be honest, I don't remember. I think it's safe to assume we slept together though." He said it so calmly, like it was no big deal. I knew he looked familiar, I just couldn't put a name to his face.

"You look very familiar." I told him, quizzically.

"Do I? I get that a lot." He replied, in an almost cocky response. Glancing around his bathroom, I saw some hockey stick tape on the ground and it hit me.

"I know where I know you! You're Brent Seabrook! You and my brother were team mates!" I exclaimed, a little too proud of myself for recognizing him.

"Team mates? Who is your brother?" He couldn't figure it out, most likely because Kris and I didn't look alike.

"Kris Versteeg!" I joyfully said.

"So you're Natalie! The one and only! Oh my god, he's going to kill me when he finds out what I just did.." He sounded like he was a little panicked.

"No he won't, I won't let him." I tried to reassure Brent. It wasn't his fault I was a slutty drunk.

"Let's hope not. Say Natalie, would you like to continue this conversation, fully clothed and at breakfast?" Brent suggested to me. It wasn't until then that I realized how hungry I was.

"I'd love to."