Savage Hearts

“I’m going to miss you.” Lila looked down at her feet as she played with Jonathan’s fingers.

“Well at least try and have fun with your family. Don’t be too busy missing me.”

“That may be hard seeing how my family is, but I’ll try. I’ll call you on Christmas and New Year’s Eve okay?”

“Of course and remember you’re picking me up, you remember the time right?”

“Yes, January first 2012 at 3 pm central standard time.”

“Good you actually memorized my itinerary this time.”

“One time! That was one time! And Sharpie took you home and you were fine. I’m not going to miss you anymore, just run off to Canada.”

“You’ll still miss me, twelve days is a long time without me.” Jonathan gave a suggestive look. “When do you leave and come home?”

“I leave on the 23rd and I come home the 28th”

“You’re not there very long.”

“Well unlike you I’m not incredibly fond of my family. We are so messed up and the broken holidays with my family are worse than anything. If there is a Hell, then I have experienced it.”

“Well with that mindset you are going to have a great Christmas and I have to go.” Leaned down and kissed her. “I love you.”

“Love you too, call me when you land” She kissed him again and waited until he disappeared through security.
~~~~~~~~

“So when are we going to meet that girlfriend of yours, Jon?” His mother, Andrée asked.

“I don’t know, she’s not too keen on families in general,” He trailed off hoping they would stop pushing it.

Since Jonathan had gotten to Winnipeg his mother had been asking questions about Lila. He wasn’t mad, just frustrated and also a little hurt that Lila wouldn’t just come with him. Christmas morning with his family had been the only time his mom seemed to forget that he had a girlfriend. Now they were sitting at Christmas dinner and his mother started again.

“Maybe we can meet her next time we visit.” His mother smiled sweetly; completely unaware of the knife she was twisting in Jonathan’s chest.

“Mom go easy on Jon, its Christmas.” His brother, David, said noticing how uncomfortable his older looked.

“I’m not doing anything wrong. I just want to meet the girl who has been taking up my son’s time for the past two years. I am your mother I deserve that much.”

“I’m not trying to hide her from you, mom, she just likes to do things on her own and her way.”

“Well then send her up here on her own and we’ll meet then.” Jonathan laughed at his mom’s solution.

“Andrée, she’s probably just nervous about meeting us, stop making a big deal about it.” Bryan, Jonathan’s father, said. Andrée was about to say something but Jonathan’s phone began to ring.

“Sorry it’s Lila calling I should take it, it’s late in Georgia.” Jonathan stood up and left the room before letting out a sigh of relief for escaping that awkward dinner. “Hey babe, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas sweetie, how is your family?”

“Good. They all want to meet you. It’s all my mom can talk about. How’s your mom, not being too… controlling, that’s what you call her right?”

“I guess she’s sort of controlling but I tend to call her bitter and she believes she’s been victimized. But she’s um, the same I guess.” She gave an airy laugh before she sneezed.

“Are you sick?”

“Yeah, it’s been cold here so I guess I got a little Christmas cold, what a great present.”

“Cold? You’re in Georgia and you live in Chicago, how cold can it be?”

“Well, uh it’s not really cold just I’m not used to the humidity and stuff” She laughed nervously.

“Well I hope you feel better before I get home.”

“I wouldn’t want you to get sick before you start playing. Have you done anything fun?”

“I went skating with my family, built a snowman with my little cousin, Madison. How about you?”

“I’ve gone out and took some pictures, avoided my family, and been forced to have awkward dinners, but today has been nice, pretty normal. But I can’t wait to go home and see you and do things to you.”

“It’s been four days.”

“Yes and by the time you get home I’ll be done with my hell week.”

“You’re only in Georgia for five days.”

“I mean my period dumbass. I’m on that new birth control and every time I have my period I get really horny.” She heard Jonathan chuckle over the line. “It’s not funny, I think I had a sex dream about you last night, and the walls in this house are very thin.”

“This sounds like a personal problem.”

“It is, but one you could easily fix…” Jonathan could picture Lila sprawled out on a bed, twirling her hair and biting her lip. He felt his blood running south.

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” He peered around the corner as he slipped into his bedroom hoping the first real experience his parents’ had with his girlfriend didn’t involve what was very likely phone sex.

“Well there is something about that voice of yours- Da- Melissa get out, sorry sweetie I have to go family stuff, love you.” Lila quickly yelled out before hanging up the phone.

Jonathan sighed laying his head back on his pillow and thought that maybe he could get away with taking a cold shower without making his parent’s suspicious about the timing. Before he could dwell on the thoughts of his girlfriend really wanting him, his dad walked into his room.

“Hey Jon, how’s Lila?”

“She’s- uh- good.” Jonathan tried to keep the heat to rising up to his face.

“You really love her don’t you?”

“Yeah I do dad. I mean I don’t know what attracts me to her, she’s not really my type but I never can get her off of my mind.”

“Well you have been dating for over two years, you should be into her. I just wanted to make sure she’s not just dating you for other reasons. I mean she doesn’t do much for you.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathan was always convinced that no one but him noticed how he put a lot more into the relationship than Lila.

“She doesn’t come to Winnipeg for the summer, she isn’t living with you. But I’m not around so I’m not really sure what she does.”

“She’s just feels caged by a relationship; she’s not good with emotions, that’s why she doesn’t want to move in. The idea of more broken homes in her life scares her.” Jonathan retorted, he did mostly to defend his dignity because deep down he knew his dad was kind of right. He also said it because he wanted to believe that was the reason.

“She’ll come around, she is dating you. She can’t say no forever. I just want to make sure you’re not wasting your time with a girl who’s using you.”

“I want her to use me, because nothing, not even hockey, has felt as right as Lila does.”