Remember Me

It's midnight and I was staring at my phone. The blinking voicemail icon in the top of the screen had had my attention for the past hour. Ever since I got back from tonight's loss to the Rangers. Kaner and Andrew Shaw were fumming around my kitchen looking for something to eat before we started playing xbox.

"Just listen to the goddamn message. Staring at it won't help anyone," Andrew said handing me a beer.

I waved him off and played the message. I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hey Jon. Just wanted to tell you that I landed. When you get this, the game will be over, so I hope you won? I don't know. I'll talk you in the morning. Bye."

I erased the message as soon as I was done listening to it. I was still a little pissed that she wanted to go back to Long Island anyways.

Kaner threw me a controller and plopped down next to me. "It's me and Andrew against you," he said with a grin.

"Oh, fun."



Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...

I had my face buried in my pillows and I was extremely uncomfortable with it. I never slept like this...ever. I was used to sleeping with Devon so close to me that it was impossible to move.

Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...

I grabbed my phone off the end table and pressed 'answer' without looking at who it was. "Hello?"

Whoever was on the other end let out a soft giggle. "Did I wake you up?

I sat up and ran a hand over my face. "No, No."

"You're a bad liar, Mr. Toews." she said.

I smiled and looked down. I was only in a pair of basketball shorts. "What're you wearing?" she asked sarcastically.

I heard a knock on the front door and got out of the bed. "Nothing...but shorts." I opened the door to Sharpie, Kaner, Corey, and Brent. I waved them in and walked into the kitchen.

"Damn. I bet that's a sight to see."

I grinned. "Yeah, it is."

"Are you two talking dirty?" Sharpie asked.

I waved him off. "OH MY GOD. YOU ARE."

Devon laughed. "Tell them I say hi."

"Devon says to go fuck yourself." I said.

"No she didn't. She loves me." Sharpie said.

"Do you have practice today?" she asked.

I shook my head, even though she couldn't see. "No, but Kaner and I have a signing later tonight."

"Ooooh, save one for me."

"How's your family?" I asked her.

"Fine. My brothers seem nice enough."

"Where are you now? The house?"

"No. In the bathroom of a diner. My so-called friends came over an hour ago and dragged me out here."

"Are they snobby? They were snobby to me the first time I met them."

"They're not snobby. I just don't think they realize what's really going on. They don't realize that I don't remember much." she said.

"And that's why you should come back,"

"Yeah. Fuck Long Island," Brent said.

"COME BACK TO CHICAGO, YOU WHORE." Kaner screamed.

Devon laughed. "Call me before you're signing, okay?"

"Okay. Lov-" I cut myself off. "I'll talk to you later."

I heard the line go dead and I dropped my phone on the counter. Sharpie shoved a bagel in my face. "Here's a bagel for your troubles, my kind Captain."

I smiled and took it out of his hands.



"How'd she sound?" Corey asked as we walked to an italian resturant for lunch.

I shrugged. "She sounded....joy...ful?"

"Joyful?' he chuckled.

"Yeah, I mean, she was talking softly, like she was being shy. But she sounded happy."

"Did you ask if she was comfortable there?" he asked me.

I closed my mouth for a few seconds. "No, but she said that she noticed everyone there was taking what happened as they should've. They're not handling it like we are. That they're acting as if nothing happened." Corey nodded.

Lunch went by fast. We mostly talked about tomorrow's game against Vancouver, and how it was going to be a nasty game, just like the last game against them in the beginning of October.

We walked around Chicago for an hour or two, took pictures with fans, signed autographs, and then went back to my apartment, where he drove his car back to his house.

I took a nap until 5 and layed in bed. The signing was at 6, and Kaner would come over here at 5:15. So I put called Devon and activated speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"Hi beautiful."

"Hey, Jon."

"How was your day?"

"Fine, I guess. Went out this morning, had lunch with my family, and in a little while, a whole bunch of people are coming over to...celebrate my coming home? Or should I say, celebrating that I'm not dead from being in that dirty city known as Chicago?"

"Hey, Chicago isn't dirty."

"I know it's not. But that's what my parents think."

"Coming from the people that are from New York City..." Devon laughed.

"Oh Jonathannnnnnn!" I heard Kaner yell.

"That's Pat." I said.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow then." she said.

"Okay. Bye, Devon."

"BYE, DEVON!" Pat yelled walking into my room.

Devon laughed and hung up. I got out of bed and walked into my bathroom. "Hey, Hey. So did you hear that when Burrows was asked about our last game and how him and I kept, you know, chriping and shoving each other, he said, 'Yeah. On Thursday, I'm gonna kick his ass.''

"Burrows is a jackass." I said putting on a shirt.

"I've got a few other words to describe him," Pat growled.