Know You're Not Alone

“Hey…..Hey!.....HEY!”

I woke up with a startle after hearing someone yell in my ear. Sitting up and opening my eyes, I saw Maria with her hands on her hips.

“What? What is it?” I stretched my arms over my head.

“You have 15 minutes to get to class and your phone’s been ringing off the hook.”

I reached under my pillow and pulled out my phone. Glancing at the time, I saw that Maria was right. I had exactly 14 minutes until my class started. I had gone to the Pens game the night before and got in late.

I groaned and rolled out of bed.

“Boyfriend keep you out late after the game, huh?”

I shrugged my shoulders and some kind of noise came out. I was still a little pissed off at her for how she acted around Kris when he came up to our dorm. She was critiquing him five ways to Sunday and wasn’t quiet about it, either. I know that Kris wasn’t involved in a lot of games, but she didn’t have to dive down his throat.

“So, am I right?”

I, once again, ignored her and began to race around the room getting ready. I was just about to open the door when Maria put her hand on my shoulder. Before I even had a second to think, she had me pushed up against the wall. I looked at the clock over her shoulder and saw that I was due for class at that exact minute. Clearly, I was going to be late.

“Listen, when I’m talking to you, you got it? I did nothing to you to be ignored. It’s not my fault your boyfriend is a mediocre hockey player. I’m here to be your friend and roommate, but we’re going to work on my terms, got it?”

I rolled my eyes and fought every urge in my body to push her away from me. I had to be the bigger person. So, I sighed and tried to turn what could be an ugly situation to a “Kaitlyn at least sees part of her lecture” situation.

“I’m willing to compromise. I don’t want to hear you talk about my boyfriend like that. To be honest, if this is the way we’re going to live, I don’t really want to be your friend. I will be your roommate, but please do not slam my boyfriend. You don’t have to be a fan of his, but when he walks through this door, you will respect him. Deal?”

She rolled her eyes and began to slowly back away from me.

“I’ll agree….if you just…keep him away from here, and me, for a while.”

I guess I couldn’t say no to that. Kris wasn’t a big fan of hers, though he would never judge her to her face, so that’s not a big deal at all. I nodded and reached down to pick up my bag from the floor.

“You got a deal. Believe me, neither one of us will have a problem with that.”

Thankfully, I was able to make some of my lecture, but I didn’t go right back to my dorm room after class. I texted Kris to see what he was up to. As I walked around campus, I couldn’t help but think of one other person who I haven’t spoken to in a while.

“Well, hello there.” I heard after three rings.

“Oh my god, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice.”

“Uh oh. What’s up? By the way, it’s been almost a week since we last spoke, but carry on.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m so sorry, but you’ll completely understand after this phone call.”

I proceeded to tell Steph all about Maria and her antics as of late. She gave me the idea of talking to Kris about it, but I avoided indulging on that, because I didn’t want to distract him. We then talked about when she was going to come to Pittsburgh next.

“Please tell me it’s soon. I’m dying here.”

I heard her chuckle. “I’m trying. You’re not the only one I miss there, you know.”

I smiled, happy that she was still happy with Sid. Those two really did deserve each other. We continued chatting for a little bit, about every-day things. By the time we hung up, I could feel my stomach hankering for something incredibly delicious. I noticed that I missed five text messages from Kris. The last one asking me to call him. As soon as I got out of the text message to call him, my phone was ringing.

“I was just about call you.”

“Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

I sighed, putting a hand on my stomach, wishing there was food in there.

“Well, besides being starved, not too much. Trying to avoid my dorm room.”

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up. Then you can indulge me with the latest installment of the drama that is your oh-so-adorable roommate.”

I ran a hand through my hair. I didn’t want to tell Kris what was going on with Maria. I didn’t want him to worry. But I guess, because he is so involved, he has to know. So, I told him where I was and we arranged a spot for him to pick me up.

As he picked me up, I had begun to twiddle my thumbs. Steph’s voice telling me to tell Kris everything kept popping up in my head. After I buckled myself in, I felt him grab my hand and give it a light squeeze.

“So, what’s going on in the hell you call a dorm room?”

I lightly chuckled and leaned my head back against the head rest.

“Well, this morning was kinda…weird.”

“Weird how?”

There went my thumbs again. I stayed silent for a few seconds and didn’t notice that Kris had parked the car. We were at his place. He turned the ignition off and turned towards me.

“Kaitlyn, you can tell me.”

I nodded. “I know, I know. It’s just….I don’t want to tell you and make you feel like you have to protect me. I can handle this, and I don’t want you worrying about me.”

He reached over and took my hands in his, causing me to look up at him.

“What happened?”

“You’re not allowed to come over,” I ran a hand through my hair. “I was told that while being pinned to the wall.”

Kris’ eyes got wide. “Wait, I’m sorry. She put her hands on you? I think we need to turn around.”

I un-latched one of my hands from his and put it on his cheek. “No, hey. I got this. This way, we’ll be alone and not have her hovering over us.”

“I do like that idea, but I don’t like the idea of her putting her hands on you. That’s not right.”

I couldn’t help but smile at how loving he was. “Can we just go inside now? I’m starving.”

He returned my smile and nodded shortly. “Yeah, sure.”

After enjoying a nice quiet meal, Kris and I sat on his couch and he turned to me, averting his eyes from the television long enough to make me move my gaze as well. I raised an eyebrow at him and, with him catching on, he let out a sigh.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay to go back to your dorm?”

“Yes Kris, I’m fine. I mean, she shook me up a bit, but I’m not going to back down. If she doesn’t want you to come over anymore, that’s fine by me.”

He smiled. “That’s fine by me, too. You do know there is room for you here, right?”

I nodded. “I know, but I like the idea of coming to visit my boyfriend every once in a while. Besides, with your schedule the way it is, I would be a basket case when you were gone on the road if I was here alone.”

He pulled me closer to him. “You are something else, you know that?”

“You know,” I snuggled into his chest. “A lot of people have told me that, but I’m not sure how I should take it.”

I felt him chuckle lightly. “Well, from me,” he lightly kissed my hair. “It’s a compliment.”

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Kris’ POV

As I sent Kaitlyn up to her dorm the next morning, I couldn’t help but worry about her. I understood that she wanted to try and stick it out with her roommate, but that didn’t stop me from worrying for her safety.

I didn’t care about the fact that I wasn’t allowed to go to her dorm room anymore, as per this crazy roommate, but I knew that I would feel better if she wasn’t living with such a crazy chick. One smart thing that I did do before I dropped her off, was give her a key to my place. I wanted her to know that I trusted her in my home and she could go there if things got too tough with Maria.

I had just arrived at my hotel room in Tampa Bay. After putting my bags down, I pull out my phone to text Kaitlyn. I told her I had arrived safely, and rather than texting me back, she sent me a picture. It was a picture of her snuggled under the covers….in my bed. I couldn’t read the look on her face, so I called her. She answered almost immediately.

“Hey…”

“Uh oh,” I didn’t like the way she answered the phone. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t want to go back to my dorm after class. So, I’m just cuddling with your pillows.”

I smirked to myself, happy that she missed me as much as I missed her.

“I wish I was there with you.”

“No, you don’t. You’re out on a road trip with your teammates, playing the game you love. You won’t be gone that long.”

“Will you be there waiting for me when I get home?”

“Well, I don’t know. If you play well, then you just might.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all anyone can ask for.”

I was still a little worried, and I didn’t want to be worrying about her the whole time I was away.

“Are you sure missing me is the only reason you’re there?”

I heard her sigh. “Well, I did see Maria before class. She just rubbed me the wrong way, so I just went to my dorm and grabbed everything she couldn’t ruin and came here.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“You’ve been gone for three days, and have already played two games, I didn’t want you to worry about me. I was also scared.”

Scared, I thought. Scared of what?

“What are you scared of?”

“Well, when you come home, it’ll kinda looked like I moved in. I just don’t want to overstep my boundaries.”

I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Are you crazy? Kaitlyn, I love you. You are always welcome in my home. Hell, if it were up to me, you’d move into my place just to stay away from that crazy bitch.”

“I love you, too. Okay, you’re due for your nap soon, so I’ll let you go.”

“Yeah,” I yawned. “I have one rule for you about my house.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t leave.”

She laughed and said goodbye. We hung up and I belly flopped on my bed, ready for my nap, with a smile on my face.