Thinking Out Loud

"You sure you're going to be okay?" I asked my mom, for what was probably the 50th time in the past hour.

"Kay, this is for you. I'm going to be fine, but you need some time out of this place. You're 23 and I don't want you wasting your life because you're worried about me, I have Dan. You and I know both know that one day you'll turn around and the future is the past. Remember what Kev told you?"

I nodded, pulling my mom in for a hug, "I'll call you everyday, I promise."

____________

I stepped off the flight and instantly spotted a man holding a sign reading "Kada Toews". I hesitantly walked towards him.

"You're not Jon…," I said slowly as I approached the man.

"And you do not look like the girl in this photo," he chuckled, showing me a photo of me and Jon when we were 12, "I'm Patrick Sharp, one of your cousins friends."

"Kada," I gave him a smile as I picked up my bags and followed him to the car.

"You're quiet Kada," Patrick observed as he drove me to Jons apartment.

"Just tired." I yawned. We continued the rest of our drive in silence.

"I'll introduce you to all the players formally one day, but fair warning; your cousins good friends with Patrick Kane who's at the apartment now, as long as you don't take him too seriously you'll be fine," Patrick whispered to me before he opened the door.

"Noted," I nodded as I stepped into Jons huge penthouse. I was well aware of how big a hero and star he was in the hockey world, but I never really imagined his lifestyle was like this.

"Holy crap," I let the words slip as I processed the space in front of me.

"Jon some chicks in your apartment!"

I snapped out of my trance to scowl at the boy I figured Patrick had warned me about. He was lounging out on the sofa, flicking through channels.

"What does she look like?" I heard my cousins voice call.

He looked at me, before answering, "Short, hot, a little too ski-"

"It's Kay," I called to Jon, causing Patrick to raise his eyebrow at me.

"How's Linds gonna feel about this," Patrick snickered as Jon appeared, "She's cute though."

"And off limits," Jon said seriously, taking my bags to the guest room before reappearing, "Someones all grown up." He hugged me tightly.

"Kinda dying here," I managed to cough out, causing Jon to release his strong grip on me.

"Don't mind him, he's a moron. Pat this is Kada…my cousin I was telling you about."

"The cousin you showed me in that picture was 12," Patrick said, confusion displaying clearly on his face.

"That was the only photo I could find, and I didn't need the whole team here for a welcome party when I know their intentions," Jon explained.

"Why are you here anyways?" Patrick asked.

"Why is it your business anyways?" I shot back, "I'm gonna go unpack and maybe take a nap." I said to Jon who pointed me in the direction of my room.

I sighed as I plopped down onto the bed, looking out the window at the gorgeous city. I could hear Jon scolding Patrick in the living room, he was trying to be quiet, but failing miserably.

"I didn't mean it in a rude way, it was just a question!" Patrick defended himself.

"Her brother died while fighting in the military. It was just Kay, Kevin, and her mom for a while. And when Kev died, Kada kind of cut her self off from all her old friends and focused on taking care of her mom. But her mom didn't want that kind of life for her, she knew how close we always were so she asked if Kada could stay in Chicago with me for a while. She's been through a lot, and she doesn't need your shit."

"I didn't know," Patrick said defensively. I rolled my eyes and started to unzip my suitcase. The first thing I took out was a picture of me, Kevin, and Jon when I was 14, Jon 16, and Kevin 19, at Christmas. I smiled at the memory as I set the picture on my nightstand,

Within 20 minutes I had unpacked all my stuff and changed into my pajamas. It was 8:00 and I was honestly debating on knocking out right now. Jon and Patrick had been quiet, playing mario kart for the last 2 hours. As much as I wanted to climb into bed, I was dying of thirst, and the guest room didn't come with a bathroom.

I quietly snuck out of my room and made my way to the kitchen.

"Bed already?" Jon asked as I filled my water cup.

I nodded as I sipped my water, "You can come out with us you know."

I shook my head, "I'm fine."

"Tomorrow we don't have practice, so I'm taking it upon myself to give you a personal tour of downtown." Jon explained, as if downtown Chicago was the most exciting place and he couldn't wait to be my tour guide.