Sequel: Take My Love ›
We Don't Have Forever
It'll Get Better
Once the door slammed, I actually winced. That… was not good. I was speechless. All I could do was stand there… and watch as Jonathan turned to the nearest wall and punched it… hard. It left a dint in the wall and from the yell he let out, bloodied his knuckles. Or maybe it was just frustration…
He stormed past me and began to head towards his room. This all just blew up, so I wasn’t going to go after him right this second. Hearing him bang against things told me to stay way too. Leaving him to wear off a little bit of his anger, I went into the kitchen to pack a bag full of ice. I knew his hand couldn’t be feeling too well at the moment.
After sealing it, I went into his room. All of the noise had stopped… but he wasn’t in the room. Sighing, I walked in deeper and on into the bathroom. That’s where I found him. He was sitting on the counter by the sink with his head in his hands; blood trickling all the way down his forearm from two of his knuckles. It looked swollen… and I hoped nothing was damaged.
Without saying anything, I got a washcloth out and ran it under water to get it damp. Carefully, I took his wrist to hold him still while I cleaned up his arm. Surprisingly, he sat still as I did this. Once I was finished, I took the ice pack and hand it to him. He took it and placed on the back of his hand.
“It’s broken,” he muttered.
“You don’t kn…”
“I know,” he cut me off, snapping at me.
I nodded my head, falling silent then. And for the first time in our entire relationship, I had no idea what to say to him in this moment. He was angry, so I didn’t want to push him too much. But then he had just gone through a rather… intense clashing with his sister… and I had nothing.
“I just… wanted to get her home that night,” he spoke softly. I still had nothing and I felt so bad about it. “We weren’t even far. It was just a few blocks away. I couldn’t make it through four fucking stoplights,” he added; his body growing tense once more.
“But you were drinking…” I found myself saying.
“She had a lot more than me. I got her there. I had to take her home,” his voice trailed off into a quiet mutter.
“I know you thought you were doing the right thing,” I began, reaching out to rub at his leg since that was the closest thing without reaching over his hand.
“I didn’t think anything was going to happen. It was late. There was barely any traffic…” he trialed off once more. He blinked more than he normally would, hiding his glossy gaze.
“It did though. And I know you do your best to hide how much it actually affected you, because you needed to be strong for your sister. Both of you tucked it away and it got to you so much that… you hate each other,” I chanced it and reached up to gently cup my hand along his jaw.
He looked up at me and the look that was on his face broke my heart. Without thinking, I reached out and wrapped my arms around him tightly. He gave in and let his head rest against my shoulder. The quietest whimper came out of him, making me hold him even tighter. He always put on this big hockey front and I knew there was something there beneath the surface… but I never imagined that he’d be this fragile.
“It’ll get better,” I told him as I rubbed his back.
“I feel like a fucking pussy,” he muttered and slowly lifted his head. His good hand came up and rubbed at one of his eyes, doing little to hide the fact that they were full of tears still.
“I won’t tell anyone that big, bad Jonathan Toews had an emotional moment,” I told him through a bit of laughter. It got a slight chuckle to come out of him as well. “But this is only going to get better if you two sit and talk… no matter how hard it is for either of you,” I added, pushing some of his hair back off of his forehead.
“I want you to be there when that happens,” he countered and slid off of the countertop.
“I’ll be there for both of you,” I assured him, wrapping my arms around his middle. He went on to put both of his arms around me too. My smile crept over my face as before he leaned down to connect our lips. They stayed there for much longer than our quick pecks normally last. I know he’s still upset, but I think he’s calmed down for now. I just hope Kathryn’s doing ok for the night…
He stormed past me and began to head towards his room. This all just blew up, so I wasn’t going to go after him right this second. Hearing him bang against things told me to stay way too. Leaving him to wear off a little bit of his anger, I went into the kitchen to pack a bag full of ice. I knew his hand couldn’t be feeling too well at the moment.
After sealing it, I went into his room. All of the noise had stopped… but he wasn’t in the room. Sighing, I walked in deeper and on into the bathroom. That’s where I found him. He was sitting on the counter by the sink with his head in his hands; blood trickling all the way down his forearm from two of his knuckles. It looked swollen… and I hoped nothing was damaged.
Without saying anything, I got a washcloth out and ran it under water to get it damp. Carefully, I took his wrist to hold him still while I cleaned up his arm. Surprisingly, he sat still as I did this. Once I was finished, I took the ice pack and hand it to him. He took it and placed on the back of his hand.
“It’s broken,” he muttered.
“You don’t kn…”
“I know,” he cut me off, snapping at me.
I nodded my head, falling silent then. And for the first time in our entire relationship, I had no idea what to say to him in this moment. He was angry, so I didn’t want to push him too much. But then he had just gone through a rather… intense clashing with his sister… and I had nothing.
“I just… wanted to get her home that night,” he spoke softly. I still had nothing and I felt so bad about it. “We weren’t even far. It was just a few blocks away. I couldn’t make it through four fucking stoplights,” he added; his body growing tense once more.
“But you were drinking…” I found myself saying.
“She had a lot more than me. I got her there. I had to take her home,” his voice trailed off into a quiet mutter.
“I know you thought you were doing the right thing,” I began, reaching out to rub at his leg since that was the closest thing without reaching over his hand.
“I didn’t think anything was going to happen. It was late. There was barely any traffic…” he trialed off once more. He blinked more than he normally would, hiding his glossy gaze.
“It did though. And I know you do your best to hide how much it actually affected you, because you needed to be strong for your sister. Both of you tucked it away and it got to you so much that… you hate each other,” I chanced it and reached up to gently cup my hand along his jaw.
He looked up at me and the look that was on his face broke my heart. Without thinking, I reached out and wrapped my arms around him tightly. He gave in and let his head rest against my shoulder. The quietest whimper came out of him, making me hold him even tighter. He always put on this big hockey front and I knew there was something there beneath the surface… but I never imagined that he’d be this fragile.
“It’ll get better,” I told him as I rubbed his back.
“I feel like a fucking pussy,” he muttered and slowly lifted his head. His good hand came up and rubbed at one of his eyes, doing little to hide the fact that they were full of tears still.
“I won’t tell anyone that big, bad Jonathan Toews had an emotional moment,” I told him through a bit of laughter. It got a slight chuckle to come out of him as well. “But this is only going to get better if you two sit and talk… no matter how hard it is for either of you,” I added, pushing some of his hair back off of his forehead.
“I want you to be there when that happens,” he countered and slid off of the countertop.
“I’ll be there for both of you,” I assured him, wrapping my arms around his middle. He went on to put both of his arms around me too. My smile crept over my face as before he leaned down to connect our lips. They stayed there for much longer than our quick pecks normally last. I know he’s still upset, but I think he’s calmed down for now. I just hope Kathryn’s doing ok for the night…
♠ ♠ ♠
Pooooor Jonny