She's Like a Piece of Home

She woke up at 6:42, a few minutes before her alarm was due to go off. She pushed herself up slowly, Luka’s arm sliding down her stomach as she moved. Carefully, she placed his arm to the side and inched out of the bed, taking her phone with her. She tapped through the screens as she padded across the hardwood floor, picking up her clothes as she went. She paused on her way to his bathroom, folded his gray slacks and lavender dress shirt, and delicately hung them over the back of his computer chair. The door clicked quietly shut behind her. She wasn’t sure what time he planned on waking up, but she wasn’t going to be the reason he was woken up early two days in a row.

He had woken up when he felt her crawl out of his arms. He watched her, amused, through half open eyes, cleaning up as she made her way to the bathroom. A stickler about the clothes, he thought as he rolled to his back. She even smoothed out the wrinkles when she draped the shirt over the black computer chair. She didn’t look back as she closed the door.

He had surprised himself with his admission to her the night before. He wasn’t sure what he wanted from her, from this. She shouldn’t confuse him this much. A low buzzing vibrated his nightstand. Who was calling him? His mother never called him this early.

Valeriya? He ignored the call and set the phone back down. It bothered him slightly that she was suddenly reaching out to him more and more. The bathroom doorknob turning drew him back out of his thoughts. She was here, though. Noticeably undecided most of the time, but here. She frowned when she emerged from the bathroom and saw him awake.

“You should be sleeping. I tried to be quiet.” She had her jeans on now and her hair was now pulled loosely behind her head.

“You were.” He propped himself up against a few pillows and watched her. She had grabbed her shoes and was backing to the door.

“Well, I have to go. So, um, good luck tonight?”

“I not play tonight.”

“I thought –”

“Preseason. Have morning skate, but younger guys play tonight.” He knew she was confused. He probably should have been clearer about it last night, but his mind wasn’t exactly on hockey when he had returned her call. “I not even get kiss goodbye?” he teased in an attempt to make the mood light again.

Her cheeks tinged pink and she turned her back to him. “I have to go before Molly gets up,” she said slipping a light green ballet flat on. He pushed himself out of his bed and silently made his way over to her. She stepped into the other shoe and tugged the mint green and gray sweater over her head. Catching her by surprise, he spun her by her waist and leaned down. He lightly brushed his lips over hers. She licked her lips before stepping back towards the door. “I have to go.” She cracked open the door, peered and shut it quickly. “Oh my God.” She sounded panicked as she spun around, flattening herself against the door, her eyes wide.

“What?” he asked curiously. Alex and Molly should have been sleeping.

“Molly’s awake,” she hissed. She was twisting her fingers up in her sweater as she paced. “If she sees me, my sister will know about it.”

“You serious about that?” he asked in slight disbelief. He didn’t realize the extent of her desire to keep this a secret. “No one know?”

“Yes.” There was a short nod as she faced him again. “Very serious.”

“Why?” He pulled a pair of loose black sweatpants from a lower drawer and looked over his shoulder at her.

She gaped at him, like he was the one who was acting abnormal. “Right now? You want to discuss this right now?” He gave a shrug as he pulled the shorts over his boxes. “I just don’t.”

“But not even sister?” he asked trying a different angle to get her to talk.

“Especially not my sister.”

“But why?” he asked again. He was going to help her, but he was enjoying pushing her buttons a bit. She passed him an annoyed glance.

“You said you’d get me out without being seen.” He had to give her resilience credit. He leaned against the dresser as she continued to pace.

“Tell me why.”

“Agh!” she groaned loudly. She immediately clapped her hands over her mouth. Oh, she was an entertaining one. She pointed a finger at him. “You are frustrating!”

“Me?” He snickered. He couldn’t help it. “I not one try to sneak out of house like teenager.”

“Look, one time is one thing, but if she finds out I was here again… then she knows that she was – ” she cut herself off and stared at the ground. Now this made sense. This wasn’t just a secret. It was about him. He didn’t understand why, but he was going to find out.

“Ah... She was right?” he offered smugly. “About me?”

She folded her arms across her chest and looked away. “I also value my privacy. Please. Just help me.”

“Fine. Let’s go.” He held his hand out to her and waited for her to take it. He opened his door and listening. She was in the kitchen. He tugged Raleigh out behind him. She trailed quietly, her fingers squeezing around his hand as they approached the kitchen. When they reached the bottom of the steps he paused, causing her to crash into him.

“Umph.” The fabric of her sweater rubbed against his bare back and then her small hands pushing herself back. He tried to ignore that she took her time pulling her hands back, her fingers lingering against his skin. Lifting his arm, he glanced back at her. “Sorry,” she whispered. “A warning next time would be nice.”

He put a finger to her lips. “I distract. You go. Just listen and go when safe.”

*

Although the door shut quietly behind her as she walked out of the bedroom, an icy air still hung around the bedroom. Matt had somehow gotten use to this. He raked his hands through his hair and blew out a heavy sigh as he sat back down on their unmade queen sized bed. Julia had mastered the art of showing how pissed off she was without making a huge scene and drawing attention. The past few years of living in townhomes had given her the time to hone that skill. What were they even arguing about this time? He had lost track halfway through. This was the second… no, third time, they had argued this week and it was only Monday.

When did his life start spiraling so far out of control? Everything about him was controlled… except when it wasn’t. Sure, he lost his temper on the ice from time to time, but off the ice, he tended to remain laid back. Or, at least, he thought he was. But it seemed that things had been slowly slipping from his grasp every since he had asked Julia to marry him right after he had been traded to Pittsburgh two years ago. He thought he was doing the right thing. She was steady, consistent, and his parents seemed to like her. But the move from Nashville had been harder on her then he had expected. She had been a kindergarten teacher for a private school in Nashville and when they first moved, he hoped she’d be able to find a new position easily. It wasn’t until they arrived that he realized it was going to be more difficult than he expected. Pennsylvania, he had come to learn, was one of the hardest states to find a teaching position. And so, it wasn’t completely unexpected that Julia was having a more challenging time adjusting. She reluctantly became a substitute teacher, while continuing her search for a full time position.

But was that really the beginning of their downward spiral? His mind continued to process it as he began to change into a pair of loose basketball shorts and a charcoal gray t-shirt with a Pens logo splashed across the front. He glanced at the clock and was grateful that it was the preseason and that he wasn’t playing in tonight’s game. He wasn’t supposed to play again until Saturday’s game. 7:15 am and he had gotten maybe five hours of sleep. He tried to think out what to do for his now thrown off day. He could at least go for a run, then maybe head into morning skate a little earlier than usual, and take a nap before returning to watch the game. A plan to get through the day, he thought lamely with yet another sigh.
*
Morning skate wasn’t too bad. He had that going for him. The four miles he had logged that morning had him feeling loose when he stepped on the ice. He had easily forgotten everything that was going on once he took that first glide across the ice. The text that greeted him after, though, brought his stark reality back into view. I’ll be late tonight. Getting drinks with Molly and Paige.

Groaning, he slid his phone into his pocket and grabbed his duffle bag. Molly bothered him sometimes. Sweet girl. Great for Alex and he knew Luka adored her in a sisterly way. But for him, she tended to border on the line of trouble. He knew Julia ran to her after every fight and he also knew that she more often than not sided with Julia.

So maybe that’s why he found himself making the short drive to the Heinz History Center instead of going home. And maybe that’s how, after a short talk with Dylan, he found himself standing in the doorway of her office knocking lightly on the door frame. Tucking his hands in the pockets of his dark blue jeans, he waited until she looked up.

“Hey,” she greeted him with a warm smile and she seemed to glow as the sun shone brightly through the window.

He returned the smile and stepped into the room. “Hey.”