Did you forget me {Jonathan Toews}

Chapter 12

It's almost as if Scout can tell how nervous I am. He keeps looking up at me with his eyes wide, and I can hear him whining quietly.

I grip his leash tightly in my hands, and I feel a ball of anxiety in my gut. I hear footsteps approaching on the other side of the door, and I have to remind myself to breathe. My vision narrows in on the door knob as I watch it turn, anxiously waiting for the door to swing open.

And it's like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders when I see Jon standing on the other side.

"Hi." He says. "I thought it would be better if you had someone with you when you came in, is that ok?"

I feel so relieved that I get a few more precious seconds before I have to face my family, and I don't seem to be in control of my body as I walk towards him and wrap my arms around his waist.

I squeeze him tightly and whisper "Thank you" before letting go and taking a step back.

He swallows and nods, then reaches his hand out to take my backpack.

I hear someone call from the other room "Jon who is it?"

I look to him and he inclines his head towards the sound of the voice, motioning for me to follow him, and starts walking away.

I reach down to pet Scout before following close behind him. We walk down the hall and I see the familiar walls of my childhood home. At the end of the hall the room opens up with the kitchen on the right and out family room on the left.

Everyone's in the kitchen around the table eating breakfast together, something that we have been doing for years every Sunday. My eyes are frantically trying to take everything in, and I see Jon's parents, his brother, and his girlfriend all before I register my own family. My mom has her back to me, but as I step out from behind Jon I see my brother's eye widen and he drops his fork onto his plate.

He's wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, and his hair looks all messed up from sleeping. I feel my eyes start to water because he looks so much older than the last time I saw him. I try to force myself to say something, but I quickly become captivated when my mom begins to turn around in her chair.

My heart is beating so loudly in my chest that it feels like it's going to burst. I'm two seconds away from running out the door when Jon turns around and gives me an encouraging smile, and nudges me forward with his arm.

In an instant my brother has leaped from his chair and envelopes me in his arms in a bone-crushing hug.

It isn't until after I've started speaking that I realize I've reverted to German

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I've missed you so much"

"It's been so long." He responds "Too damn long." 

We break apart and I wipe tears from my eyes, and he lets out a big breath before turning to face everyone. My mom is standing a few feet away, simply staring at us.

Chase grins at me and taunts "You're in troublee" before pushing me towards our mom.

She looks so frail, standing there as if I was a ghost. I rush towards her after a moments hesitation and hug her too, whispering "I'm so sorry momma" right before the tears start to make their way down my face.

But these tears are no longer sad. The anxiety is gone and I know that I now have my family back too. Sure they may be pissed as hell, but they won't turn me away.

When I pull away from my mom she has tears in her eyes too, but manages to smile and say "If I have to ground you for the rest of your life I will just to make sure you don't pull something like that again."