Dream On (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter Six| The Accident

Mary Kate

We walk up to a beautiful spacious apartment in the heart of Chicago and I have to admit, I was taken back a little. I've never been here before and it is so beautiful. "Wow, this view is stunning" I say setting my stuff down and going the window. "The view is pretty great" Jon says from behind me as the heat rises to my cheeks. He picks up my bags then tells me to follow him and I do so. He leads me to a room and it was a pretty nice size. It had a dresser and a closet and bed but that was about it. Honestly that's all I ever need. It was all dark furniture with white sheets, simple. Just the way I like it. I open my purse and try to hand Jon a wad of cash but he quickly denies it. "Woah... what is this for" he says pushing it away. "For letting me stay here, my plane ticket, and any thing that's going to happen" I say trying to give it to him. In no way was I not able to support myself. I had way more money than I knew what to do with, I just didn't want to be alone trying to figure out this city. "No way. You're a guest, I'm not taking your money" he insists. "Okay" I say putting the money back in my purse. "Wait, really? That seemed too easy. I haven't known you for along time but you don't seem like a girl to give in that easily" he says raising a eyebrow. "I'll find a way to thank you, you won't know when it's happening or what it will be. But I'll show you how much this means to me" I say pointing a joking finger at him. "That was a really creepy way to say a really nice thing" he comments and I shrug.

Jon shows me around and I become acquainted with the place. It was really nice and I loved the kitchen. "Wait, is that a hot tub out there" I ask and he grows a smile. "It is, it should be warm. You want to go in" he asks and my eyes light up like a Christmas tree. "I would love that" I admit. I skip to the room I would be occupying for a while and dig out my bathing suit and slip it on. It was my favorite black bikini and I hadn't worn it in forever, I forgot how nice it fit. I throw on a large shirt and head out to the hot tub where Jonathan was waiting for me. He slowly takes off his shirt revealing his perfectly chiseled body, I know he saw me staring. I snap out of my trance and remove my shirt to catch him too staring. Neither of say anything but he grabs my hand and helps me get into hot tub. "Wait" he says grabbing my wrist causing me to stop halfway in. "Is that a scar" he asks pointing to the large but barley noticeable scar running from the base of my hair all the way down to the middle of my back. If my hair was down no one knew it was there but I honestly forgot about that when I put my hair in a bun. "Yeah, I was in a car accident around Christmas during my sophomore year of college" I say monotone and make my way into the water. I let the water rise until just my head was above the water and close my eyes. After a few minutes I open them to see Jon studying me. "Why are you looking at me like that" I laugh and he shakes his head. "There's just something about you. You're so full of life and hope. It's different, but a good different" he clarifies. "I wasn't always like this. A lot of shit has to happen in order for a person to be so far gone that they have to create their own happiness" I say dryly. "What happened" he asks softly and I let out a sigh. I want to do well out here and keeping secrets isn't a good place to start. So I was going to tell him my origin story.

"It was a couple of years back. I was home for the holidays with my younger sister and my parents up in Wisconsin. We were going to spend Christmas baking cookies and watching Rudolf all night. I played college hockey at the time up at the University of Wisconsin and loved it. Our team was pretty good and they even gave me an A at the ripe age of 18. After winning the national championship my freshman year I couldn't wait to continue playing with my team. Two nights before Christmas my family and I were going out to see them light the big tree in the middle of the city before celebrating Christmas back home and we were so excited. I had everything I ever wanted, a great family, I was a straight A student and had more passion for hockey than anything in my life. And in a second everything was taken from me. There was black ice on the road, Wisconsin is full of it, and our car was quickly thrown across the street. The car only stopped rolling when it hit another car... I was the only one in my family who made it out alive. And barley at that. My parents died on impact and my sister died on the way to the hospital. I woke up in the hospital bed with no one left for me. I was paralyzed for a month but I had a great team working with me to make sure I would be able to walk again. It was hard, there wasn't much left for me to fight for. I had a shit ton of money left for me but no real purpose. All the things I wanted money couldn't buy. My back still hurts every so often but it doesn't compare to the pain of being alone during the holidays. I was distant for a while, all the things I lived for died, my family, my dreams to play hockey. I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. One day I just got tired of being sad, I decided to change and that was by and far the best decision of my life. If I couldn't help myself I would help other people. I still wish to play hockey again someday, but until then I'm okay with helping others play it".

"Wow... I'm so sorry that happened to you" Jon says in a low voice. "Don't feel sorry, I would rather that happen to me than someone else. No one deserves to go through that" I say quietly. "I thought I've heard your name before. People always talked about you being the first girl to break the gender barriers in hockey. I never did hear why that never happened though. Honestly the two weeks I've known you I would have never guessed that happened to you. You're so down to earth and... real" he says and I hope the steam covers up my blush. "There's not a damn thing you will know about me that I wouldn't want you to" I laugh and he nods. "Fair enough" he says and we fall silent. He randomly stands up and I find myself admiring his body once again. He goes inside and I sit in the hot tub confused but relaxed. He comes back with two mugs and hands me one. "Hot chocolate" he says and I smile. That's my favorite.

We finish up in the hot tub and I sit in my new room looking around. What in the hell am I doing? Did I really just move in with a guy I've known for two weeks that I kinda really like? I throw myself on the bed and let my hair fall all over the play. I must be going crazy.