My Girl (Jonathan Toews)

10

Alexis

Once the season starts it seems to fly by. Of course it helps that the season is about half the length for a little over half the normal amount of games. But I was quite enjoying my job as a ice girl. I don't necessarily need the job anymore, Jon loves taking care of me and Kimmy and although the circumstances were quite awful, living here with him has been nothing short of reenergizing for me. I can start to see more clearly now that my vision is less impaired from people after me for money or trying to keep a job and care for my sister.

And while I can find very few downfalls of my life right now, Jon being gone for away games sure does suck. So I decide to meet up with Sierra for lunch while Kimberly was at school and Jon was away to pass the time. I don't do too hot when I'm by myself so it's important I keep myself in the company of someone else.

"So... when are you going to start skating again. Like actually skating" Sierra asks and I let out a long sigh.

"I don't know. Jon's been pushing hard for it to happen for a while now, he tells me that I can just say the words and he'll take me to a rink where I can work out. And for a while being a ice girl was satisfying this itch I had to be out on the ice, but now it doesn't seem like enough. When I'm out there it feels like I should be doing more than just picking up ice" I admit.

"Because you should be" she agrees and I roll my eyes.

"I don't need this shit from you too" I insist.

"Is your knee a problem" she asks.

"No" I admit.

"Did you get abducted by aliens and they took all your talent away" she questions.

"Of course not" I giggle.

"Then what's stopping you" she quizzes.

"I don't... I don't know. To be as high as I was, it was a blissful feeling. Like there was no way that I could hit the ground in the way I did. And then to be brought back to reality the way I was... it's not something that just fixes itself over night. I haven't allowed myself to heal" I admit.

"There is no better opportunity to do what you were meant to do than now" she says.

"Yeah, you're right" I sigh.

"I know" she smirks and I shake my head. I didn't have a lot of friends from around here but Sierra has been my best friend since we met and I'm thankful to have her on my side.

After lunch I go back to the apartment and wait for Kim to get home. I go to the couch and sit down and turn the tv on to brain wash myself with some sit coms. The tv was hooked up to the DVD player and I remember that Kim and Jon were watching movies last night while I was doing a photo shoot for some ice girls thing. But when the DVD player turns on there was no movie it it, instead it was one of my performances cued up. I smile when I see it because it was junior nationals performance from my senior year. That performance got me into ESPN magazine as the future of team USA at the winter Olympics. I was supposed to go far, but instead I went wide.

I press play and watch the performance. I still remember every move in this routine, I could probably do it right now if I wanted to. But I wasn't sure if I should. I knew I could, but after what happened last time I don't want to go through that again. I can't lose anything else that I care about, if I do I'm gonna lose my mind. But the pain from not performing hurts just as bad.

Eventually the bus arrives and I go get my sister. She walks into the apartment and heads straight to her room without saying anything to me. She's so young that she has no idea how to hide her emotions. And when she's quiet like this it's because she thinks she knows something and is scared to tell me so she just won't talk to me. And it doesn't take much for me to get it out of her, she's awful at keeping secrets. So I follow her into our room and close the door behind me. I find her face down on the bed letting out a long groan. I rub her back softly as she lays there.

"What's going on" I ask.

"I think Jonny is taking to another girl" Kimberly yells into the bed and I freeze. I look at her weird as I try to figure out how this conversation is going to go.

"Why is that" I wonder. She rolls over so she's laying on her back as she stares at the ceiling. She lets out a long sigh like she just got home from a long day at work.

"Because I heard him on the phone with someone named "baby" last night" she claims and I smile. I shake my head because I was almost worried there for a second.

"No sweetie. That's a nickname he has for me. Like how you call me sissy" I explain.

"Oh, then can I call you baby" she asks as she sits up in bed.

"I really wish you wouldn't" I insist.

"Why not" she asks.

"You gotta trust me on this one" I beg.

"Alright fine. What are we gonna do for the rest of the day" she wonders.

"Well you're going to do your homework" I say and she starts to whine. "Watch it missy. I won't let you watch Jonny play tonight if you don't do it" I warn and she gasps.

She quickly grabs her backpack and goes into the little office Jon turned into her homework area for her. I decide to give Jon a call so he doesn't think I ran away while he was gone or something.

"I was just about to call you" he claims as he answers the phone.

"I don't doubt it" I assure him.

"So how was your lunch with Sierra " he wonders and I stop. I almost forgot about that whole ordeal.

"It was pretty good. We talked about me getting back into training but I don't even know where to start. I don't have a coach or a practice area. If I want to even think about trying to get to the Olympics a million things needs to happen" I sigh.

"It's going to happen. You gotta start somewhere though" he reminds me.

"Maybe we can go skating when you get back" I say.

"Seriously" he asks.

"Yeah. I think I still got some tricks in me" I admit.

"Well I, for one, cannot wait. How has Kimmy been" he asks and I snicker.

"She thinks you're cheating on me with a girl named Baby" I tell him and I hear his deep laugh echo through the phone.

"I was worried she wouldn't pick up on that last night when you called about dinner" he admits.

"Well I assured her that I was in fact the baby you were talking to" I explain.

"The one and only."