My Girl (Jonathan Toews)

17

Alexis

"Is meeting your parents right before my first figure skating competition in four years really your best idea" I ask as Jon and we walk into the ice arena. It was pretty empty because I like to be early but his parents were waiting to meet me and my little bundle of joy who had done nothing but sing about Canada the whole way over here.

"Maybe it wasn't my best idea" he admits as I just laugh.

"You think?"

We get inside the arena and I find a older couple standing by the check in. Frank goes to check me in and get my number and all that good stuff and Jonny brings me over to his parents. I was a little nervous because Jonny didn't tell them about us until recently and I just hope they weren't upset.

"Hello" Jon asks and his parents turn around.

Immediately his moms eyes land on me and I can feel her judging me. I know she was over protective of Jon, she called like three times a week and that's from what I picked up from when he's home. She worked hard to raise Jon to be his greatest and if you ask me she did an amazing job. And she probably didn't like that she was out of the loop on all this stuff for so long.

But as soon as her eyes meet mine she smiles big. She walks right over to me and pulls me into a hug and I quickly realized that I was worried for nothing.

"It is so nice to finally meet you" she says with a thick accent which made my heart smile.

"You too. Jonathan has nothing but the nicest things to say about you. He loves you so much" I insist.

"And you would think he would have told me that he had a gorgeous girlfriend" she teases as I start to blush.

"I'm kinda a mess right now. I'm just happy to be here and that you guys could come out, but it's been four years and I kinda forgot how bad the waiting part was. At least I can meet you guys to get my mind off of all of this" I admit.

"How about we walk around for a bit? You can tell me about you and your sister and I'll tell you about Jonathan when he was young" she insists.

"As long as Jon and his dad are okay with hanging out with Kimberly. You think you can handle her" I ask Jon and he scoffs.

"Easy" he claims.

"Alright... then where is she" I ask and he looks around. His eyes go big when he doesn't see her and he starts freaking out.

"Boo" Kimmy yells jumping out from behind one of those mobile food stands and I shake my head.

"I'm gonna get you" Jon insists as he chases after her. She lets out a squeal as she runs away and Jons dad just follows behind. I follow his mom to the seats as we sit down and look out to the ice.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions" I start.

"I do. But I just want to get to know you better first" she claims and I nod. Simple enough.

"I was born and raised in Chicago. Up until I moved in with Jonny I lived in the same apartment my whole life. I never went to college because figure skating was my furthered education, but I did pretty well in school. Even though I'm from a rough neighborhood I stayed out of trouble, mostly because I stayed on the ice the whole time.

And after a series of unfortunate events I lost my career and my parents all within a few weeks and all I had left was my little sister. But we've been fighting through it together and thanks to Jon were in a good place now. My sister is super happy and I don't even thinks she realizes Jonny is famous. To her that's her best friend and they're pretty amazing together. You have such a wonderful son" I insist.

"He's my pride and joy. And I don't understand why he does half the things he does, but I know he always has a good reason. Although I don't like that he was keeping me from you, after getting to know you better I think it's well worth it" she claims and I smile.

"I've had my fair share of issues, and I can't cry victim because everyone has problems of their own. Thanks to Jon my problems aren't problems anymore, just another stair on my staircase that leads to everything I ever wanted. And I'm quickly realizing that Jon... well he's everything I ever wanted, what I needed. And I'm so thankful that people like you and him exist. Otherwise I would surely be in big trouble" I admit.

"What happened with you guys? Jon said something happened but wouldn't explain it" she says and I sigh. She deserved to know, I know she wouldn't hurt her son and subsequently me. Plus Jons already kept so much from her I might I as well tell her.

"Kimmy has had asthma her whole life, and she has it pretty bad. She can live a normal life but she has to used her inhaler a lot and she gets out of breath easily. And since she has the respiratory problems she also gets sick more easily. So when she got pneumonia around Christmas time last year I kinda freaked. I couldn't afford to keep her in the hospital for her to get proper care and I could barley afford the drugs that we're keeping her alive.

One time I went in to get her medication and they raised the rates without telling me. I begged the clerk to let me get her better and I could come back with the extra cash but he wouldn't let me take it. I wasn't leaving without the medicine so I told him I would do anything to help my sister. Literally, anything. He has his own sick and twisted ideas about what I should do to pay him back but he had to ring Jon up first. Jon then gave me enough money to save my sister without letting that man hurt me. He checked up on us after that whole situation and it kind of all snowballed from there. After he saved us from being kicked to the streets it's kinda been him and I ever since" I shrug.

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry that happened to you" she says softly.

"I am too. But sometimes things have to fall apart to fall back together again" I say and she smiles at me.

"Those are some wise words" she admits.

"You get hurt enough times the lessons stick with you" I say.

"Well I'm certainly happy to have you a part of our lives. I know Jon is head over heels in love with you and your sister and I can't wait to get to know you better" she claims.

"Maybe we can go out to dinner after I'm done" I say and she smiles.

"I would like that a lot."

I go get changed for my short program and pull all my hair up. Once I got the bun in and some makeup to match my outfit I was ready to go. We all go out and warm up some and I stay in the zone. I go through my routine a million times in my head and focus on what I needed to. My program maxed out the points so it was basically about execution. I wanted to make sure I could not only do this still, but look good doing it.

Finally it comes my turn and I step out on the ice. There was a decent crowd here and it wasn't hard for me to find my people. Kimberly was on Jons shoulders as he stood between his parents. I smile their way as I take center stage for the first time in forever.

I felt so alive out there. I felt like I was soaring through the air before my skates cut into the ice. I missed this feeling of performing, of leaving it all out on the ice with no regrets. And much too soon it was over and I was done. You train so much for just a little routine you kind of wish it would last longer. I was one of the last people to go so I just step off the ice until the award ceremony was here.

"I gotta hand it to you kid, even I'm impressed with what you've been able to do and I told you that you were going to win the Olympics next year" Frank tells me as he tosses me my drink.

"That felt amazing" I admit.

"It looked amazing too. By the end of your program everyone was on their feet cheering for you. They love you" he insists and I smile.

"Now lets hope the Olympic committee loves me too" I sigh.

I end up winning the competition pretty handily and I got a nice sized trophy. I give it to Kimberly who uses the gold cup at the top to hold her little purse. I do interviews and take pictures before changing and finding Jon. He pulls me into a long kiss and I couldn't help but smile.

"You were amazing" he whispers on my lips.

"I couldn't have done it without you" I admit.