Part 2 in Story Time 1

“I was probably getting the x-rays when you tried to call.”

“Then you got home that evening and were walking a little hunched over and slower than normal. I remember running out to see you.”

“You almost jumped and hugged me, before I stopped you and told you what happened. You wanted to hug me really bad, but you didn't want to hurt me. You had no idea what to do. I laughed at you for it.”

“I was concerned. You were hurt, and I wanted to help. Don't make fun of me.” She was blushing and pulled the blanket up to cover her face for a moment.

“As if I haven't made fun of you enough over the years.”

Abbie shot me a glare, and stuck her tongue out at me. “When was it that you got hurt?” she asked.

“I was working at the boarding kennel, so I'm guessing sophomore year.

“You were dating Kim then, right?” Abbie seemed to have a better memory than she was letting on.

“Yeah. Don't remind me.” Things with Kim didn't end as well as I would have liked.

“Will you tell me about your relationship with her?”

“Why?” It confused me as to why she was interested in a relationship of mine that ended on bad terms.

“You and her were good together, and we always talked about me and my relationships. It's about time we talked about yours don't you think?” I have to admit. The majority of our conversations about significant others has been rather biased.

“Well, I can't argue that, but if her and I were good together, things wouldn't have ended like that.”

“Just tell me something about your relationship with her.”

“Like what?” I had no idea where to start.

“Anything.”

“Anything?”

“How about you start how you two met?”

“As good a place as any I suppose.” Abbie just nodded, not taking her eyes off of me as I began to tell the tale of how Kim and I met. “Well, oddly enough, there came a point where I asked a friend to play matchmaker, because I had been single for far too long and I was lonely. She turned me to her friend's cousin's MySpace page. Shot out a friend request, and her and I started to chat. We hit it off fairly quick; Started talking on the phone every night, instant messaging each other when the phones were tied up or dead, and eventually we decided we knew each other well enough to meet up. I was in the middle of my hockey season so I suggested she come out to a hockey game. To which she mentioned how little she knew about hockey and sports in general. I told her that with me around, she would learn quickly.”

Abbie chimed in, “You just wanted to show off and look manly.” with a smirk on her face.

I smiled back at her, “It doesn't hurt to show my talents on the ice. She especially seemed to enjoy it.”

“I'm sure she did,” she uttered with a hint of jealousy in her tone.

“Yeah, especially when I scored and pointed at her to tell her that was for her.”

“Well aren't you a charmer.”

“I try. Shall I continue?” She just nodded again. “Alright. Well, we ended up losing the game in overtime, but I made some big plays, got a goal and an assist, and made some big hits. After the game I got out of my equipment and asked if she wanted to hang out and watch some of the game that was starting. It was a small league, so we had all the teams play on Sunday afternoons. She convinced her ride to hang out a little while for the second game. It helped that I bought them a pizza. We sat and watched the game as I explained what was going on. She caught on fairly quickly and even asked when she didn't know what just happened. Before the game ended, her ride wanted to head out so I walked her to their car. She kissed my cheek before shyly and quickly getting in the car. I noticed she was smiling with her cheeks flushed. After that, we started to hang out more until I asked her if she wanted to go on a real date. Next thing you know we were dating.”

“Tell me something else?”

"Just anything?" Abbie just nodded, not taking her eyes off of me. "Hmm. Alright, how about when I officially met her family?” Abbie just nodded and smiled. “They had me over for dinner, and I wasn't sure what the dress code was for them was when it came to dinner, so I wore a dress shirt, khakis, and my black fedora. Everything went pretty well. Before dinner, we all sat in the living room and got to know each other. They asked the typical questions to try and get a feel for my character. Judging me basically, to see if they deemed me worthy of their daughter. Her father was surprisingly chill, and seemed to like me. He asked me about hockey and what I wanted to do with my life career-wise. Her mother asked me about my home life; if I was close with my family, household responsibilities, school, and the like. We sat down for dinner continuing our conversations . I sat across from Kim, beside her brother, while her parents sat at both ends of the table. We ate and talked some more, and after dinner I helped carry the dishes to the kitchen, paid my compliments to the chef, and then her dad gave me a ride home. Kim rode shotgun, and I sat behind her, discreetly holding her hand between the seat and the door. It's funny actually. Her dad noticed and called us out on it. He laughed and said, 'If you want to hold hands it would probably be more comfortable for you to sit in back with him.' Kim blushed and playfully hit her dad on the shoulder. Her dad was actually really cool. I found out later that Kim asked him what he thought of me. He called me a good kid and said that I had my head on my shoulders right. Any way, Hey Jude by The Beatles came on the radio and her dad turned it way up. Next thing you know, all three of us are belting out the lyrics. The song ended as I got out of the car, in my driveway. I thanked her father for the ride and for having me. He said, 'Rock on.' as a final salutation. I leaned through the passenger side window and kissed Kim on the forehead and told her I'd talk to her later. We said good bye again and I thanked them once again. It was a good evening; not the battery of judgement and interrogation that I had expected. I waved from the porch, and her dad honked the horn as he pulled out of the driveway. She called me when she got home and I could hear her parents talking in the background. Her mother was complaining that I didn't take my hat off when I came into the house. When I heard that, I told Kim to apologize for me; which she did. Kim's father said, 'Oh come on, babe. We don't live in the 40's. He was more than respectable.'Her mother agreed, but persisted that she didn't like it and that she didn't trust me. Once Kim got fed up with listening to her mother berate me, she went into her room so we could talk like normal. You know her mom had kept a stick up her ass about the hat thing throughout the entire relationship."

"Really? Did you wear it at the table or something?"

"No, of course not. I just wore it in the house, and she didn't like that."

"That's kind of ridiculous."

"Yeah, but you want to know something funny? After Kim and I went our separate ways, I ran into her mom at WalMart. She hugged me, which I did not expect, and asked me how I had been. This was several months after we ended it for good, and before we parted ways her mom said, and I'll never forget this, 'I'm sorry I held the hat thing against you. It was ridiculous. In all honesty, I wish Kim had ended up with you instead of Ethan."

"Wait, are you about to tell me how it ended?"

"I was about to."

"Don't. Not yet. Tell me some more good memories before you tell me how it ended."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Another happy memory."

"Do you remember that old ice-cream shop that burned down not too long ago?"

"Yeah. They had the best iced coffee."

"Yeah, well it was something like our ten month anniversary, which I thought was a little ridiculous to celebrate, but she was making a big deal of it. Ten months was the longest relationship she had had and she wanted to celebrate. The theater down the road was playing some super hero movie that she'd never seen, so we went and saw that. After the movie, we went and got some pizza. I had them spell out 'Happy Anniversary' with the pepperonis."

"Dork."

"Hey. She liked it. Besides, stupid stuff like that means more when you're in a serious relationship. Well, we ate our pizza and then I took her to get some hot chocolate from that ice-cream place. While we were sitting at one of the outdoor tables, it actually started to snow. She stood up with her mouth open and head tilted all the way back. She just had to catch a snowflake on her tongue. It was something she always did on the first snowfall of the season. She said it was good luck. So, I joined in, and there we were, outside of an ice-cream shop, staring at the sky with our mouths agape. We had to look ridiculous. I stopped for a few minutes to just watch her. That sounds creepy doesn't it?"

"A little."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm teasing you. It's not creepy. Stuff like that happens when you fall for a person."

"Yeah, well while I was watching her she caught one and looked at me with a huge smile on her face. She jumped up and down and said, 'I got one!' She jumped into my arms and hugged me, and we just stood there in each other's arms for a moment. Her eyes had a kind of glow to them, with the snow floating down around her. She looked amazing. She smiled, kissed me, and giggled, still in my arms. I couldn't help but smile at her. I simply pulled her back and held her. I kissed her forehead and just held her in that moment; it felt perfect."

"I wish I had a memory like that." I can't be certain, but I think Abbie was tearing up. I reached out and grabbed a hold of her hands.

"Abbie, don't be ridiculous. You have dated assholes and shitheads. Soon, you'll start to make those memories you want. You just got to find the guy that is going to allow those things to happen and enjoy them just as much as you." I smiled at her and noticed that she was staring at the backs of my hands. Her fingers were sliding over some small scars on my knuckles and hand.

"Where'd you get these? I never noticed them before."

"Those are my constant reminders of what happened between Kim and me." I had to take a deep breath. I closed my eyes and began to recount the incident for Abbie. "Umm, well, you know how me and her were off and on dating for a few months, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well during that time she became friends with this total dickbag named Ethan. We got back together again and during this stint together she went out to a hookah bar with what she told me was a bunch of her friends. Guess who was there."

"Ethan"

"Ding ding ding. Well, at this bar she danced with him, grinding to be precise, and he even kissed her. She felt the need to try and hide these details from me."

"Ha, hide something like that from you? That's impossible. But what's the big deal? It's just a dance and he was the one who kissed her. It's not like she was the one to kiss him." Abbie may not have actually understood why that bothered me so much, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she just wanted to hear me explain it.

"Yeah. It's hard to hide things like that from me. Just a dance? Grinding is dry fucking from behind, with an audience. That was my girlfriend's ass that he was rubbing his dick over. That is not an appropriate dance to do with someone who's in a relationship. It's blatantly sexual and there is no amount of respect for the girl in that dance. And when it's MY girl, that's a direct insult to me. A slap in the face, if you will."

"Your girl?"

"You know what I mean. She was my girlfriend and I was her boyfriend. And as far as the kiss goes, it takes two to kiss. She had every opportunity to stop him, and say no. It takes one milisecond to comprehend the concept of being in a relationship and not allowing him to kiss her. It shouldn't even take that long. It should be automatic."

Abbie had a huge grin, "You are so protective."

I blushed, "Well, I care, and" I had to pause, "and it hurt me."

"So you hit something that gave you the scars?"

"Oh no, that's only the beginning. I'll get to it. So after I got her to confess the ordeal about the bar, she has him call me to apologize. Get this, he wanted to meet me and make an official apology. If it wasn't for Kim, I would've told him to fuck off and leave my girl alone, but Kim convinced me to hear him out. They did the scheduling, because I was pissed, and would just have told him to piss off. They decided to meet up down at Taco Bell; fucking Taco Bell. So we order some food and eat while we waited for him to show up. I kept telling her how I didn't like him, and I did not want to hear him out. She told me to shut up and grow up; playfully of course. When the dick head finally did show, Kim jumped up and hugged him, and then he held his hand out for me to shake it. I laughed at him and told him, 'Shaking hands is a sign of trust and respect. Do you have any acceptable reason I should have either towards you?' He stuffed his hand in his pocket and I grabbed Kim's hand and pulled her back to me, and away from him. I held her close the entire time, kissed her so he'd see, and I even paid for his meal."

"You made power plays? Isn't that a little, I don't know, barbaric for you?"

"Rage is a very barbaric emotion, but I was provoked. I had to send a message, and be clear that Kim was with me. He fed me his bullshit apology, I dropped a few bills on the table, and said, 'Apology heard. Enjoy your meal.' Then Kim and I left. We argued a bit on the drive back. Mostly we argued about whether or not I accepted his apology; I didn't. Possibly a little childish, but if he wanted my respect and wanted to be civil, then he shouldn't have made a move on a taken girl."

"I don't get it. That still doesn't explain the scars."

"I'm getting there, miss impatience. So, things got back to normal for Kim and me. I was okay with her maintaining her friendship with Ethan, but I told her to not mention him again. I couldn't tell her who she could be friends with. After a while, her cousin decides to throw a party. Of course, Kim was invited and so was Ethan. I wasn't allowed, because her cousin hated me for absolutely no reason. Kim asked me if it was cool if she could go, and my response was, 'Is Ethan going to be there?' She replied with a discreet 'yes' mumbled under her breath.I told her I'd prefer a movie night with her, but she persisted. Hell, that probably should have been a sign. She persisted that nothing would happen; that she wouldn't let anything happen. She threw one of my own sayings against me."

"Which one?" Abbie knew that I repeated myself a lot when it came to my ideals and how I think things should be.

"That if a relationship is going to last, it takes trust. She told me to trust her; asked me, 'Don't you trust me?' I had to let her go. I thought our relationship was going somewhere, so I showed her I trusted her and asked her to stay away from him, and that I didn't trust him. She simply told me to trust her. While she was at the party, I tried to sleep, but I was paranoid. I had a bad feeling about the whole situation. Every time I closed my eyes that night, I saw her with him. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and played some Halo. Eventually, I fell asleep, probably around 4 a.m. Kim didn't talk to me for a couple of days, in spite of my messaging her, calling her, and even leaving her voice mails. I thought maybe she just spent a few days at her cousin's, but I had a feeling she was avoiding me. When I finally did get a hold of her, she asked if she could come over to speak privately. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous and suspicious. I expected she was just going to leave me."

"Is that what happened?"

"Well, sort of. Worse." I was clearly starting to get worked up. My throat was becoming dry, and I began to take longer pauses, as if to keep myself as calm as I could. This memory wasn't exactly easy for me. I remembered it clearly, but it wasn't one I enjoyed reliving. "Kim's car had broken down, so her mom dropped her off while my parents were at work. She didn't knock. She just walked in. I was sitting in the living room biting my nails. As soon as she saw me she froze in place. When I noticed her standing there, I immediately knew something bigger than just a break up was going on. I remember noticing a glint in her eye. Her eyes were already watering. I stood up and walked over to her with my arms open to hold her, and comfort her, you know? When I opened my arms for her, she stepped away. I, uh, I...I let my hands drop to my sides. I didn't know what to say, so all I said was, 'So?' She just stood there staring at me. She...she shook her head, before...before. Um, give me a second." I had to stand up and collect myself. I rubbed my eyes and took a deep breath, and began to pace as I continued.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm good. I guess it still gets to me. Anyway, she said, 'I'm pregnant.'”

“Wait. What?” Abbie shot up to a seated position, “Why didn't you ever tell me about this.”

“You were always preoccupied with your family or boyfriends. I figured you've had enough on your plate, so I'd handle it.”

“You make me sound self-centered.” She seemed concerned about her lack of attention to my life.

“You are. But it's only because you focus so much on the people that have your attention at the time.”

“Still, I should have known this.”

“Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.”

“Just tell me what happened.” she demanded as she shot a glare my way.

“Alright. Alright. Anyway she said she was pregnant, which completely caught me off guard. She had tears running down her face as she stood there staring at me looking for a reaction. I must have acted on instinct and hugged her to comfort her, 'Why are you crying? We can handle this.' That only made Kim more hysterical. I just let her cry into my shoulders. I figured it was a big thing and she just wasn't ready to face it, until she mumbled something into my chest. 'What?' I asked and she took a step back keeping her head down, 'It's not yours.' Kim stood there without looking up or moving, as I stepped away from her, 'What do you mean?' It didn't register at first. 'It's not yours.' she said again. That time it hit me and I took a few steps back as she began to try and apologize. 'I'm sorry. It was an accident. I was drunk.' She spilled a couple of excuses like that. I raised a hand to get her to shut up, and she did, while I turned and walked into the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face before looking myself in the mirror while I let it sink in. As the events played through in my mind, a rage built quickly. Obviously, she got drunk and fucked the dude that I specifically voiced my concerns about at her cousin's party. Next thing I know, the sink is red and glass is on the floor.”

“You punched the mirror?”

“Not my brightest idea, but I was enraged. I saw red. Don't judge me.”

“Well? Continue.” Abbie persisted.

“Well, I don't think the pain ever really hit me. I just looked at the broken reflection in front of me, before looking down at the sink and noticing the blood. I wrapped my hand in the hand towel as I realized that Kim was sobbing just outside the door. I took a deep breath, walked out past her towards the front door. 'Chris?' Kim called to me. 'Get your shit, and don't be here when I get back.' Then I walked out the door and left.”

“Where'd you go?”