The game against Boston had been hard. There had been a lot of fights and in the end they’d lost in OT. Sharpie was injured and probably needed surgery on his knee, and Kaner had gotten into a fight that had left his eyebrow bleeding. One more reason why Jonathan was happy to come home the day after the game. He hadn’t talked to April the previous day. After the game he’d only wanted to sleep.
As soon as he entered the apartment, he put down his stuff and took off the coat. “I’m home, April,” he said loud enough for her to hear it, but he didn’t get a response. Maybe she was out to buy some stuff. But she knew that he’d get there around this time. He went to her room and knocked. Again no response. When he opened the door, he stared in shock at a completely empty room. None of her clothes were left; her guitar was gone as well. The bed was made, everything clean. What the hell was going on here? The only thing left was an envelope with a note on top of it. Jonathan immediately reached for the note and sat down on the bed. This couldn’t be good.

Dear Jonathan,
I cannot express how thankful I am for everything you’ve done for me. Without you I would have probably made the biggest mistake of my life (after getting involved with Dan). You were there when I really needed help and you got me out of this depressed state. I would say I’m sorry for trying to steal your car, but without that we would never have met and that would be a shame, because I enjoyed our time together.
You made me believe in myself again and encouraged me to sing more. And I am sorry that I have to leave like this, but I couldn’t say goodbye to you in person. You would have persuaded me to stay. I need to move on, so please don’t try to find me. I’m leaving the city after I finish writing this. I’ll let Abby know that I’m fine.
Thank you again for being so kind to me, taking care of me. You’ll make someone really happy someday.
Take care!

April

Dumfounded he looked at the letter, read it again and again before the words finally sank in. In the envelope were the Springsteen tickets. Of course, she wouldn’t be in Chicago when the concert would come around. What had happened that she thought it was time to move on? Had he done something wrong? Had someone talked her into leaving? He couldn’t imagine her just picking up her stuff and leaving him. With a fucking note on her bed!
He jumped up from the bed and got his phone out of his pocket. He dialed the Sharps’ number and waited. Before anyone could say a thing on the other end of the line, he demanded: “Where is April?”
“What?” Patrick answered confused. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you drunk, Jonny?”
“No, I’m not,” he sighed and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down if he wanted to get information. “Can you put your wife on the phone? I need to talk to her. And I promise to stay calm.”
“Hold on.” He heard rustling on the other end. Patrick said something to his wife, before Jonathan heard her voice.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I think you know why I’m calling.” Was she really playing dumb right now? Abby was the only real friend April had except for him and maybe Kaner.
“She called an hour ago,” Abby muttered in the end. “She said that she’s fine. I made her promise to call me. Believe me, I wanted to stop her, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She said that she needed to do this for herself, to stay happy. I don’t think she’ll be happy though. When I mentioned you, she changed the subject. I know what’s been going on between the two of you.”
“At least she’s safe.” It was the only thing, Jonathan could say at this moment. He was too stunned and hurt by April’s actions.
“She told me she wanted to go to Pittsburgh, but I shouldn’t tell you anything.”
“Thank you, Abby.”
“I don’t think she actually went there, but who knows.” Abby sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. She knew how much Jonathan liked April. She’d seen it in his eyes a couple of days ago and the same was true for April. Or so she’d thought. God, she missed April. They’d talked more and more the last few days, but her decision to leave Chicago had been really sudden. “I’ll let you know if she calls again.”
“Thank you, Abs. I can’t just let her leave like that.”
“I was hoping you’d say this.”
After a short time Jonathan ended the call and dropped the phone on her bed. It still smelled like her, like the perfume she used, her shampoo. This woman had only lived with him for two months, and he couldn’t imagine living here without her anymore. It was ridiculous. Coming home after a long day to a clean apartment and a delicious meal had been great. Talking to April about hockey, life and whatnot hat made him relax and forget about his worries for some time. He really was in love with her and she’d left him just like that, when he’d thought that there was a chance that she might feel the same for her. He’d have to find her. Only when she told him that she didn’t feel this way would he give up. But therefore he had to find her.
Right now he was torn between sadness, anger and loneliness. His first intention was to take a long, hot shower, but instead he put on his coat again and headed out to get a beer. Or two.