Miles Away

Laying in bed when I got home from the airport was fantastic. It was almost two o'clock in the morning, west coast time and I was exhausted, physically and mentally. I wasn't too happy with myself. I couldn't believe how one week could make such a difference in my life. I was upset that I put Raina in a position where she felt like she had to say goodbye to her husband.

I thought she deserved to be treated better by him, but I knew he did love her. I remember the emotion he showed the day the twins were born. I remembered watching him tear up as he seen her on their wedding day. I got myself so upset, I sat up and reached for my cell phone. She answered on the second ring. "Mike, what is the matter?" she asked, clearly startled by the late phone call.

"Sorry Raina, I just want you to know, I love you, but so does he. I think we made a big mistake. I think we were both upset about various things in our life and we sought to make each other feel better." I paused for a long time, waiting for a reaction.

"Mike, I told him about us. I couldn't let him come clean about all of his mistakes and me sit there and play the holier than thou role."

"I'm sorry you had to do it Raina. I should have done it. How bad did he take it?" I asked knowing I wouldn't be shocked if he was on his way to LA to kill me.

"Needless to say, he isn't happy with me. He told me he wants a divorce and I need to get out of his house. He is with Andrej now. I am numb Mike. I felt so bad for him. I should have never told him. I felt so guilty though. He was devastated of course. I don't know what to do Mike. I don't know where to go. I am losing it right now." She sounded like a little kid.

"I'm sorry Raina, but you forgave him when he did it to you. He will settle down. Just give him a little bit of time." I said, hoping she would listen to my advice.

"Mike, I don't know. I need to get some sleep. I have the twins with me and the boys are still with Dani. I will call you tomorrow." She hung up before I even responded.

I laid back and tried to get some sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep, happy to have a day off.

Jeff called me the next morning by nine. I could here him yelling before I even put it to my ear. "Bro I could kill you right now. I had to get woken up in the middle of the night by Pam and Raina on the phone forever. Then, as soon as I finally fall back asleep, Andrej calls me freaking out because apparently it went down in Philly. Didn't I warn you this was a bad idea?"

I just groaned. "Come on Jeff, I was up most of the night myself. Not only do I have Raina drama, Ava showed up at the game, apologizing and asking if we can be friends at least."

"Bro, that's perfect, fly her out to you. Get your mind off Raina." he suggested and I laughed.

"You are a pervert. One, I realized yesterday at the game, Raina and Ava completely resemble each other. I can't drag Ava into this mess until I know Raina and I are over and I need to make sure I like her and not just the fact that she may remind me of Raina."

"Dude you have issues." Jeff snorted and I agreed.

"I know bro, some of us don't fall right into the arms of our perfect match like you did." I said goodbye and closed my eyes. I was trying to at least get a little nap so I wasn't laying in bed all day. I slept for two hours before I finally got up. I had the entire day free and nothing to do. My house was furnished, I didn't need food and I didn't need any clothes. I really didn't need to do anything, which depressed me. I was 27 years old, with no life besides my on-ice life. It was pathetic. I was pathetic, stealing other people's wives so I could be happy. What had I become?

I hit the liquor store and bought the biggest, most expensive bottle of vodka I could find. I took it back to my place and drank shot after shot, trying to ease the pain I was feeling. My vision became blurry, but I didn't stop. I drank until I passed out, bottle in hand. Brad knocked on the door around dinner time and it startled me awake. I answered the door and he just shook his head at me. "Seriously dude, get your ass in that shower and sober up. You gotta get out of the house and do something. Sitting in is no good for you."

I did as he told and we went out to dinner then caught an action flick. When I finally pulled up to my house, it was almost 11:00 pm and I was ready to go in and relax. I didn't expect her to be sitting there waiting. I paused for a minute, watching her dark hair blowing in the wind as she rose to greet me.

Notes