Page 5 of The Sweetest Chirp

“It’s between us. But I didn’t expect this. We’ve fought before, so I really don’t understand what the hell is going through her mind.”

Dad appears before me, and my breath catches. I am his twin, both of us six-three, packed with muscles, and lean. He played in the Russian league for years before he was offered a spot to play in the US. He was the first hard of hearing player to play in the NHL. I am proud to carry on his legacy, but when he looks at me like that, I don’t feel anything but small. My dad is a force to be reckoned with, my hero. I look up at him in all aspects of life. His strength, his talent, his love for his family. He met my mother when they were young, and he married her right out of high school. When he was offered the opportunity to come to the States, I don’t think he expected to not only bring his new wife, but also her best friend, Anya.

Audrina’s mom.

Dad was a defenseman, and his line mate was William Hawkins. William came over for dinner one night, and the rest is history. My parents and hers became a unit, but I shattered that to pieces with my famous slap shot.

Dad’s eyes are wild as he signs, “It has to be more. You two fight like siblings, and she’s never taken off before. What happened?”

“It’s between us.”

“No! My daughter took off. You will tell us,” William demands as Anya sobs loudly. My mom watches me, tears in her hazel eyes as she holds her best friend to her chest. She pats Anya’s back as her eyes plead with mine for the truth. Her long, dark hair is straight along her shoulders, almost curtaining Anya as she sobs for her missing daughter. My mother and her best friend are still as gorgeous as they were as young girls. Time is not a villain in their lives.

“Please, Thatcher, make this make sense,” Mom pleads, but I can only shake my head.

“What happened won’t change that she’s gone,” I stress, exhaling heavily. “I don’t know where her head is or why she chose to do this, but I’ll find her.”

Ingrid stands then, tears streaming down her cherubic cheeks. While Ingrid is petite like my mother, she mirrors my dad and me in looks. Dark, curly hair, twinkling eyes, and sweetness radiating from her pores. She is my second-favorite person.

After Audrina.

Her brows furrow deeply as she signs, “You better, or I’ll never speak to you again.”

My heart drops out of my ass. “Ingrid,” I sign back, as well as speak. “You don’t mean that.”

More tears spill from her stricken gaze. “I do,” she signs, her lips moving but no words leaving. “You hurt her. It takes a lot to hurt her, and you did so to the point she left.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” I stress, tears burning behind my eyes. “I fully expected to talk this out with her.”

“Why would she talk to you when you hurt her?” she speaks, even though she signs it too. Her words are muffled, broken, and hit me like a thousand pucks to the chest. Her tears fall faster, her lips parting as she pants. “Find her, bring her home, and make it better. We need her. She is family.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I snap, not signing in the hopes she doesn’t catch it all. But that’s dumb of me, because Ingrid doesn’t miss a thing.

Her eyes narrow. “Did you sleep with her?”

All eyes snap to me, and each pair holds a different emotion. While our moms look almost hopeful, excited that this means Audrina’s and my relationship has progressed, William looks like he wants to castrate me, and my dad appears to want to help. He knows my actions have not only hurt his baby girl, but the love of his life and her best friend. My dad lives by the saying, “Happy wife, happy life.”

I look away, my face filling with color. I swallow as the guilt eats me alive. The issue wasn’t that we slept together; it’s what happened after. Unable to answer my sister or face my family, I struggle to get up. My knee is on fire, but I refuse to take meds. Not when I deserve the pain. I grab my crutch and then lean on it while staring at the phone. With my hands, I sign and say, “I’ll find her.”

I could say that memory comes out of nowhere, but I’d be lying. There isn’t a day I don’t rehash how it all went down with my family and hers. I tell myself it’s the driving force behind finding Audrina, but that’s just one of the lies I tell myself to get through the day. The truth is, I’m wrecked without her. I went from twenty-five years with her in my life, seeing and speaking to her every day, to the last three years of silence and pain.

Now, she’s only twenty feet from me, and I feel like I’m in the presence of a goddess and I’m not worthy of breathing her air. Even with all the changes she’s made to herself, all I see is the girl I fell in love with. It’s taking every ounce of my control not to jump up and attack her. To kiss her pouty mouth before I shake her for leaving our family.

Me.

The relief of seeing her cancels out the anger of her leaving without a word. I kept my promise to my sister, to our family, but I’m scared out of my mind. I found her, but that doesn’t mean she’s coming home. Anxiety like no other starts to course through my body, my skin prickling and my heart pounding as I try to figure out what to say to her. How to let my presence be known. Do I just call her name? Corner her? Yell, scream, and plead with her? I don’t know, but I can’t look away.

She wears a little red waitress getup with a silver apron around her hips. She has gained weight, no longer the tiny little thing she was when we were growing up. Her breasts are heavier, her hips wider, and even beneath the apron, I can see a pooch. My mouth waters at the sight. My hands shake at the thought of touching her again. Of digging my fingers into her flesh as I devour her mouth. She’d probably slap me, but it’d be worth it.

Just for a taste.

The feel of her in my arms.

God, I’ve missed her.

She lets out a little snicker at an older man at the counter as she refills his coffee. I have to hold back my grin since I know that sound means she’s genuinely amused. Heat burns in my chest at the thought of someone being awarded that sound. It’s supposed to be only mine.

I chased her away.

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