Misery

Catherine grinned as Adam drove them to the arena. She knew that the gates wouldn’t open for another hour, but Adam had told her he would take her into the player’s entrance, and she found herself hoping more than ever that she would be introduced to his friends, his team. The hallways were empty as they walked, and Catherine could only frown when he made a point to walk five feet in front of her.

“Cat,” He stopped at another hallway. “This will take you to the fan area.”

She nodded, “Okay.”

He stared down at her curiously, running one of his hands through her red hair, “Are you okay?”

She nodded and put on a smile, letting her green eyes stare into his bright blue ones, “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” He asked her, moving closer to her.

She nodded, “You shouldn’t be worrying about me! Worry about the game!”

He smiled and kissed her before turning and walking toward the locker room. Catherine sighed and turned to walk down the hallway Adam had told her to.

“Adam!” She called, as he walked.

“Hm?” He turned looking at her.

“Good luck and be careful,”

He grinned at waved her off, turning back and walking away from her. She lightly kicked her foot against the brick wall, cursing the image she was being shown. Adam was walking away from her. She was losing everything she had tried so hard to keep. She was losing the love of her life, and it killed her.

She was sure if people could hear her thoughts, they would find her over-dramatic. He was just a boy. But, to Catherine, Adam was more than just a boy. She wouldn’t have anything if she didn’t have him.

She sighed again and headed to her seat, a sixth row seat behind the bench at center ice. She sat in the completely empty arena, playing with her phone, as the zamboni came out to clean the ice before warm-ups. She was by herself and she began to hum, anticipating that night’s game.

“Hey,” She heard from her left.

She turned and smiled at the man that walked into her aisle, sitting down next to her. In a pair of sweats and an under armor shirt, Catherine knew he was a player, and he was a player for the Blues.

“Hi,” She said back, putting her phone in her lap.

“I didn’t think anyone would be here, with the doors not being open yet…” He spoke, running a hand though his curly light brown hair.

Catherine laughed, “Yeah, I came here with a player.”

“Oh?” He asked, leaning back to read her jersey. “Burish?”

She nodded and smiled, “He’s my boyfriend.”

He nodded his head, staring at the floor, “Well, I’m Cam. Cam Jannsen.”

Catherine stared at his outstretched hand and recognized his name, “Oh! You…”

He laughed.

“You fight all the time, right?” She asked, offering him her hand back.

He held onto her hand and nodded, “And you are..?”

“I’m Catherine.”

“Catherine,” He repeated, still holding her hand. “I didn’t know Burish had a girlfriend.”

She stared at him, taking her hand back, “How would you know?”

He shrugged, “But I did see that Ladies’ Man video. Seems weird that a guy with a girlfriend would be voted the ladies’ man…”

Catherine hung her head, not being able to stop her cynical laugh, “Yeah, well, his teammates don’t really know I exist.”

Cam’s eyes went wide as he stared at her. Catherine brought a hand to her face, wondering why she had told him that. She was so stupid sometimes. The feel of a hand on her arm brought her eyes up to his.

His voice was soft, “I don’t know the whole story, so I’m sorry if I’m off base, but you don’t deserve to be treated like you don’t matter. Some men are stupid and don’t realize how lucky they are to have a beautiful woman.”

She laughed, “And you’re not stupid?”

He laughed, too, “No. I am a one woman kind of guy. If I had a girlfriend, especially one as beautiful as you, I’d only want to be with her.”

She nodded, staying silent, and he continued, “It’s clear to see that your guy is not a one woman kind of guy, right?”

She nodded again. Cam sighed and patted her on the arm, standing.

“I have to get ready for the game.”

Catherine smiled lightly, but it was a sad smile, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You too.”

He started walking up the stairs, but he stopped and turned back.

“Catherine, he doesn’t deserve you.”

She shook her head and watched him leave, slumping into her seat. Not ten minutes later, she began to hear noise, knowing the doors had been opened. She was grateful for the people who came to sit next to her, immediately introducing themselves. Their small talk was able to distract her from thoughts of Adam, thoughts of Cam until the game started.

Games against the Blues were always intense. Division rivals, both the Hawks and the Blues made sure to bring the physicality. Catherine winced at every hit but cheered every goal. With five minutes left in the third period and the Blackhawks up three goals to two, no one was expecting a fight, but when it broke out, no one was really surprised. There had been scrums all night, but nothing had officially broken out.

Catherine stared with wide eyes at the ice as she watched Adam throw up his helmet and size up his opponent. Cam grinned, just as Adam did before fights, and they went at each other. Catherine held her breath as the fight went on, and it was a long one. When they were pulled apart, Cam had a black eye already forming and Adam’s bottom lip was split and bleeding.

She sunk into her hair as both men skated off the ice and into the locker rooms, Adam getting a loud cheer from the fans. The rest of the game was uneventful and ended with the score the same as it was before the fight, the Hawks coming out on top. Catherine stayed in her seat, as the fans cleared out.

It was fifteen minutes before her phone went off, telling her she had a text message. She stood and gathered her belongings, finally looking down to read the text message. She smiled at Adam’s message, but frowned when she finished reading it

Hey, babe.
Going out with the guys.
Come get the keys to the car.
Adam

She should have figured that he would want to hang out with the guys, but she couldn’t help feel bummed at the thought that he wasn’t coming home with her. They had been on a good streak for the past week, and Catherine did not want it to end. Not that she blamed his teammates – they didn’t know she existed – but she knew that if Adam went out with them, he was bound to find some girl at the bar.

She sighed and walked to the entrance to the locker room, the security let her pass without question.

Adam must have told them I was coming, She thought. Catherine reached the door of the locker room, and she texted Adam, telling him she was outside. He came out with the keys in his hand, immediately closing the door behind him.

Catherine frowned and took the keys, “Be careful tonight.”

“Of course,” He said, kissing her cheek. “Don’t wait up.”

And he was back in the locker room. She felt the familiar sting of tears on her eyes, but she held the tears in, not wanting to break down in a United Center hallway.

She held her head high and walked toward the exit to the player’s parking lot. As she walked, she saw the St. Louis Blues leaving the visitor’s locker room, heading to their bus. Her eyes fell onto Cam, and he grinned at her.

“Catherine, hey,” He said.

She nodded acknowledging him, but glared at him, “You beat up Adam.”

“He deserved it.”

“Cam! He did not.”

Cam held his hands up, “I bet he’s going out with his teammates tonight and if he comes home, you’ll know he was with another girl, right?”

Catherine groaned, “Stop it.”

Cam’s eyes were sad as he looked at her, and Catherine did not expect to feel his arms around her, but she didn’t find herself minding. She hugged him back and this time she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“He deserved it,” He repeated again.

Catherine stepped away from him, wiping her eyes, “I have to go. Thanks for being so nice to me, but I really just… I have to go.”

When Catherine finally found herself at home thirty minutes later, all she wanted to do was fall into a deep sleep. A sleep so deep, she wouldn’t be able to hear Adam if and when he came home. She dropped her purse onto the floor next to their bed, and she pulled her coat off, frowning at the piece of paper that fell to the floor, picking it up, she wondered when Cam had slipped it into her pocket.

Beautiful,
Give me a call sometime, even if it’s just to be friends.
I’ve been told I’m a good listener.
Cam.
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