Disregard the Lies

Sadie sat on the couch watching cartoons with a sleeping Sophia sitting next to her. She carefully picked Sophia up, trying not to wake her, and carried her back to her room, pulling the covers up over her, before she walked back out into the living room.

She picked up her cell phone, dialing Jonathan’s number. When she had called him earlier telling him that she wouldn’t be able to come over tonight, he had taken the news well, telling her they would just reschedule.

She was surprised when he didn’t pick up his phone, but she shrugged it off, thinking he was probably in the shower or something. She flipped through the channels, finally stopping on the news. An hour later, she heard the door open, and Kyra crept in. “Hey,” Sadie smiled from the couch. “How was your date?”

“Good,” Kyra replied vaguely. “How was Sophia? I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all,” Sadie assured her. “It was actually quite fun. We made tacos for dinner, and then we watched some cartoons. She fell asleep out here a little while ago, so I took her back to her bedroom, where she’s sleeping now.”

“Well, I still owe you for helping me out. I mean, I’m sure that you would have much preferred to go out with Jonathan than have to babysit Soph for me,” Kyra told her, throwing her purse in the chair before sitting down next to Sadie on the couch.

“It was fine. Jonathan was totally understanding about it. But, forget about that for a minute. Tell me all about this date!” Sadie exclaimed.

A smile spread across Kyra’s face. “It was amazing. He was sweet and kind and…it was amazing!” she exclaimed.

“So, I can assume you will be going out again?” Sadie asked, and Kyra nodded her head. “Aw, I’m so happy for you!” she told her, giving her a hug. “But, I’m going to go now, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no, go!” Kyra told her. “Thank you so much for watching Sophia tonight. I really do owe you,” she told her. “Anything you need, I’ll be there,” she promised.

“Bye,” Sadie told her, leaving. She walked back down the street to her apartment, trying to call Jonathan again, but he didn’t pick up. She shrugged her shoulders as she unlocked her apartment, kicking her flip flops off and heading to her bedroom to change into sweats and a t-shirt.

The following day, Sadie woke up to her phone ringing. Without opening her eyes, she reached over and grabbed it, answering it. “Hello?” she asked, still half asleep.

“Hey, Sadie, did I wake you?” she heard Jonathan ask her.

Sadie’s eyes slowly opened, and she blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up. “Yeah, but it’s fine,” she told him, looking over at her clock to see it was seven in the morning. “Is everything alright?” she asked him, wondering why he was calling this early in the morning.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I just saw that you called a couple of times last night, and I didn’t know if you were okay, so I thought I’d call you. Sorry for waking you up. I sometimes forget that you don’t wake up as early as I do,” he told her.

“It’s fine,” she repeated. “So, what did you do last night?” she asked him.

“Nothing too much,” he told her. “I watched some tv, and then I went to bed early,” he said, and Sadie nodded her head, now realizing he hadn’t answered her calls the night before because he was already asleep. “What about you? Did everything go okay with Sophia?”

“Yeah,” she told him. “She was perfect. We made dinner, and then we watched some cartoons before she fell asleep. She was an angel,” she added with a smile. “So, do you have any plans for today before your game tonight?” she asked him. He usually went out with some of his teammates before the game for lunch, and then he’d go back to his place for a pre-game nap.

“Just the usual,” he replied. “What about you?”

“Um, I have to go to the grocery store later on today. I seriously have like no food here at my place,” she said with a laugh. “But, nothing other than that. But, I’ll see you tonight at the game.”

“Yes,” he told her. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said, hanging up the phone.

Sadie laid back down, trying to go to sleep, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. After lying there for thirty minutes, she finally got out of bed, heading to the shower. After blow drying her hair, she sat down at the table with her lap top, e-mailing Lydia some updates on what was happening as an Ice Girl. She had been giving her weekly updates, and Lydia had been giving her positive feedback about all of it.

She wrote about the last couple of road events and how the men at the bars treated the girls. She ended by talking about the photo shoot, and how she still hates the outfits she is forced to wear. After completing the e-mail, she shut the laptop and got ready to go to the grocery store.

***

Sadie stood in front of her locker, changing into her Ice Girl outfit. Putting on her shorts, she saw Kyra walk into the locker room, and she smiled at her. “Hey, Sadie,” Kyra said, opening her locker next to her.
“So, according to Sophia, you’re the best babysitter in the world,” she informed her.

“Really?” Sadie asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, she loved that you let her help you cook. Melanie just has her sit in the living room watching television while she makes dinner for her. Seriously, you were the topic of conversation today. She absolutely adores you,” Kyra told her.

“Well, it’s not like I made anything hard. I made tacos,” Sadie laughed. “But, I’m glad she had a good time yesterday.”

“She really did,” Kyra said with a nod.

All of a sudden, Amber walked over to the two of them, leaning against the locker next to Sadie’s. “So, I guess this means I win,” Amber said with a smirk.

“What?” Sadie asked, glancing over at her.

“I win,” Amber repeated.

“You win what?” Kyra asked, confused. She looked over at Sadie to see if she knew what Amber was talking about, and Sadie simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Remember at the beginning of the season how I told you I’d get into Ericsson’s bed?” Amber questioned.

“Yeah,” Sadie said with a laugh. “You said you’d sleep with him in two weeks. And, now it’s been, what? Four, five months?” she asked her. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“Because I made it happen last night,” Amber told her.

“What?” Sadie asked.

“Let me spell it out for you,” Amber told her, moving so she was standing directly in front of Sadie. “I slept with Ericsson last night.”

Sadie stared at her for a moment, not believing a word she was saying. “No you didn’t,” Sadie said with a laugh, shaking her head.

“You want to bet?” Amber asked. “I slept with him.”

“No, you didn’t,” Sadie said once again.

Amber pulled out her cell phone, hitting some buttons before she put it in the face of Sadie. “Look at this. It’s the recently received calls list. And, look who’s at the top. Jonathan Ericsson.” Sadie grabbed the phone out of her hands, inspecting the name and number. Indeed, it was Jonathan’s phone number. She looked at the time he had called her, and it was right after Sadie had tried to call him the second time the night before.

Sadie looked at Amber, throwing her phone back into her hands. “Whatever,” she told her, and Amber walked away laughing.

Kyra looked over at Sadie, who was leaning against her locker. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? You know that he didn’t sleep with her last night.”

“You don’t get it, Kyra. I called Jonathan a couple of times last night, and he didn’t answer. I didn’t think anything of it. And, then, he called me at seven this morning, saying he saw that I had called. I asked him what he did last night, and he told me he watched tv and went to bed early. I figured that’s why he didn’t answer his phone or call me back sooner. But, he called her right after I called him last night. Kyra, he slept with her!” Sadie exclaimed.

“You don’t know that,” Kyra told her.

“He slept with her,” Sadie repeated. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered.

“Sadie, maybe you should get his side of the story before you do anything,” Kyra suggested. Sadie merely nodded her head as she and Kyra left the locker room to go to their respective sections for the game.

The entire time, Amber kept smirking at Sadie or saying small comments about Jonathan that would eat away at Sadie. When the guys came out for the pre-game skate, Jonathan smiled at Sadie, like he always did. But, instead of smiling back, Sadie simply glared at him. He gave her a confused look, but she turned her back on him.

As the team made their way back to the tunnel after the skate, Jonathan looked up at her, but she refused to look at him. Throughout the game, he would try to steal glances at her, but every single time she would be looking off at the ice, making sure to never look in his direction. By the end of the game, Jonathan was left on the bench, trying to figure out what exactly he had done to Sadie to make her this angry at him.