Cold As You

Max apologized profusely for what he had said when he realized he had left me completely speechless. I knew his intentions weren't, in fact, to render me speechless with what I guessed he thought was an innocent enough statement, but it still sent my thoughts into a frenzy.

Did I blame myself for everything that happened? I wasn't exactly sure of that. I mean, well I know, that I could have gone about things differently when it came to everything that had happened, but I also knew that I couldn't have changed it if I tried. Sidney was the one who came onto me, and he was the one who left me, and he was the one who strung me along. I couldn't be blamed for that. But I also knew I could have gone about things much differently.

When I was just a baby, my first word was no. It was in my vocabulary, I knew what it meant- yet I couldn't seem to utter it to Sidney. Not when he had told me things like "I want to move in together," and "You mean the world to me," that word didn't even cross my mind. Neither did the word 'stop', apparently.

So again, did I blame myself for everything that had happened? Partially. But I blamed Sidney a lot more.

"I swear I didn't mean anything by it," Max apologized for the thousandth time as Sidney got out of his gross hockey gear from the street game with his old friends.

"I know Max," I smiled.

"But if you do need to talk about it, I can listen. Sarah says I'm pretty good at it," he grinned proudly. I laughed lightly and he threw his arm over my shoulder, pulling me safely into his side as we watched Sidney walk towards us.

"Where's the love for me?" He asked with a smile when he finally approached us.

"Have you looked around you at all today?" I asked him.

"Maybe there's only one person's love that really matters," he said softly. My breath hitched in my throat but I quickly turned away and tried to let his statement leave me unaffected. I swear Max could hear my heart pounding as he looked down at me. A few reporters came over towards us and I tried to squirm away from Max's grasp before they turned the camera on. But it was just my luck Sidney walked to the other side of me and threw his arm around my shoulders just like Max had done. I was smashed in-between the hockey players with no place to escape. Death was certainly an option at that point.

"Sid, how's your day going so far?" The older man asked.

"Oh, it's great. More than I expected really- the support has been amazing. I really couldn't ask for anything more," he smiled.

"How's it been for you Max? Different from your day?"

Max let a loud laugh and smiled brightly for the camera, "I guess people don't love me as much as they love Sid," he joked, making me smile a bit. "Nah, but yeah it's definitely been different but it's been really great being here. It's been a really awesome day so far."

"And who is this gorgeous girl sandwiched in-between you two?" The reporter laughed on cue, making me want to roll of eyes. The only thing that stopped me was the knowledge that this broadcast could possibly be live and the last thing I needed was to look like a bitch on both national- and possibly international- news. So I threw on that fake smile and I brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"This is my favorite girl in the entire world," Sidney introduced me. "We've known each other since we were eight and I can't imagine anyone else standing next to me right now," he smiled proudly. Oh, he was so fake it made me sick. Or maybe he wasn't being fake; Sidney did have a tendency to be quite an idiot when it came to my feelings towards him.

"And your name sweetheart?" The man asked.

"Evangeline," I answered as politely as I could muster without being too fake.

"Did you ever imagine when you were eight you'd be spending a day with Sidney and the Cup?"

I again wanted to roll my eyes at his generic question but instead maintained my smile and nodded, " I knew it would happen one day, I just had no idea it would be so soon. It's definitely crazy to think about how far he's gone is such a short amount of time," I grinned. Sidney smiled down at me and even pressed a kiss to my temple. I felt a bubble of pure rage erupt in my stomach and I continued. "It seems like just yesterday he was a little chubby kid with crooked teeth skating around the pond by our houses," I cooed, venom dripping from every last word. I couldn't help myself from being a little nasty.

He could sweet talk me all he wanted, he could even sweet talk that reporter and half of Canada, as well as all of Pittsburgh for all I cared, but how fucking dare he touch me like that after all of the hell he put me through. The composure I had been so good at keeping was slowly beginning to evaporate.

"Well I certainly hope you guys make the most of the rest of your day. Congrats again boys," he smiled. Sidney and Max both thanked him and I wagged my fingers at the camera, waving until it was shut off. When the reporter walked away Sidney dropped his arm from my shoulders and leaned down to get in my face.

"Why did you have to say that?" He asked.

"Say what?" I asked, blinking innocently. Max dropped his arm from my shoulders also, but more gingerly than Sidney had.

"You know what I'm talking about Evangeline," he seethed. I smiled viciously and got in real close to his perfect face.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you fucked and forgot about your best friend," I replied snidely.