You Can Let Go Now

It had been nagging Elizabeth all morning. The fact that Sidney had been in a car crash would not get out of her head and she wanted to know more. Pulling out her laptop, she typed in Sidney Crosby trying desperately not to feel creepy.

What she found tugged at her heartstrings. There were several article titles such as 'Sidney Crosby Injured in Crash,' 'Pittsburgh Superstar Out of Playoffs?' 'Pittsburgh Devastated by Crash,' 'Woman Killed in Drunk Driving accident, Sidney Crosby Lives.' She read that a drunk driver had ran a red light and Sidney crashed right into the side of the drunk's (David, she saw his name was) pick up. He had to have surgery because of a collapsed right lung caused by two broken ribs. Sidney's girlfriend died on the way to the hospital from blood loss.

The pictures of Sidney and the crash were terrible. There was a picture of both his Range Rover and the pick up truck smashed together, they looked like one big blob. Both cars were totaled. Another of Sidney on a stretcher, bloody, unconscious, and had an oxygen mask on. More of the drunk driver and one of Sidney's girlfriend, Emily was her name, also on a stretcher. One last one was Sidney in a hospital bed, a bandage over his forehead and he had a ventilator attached to him, along with a heart monitor and IV chord.

She closed the laptop after she decided she had seen enough. She wondered how Sidney managed to recover, go back to the playoffs, and win the Stanley Cup after that.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. When she opened it, she was met with Vero's smiling face. "Hey a bunch of us are going on Sidney's boat and we wanted to invite you and McKenzie to come along."

"I'd love to!" Elizabeth said. "I'll wake McKenzie up and see if she wants to go. When are you guys heading out?"

"Well, us girls have to still get ready and a lot of the guys are still sleeping. So in about an hour? You can come over when you're ready though," Vero said.

"Okay, I'll be ready soon," Elizabeth said.

Once Vero left, Elizabeth ran upstairs and found McKenzie still sleeping in her bed. She had been dropped off by Max sometime early in the morning. Pulling the sheets off of her friend, she yelled, "Wake up!"

Her friend shot up and yelled back, "What the hell?"

"We got invited to go on Sidney's boat with some people. Are you up for it or do you have a killer hangover?" Elizabeth asked.

"I am up for it, missy, but I have work," McKenzie said, climbing out of bed.

"Boo, you whore," Elizabeth replied.

McKenzie stuck her tongue out and walked into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and got ready herself.

A half hour later, she said bye to McKenzie and walked out the door. She saw Hilary with Kelsey, TK's girlfriend, outside. They smiled at her, and Hilary asked, "Hey you, where's McKenzie?"

"She has work, so she can't come," Elizabeth explained.

"Aww, we won't be able to see her before we leave," Hilary said.

"Why? You guys leaving tonight?"

"Well tomorrow morning, like 5," Kelsey said, putting on some suntan lotion.

"Oh, that sucks. Can I use some of that? I totally forgot to put some on."

"Yeah, sure," Kelsey said, hanging the bottle over. Once Elizabeth finished, she walked inside Sidney's house to find almost everyone in the kitchen. Geno, Oksana, Tyler, Jordan, Kris, Max, and Vero. "Where are Marc and Sid?" Elizabeth asked.

"Marc is getting me a water-" Vero explained.

"Whipped," coughed Jordan, who looked away when Vero gave a disapproving look.

"And I don't know where Sidney is. He should be down any minute," Vero finished.

As Vero said, Marc came up with her water, having one of his own also. Sid came down a minute later, pulling an Aeropostale shirt over his head. "Alright, let's go," he said, grabbing his phone and iPod.

Once everyone was on the boat, Sidney went to plug in his ipod in the speakers but Jordan quickly stepped up and shook his head. "No, no, no, buddy. We're listening to some of my music," Jordan said.

Seconds later, rap music was blasting on the boat. Elizabeth laughed, from what she had seen of Jordan, the music fit his personality.

They drove around for a while before Sidney stopped in the middle of the lake and turned his boat off. "I need to jump in the water, it's too fucking hot out here," he said. The group quickly agreed and took their clothes off. Elizabeth checked to make sure her bathing suit was in place before taking her shirt off.

Being on a boat full of hockey boys with their shirts off was a girl's dream. All of them had perfect bodies to go along with perfect tans. Elizabeth's eyes were....wondering. She found Sidney's body and about passed out. His broad shoulders and chiseled abs were practically calling her name out. Her eyes found his chest and he had a surgery scar right near his lung.

"You're staring," Vero whispered as she smirked at her.

Elizabeth quickly tore her eyes away, hoping he didn't catch her. "Is that from...?" she asked.

"Yeah," Vero said, confirming her thoughts, "but I know that's not what you were really staring at."

Elizabeth blushed and said, "Sorry I'm not used to a bunch of shirtless hockey boys."

Vero laughed loudly and whispered, "You'll never get sick of it, honey."

Sidney picked at his pasta, not very hungry. After they swam for a while, the group stopped for lunch at a nearby restaurant. While his friend's laughed about who knew what, Sidney sat at the end of the table in silence. He found himself dazing off a lot.

"You're very quiet," Elizabeth said.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry I'm so boring, I know I keep saying that but I guess that's just how I am," he explained.

"I don't think you're boring at all. You're just extremely quiet. You don't find the need to say unnecessary things just for conversation. It's a nice break from some people," Elizabeth corrected. She nodded her head towards Jordan and TK, who were making bubbles with their straws while the girls gave them disgusted looks.

"I seriously wonder if they're ever going to grow up," Sidney said chuckling.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's important to loosen up and be a kid," Elizabeth said, bringing her eyes from Jordan and TK back to Sidney's.

Sidney frowned. He couldn't remember the last time he was able to let go and act like a kid. To have no worries and be carefree. His whole life was planned out ever since he was seven. There was no time for being a kid.

Since he didn't say anything, Elizabeth said, "You know what? I know this is random, but McKenzie and I are going to a fair tomorrow. Would you like to come?"

Before he could respond, Elizabeth added, "Actually, I'm making you come. It's a good place to loosen up and have some fun. Plus, you invited me to your party and boat, it's my turn to bring you somewhere."

He eyed her for a moment before smiling and saying, "Yeah, I'll come. But I can't promise I'll go on any rides."