I Bet it Stung

Alice sat down across from Sidney in the Lemieux living room. Her legs were crossed on the cushions, her shoes abandoned in the front foyer. Sidney sat with his elbows against his knees, apparently trying to figure out how to explain the photos and news articles to the very displeased looking girl in front of him.

“So you know how you went back to Toronto to finish up school and everything?” he finally began, making eye contact with Alice slowly. She nodded. “Well, around the time of your final exams and graduation, we were starting the playoffs. We eliminated Ottawa and then went on to play Montreal. And after seven games...well, you know how that turned out.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Having to remember that series was never a pleasant memory for Sidney, no matter how big of a Habs fan he was as a kid.

“Well, during that time, TK’s cousin Rachel came to visit him in Pittsburgh. She’d come down to visit him a few times before, so she’s not a stranger to the team. And it’s kind of known around the locker room that she’s always had a thing for Jordan. And you know how Staalsy is, he’s a really friendly guy. He offered to show her around town and spend time with her so she wasn’t lonely. I don’t know details, like what they did together or if anything physical happened at all, but...again...you know how he is.”

Alice let out a shaky breath and glanced down at the picture of Jordan and Rachel, her eyes wandering to where their hands met. She felt the tears starting to spring forth and hastily wiped them away with the heels of her hands. “How many people knew about this?”

Sidney pursed his lips. “I think everyone knew.”

Alice looked at him. “Did Rachel know about me?”

Sidney gave an honest answer. “No.”

She scoffed a bit. “So she didn’t know that I was dating Jordan? Why, did he not tell her?”

“I don’t know if he thought it was important to tell her since she was supposed to leave after the playoffs ended,” Sidney explained. “But--”

“But what?” she demanded. “Is she still in Pittsburgh?”

Sidney nodded meekly. “But you can’t hurt her or go off and want to fight her,” he stated immediately, seeing the fire in Alice’s eyes. “She’s a nice girl, really. Not always the brightest when it comes to stuff like this, but you can’t really blame her if she didn’t know.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell her about me?” Alice asked quietly. “Did Jordan not tell anyone that we were dating?”

“Some people knew about you, but I guess they figured he was going to tell Rachel,” Sidney admitted. “But you can’t take my word for everything, Alice. You need to talk to Jordan yourself and figure things out. The two of you were apart for a long time. You have to believe me when I say that he really loves you and missed you while you were apart. I guess he just got...lonely.”

Alice’s stare turned harsh and cold. “Are you saying that you get lonely too, Sidney? You know, with my sister being halfway across the globe for the majority of the year?”

His eyes grew wide. “N-No, Alice, I didn’t mean--”

“Then it’s no excuse,” she growled, rising to her feet. “Thanks for telling me Sidney.”

As Alice went to the front foyer to go get her shoes and leave, Sidney followed her. “Alice?” he said quietly as she laced up her sneakers and straightened out her back. Sidney sighed. “Just...I know you’re mad, but don’t forget to hear him out, okay? He deserves at least that much.”

Alice nodded slowly without looking at Sidney and went out the door. A million and one thoughts raced through her mind. She mostly rehearsed what she was going to say to Jordan when she finally came face to face with him, thinking that maybe she could get the upper hand on the situation. Or at least, if planned properly, nothing too severe would ensue.

Unsure of what was going to happen, Alice made her way back to the apartment and let herself in. Jordan still wasn’t back from his workout, so Alice took the time to sit on the couch and stare into a void, still formulating plans and ideas in her head of how to make this as painless as possible.

When the door creaked open, every thought or pre-planned speech she had in her head flew right out the window.

“Hey babe,” Jordan greeted, walking over and kissing the top of her head. She shrunk into the couch cushions. Jordan noticed immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Alice bit her lip. “Jordan, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to give me the honest truth.”

She didn’t look up at him, but she knew by the thick silence that had formed between them that Jordan was staring down at her with guilty eyes. “Uh, okay.”

She glanced upward and then back down to the ground. “Who’s Rachel?”

“Rachel is TK’s cousin,” he explained slowly. “She moved here from Sault Ste. Marie and I was just showing her around. She’s just a friend.”

Alice sighed and opened her laptop, clicking on the image saved on her computer. She showed it to him. “You must be really good friends, huh?”

Jordan stared at Alice with a vacant expression. “Are you accusing me of cheating on you?” he asked, his voice raising just slightly.

Alice bit her lip so hard that she could feel the metallic taste tinging her tongue. “I don’t know what to think, Jordan,” she replied. “I was never here and I’m sorry for that. I couldn’t be there for you when you beat the Senators in round one, I couldn’t be there when you lost to Montreal in round two and I’m sorry for that. You get lonely, I understand. But...I just don’t know what to think when you tell me you love me and hold hands with another woman. Who, might I add, might as well be a Victoria’s Secret model. God damn it.”

Jordan pursed his lips into a frown. “Alice--”

“She was with you through it all, wasn’t she?” she cut him off. Jordan opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. “Jordan, I told you that I wanted the truth.”

He sighed. “Yes.”

Alice nodded slowly. “Did you two--”

“What?” Jordan exclaimed. “No! Nothing happened between us, Alice.”

“Nothing that got caught on camera,” she said, barely above a whisper. Rising to her feet, Alice headed for the door.

Jordan’s eyes watched her go. “Where are you going?”

“To Sid’s,” Alice told him as she opened the front door. “I can’t be here right now.”

Jordan opened his mouth to protest and started to move towards Alice, maybe so he could get her to stop and change her mind, or so he could explain his side of the story. But it was too late. Before he could blink, Alice quietly left the apartment, the door clicking shut behind her.