The Crosby Life

I watched the rest of the shootout against the Coyotes silently after scoring against their skilled goaltender.
I knew Marc was in the locker room after being pulled after allowing two goals on five shots, and I was by far not happy. And everyone around me knew it.
A smile cracked my lips ever so slightly when Mark Letestu scored, and immediately I walked down the runway to the locker room, ignoring the celebration that was happening on the bench. I didn’t want to be apart of it.
When I entered the locker room, Marc looked up from his stall, shock showing in those dark eyes. “Sierra?” He asked, confused on why I wasn’t with the rest of the team up above.
I nodded at him to indicate that I heard him, but I went straight to my stall and shrugged off my gear and grabbed my clothes.
I felt Marc’s presence behind me and he touched my shoulder gently, his voice soft as he spoke in French. “Erra, are you ok?”
“Non,” I said bluntly, practically throwing my skates on the top shelf of the lockers.
“I’m sorry,” he said even quieter. “I disappoint you.”
I whipped around to face my fiance, eyes flaring with fire and anger. “Don’t you dare say that, Marc-Andre!” I snarled, causing him to blink in surprise and back up a bit. “You never, ever disappoint me! You could suck for the rest of your life and I’ll still be proud of you! I don’t doubt your skill, I don’t doubt you. I know you’re struggling. Everyone goes through a slump. And coach isn’t giving you a damn chance to let you get out of it. You need to play out of your slump, I know that, Sidney knows that, but coach doesn’t want to risk it when he should be risking it now. Let you work it out now when it doesn’t matter as much and then rock when it does in the second half of the season.”
Marc just stared at me, gaping.
I grabbed my clothes and trudged off to the shower, leaving him to think things through. He knows I’m right, but it needed to sink in.
I showered for a good ten minutes before getting out, letting my hair flow down my back. It’s really getting long now, stretching to about the top of my bra strap.
The locker room was filled with good spirits as I walked out, and everyone knew immediately that something was up because as soon as I was in range, the mood darkened around me. All eyes were on me as I finished collecting my things.
“Erra?” Arron asked since our lockers were by each other.
I looked at him, and the look in my eyes made his eyebrows shoot up and he backed away.
Marc was watching me from across the locker room. He had a very slight smile on his face, and I knew that my snapping at him made him feel a bit better. I’ll take it. Even if it’s only a bit.
“Sierra, what’s going on?” Sidney asked.
I turned to face him. “Go away, Sidney.”
Coach heard me. “Crosby, enough with the attitude.”
I glared at my stuff before beginning to pack things away.
“Er-bear! Why so cranky?”
I whipped around to face Max, snarling and pushed against him. “Back off, Talbot!” I growled. He blinked in surprise. “All of you, just back off!”
Marc’s mouth fell to the floor and everyone just looked at me. Even Dan was speechless. “Why are you guys so happy, eh? You sucked. Every last one of you. You didn’t protect your goaltender. Do you not understand that that’s your job? Huh? Is it really that hard to do that you just fail at it and let him get pulled. Do you guys realize that you suck when Marc is in net. Do you? It’s fucking ridiculous! I’m sick of it! You play like shit when he’s in net, and as soon as Johnny is in net, it’s like you guys are a whole different team!” I looked at Johnny. “None of this is against you, Johnny.”
Brent just shrugged. “It’s fine, Erra.”
“Sierra...” Sidney started to say, but I cut him off.
“You’re just as guilty as them! You’re their captain, do something about this!”
He paled a bit.
“Do you all realize that it’s your fault that the man I love rarely smiles these days? Especially when anything hockey is involved? That contagious smile that everyone loves about him has rarely appeared, and it’s all your fault! You all are the reason he has no confidence in himself because none of you are doing shit to help him!”
Silence.
So I continued fuming.
“This is my last year playing! I was looking forward to it. I was going to have my best year, and I knew it. So far, despite how bad the team is, I’ve been playing well. I have a good handful of goals and tons of assists already. You all are ruining this for me!”
Some of the guys coughed awkwardly.
“Because you decide to be bipolar on the ice, my last season so far has sucked! I’m tired of seeing Marc upset because of you guys. And I’m tired of not saying anything about it. I’m fucking sick of everything! Right now, I want to kick all of your asses for what your doing to my fiance. I hope you know that.”
I looked at every single one of them. The majority had their heads hung low, because they know I’m right. Only Marc met my eyes directly, and I could tell he was relieved. He was relieved that someone actually spoke up for him.
“You know what, I’m done,” I growled, getting confused looks from everyone. “You’re hurting and upsetting my Marc-Andre, and I refuse to have any part of it. Call me when you decide to grow up and play real hockey. Until then, I’m done. I refuse to talk to any of you besides my fiance. Have fun playing like shit,” I snarled, throwing my stick that was in my hand against my bag and stormed out of the locker room, slamming the doors behind me and pushing through the media that awaited.
I speed walked through the arena towards the doors, blowing off the Coyotes’ captain as he tried to stop me. I didn’t even look back at him as he tried to get my attention.
I walked up to the bus that awaited for us and banged on the doors. They opened and I walked up, looking at Jim, our travel guide as we called him. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I’m done with their shit,” I growled, dropping into the front seat and sliding against the window.
“Oh boy,” he sighed. “Need anything?”
I looked at him. “Yeah. Them to smarten up.”
He smiled sympathetically. “Wish I could help, darlin’.”
“Me too, Jim, me too.”
I crossed my arms and sulked against the seat. We’ll see how long it takes for them to show me that they’ve smartened up. So much for my amazing hockey season, since I don’t know how long it’ll be until I even go near a rink again.

Marc-Andre’s PoV:
The locker room was dead silent when Sierra left so dramatically. Someone could have dropped a pin needle and it would have been heard easily.
I’m glad she did it, though. I know I haven’t been playing well at all, and I need to play better, but she does know how to make everything a little bit better. For me at least.
I was the first to move. I got up and walked over to her stuff, clearly aware that everyone was staring at me. I carefully packed the remaining of her things and slung her bag over my shoulder while grabbing my own.
I began to walk out of the locker room, but I turned at movement began to bustle around the room.
Everyone stopped again once I looked at them. “I’m not sorry she said all of that,” I practically whispered, getting a sympathetic look from Johnson. He’s the only one who really understands what I’m going through, and it meant a lot to me that he was trying to help.
Sidney was about to say something, but I pushed through the doors and the quiet media and tried to look around for Sierra.
I couldn’t find her, but I did see the Coyotes’ captain. “Have you seen Sierra?” I asked.
He nodded. “Outside. I think she went to your bus.”
“Ok, thank you.”
He nodded and I headed out the doors, seeing her form in the bus.
I tossed our bags in the bag compartment and headed up the stairs, nodding to Jim, and took my place next to her silently.
She just continued to stare out the window, her arms crossed and her body language uninviting. But she was my fiance and I wasn’t going to say nothing.
“Erra,” I whispered quietly.
She didn’t look at me, but I could tell she was focusing on me from the corner of her eye. “I’m tired of them treating you like you’re just there. Like you’re not their top goalie,” she said to me in my native tongue.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me. She reluctantly pulled out of her pissed off position. “Thank you, Erra,” I said softly in French. “I know it’s still my fault. But it does help. However, you shouldn’t not play just to prove a point. This season means everything to you.”
She looked at me, her hazel eyes filled with anger, and sadness. “But I need to make this point. They won’t have my help so long as they play like shit.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Sometimes she is too stubborn for her own good. “I won’t fight you on this, love. I don’t agree that you should waste your last season just for me, but I won’t fight you.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice softening now. “I’ll still do Project Bundle Up on Thursday, though.”
“That involved being in contact with them, Sierra.”
“I can put on a good show.”
I chuckled a bit. She was a good actor when she tried. And I knew that the kids came first to her. “I love you.”
She looked at me. “I love you too.”
I pulled her closer to me and kissed the top of her head, looking out the window as the guys piled out of the rink and into the bus.
Sierra said not a word to them.
They better smarten up soon, because I don’t want her last season as a player to be ruined for too long.