The Crosby Life

I was fairly sore after our night together, but thankfully I’m quite used to pain, so I didn’t really notice it too much. It was more nagging than anything.
“Will you guys shut up! Please?!” I growled in French at the group of five men around me who all understood and spoke French, except Sidney. He just understands it.
And the five of them, who were all bickering in French and English, all finally stopped. “Thank you! Good lord, sometimes you are all like a bunch of little children.” That got some chuckled but my look shut them up. “Now, as I was trying to say...” I trailed off, giving them all looks because they’re jaws were all dropped and no attention was being paid to me. “What?” I snapped.
I got no reply, so I scowled and turned around, just as a familiar voice spoke in French. “Umm, hey guys.”
My jaw dropped like the rest of them, just as all five boys rushed past me and surrounded our old friend, and teammate, Emelie, who no one has heard of since summer.
I stayed where I was, frozen, as a million questions were thrown at her. She just laughed that familiar laughed and held up her hand. “Please, stop it! I can’t hear with all of you talking at once!”
So they shut up and just hugged her all at once instead. Yeah, sometimes hockey players take the whole “work as a team, live as a team” motto a little too literally.
After a few minutes of the craziness that my brain wasn’t exactly comprehending, Emelie’s pretty green eyes looked up and locked onto my hazel ones. “Erra,” she whispered softly.
“Emmy,” I replied, a smile forming on my face, taking notice of Max who wasn’t taking his eyes off of our long lost friend. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t pinpoint, but I ignored it when I rushed forward and embraced my friend. “Where the hell have you been? I thought you died!”
Emelie laughed and hugged me tightly back. “I’m sorry, but I had some things I really needed to take care of. I’ll tell you...sometime.”
I gave her a calculating look, but I decided to ignore her dismissive motion at my question. “I’m just glad your back.”
Emelie grinned. “I’m glad too.” She looked between me and the guys that surrounded us. “I missed every single one of you.”
They all grinned and hugged her again, leaving me outside the ball of hockey players. “Ok, seriously? Ya’ll are jerks,” I scoffed, arms folded.
The five of them laughed and Marc pulled me into his arms. “I’m sorry, beautiful,” he said softly in French, his lips laying on my forehead. “It’s just a shock.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “I know.”
Emelie shoved her body in between us, giving us both studying looks. “You’re engaged?!” She squealed in delight as she looked down at my left hand. “Why haven’t I been informed of this! Oh, my God!”
Everyone was laughing, and Max rested his arms around her shoulders loosely. “You haven’t been watching any hockey, have you? They only let the world know of their engagement at the home opener.”
Emelie blushed. “Sorry!”
I laughed and hugged her again. “It’s fine, as long as you promise to not disappear again.”
Emelie grinned. “You got it, sista.” We knocked knuckles with a laugh.

Since Emelie came back, there has been no lack of drama. Things between her and Max were escalated, in too many ways for me to keep track of. And then some boyfriend of hers, who no one liked because we could tell he’s an asshole, decided to show up and cause even more drama. I was losing patience. I hate drama.
“Calm down, Sierra,” Marc would keep saying to me. I never really did.
We were winning, however, and the team has been on a roll. Emelie and I made up our usual kick ass line, but it wasn’t the same without Jordan, who we usually winged. But Emmy and I were bonding again, and I was happy to have her back.
Jenna went home to Nova Scotia, because her grandfather suddenly became really ill, and Sidney decided to stay with the Lemieux’s while she was away. Plus, Mario came down with the fly and wanted to help out Nathalie.
I was watching Marc try to put the Christmas tree up by himself with Jordan’s head in my lap when my phone went off. “What, Sid?” I said, trying to hold back a very amused chuckle at my husband. “Jordan, go help him.”
The tall blonde moaned and slowly got up, going to help my fiance just as my brother answered. “You need to come over. Emelie had a huge fight with Max, and her boyfriend broke up with her and I have her over here. I’m not the best at these kinds of things and Jenna is away. I need you. And don’t say thank God to the whole Jake thing.”
I couldn’t help but grin. He knew me too well. “Ok, I’ll be right over.” I hung up and faced the two men wrestling with the fake Christmas tree. “Will you guys be ok without me?”
The two of them only grunted, and I rolled my eyes. “Love you, Marc!”
“Love you too,” he said, before laughing as Jordan fumbled with the tree.
I left the two hooligans and drove the short drive to Mario’s in silence.
I let myself in, as I usually do, said a quick hello to Austin who was just heading outside to practice his shot, and entered the living room, only to have a huge shock show in front of my eyes.
I walked in just as Emelie crashed her lips down onto my brother’s, who was caught completely off guard.
With a very angry tone, I cleared my throat. Emelie shot up, eyes wide, and looked between me and my brother who was wiping his lips, looking ashamed and confused at the same time. However, I want to make this clear, I didn’t give him time to push her away. I was a little more than pissed.
“Hello,” I said coldly.
“Sierra!” Emelie cried, looking horrified.
“Sierra,” Sidney said in a confused tone that matched his expression.
I looked at my brother. “Go call your girlfriend.”
He nodded, avoiding Emelie’s eyes, and she avoided mine, as he walked away. I noticed how brisk his walk was.
“What the hell were you doing?” I broke the silence. I didn’t hold back how pissed off I was in my voice.
Emelie licked her lips and fidgeted under my hard stare. “I...I don’t know. I just... I’ve been having a hard time and he was being so nice and I... I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Bullshit!” I growled, causing her to flinch. “My brother has a girlfriend! Remember her? We went to the club together! Multiple times. And you should know he bought a ring, yes that type of ring!”
Emelie looked so horribly guilty, but I was furious. No, beyond furious. I was ready to explode, and I did. I exploded on my friend.
“How fucking stupid can you be! Why are you pushing yourself away form Max? That love-sick French hockey star has been in love with you from the beginning, and I know God-damn well that you love him too! Whatever you did during your disappearance, I don’t really care right now. I was excited to have my friend back. But if you’re going to start tearing my team and my friends apart, I won’t stand for it!”
She just looked shocked.
So I continued on. “You’ve been gone, Emelie. Thing’s have changed. You just can’t waltz in here and claim everything as your own. Sidney belongs to someone else, and we both know you only wanted to use him to hopefully push the feelings for Max, and maybe those dreaded feelings for Jake, out of your head!
“It won’t work! You are in love with Maxime Talbot, no matter what you say or do!” I began breathless, and Emelie was residing in herself. “Don’t tear my family apart! You better apologize to Sidney, and do something to make Max stopped his damn sulking.” My look was deadly. “I won’t put up with it. My team will not be torn apart because of the likes of you and whatever the hell happened to you the past half year!”
“Sierra, that’s enough,” Matt’s voice came from behind me.
I turned around, my fury quickly fleeing, and tears filled my eyes as I took a quick glance at my friend, and I ran out the front door barefoot, the snow blocking my view.

Matt’s PoV:
“Sierra, that’s enough,” I said to the young girl.
I watched her turn around and tears fill those eyes that were so cold just a second before. I didn’t bother trying to stop her from running outside. The poor girl wouldn’t listen; the stress is taking over her. It was clear in my eyes.
I looked over at Emelie, who stood, guilty and pained. “Don’t take it personally,” I said softly to her, getting her attention. “She’s...she’s changed a bit since the last time you saw her.”
Emelie nodded, smiling slightly. “I deserved it though, Cookie,” she said, tears falling from her eyes.
I sighed and stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her. “You did something on impulse. You’ve never been very good at thinking things through.” I got a chuckled out of her, and it wasn’t a sarcastic one. “You need to apologize, she’s right, and try to work things out with Max. I don’t want to know what happened, but I do know that she only yells when she’s been hurt deeply.”
I could feel the way Emelie’s shoulders drooped as my arms were still wrapped around her. “I hurt some of my best friend’s, Cookie.”
“Then fix it. Sierra won’t forgive you unless you fix it. She’ll pull another ‘I refuse to play until all this is fixed’ stunt if you don’t. Although it did help get our asses into gear, I don’t think it’ll do quite the same thing.”
“She trusted me.”
“She trusted you, and she came to help you.”
“And I repaid her by kissing her brother. Her soon-to-be-engaged brother.”
Although that was new to me, I didn’t say anything. “She has changed. She’s become more blunt, and I fear that the emotions of hockey are wearing her down. She’s been taking a lot of things personally, and she gets extremely defiant when her team, friends, and family are targeted in any way.” I couldn’t really say what I am trying to explain, but I was hoping that Emelie was getting my point.
“I have to fix things,” she said softly.
I let her go. “You do. And I’d call Marc if I were you. His fiance did just run out into the snow with nothing on but socks, sweats, and a hoodie. Plus, he’s the only one who can really get her to relax and listen.”
Emelie nodded. “Thank you, Cookie. I’m going to make things right, or try to make things right.” She wiped her eyes. “I love Sierra like a sister. I really hope I didn’t just ruin our relationship.”
“Only time will tell,” I replied, grabbing my coat. “Start with Sidney. He’s the calmest of them all. Plus, I need to go find a certain NHL queen.”
Emelie nodded, smiling slightly and headed to find the captain, while I left the house in search of Sierra.