Bringing the Devil Out of Me

Sidney stayed at the apartment that night after a very long phone call with Marc, but by the time I woke up he was gone. He had made the bed on the side where he slept and vanished. I immediately bolted out of bed and woke up Marc.

"Marc! Sidney's gone," I said, worry filling my voice. He groaned and slipped out of bed.

"Really?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, really!" I said. Marc immediately jumped up, pulled on a Penguins teeshirt that was hanging on the doorknob of his closet (he wasn't the neatest person on earth) and ran into the kitchen.

"FUCK!" I heard him yell before sprinting back into the room, grabbing his phone, and furiously pounding the keys.

"Sidney?! Where the hell are you?!" he cried. He paced back and forth, worry creasing his thin face. He sucked his bottom lip so far into his mouth that his soul patch disappeared, and I swallowed roughly. I still had no idea what was going on, and the fact that Marc was so upset about Sidney leaving made me worry. I tried to hear what Sidney was saying, but couldn't. Marc stopped suddenly, grabbed his keys and turned to me.

"Get in the fucking car. Now," he said before sprinting out of the apartment. I grabbed my shoes and purse and dashed after him. I was barely in the seat of the black SUV when he peeled out of the parking lot.

"Marc what is going on?!" I cried, quickly buckling my seat belt.

"Sidney went home. I heard Max's voice when Sidney walked in the door," Marc said, slamming on his brakes so he wouldn't run the red light. I flew forward and narrowly avoided smashing my face against the dashboard.

"Why is that bad?" I asked weakly as Marc floored it. We're so getting pulled over.

"Because Max got Sid's cousin pregnant," Marc grimaced, rapidly turning left. He drove like a madman for about 15 minutes before screeching to a halt outside of a rather nice house. Sidney's unmistakable black Mustang with gold racing stripes stood outside, and the door was still open.

"Stay here, I don't know what's going on yet," Marc said before racing into the house. Suddenly Matt's car pulled up behind and I undid my seatbelt.

"Cookie what the hell is going on?!" I cried as he bolted out of his car.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's bad. Marc texted me and I got here as soon as I could. Stay here!" he said before also dashing into the house. I sat outside for several minutes before the yelling started. I heard the crash of breaking glass and then decided that enough was enough. I walked into the house quietly and found myself face to face with probably the most frightening brawl I've ever seen. Matt was clutching Max's arms behind his back, and Marc had grabbed Sidney. Geno was crammed between the two, trying to push them apart. Sidney's face was cut and bleeding, while Max's already broken nose was bleeding profusely. His eye was swollen shut, and he had a large gash on his arm as well. The glass top coffee table that stood in what I had to assume was Sidney's living room was shattered.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! SHE'S ONLY 18 YOU FUCKING JERK!" Sidney screamed, his voice hoarse with rage.

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT, AND IT WAS HER DECISION TOO! DON'T YOU DARE BLAME ME!" Max roared back. Evgeni looked panicked, and Matt and Marc had to fight harder to keep the two apart. I thoughtlessly walked right in and slapped both of them as hard as I possibly could across the face.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" I screamed. Everyone froze, staring at me in shock.

"Alice..." Sidney croaked.

"No Sid, shut up. I've heard enough to know what's going on. Max, bad idea to sleep with your team mate's cousin. Doesn't bro-code mandate that family is off limits? Sidney, she was obviously more than willing to sleep with him, so you can't blame him completely. Now you two are going to stop fighting now before I call the cops," I said, my voice loud. Both of their shoulders slumped and Evgeni let out a sigh of relief.

"You wouldn't call the cops," Max growled.

"You want to try me?" I asked, holding up my phone. He glared at me, and then shook his head.

"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" Marc and Matt both barked at me.

"You really expected me to listen? Obviously, this was getting way out of control. Now Marc, you're going to take Sidney up to his bedroom and make sure he stays there. Matt, you bring Max into the kitchen. Evgeni...well, you'd better go with Sid," I said, calming down slightly. The guys all nodded and did what I told them to do, but Evgeni stood in shock at the foot of the stairs.

"How did you know what to do?" He asked me. I sighed, a slight pain filling my chest. I knew tears would come soon enough.

"I...I...I've been in a similar situation before," I muttered.

"It was my senior year of high school...my brother played baseball. His best friend was the first baseman and my brother was a pitcher. My brother's best friend...he got my sister pregnant. They got in a fight and if I hadn't walked into the house at that moment, one of them would be dead today. I'm not entirely sure which one, but I know for a fact that someone would have died," I explained, tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, wiping a tear from my cheek.
"Don't ask." I mumbled before dashing up the stairs.

I found a first aid kit in Sidney's enormous bathroom and opened the bedroom door. He was sitting on the bed, pounding a pillow with his fist, and Marc was leaning against the wall next to the door. I soundlessly opened the kit and placed it on the bed next to Sidney. He continued to punch the pillow and didn't move until I took a cleaning pad out of its wrapper and pressed it to his forehead. He gritted his teeth and hissed.

"It burns," he muttered.

"I know." I sighed before taking some butterfly stitches out of the case. I placed several on the long gash tracing from the center of his forehead to his eyebrow and sat back.

"What?" he growled.

"That's going to scar unless you go to the doctor...Marc, you figure that one out while I go take care of Max," I said coldly before walking out of the room. Max wasn't much better, and he sat on the counter cracking his knuckles. Evgeni walked upstairs as I passed him, and Max looked up at me.

"So are you going to ream me out for messing up your pretty boyfriend's face?" he growled.

"No," I said simply before taking out another antiseptic pad and blotting his arm with it. He grimaced as well and I placed some butterfly stitches on the gash running along his arm as well. I then cleaned his face.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Helping me," he mumbled. I glanced at Matt, who looked more sad than anything.

"Because...because making a mistake doesn't make you a horrible person. You and Sid are going to have some talking to do, and you're going to have to stick by his cousin now, but you aren't a horrible person for what happened," I said quietly.

"He'll never forgive me," Max croaked.

"It might take him a long, long time...but he will. Trust me," I said.

"Evgeni told me about your brother...how did he forgive his friend?" Max asked.

"He held his niece for the first time, and that was all it took," I smiled.