Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces ›
Bringing the Devil Out of Me
Twenty Two
"Alice! Alice wake up!" Marc barked, rocking me in my bed. I groaned and flopped over, pulling my pillow over my head. Marc yanked the pillow from my hands and began to beat me with it.
"WHAAAAT?!" I moaned.
"You can't sleep in! Our first preseason game is today! You have to be there!" Marc said, bubbling with excitement.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up. Damn, you're like a kid waiting to go to Disney World," I muttered, rolling out of bed.
Sidney was pacing around nervously, rubbing his hands together and muttering to himself.
"Sid, why are you talking to yourself?" I asked after watching him for about five minutes.
"What? Oh...to get ready. I have to go over the game plan, run through everything I possibly could know about the Flyers, especially the goaltender, make sure all my equipment is ready to go...the list goes on and on..." he said, wide eyed to the point where he looked frantic.
"He does this a lot," Marc whispered. I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs, where I knew I could find Annabeth.
"Hey, are you coming to the game?" I asked her, knocking on the doorframe of the room she was staying in. She still hadn't moved in with Max, but I wasn't concerned yet.
"I don't know...can I go? What will people say? They know about me and Max...it might not be a good idea," she said, her face forlorn.
"Hey, Max has been good to you right? He's been loving and I know that he is fiercely defensive of you now...the guys are like a family, and they won't do anything to hurt any member of the family. You...you're part of that family now. I've only been dating Sid for two months and they treat me like one of the group. You're having Max's kid. Trust me, they'll like you," I said, walking in and placing a hand on her shoulder. I felt so bad for her, in a way. She spent most of the time she wasn't at school hiding away in her room. Granted, some of that was dealing with the freshman homework overload, but some of it was fear. She looked up at me, and for once I saw a smile on her face.
"You're right! I'll go get ready!" she beamed before jumping up and rushing into the bathroom. Sidney appeared at the door and smiled at me.
"You got her to smile," he said.
"Yeah, I did," I grinned.
___________________________________________________________________________________
The roar of the fans in the stadium was intense, even for a preseason game. I had my press pass, so I got the pleasure of watching right up on the glass. Annabeth had been given a seat in the team box, where many of the others' wives, fiancees, and girlfriends sat. I had a pen and paper in hand, just in case something worth reporting happened during the game. I would vanish into the locker room at the end of the game to do some player interviews, but I was mainly there to enjoy the game. Marc took the net, and Sidney crouched at the center faceoff circle, ready to go. Mike Richards was opposite him, and the energy in the air was electric. Fans were already pounding the glass, some donning black, gold, and white, others donning orange and black. I had worn a black button down shirt with a yellow cami underneath, due to the fact that I did not own a jersey, nor did I plan on buying one any time soon (I really was dedicated to my team, no matter who I was dating). The referee dropped the puck and Sidney's stick flashed, passing the puck back. I could hardly keep track of who had the puck until Chris Pronger bashed Evgeni into the boards right in front of me and took off with the puck. He passed it up to Danny Briere, who shot it quickly. Flowers gloved it quickly and the whistle was blown.
The game was fast, exciting, and nerve wracking all at the same time. Sidney scored once, along with Evgeni and Matt. The Penguins won 3-2, with the Flyers coming down on them in the final minute. I immediately made my way to the locker room where all hell was currently breaking loose. I was the first reporter there so I honed in on Sidney and he wrapped me in his sweaty arms and kissed me.
"EW YOU REEK!" I wailed, prying myself out of his arms. He laughed evilly.
"Sorry?" he said, smirking.
"You should be, but let me do my job before you harass me some more." I smiled, pulling a tape recorder (digital of course) out of my handbag.
"Oh God, the reporter side finally shows huh?" he laughed. I rolled my eyes and pressed the red record button.
"So Sidney, how do you feel about today's game?" I asked before tilting it towards him.
"Oh, I feel great you know? I think we played well, the new guys showed us what they're made of, and we came out with the W so, yeah," he said, rubbing his face with a towel.
"Do you think that this game is any indication of what's to come in the regular season?" I asked.
"I sure hope so, although there's always room for improvement. We were a little weak on the power play, and we almost let the Flyers get us in the end, but we're looking pretty good for our first game," Sidney said before getting towel whipped in the butt by Marc. He let out an angry yelp and a stream of profanities before apologizing and turning back to me. I bit back laughter and cleared my throat.
"Now we have some questions from our readers. How do you feel your summer went?" I asked, glancing at the notepad in my purse.
"Uh...it was pretty good. I got to wind down a bit after a long season. I made some new friends, had fun with some old ones, and I met the most amazing girl too," he said, smirking at the last part. I felt my cheeks flush but brushed the comment aside.
"Do you think that your confidence has increased at all after the 2009 Olympics, the playoffs, and after coming back from your concussion?" I asked, reading off another one of the questions.
"Um...I guess so? I mean, confidence comes and goes. Some games I feel great about what I'm doing, and other games I can't stand myself and the way I'm playing. I don't really look back on good wins though, I just take it one game at a time and try to learn from my mistakes," Sidney said.
"Thank you," I said before flipping off the recorder.
"You're welcome. Anything for you," he chuckled before kissing me on the forehead.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, I believe that Flower's butt is in need of some grade A towel whipping...go get him. I'll meet you in the parking lot," I said before sneaking out of the locker room. A barrage of reporters began to flow in quickly. I'm glad I left with 20 seconds left to go, that really saved me some time.
"WHAAAAT?!" I moaned.
"You can't sleep in! Our first preseason game is today! You have to be there!" Marc said, bubbling with excitement.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up. Damn, you're like a kid waiting to go to Disney World," I muttered, rolling out of bed.
Sidney was pacing around nervously, rubbing his hands together and muttering to himself.
"Sid, why are you talking to yourself?" I asked after watching him for about five minutes.
"What? Oh...to get ready. I have to go over the game plan, run through everything I possibly could know about the Flyers, especially the goaltender, make sure all my equipment is ready to go...the list goes on and on..." he said, wide eyed to the point where he looked frantic.
"He does this a lot," Marc whispered. I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs, where I knew I could find Annabeth.
"Hey, are you coming to the game?" I asked her, knocking on the doorframe of the room she was staying in. She still hadn't moved in with Max, but I wasn't concerned yet.
"I don't know...can I go? What will people say? They know about me and Max...it might not be a good idea," she said, her face forlorn.
"Hey, Max has been good to you right? He's been loving and I know that he is fiercely defensive of you now...the guys are like a family, and they won't do anything to hurt any member of the family. You...you're part of that family now. I've only been dating Sid for two months and they treat me like one of the group. You're having Max's kid. Trust me, they'll like you," I said, walking in and placing a hand on her shoulder. I felt so bad for her, in a way. She spent most of the time she wasn't at school hiding away in her room. Granted, some of that was dealing with the freshman homework overload, but some of it was fear. She looked up at me, and for once I saw a smile on her face.
"You're right! I'll go get ready!" she beamed before jumping up and rushing into the bathroom. Sidney appeared at the door and smiled at me.
"You got her to smile," he said.
"Yeah, I did," I grinned.
___________________________________________________________________________________
The roar of the fans in the stadium was intense, even for a preseason game. I had my press pass, so I got the pleasure of watching right up on the glass. Annabeth had been given a seat in the team box, where many of the others' wives, fiancees, and girlfriends sat. I had a pen and paper in hand, just in case something worth reporting happened during the game. I would vanish into the locker room at the end of the game to do some player interviews, but I was mainly there to enjoy the game. Marc took the net, and Sidney crouched at the center faceoff circle, ready to go. Mike Richards was opposite him, and the energy in the air was electric. Fans were already pounding the glass, some donning black, gold, and white, others donning orange and black. I had worn a black button down shirt with a yellow cami underneath, due to the fact that I did not own a jersey, nor did I plan on buying one any time soon (I really was dedicated to my team, no matter who I was dating). The referee dropped the puck and Sidney's stick flashed, passing the puck back. I could hardly keep track of who had the puck until Chris Pronger bashed Evgeni into the boards right in front of me and took off with the puck. He passed it up to Danny Briere, who shot it quickly. Flowers gloved it quickly and the whistle was blown.
The game was fast, exciting, and nerve wracking all at the same time. Sidney scored once, along with Evgeni and Matt. The Penguins won 3-2, with the Flyers coming down on them in the final minute. I immediately made my way to the locker room where all hell was currently breaking loose. I was the first reporter there so I honed in on Sidney and he wrapped me in his sweaty arms and kissed me.
"EW YOU REEK!" I wailed, prying myself out of his arms. He laughed evilly.
"Sorry?" he said, smirking.
"You should be, but let me do my job before you harass me some more." I smiled, pulling a tape recorder (digital of course) out of my handbag.
"Oh God, the reporter side finally shows huh?" he laughed. I rolled my eyes and pressed the red record button.
"So Sidney, how do you feel about today's game?" I asked before tilting it towards him.
"Oh, I feel great you know? I think we played well, the new guys showed us what they're made of, and we came out with the W so, yeah," he said, rubbing his face with a towel.
"Do you think that this game is any indication of what's to come in the regular season?" I asked.
"I sure hope so, although there's always room for improvement. We were a little weak on the power play, and we almost let the Flyers get us in the end, but we're looking pretty good for our first game," Sidney said before getting towel whipped in the butt by Marc. He let out an angry yelp and a stream of profanities before apologizing and turning back to me. I bit back laughter and cleared my throat.
"Now we have some questions from our readers. How do you feel your summer went?" I asked, glancing at the notepad in my purse.
"Uh...it was pretty good. I got to wind down a bit after a long season. I made some new friends, had fun with some old ones, and I met the most amazing girl too," he said, smirking at the last part. I felt my cheeks flush but brushed the comment aside.
"Do you think that your confidence has increased at all after the 2009 Olympics, the playoffs, and after coming back from your concussion?" I asked, reading off another one of the questions.
"Um...I guess so? I mean, confidence comes and goes. Some games I feel great about what I'm doing, and other games I can't stand myself and the way I'm playing. I don't really look back on good wins though, I just take it one game at a time and try to learn from my mistakes," Sidney said.
"Thank you," I said before flipping off the recorder.
"You're welcome. Anything for you," he chuckled before kissing me on the forehead.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, I believe that Flower's butt is in need of some grade A towel whipping...go get him. I'll meet you in the parking lot," I said before sneaking out of the locker room. A barrage of reporters began to flow in quickly. I'm glad I left with 20 seconds left to go, that really saved me some time.