Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces ›
Bringing the Devil Out of Me
Twenty Six
"This could have been a huge story for us! Why didn't you say anything?" Mr. Whitacre cried, tossing a newspaper onto my desk. Of course it made the front page.
"Mr. Whitacre, we've been keeping this under wraps for a while. I didn't know he was going to do that, and I certainly wasn't going to write you a nice little article on my private life!" I sighed, turning the paper over so that I wouldn't have to look at the picture of Sidney and I kissing. Mr. Whitacre ran his hands through his thinning hair.
"Alice you're a reporter, you're supposed to report things!" he said. His face was flushed with anger, but my own irritation was growing.
"Yes, I'm a reporter. I am not paparazzi, and I am not obligated to fill the public in on my life!" I cried, standing up suddenly. The office grew quiet and Mr. Whitacre stared at me for a moment.
"Yes, I supposed you're right...I apologize. At least readers will know who is giving the most accurate Penguins reports now," he said before quietly leaving my cubicle. I dumped the paper into my trash can and plopped back into my chair. My phone began ringing a few moments later, and I was sorely tempted to throw that in the trash as well.
"What?" I growled, answering the phone.
"That's not a very nice way to answer your phone," Sidney said.
"Yeah, well your little stunt yesterday just got me reamed out at work!" I said. The line was quiet for a second, and I had to check to make sure he hadn't hung up on me.
"What did you expect? Us to keep this whole thing quiet forever?" he asked, irritation creeping into his voice. I sighed.
"I...I don't...no. I just wasn't thinking about it I guess," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I'm picking you up for lunch. We need to talk later," he said, hanging up. I sighed again and tossed my phone onto the desk. This is going to be a long day.
Sidney was silent the entire ride, which was unusual for him.
"Where are we going?" I asked, but he just pressed his lips tightly together and kept driving. I sighed angrily and tapped my fingers against my legs. Eventually he turned onto a small side street and parked. He grabbed a black bag out of the back of the car before opening my door and taking my hand. He turned to the right down a little alley and I raised my eyebrows.
"The warehouse?" I asked. He whisked me into the building, took two salads out of the bag, and placed them on the beam we had sat on the last time we had talked. The building was incredibly cold. He's insane, it's freakin' November and he has us out here freezing our butts off!
"We came here the day I let myself admit that I liked you," he said quietly.
"I know," I muttered.
"This is where we started...so I think this is where we should end if we do. Alice, if we're going to stay together, I need to know that you will be able to handle all of the craziness. I'm not just some guy...I'm one of the poster boys of the NHL. I am constantly in the spotlight, and if you're with me, you will be too...I guess what I'm saying is that you can back out now and there won't be any hard feelings. If you stay with me, I'm going to take it as if you understand and accept the fact that I'm...well, famous...and that you can handle that pressure. I'm going to be stressed out sometimes, and I'm going to snap a bit if we lose games...I'm not always easy to deal with Alice, especially off the ice. I'm the most awkward, unsure person in the world when I'm not wearing skates. So...it's take me or leave me," he said. He paced back and forth as he talked, wringing his hands together. His normally bright eyes were full of something dark and heavy...fear? I stood silently for a minute, seriously thinking about what he said. Are you really that dumb that you need to think about it Alice? You love him. It's only been 3 months, but you love him. Accept you idiot! I suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards me.
"Sidney, I love you. It'll be weird at first, but I'll do whatever I need to just so I can stay with you," I said quietly. He let out a sigh of relief, the darkness vanished from his face, and he pulled me into a tight hug. I rested my head against his chest, wrapped my arms around him, and listened to his heart beat.
"Mr. Whitacre, we've been keeping this under wraps for a while. I didn't know he was going to do that, and I certainly wasn't going to write you a nice little article on my private life!" I sighed, turning the paper over so that I wouldn't have to look at the picture of Sidney and I kissing. Mr. Whitacre ran his hands through his thinning hair.
"Alice you're a reporter, you're supposed to report things!" he said. His face was flushed with anger, but my own irritation was growing.
"Yes, I'm a reporter. I am not paparazzi, and I am not obligated to fill the public in on my life!" I cried, standing up suddenly. The office grew quiet and Mr. Whitacre stared at me for a moment.
"Yes, I supposed you're right...I apologize. At least readers will know who is giving the most accurate Penguins reports now," he said before quietly leaving my cubicle. I dumped the paper into my trash can and plopped back into my chair. My phone began ringing a few moments later, and I was sorely tempted to throw that in the trash as well.
"What?" I growled, answering the phone.
"That's not a very nice way to answer your phone," Sidney said.
"Yeah, well your little stunt yesterday just got me reamed out at work!" I said. The line was quiet for a second, and I had to check to make sure he hadn't hung up on me.
"What did you expect? Us to keep this whole thing quiet forever?" he asked, irritation creeping into his voice. I sighed.
"I...I don't...no. I just wasn't thinking about it I guess," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I'm picking you up for lunch. We need to talk later," he said, hanging up. I sighed again and tossed my phone onto the desk. This is going to be a long day.
Sidney was silent the entire ride, which was unusual for him.
"Where are we going?" I asked, but he just pressed his lips tightly together and kept driving. I sighed angrily and tapped my fingers against my legs. Eventually he turned onto a small side street and parked. He grabbed a black bag out of the back of the car before opening my door and taking my hand. He turned to the right down a little alley and I raised my eyebrows.
"The warehouse?" I asked. He whisked me into the building, took two salads out of the bag, and placed them on the beam we had sat on the last time we had talked. The building was incredibly cold. He's insane, it's freakin' November and he has us out here freezing our butts off!
"We came here the day I let myself admit that I liked you," he said quietly.
"I know," I muttered.
"This is where we started...so I think this is where we should end if we do. Alice, if we're going to stay together, I need to know that you will be able to handle all of the craziness. I'm not just some guy...I'm one of the poster boys of the NHL. I am constantly in the spotlight, and if you're with me, you will be too...I guess what I'm saying is that you can back out now and there won't be any hard feelings. If you stay with me, I'm going to take it as if you understand and accept the fact that I'm...well, famous...and that you can handle that pressure. I'm going to be stressed out sometimes, and I'm going to snap a bit if we lose games...I'm not always easy to deal with Alice, especially off the ice. I'm the most awkward, unsure person in the world when I'm not wearing skates. So...it's take me or leave me," he said. He paced back and forth as he talked, wringing his hands together. His normally bright eyes were full of something dark and heavy...fear? I stood silently for a minute, seriously thinking about what he said. Are you really that dumb that you need to think about it Alice? You love him. It's only been 3 months, but you love him. Accept you idiot! I suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards me.
"Sidney, I love you. It'll be weird at first, but I'll do whatever I need to just so I can stay with you," I said quietly. He let out a sigh of relief, the darkness vanished from his face, and he pulled me into a tight hug. I rested my head against his chest, wrapped my arms around him, and listened to his heart beat.