Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces

Bringing the Devil Out of Me

Forty Five

"Hello?" Alice asked. Her voice was hoarse. Dammit Sid, you woke her up.
"Hey." I said quietly.
"Oh. Hey Sid." She muttered. I could tell she was still upset.
"Can I come over?" I asked her.
"Why?" She asked. Great, she went from pissed, to upset, to pissed again. This is going to be a tough one.
"So I can talk to you about yesterday." I said.
"What is there to talk about?" She asked. I bit back a growl of irritation.
"Just...let me come over." I said.
"Fine." She said. I opened my mouth to say goodbye, but the line went dead.

When I showed up at her apartment, everything was quiet as usual. Marc was probably still sleeping. He slept a lot ever since the accident. Alice was sitting in the kitchen, arms folded over her chest, in black yoga pants, a loose white teeshirt, and glaring at the doorway.
"So, say what you want to say, and then get out." Alice said. I cringed. She was a lot angrier than I thought she was.
"Alice...I'm sorry about yesterday." I said, walking towards her. She got up and walked to the opposite side of the kitchen. Everything about her body screamed "don't you touch me or I'll roundhouse kick you in the face".
"You should be." She said quietly.
"I know. Look...I get ornery during the playoffs, and I probably should have warned you beforehand." I sighed.
"Or, you could think for five damn seconds before you open your mouth." She said. Her eyes had an angry spark in them I had never seen before.
"I know! That's why I'm trying to say. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I am trying to explain myself here." I said. I tried to keep my voice calm, but I really was getting irritated by this. Everything irritated me during the playoffs, no matter how lighthearted I seemed to people outside of my circle.
"Well, you might want to do a better job." She growled. I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath.
"Alice, I shouldn't have done what I did yesterday. I wasn't thinking, I was pissed about how crappy I played in that last game I was watching, and I am just trying to keep my shit together right now. It's the playoffs Alice...I hardly sleep, I can barely bring myself to eat, I get irritable, and I don't think. Honestly...I am scared shitless. I mean, I'm the captain. If we lose, isn't it my fault? I'm supposed to be the leader on the ice. I have to score these incredible goals against goalies who are playing like their lives depended on it. I never know if I'm good enough to be there, or what's going to happen during the game. I just..." I said, but Alice cut me off towards the end by simply walking over and hugging me tightly.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled into my chest. I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.
"Don't be. I was a jerk." I said. She looked up and all of the anger was gone from her face. Love had returned to her eyes and I breathed a sigh of relief. That's better.
"I didn't realize how freaked out you were about all of this. I thought..." She started to say.
"You thought that I was Sidney Crosby and that I could handle anything and everything hockey without a second thought." I said. She stared at me.
"Yeah." She said. I smiled, shook my head, and kissed her. I swear, I would have been so screwed if this fight had lasted any longer.