Sequel: Picking Up the Pieces ›
Bringing the Devil Out of Me
Forty Nine
"Marc I just don't get it!" I said, tears threatening to spill over once more. I wasn't upset about rooting for the Penguins, considering that my fiancee and our friends made up the entirety of the team. I was upset about the fact that Sidney thought I was rooting for him to fail. Marc patted my back comfortingly, and handed me the box of tissues.
"Alice, he's just nervous, and not having you root for us makes us all a little nervous. You’re our lucky charm…and guys really love seeing their girls rooting for them. It’s completely egotistical, but it’s the truth.” Marc explained, and I sighed heavily.
“Do you think I could get away with wearing the jersey he gave me when he proposed?” I asked.
“I’m not too sure about that.” Marc frowned, but he pulled out his phone, which had begun to ring.
“Hey Sid…” he said quietly. I heard Sidney talking on the other line, and I could hear the anger in his voice, and that just made me start to cry again. Marc stared at me wide eyed as he tried to hold the conversation with Sidney.
“No, she’s here right now. Yeah…no…well what did you expect, pulling a move like that? Yeah, I’d say that. No, probably the biggest ass in the universe would suit you better. Mmhmm. Nope, I’d rather you not do that right now. Yeah. No, I would prefer if you stayed home right now. Shut the hell up and go to bed Sidney. We’ll talk tomorrow at the morning skate.” Marc said. His voice was layered with anger, and he hung up the phone quickly.
“What was that about?” I asked, hiccupping.
“He wanted to know if you were okay…and then he wanted to come over and apologize, but he needs to realize what he did and not be forgiven in a heartbeat.” Marc said.
“Forgiven in a heartbeat?” I asked.
“You and I both know that you forgive him for everything way too easily. Don’t give in this time Alice. You’ve gotta stand your ground with him sometimes. He’s used to getting everything he wants, and you have to be the one to let him know that he can’t always have it.” Marc explained.
“So what jersey should I wear tomorrow?” I asked quietly.
“Wear the one he gave you when he proposed…it’ll be a compromise. If he can’t accept that…well, would you want to be with a control freak anyway?” Marc asked before walking into his room. He slammed his door a little too loudly, and I cringed before making my way into my own bedroom. I flopped onto the bed and began to sob into my pillows.
^^^^^^
I lay in my bed and listened to her sobbing for what seemed like the millionth time in the past few months. She genuinely loved Sidney, but he was such an asshole sometimes. I wanted to punch him square in the face, give him another black eye for making her cry like this…but I had no right to be so angry about another guy making her upset. A dark, brooding feeling blossomed in my chest every time I saw them together, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had feelings for Alice that I shouldn’t. I rolled over on my bed and pulled a pillow over my head, trying to drown out the sound of her crying. I could picture her delicate little frame shaking in that bed of hers, and my heart ached. After suffering through a nasty breakup with Vero only weeks before Alice moved in, I knew the pain of losing someone you loved. I knew what Sidney was going to do if she wore the Brodeur jersey, and I knew she was going to be miserable if she wore her Pens jersey, so I opted for the path less traveled and told her to wear the Devils/Crosby jersey. I just prayed that Sidney would take it as a compromise, and not as her being obstinate. I decided to pack her Pens jersey in my bag just in case, but I also knew that if Sidney couldn’t accept both sides of her life, she might leave him instead of him leaving her. I was an outsider looking in on their relationship as it crumbled, and I was entirely sure if I wanted to help salvage it. The uncertainty made me feel like a horrible person, because I knew that both of my friends would also crumble if their relationship failed. I just hoped that everything would work out in the end. I eventually fell asleep, and all of my worries were temporarily swept away.
^^^^^^
I shifted nervously from foot to foot as I waited outside the locker room for Sidney. I was wearing the Devils jersey he had given me, along with black leggings and my black and white Chuck Taylor low tops. My heart was pounding so fast it made me dizzy, and my stomach was doing flips as I struggled to remember how to breathe. I twisted the engagement ring on my finger nervously, and as the door opened up, I felt like I was going to throw up all over the place. Max walked out first, immediately gathering the extremely pregnant Annabeth into his arms and kissing her cheek. A few more of Sidney’s teammates walked out next, but when Evgeni walked out, I knew I was doomed. Sidney followed him closely, and as soon as he saw me, his gaze hardened. All he did was walk over, and quietly slip the ring off of my finger.
“Sid…” I croaked, turning so he could see the number on the sleeve.
“No Alice…just…this is too important for me to be okay with compromise. I need to know you’re behind me one hundred percent. I’m sorry…” he said before walking away. I watched as he tucked the ring into his pocket and hung his head sadly. Evgeni wrapped an arm around his shoulder and turned to glare at me. I felt my legs give out from underneath me, and I collapsed to the ground, sobs shaking my entire body. I knew some of the guys were staring at me, but I didn’t care. In that moment, my entire world was collapsing in around me. I cried until I couldn’t breathe, and then I cried some more. I felt like my heart was being torn in two, and deep inside I knew that Sidney would never go back on this decision. I also knew that I couldn’t bear to be with someone who couldn’t accept my decisions, or at least compromise with me. Hockey was Sidney’s career, and his entire life until he met me, but now I knew that when it came to love, Sidney Crosby could only love one thing; hockey. I peeled off the jersey and threw it to the ground, revealing the Crosby tee-shirt I had been wearing underneath, and kicked it away from me. I felt thin arms wrap around me, and I sobbed even harder as Marc held me to his chest and muttered sweet nothings to me in my ear to try and calm me down.
"Alice, he's just nervous, and not having you root for us makes us all a little nervous. You’re our lucky charm…and guys really love seeing their girls rooting for them. It’s completely egotistical, but it’s the truth.” Marc explained, and I sighed heavily.
“Do you think I could get away with wearing the jersey he gave me when he proposed?” I asked.
“I’m not too sure about that.” Marc frowned, but he pulled out his phone, which had begun to ring.
“Hey Sid…” he said quietly. I heard Sidney talking on the other line, and I could hear the anger in his voice, and that just made me start to cry again. Marc stared at me wide eyed as he tried to hold the conversation with Sidney.
“No, she’s here right now. Yeah…no…well what did you expect, pulling a move like that? Yeah, I’d say that. No, probably the biggest ass in the universe would suit you better. Mmhmm. Nope, I’d rather you not do that right now. Yeah. No, I would prefer if you stayed home right now. Shut the hell up and go to bed Sidney. We’ll talk tomorrow at the morning skate.” Marc said. His voice was layered with anger, and he hung up the phone quickly.
“What was that about?” I asked, hiccupping.
“He wanted to know if you were okay…and then he wanted to come over and apologize, but he needs to realize what he did and not be forgiven in a heartbeat.” Marc said.
“Forgiven in a heartbeat?” I asked.
“You and I both know that you forgive him for everything way too easily. Don’t give in this time Alice. You’ve gotta stand your ground with him sometimes. He’s used to getting everything he wants, and you have to be the one to let him know that he can’t always have it.” Marc explained.
“So what jersey should I wear tomorrow?” I asked quietly.
“Wear the one he gave you when he proposed…it’ll be a compromise. If he can’t accept that…well, would you want to be with a control freak anyway?” Marc asked before walking into his room. He slammed his door a little too loudly, and I cringed before making my way into my own bedroom. I flopped onto the bed and began to sob into my pillows.
^^^^^^
I lay in my bed and listened to her sobbing for what seemed like the millionth time in the past few months. She genuinely loved Sidney, but he was such an asshole sometimes. I wanted to punch him square in the face, give him another black eye for making her cry like this…but I had no right to be so angry about another guy making her upset. A dark, brooding feeling blossomed in my chest every time I saw them together, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had feelings for Alice that I shouldn’t. I rolled over on my bed and pulled a pillow over my head, trying to drown out the sound of her crying. I could picture her delicate little frame shaking in that bed of hers, and my heart ached. After suffering through a nasty breakup with Vero only weeks before Alice moved in, I knew the pain of losing someone you loved. I knew what Sidney was going to do if she wore the Brodeur jersey, and I knew she was going to be miserable if she wore her Pens jersey, so I opted for the path less traveled and told her to wear the Devils/Crosby jersey. I just prayed that Sidney would take it as a compromise, and not as her being obstinate. I decided to pack her Pens jersey in my bag just in case, but I also knew that if Sidney couldn’t accept both sides of her life, she might leave him instead of him leaving her. I was an outsider looking in on their relationship as it crumbled, and I was entirely sure if I wanted to help salvage it. The uncertainty made me feel like a horrible person, because I knew that both of my friends would also crumble if their relationship failed. I just hoped that everything would work out in the end. I eventually fell asleep, and all of my worries were temporarily swept away.
^^^^^^
I shifted nervously from foot to foot as I waited outside the locker room for Sidney. I was wearing the Devils jersey he had given me, along with black leggings and my black and white Chuck Taylor low tops. My heart was pounding so fast it made me dizzy, and my stomach was doing flips as I struggled to remember how to breathe. I twisted the engagement ring on my finger nervously, and as the door opened up, I felt like I was going to throw up all over the place. Max walked out first, immediately gathering the extremely pregnant Annabeth into his arms and kissing her cheek. A few more of Sidney’s teammates walked out next, but when Evgeni walked out, I knew I was doomed. Sidney followed him closely, and as soon as he saw me, his gaze hardened. All he did was walk over, and quietly slip the ring off of my finger.
“Sid…” I croaked, turning so he could see the number on the sleeve.
“No Alice…just…this is too important for me to be okay with compromise. I need to know you’re behind me one hundred percent. I’m sorry…” he said before walking away. I watched as he tucked the ring into his pocket and hung his head sadly. Evgeni wrapped an arm around his shoulder and turned to glare at me. I felt my legs give out from underneath me, and I collapsed to the ground, sobs shaking my entire body. I knew some of the guys were staring at me, but I didn’t care. In that moment, my entire world was collapsing in around me. I cried until I couldn’t breathe, and then I cried some more. I felt like my heart was being torn in two, and deep inside I knew that Sidney would never go back on this decision. I also knew that I couldn’t bear to be with someone who couldn’t accept my decisions, or at least compromise with me. Hockey was Sidney’s career, and his entire life until he met me, but now I knew that when it came to love, Sidney Crosby could only love one thing; hockey. I peeled off the jersey and threw it to the ground, revealing the Crosby tee-shirt I had been wearing underneath, and kicked it away from me. I felt thin arms wrap around me, and I sobbed even harder as Marc held me to his chest and muttered sweet nothings to me in my ear to try and calm me down.