Picking Up the Pieces

Everything was fantastic for a while. I was doing incredibly well on the Devils, and my first game of the regular season was a shutout. The fans were warming up to me quickly, although I knew I would never replace Marty in their hearts. Alice wore my jersey to the games, and the sight of her in it made me want to play all that much better. It wasn’t until October 22nd that anything bad happened. We were playing Pittsburgh, and Alice insisted on going to the game. She said that it would make her stronger, so I eventually gave in and bought her a plane ticket. As usual, she headed down to the locker room before the game to give me my “good luck” pep talk, and chat with some of the guys. She had met a few of the Devils before I had joined the team, so she was quickly forming friendships with them. I was standing in the hallway chatting with Gronk when the air became so full of tension you could cut it with a knife. I glanced at the door to the Penguins’ locker room and saw Sidney standing there. He wasn’t looking at me though; he was staring towards the door to the away team’s locker room, a locker room he never passed. I looked over and saw Alice standing there, in my jersey as usual. Gronk and I exchanged a nervous glance, and then things went nuclear.

“You’re wearing his jersey now?” Sidney asked quietly.

“What’s it to you?” she replied quickly.

“Are you sleeping with him?” he snarled.

“No, but even if I was, it wouldn’t be any of your damn business,” she growled.

“It actually would be, because he was my friend and teammate!” Sidney roared, turning towards me. I raised my hands in surrender.

“Je n’ai pas toucher son. I didn’t touch her,” I said quickly.

“You’re lying Fleury. I always knew that you had the hots for her, but I never thought you’d act on them. You were probably the one who convinced her to wear that stupid Devils jersey before we broke up! You just wanted me gone so that you could have her!” Sidney cried. Suddenly, I knew that he would never be back with Alice. One look at her face was all it took to confirm that.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it Sid!” I said loudly. Sidney lurched forward, and Gronk went to grab him, but Sidney quickly bolted out of his reach before swinging at me. As soon as his fist made contact with my face, I went blind with rage. I heard Alice let out a pitiful scream, but Sidney and I started beating each other mercilessly.

“You broke her heart, you emotionless piece of shit!” I screamed.

“You stole her!” he cried. I was so angry that Sidney’s fists barely hurt me as they pounded into my body, although I knew that the bruises left would hurt in the morning. Suddenly I heard the door to the Penguins’ locker room open, and felt someone pulling me off of Sidney.

“CROSBY GET YOUR ASS IN THAT LOCKER ROOM NOW!” Bylsma’s booming voice cried. I looked up to see Evgeni Malkin grasping my arms and looking at me sadly.

“What happen Flower?” he asked quietly.

“He started it,” was all I said. My old coach looked at me with anger glinting in his eyes for a moment.

“Fleury, you two used to be great friends, and I don’t know what caused you two to fight, but I’m going to have to ask you to stay away from my team. The officials are going to be notified about this incident…you’ll both be suspended,” he said sadly before turning and walking back into his locker room. Malkin dropped me, and I looked at him sadly.

“I’m just trying to protect her,” I croaked at his retreating figure.

“And I am trying to protect my best friend,” Malkin said coldly before slamming the locker room door shut.

Alice’s hands found my shoulders, and I couldn’t force myself to look at her. Shame was creeping through my bloodstream, making my entire body feel heavy. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die somewhere. I had just given one of my old friends a beat down, and in front of the girl I cared about. Alice’s hands flitted to the back of my neck, and I heard her sigh heavily.

“Marc…I’m sorry this happened,” she whispered. I heard the locker room door open behind me.

“I am too,” was all I said before facing my now mutinous coach.

>>>The Next Day<<<

Alice didn’t really talk to me after the game (during which I sulked in the team box), and it wasn’t until we got back home to Newark that she was ready to talk. She dropped her small suitcase by her door, and then grabbed my wrist as I went to walk into my bedroom.

“Marc…what you did yesterday…well…I appreciate it,” she muttered.

“You appreciate it?” I asked, not trying to disguise my confusion.

“You took a punch for me…and honestly, the whole incident made me realize that I don’t want to be with Sidney ever again. If he’s jealous, over-controlling, and pissy all the time, I just can’t deal with that combination. He’s too much for me Marc. I’ve slowly been coming to that realization, but last night was just sealed the deal,” Alice explained. I sighed heavily.

“I feel like a home wrecker,” I muttered. She chuckled quietly and turned me around. Her fingers gently touched the bruise that now marred my right eye, and I winced as my face throbbed where her fingers made contact.

“You’re not…what’s done is done, and it would have happened sooner or later with or without you being there. I’m just glad you’ve been here for me the entire time,” Alice said quietly. I looked at her for a few minutes, and then smiled lightly.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” I said truthfully. I felt like a total cheeseball saying it, but it was true, and I felt no reason to lie. Alice smiled broadly at me, and then took a step forward. I swallowed roughly as I realized that I could kiss her quite easily now. Instead, she got up on her tip toes and kissed my cheek lightly.

“Go to bed Marc…you need your beauty sleep tonight,” she laughed before slipping into her bedroom. I stood there, my fingers resting against my cheek like a complete idiot for a few moments, before walking into my own bedroom.