Illusions

Game days were always stressful for all parties involved. They didn’t provide any sort of break from the press for Loren or for Sidney. They were like vultures, waiting until the pair were at their most vulnerable before cornering them and demanding answers for questions they’d asked hundreds of times before. For Loren this was just a part of her job. Sidney wasn’t as willing to brush their badgering aside. It wasn’t as disposable to him as it was to Loren. Every question was a bitter reminder of what he couldn’t do, what had happened to him that he couldn’t change. No answer was going to speed up his recovery and he couldn’t figure out why they constantly wanted to throw his injury in his face. Had he not given them everything they’d expected him to?

Just as Loren had suspected, the reporters weren’t overly concerned with Robbie’s presence. He was just another minor-leaguer called up out of desperation rather than talent. Loren had never seen him play but Rhea would give her highlights after each game. There was no denying he had talent — you didn’t get drafted by a team like the Penguins if you didn’t — but he didn’t seem to have that extra spark, that one aspect of the game that they couldn’t find in anyone else. He was simply a good enough hockey player to hold them over until who they really wanted was available again.

The locker room was buzzing with activity by the time Loren arrived. Usually she’d watch the games on the television in her office, if she even stayed past game-time at all, but with the way the press was hounding her for answers regarding Sidney’s condition, she decided it’d be best to keep herself in the middle of it all lest they go searching for him. That would only open a can of worms no one would be able to close.

Robbie was in the middle of an interview with a low-profile blogger Loren recognized from a handful of press conferences. However, all eyes (belonging to a reporter, at least) were instantly on her as soon as she stepped through the door. She was as close to Sidney Crosby as they were going to get and they’d have to suffice if they wanted answers at all. Not only did she take the weight of the world off Sidney’s shoulders, she did the same for the rest of the team as well. They could spend more time worrying about plays and line formations instead of pre-game interviews. Even if Sidney’s teammates would never tell her, she did just as much for them as she did for their captain.

Loren fielded the usual questions: what had happened at Sidney’s latest appointment, what the prognosis was, when they could expect him back, etc. She smiled as she repeated the same answers she’d been giving since January. Some people would say there’s no such thing as a stupid question but Loren wholeheartedly disagreed. Almost every question she was asked was stupid. Sidney Crosby making his return to the NHL was going to be a momentous occasion; surely the organization would make an announcement. Why the press thought Loren had top-secret information they didn’t really made no sense to her. She may have known things about Sidney and his teammates that the general public didn’t, but she wasn’t a member of the team’s Secret Service.

Eventually the reporters dispersed upon learning there was no new information. Loren took a look around the locker room and nodded her head in a “good luck” type of way at everyone she made eye contact with. Dan was busy rattling off plays and statistics while the team finished lacing their skates.

“I had no idea you were such a big deal around here.”

Loren laughed dryly. “I work for Sidney Crosby.”

“Still,” Robbie shrugged. “You’re big enough of a deal to make that guy forget he was interviewing me.”

“Well, no offense, kid, but they’d rather have me tell them there’s no timetable on Sidney’s return than hear about how nervous and excited you are to play in your first NHL game.”

Robbie winced slightly. “No offense, huh?”

Loren patted his shoulder as she turned to leave. “You’re not going to last very long if you’re that sensitive.”

Robbie returned to his stall, knowing she was right. Even so, it didn’t wipe the memories away of what his sister had told him. This wasn’t his first run-in with his sister’s former roommate but it was the ugliest. There seemed to be a change in her, something that made her less bubbly and all business. Rhea had said that. She had also told him that Loren refused to work with him and then proceeded to kick her out of the apartment they shared. It was never really a matter of choosing sides (family versus business, as Loren now represented) as it was a no-brainer.

“Hey, man.” Robbie looked up from his skates to see Kris Letang looming over him. “Just wanted to tell you good luck. We were all in your position once.”

Robbie thanked him before going over the plays his new coach had discussed in his head. The next few hours were going to be rough but he swelled with pride knowing he was the first in his family to ever experience them. That meant something, everything, to the members of his family sitting in the crowd with custom-made Campbell jerseys. And he wasn’t going to let them down.

Especially his sister.

&&

Loren took a seat behind her desk, instantly going online to check which reporters already published interviews or statements. She had never worked anywhere but Pittsburgh but she doubted any other city’s media were as frenzy. Maybe Philadelphia, she told herself, and made a mental note to ask Max if she ever saw him. But she could understand why. Sidney Crosby was their modern-day Mario Lemieux. They needed him. He won them Stanley Cups and scored game-winning goals in the Olympics. He was their bragging rights.

There was a knock on her door and she waited for it to open, hoping it wasn’t who she thought it’d be.

“Need some company?”

She laughed as Sidney poked his head in. Not once had he ever asked for permission to come in her office, just barreling his way in as if he owned the place, but they were on level ground now. His manners did not go unnoticed.

“Sure.”

He shuffled in and shut the door behind him. Loren’s office was a risky place to hide but he knew all eyes would still be on him if he stayed in one of the suites. It wasn’t as if he resented the city’s concern — it was an incredible feeling to have millions of people in his corner — but it was exhausting. He had nothing to offer them off the ice and the guilt tore him apart every time he stepped foot in the arena.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he commented as he dropped into one of the plush leather chairs, “I just really needed a break.”

Loren shrugged. “I don’t. Mi casa es su casa.”

“And she’s bilingual?” Sidney exclaimed dramatically. “God save the queen! I have a modern-day Renaissance woman working for me.”

“You’re an idiot,” Loren remarked as she scrolled through her Twitter feed. The front office thought it’d be a good idea for her to have one (incognito, of course) so she could keep tabs on what the social networking sites were saying. She had blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts — the whole nine yards.

Sidney ignored her name-calling. “Did you see Rhea’s brother?”

“Sure did. I don’t think I made a very good impression, though.”

“That’s not your job,” he explained. “If you made a good impression on everyone you came in contact with around here they’d walk all over you.”

Loren laughed and cocked an eyebrow. “Sounds like someone I know.”

“I sincerely hope you aren’t referring to me.”

On the television on the far wall of her office, the puck dropped and the game was under way. Sidney watched intently while Loren continued her Internet lurking. Almost everything she read was the same regurgitated bullshit she’d been feeding the media since the day she was hired. There would be no emergency situations to spend all night trying to fix. For once she would be able to enjoy the game and relax — as much as someone who worked for the poster boy for the NHL could relax.

“He’s not bad,” Sidney commented. “His footwork could use some improvement and he’s a little slow, but he’s not bad.”

“Who?”

“Your roommate’s brother.”

“Oh,” Loren piped, “she isn’t my roommate anymore.”

Sidney shot her a look. “Since when?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“What happened?”

Loren sighed. “She wanted me to work with Robbie — do for him what I do for you — and I told her I couldn’t. She got mad, I said some things I probably shouldn’t have, and I asked her to move out.”

“You asked her?”

“Okay,” Loren relented, “I told her to move out.”

“Does it matter?” Sidney asked. “I mean did she pay rent or anything?”

“Her father paid her half of everything but it isn’t like I can’t manage on my own.”

“Still, she just expected you to do it because you guys are friends or something?”

“I guess,” Loren answered. She closed her laptop and glanced at the television. The Pens were down 3-1 going into the second period. “Ouch. I just don’t like to mix business with my personal life, you know? If it were anyone else I might have done it, but not my best friend’s brother.”

Sidney nodded. “Don’t feel bad about it. People are always going to try to use you. It’s not wrong to say no.”

“I’m just not sure it was worth losing a friendship over.”

“It comes with the territory. People show their true colors when you have something they want.”

“What about you? Lose anyone close to you because of your career?”

“Probably hundreds,” Sidney answered. He took his eyes off the television long enough to make eye contact with Loren. “The only people who have stuck around are my family and teammates. Everyone else makes an appearance when it’s convenient. I can’t even begin to tell you how many new best friends I had after we won the Cup.”

Sidney left out how many girls had come and gone, figuring it wasn’t appropriate or necessary to talk about them with Loren however frustrating it may have been. So many women considered him a prize, a notch in their bedpost that they could keep forever and talk about on a rainy day. Most of them didn’t want to stick around — his lifestyle wasn’t the easiest to accommodate — and those that did never stuck around for the right reasons. He was a paycheck, a high-profile relationship and dinner in the most expensive restaurants. He was an endless source of publicity and fame by association. At twenty-four he wasn’t overly concerned with finding someone to spend the rest of his life with, but it would’ve been nice to find a strong enough woman to stick by his side.

Somewhere deep down, Sidney knew he’d already met her. She was sitting a few feet away from him, trying to keep the smile from creeping onto her face when Jordan scored the team’s only goal of the first period. Loren had a strength that went unrivaled within the circle of women he’d spent his time with between the years. She had thick skin, couldn’t have cared less what people thought about her, and never failed to speak her mind. While most women would lie to spare his feelings, Loren would do no such thing. She knew every flaw he had and still chose to keep his company. There weren’t many people he could say that about.

“Do you ever wonder if it’s worth it?”

“What?”

“All of this.” Loren gestured around her office. “Don’t you ever get tired of living such a high-profile life? You can barely take a shit without having thousands of people question it. I don’t get how you’re not exhausted.”

“I am,” he admitted, “but I’d rather not be able to have a girlfriend or go out in public than not be able to play hockey. It’s always been worth it.”

“Even this?” she asked, referring to his concussion.

Sidney sighed. “This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. I’ve been playing since I was two years old and now I’m out. I feel so lost, you know? It’s like I don’t even know who I am without hockey.”

Loren didn’t know what to say so she changed the subject. “I’m going to get some ice cream. You want some?”

“I’m not supposed to have ice cream.”

“Who’s going to tell?” Loren smirked. “You seem like a mint chocolate chip type.”

“How did you know?”

“Rule number four is to always know your client.”

Sidney could’ve swore she winked at him but before he could question it she was out the door, amongst the masses that would probably chase her all the way back to Erie if they recognized her. All he could do was watch his team take the ice for the second period and wait for his ice cream.

&&

The Pens scored four goals in the third period to end up winning 6-3 over Colorado. To say the team was fired up would’ve been an understatement: the locker room was a mad house. If Jordan didn’t know better he would’ve guessed they just won a playoff game in overtime. It didn’t matter, though. A win was a win and the team was lucky to be playing so well without their captain.

“Nice goal you had out there.”

Jordan was in the middle of packing his gear into his bag. He looked up to see the team’s newest addition: Robbie Campbell. “Oh. Thanks, man. You played well for your first game.”

Robbie smirked, wishing Loren could’ve been there to hear Jordan say that. “Thanks. I know it’s probably none of my business but I think you know my sister.”

“I do?”

“Yeah,” Robbie confirmed. “Her name is Rhea.”

Jordan’s face went white. His anger registered at the same time as Rhea’s identity. It wasn’t often the tables were turned and women used him for more than a romantic rendezvous but this was every kind of wrong he could’ve imagined. Did she only sleep with him because her brother was looking for an in to the big leagues? Was this her plan all along, to cement herself in Jordan’s life so her brother could have someone to pal around Pittsburgh with?

Had Loren known about this all along?

Jordan looked to Kris, who was in the middle of a post-game interview with ROOT. He then looked for anyone who could help him but found no one. Robbie was still standing in front of him, waiting for a response, but Jordan refused to give him one. This was going to turn into a game of who could piss off the other more and so far Jordan was losing. He didn’t like to lose.

“Sorry,” he finally replied. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

He finished packing his gear and stormed out of the locker room, ignoring any and everyone who wanted an interview with him. He didn’t know where he was going — it was more to clear his head than anything — but he knew who he needed to find.