Say I'm Sorry

By the time Ian and the rest of the Wings returned from their road trip, I was a complete mess. What I had done had eaten away at me since I had arrived back in my apartment. My stomach had been so knotted up almost the entire road trip that I had hardly eaten anything at all. I was curled up on the couch gazing at the TV when Ian walked in, dropping his bag by the door like he did after every road trip.

"Hey," He said, sitting next to me. He glanced at the TV before leaning over to kiss me. "You feeling alright?"

"Been better," I mumbled, cuddling into the blanket I had wrapped around myself even more, shying away from Ian slightly.

"Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No, I'm alright," I answered quietly and he nodded.

"Okay. I'm going to go hop in the shower. I'll see you in a bit." I nodded as he made his way into our room to grab clothes before shutting himself away in the shower. I let out a sigh as I hear my phone go off, signaling a text.

"Hey, I'm gunna stop by with some of the boys tonight. Haven't seen you in awhile." I sighed, tossing the phone back to the couch, knowing that even if I told him to stay away, Justin would show up later on.

Losing focus, I found myself sucked into the movie playing on the TV in front of me. Soon enough, a loud knock jarred me from my trance-like state. I glanced over at the door, listening to see if the shower was still on. As I got up to make my way to the door, I heard the water shut off, signaling that Ian was just now geting out of the shower.

As I got to the door, another loud knock resounded throughout the apartment. I huffed at Justin's impatience as I heard Ian exit the bathroom, calling out to me.

"Babe? Someone at the door?"

"Yeah, I got it!" I called back as I pulled the door open. My stomach dropped as I took in the view of Justin standing there with Darren and Cory.

"What's up?" Justin asked as they filed into the apartment, Cory entering last. The urge to smack the small smirk off his face was greater than I would have expected it. Ignoring the urge, I turned to shut the door before ushering them into the living room.

"Do you guys want anything to drink?" I asked, watching as all three shook their heads. "Okay, I'll be right back."

Disappearing into the bedroom, I watched as Ian slipped a t-shirt over his head before returning the towel to try and dry his hair off more. After a few seconds he turned, smiling upon seeing me standing there watching him.

"Hey," He smiled, walking over to kiss me. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

"So who's here?"

"Justin, Darren and Cory," I said, trying to hold back the disgusted look I knew would make it's way to my face as I said his name in front of Ian.

"Well go hang out with them, you haven't seen them longer than you haven't seen me," Ian urged, nudging me towards the door. I sighed as I made my way back to the living room, seeing the three young men sprawled across the living room.

"I'm heading to the store real quick, I'll be back in a bit," Ian called as we heard him grab his keys from the dish near the door before exiting the apartment quickly.

"So how goes it?" Darren asked as I took a seat next to him with a sigh.

"Same old, I guess," I said and he nodded.

"I heard you on that one."

"What, still nothing with Amy?" I asked, poking his side as I watched a blush creep up on his cheeks as he stumbled over his words. He'd had the hots for one of my friends and I had finally convinced him to do something about it. However, Darren was one of the shyest guys I had ever met, so it was taking quite the effort.

"It's uh...kinda hard to talk with someone when there's a huge time difference and stuff," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as I giggled at him, watching the rosey color on his cheeks deepen.

Much to Darren's relief, Justins phone rang, gaining my attention. My main focus was to pay attention to everything but Cory. He seemed fine with it when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was gazing out the window, his fingers laced together on his stomach as the slightest smirk played on his lips.

"Yeah, I'll get you....yeah alright, I'll tell him. Okay see you in a bit....bye." I turned back to Justin, eyebrows raised.

"Who was that?"

"My mom. Her and my dad want me to pick them up from the airport. And Darren was requested to join, since my sister is with them, and everyone knows that she has the biggest crush on Helmer," Justin said, laughing as Darren's face flushed again.

"So we'll have to catch up tomorrow or something?"

"Yeah, I'd rather get there early than late, you know? Cory, do you want me to drop you off on the way or are you going to stay?"

"I think I'm going to stay. I'll get a ride home somehow," He said and Justin nodded as him and Darren stood up. I joined them, hugging both the young hockey players before walking them to the door.

Upon closing the door, I leaned against it, glaring into the living room. Pushing myself off the door, I stalked back to where I had been before, staring Cory down as I did so. His gaze slowly turned to me as I stood in front of the couch, the smirk returning to his face.

"Hi," He said and I felt the rage building up inside me almost explode.

"I really hope you're not expecting to stay long," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest as I glared down at him.

"I was thinking about it. Maybe have a little fun before Whitey gets back," He said, adding on a wink to the end that made me want to strangle him.

"Fuck you Cory, why are you even here?"

"You know why," He said, leaning forward in the chair he was sitting in, resting his arms on his knees as I took an involuntary step away from him. "What, are you afraid of me now?"

"Why would I be afraid of you?" I spat and he chuckled.

"Okay, you're not scared. Turned on maybe," He mused sarcastically and I tried to hold myself back from blowing up at him, to no avail.

"No, fuck you Cory! That's not even it! I'm with Ian, I love Ian, okay? You don't mean anything to me, what happened was a mistake. Get it? A mistake. I was overly tired and had no idea what I was even doing." I didn't notice Cory's eyes flicker towards the door until it was too late. "Just because I kissed you doesn't mean-" The sound of keys dropping onto the table near the door made my heart stop.

My stomach tied in knots as I turned slowly to face the hallway to the door. I bit my lip as my gaze connected with Ian's, the hurt look on his face feeling like a knife was slammed into my gut and twisted around. I felt my lip start to quiver as he grabbed his keys before leaving the apartment just as quickly as he had returned.

"Ian!" I called out, rushing to the door. As I got out to the hallway, I caught a glimpse of him turning down the stairwell, the heavy door shutting with a loud thud behind him. I bit my lip as tears welled up in my eyes. Turning back into the apartment, I took in the sight of Cory standing before me, a smug look on his face.

The sound of my hand connecting with his cheek echoed out into the hallway of the apartment complex as my jaw clenched, glaring at him angrily. He fell back a few steps as he stumbled over his words, trying to form a coherent sentence.

"Get. The fuck. Out. Now," I seethed and watched, for the first time, as Cory genuinely looked afraid of me. A bright red handprint was beginning to form on his cheek where my hand had connected and his eyes were tearing up involuntarily at the contact. My vision started to blur as he quickly slid out of the apartment. I slammed the door before letting the tears in my eyes fall, wondering what was going to happen with mine and Ian's relationship now.