He Shoots, She Scores

Nate was sitting on the couch in the hockey room switching between watching the Penguins, Rangers game and a movie. He turned on the game as a commercial came on for his movie in time to see Sidney Crosby falling to the ice holding his mouth
“Oo that had to hurt” Nate says as the show the replay of the puck hitting him in the mouth
“What had to hurt?” Carrie asks walking into the room with lunch for the two of them
“Crosby took a deflected shot to the mouth” Nate says as they show the shot once again in real time and Carrie gasps
“Poor baby!” she says clamping her hand to her mouth in sympathy pain
“Yeah he is being a baby it was a deflection there was no need to act like that”
“It was a deflected slap shot, that puck was going at least 80 mph. Its hard rubber I should not have to tell you of all people how bad that probably hurt”
“Please he’ll be fine”
“So if I get up right now and just throw a puck at your mouth and knock out teeth it won’t hurt that bad you’ll be fine?”
“Why would you throw a puck at my mouth?”
“Because you are talking out of your ass!”
Nate looked at her with furrowed eye brows “Why are you so worried about him?”
“Because I’m sure that hurt”
“No it’s more than that”
“No it isn’t”
It wasn’t long before their simple argument turned into a scream war, and Carrie just shook her head and walked out of the room leaving Nate sitting there. She moved to the living room grabbing the Nicholas Sparks book she was currently reading and turning to the page she was on getting lost in that perfect world. When she heard Nate come up the stairs she ignored him, until his standing right next to her forced her to look up.
“Can I help you?”
“Why are you so worried about Crosby?” His words were tight and his facial featured showed betrayal confusing Carrie
“I’m not, I feel bad he got hit in the mouth I didn’t realize that was a crime. I wasn’t informed that I could only worry about you getting hurt. I am a hockey fan as far as I am concerned every player in the NHL is one of my boys even the ones I don’t like so yes I tend to freak out when anyone gets hurt. I am not just a Sabres fan and I sure as hell am not just a fan of you. What is your problem?”
“Well your ‘baby’ Sidney lost at least 8 teeth and they think he broke his jaw”
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“The way you said that my ‘baby’ Sidney”
Nate shrugged and began walking away before mumbling “Maybe you should go take care of your ‘baby’ Sidney”
“Did you really just say what I think you did? What is this 1995 are we playing the ‘if you like it so much why don’t you marry it’ game? I am concerned like any fan of a sport would be when a fan favorite or a player in general gets hurt”
“No you have something going on with Crosby why else would you call him baby” Carrie’s jaw dropped and before she could stop herself she threw the first thing in her reach her hard cover book straight for Nate’s head.
The book flew through the air making a hard thud against his chest before hitting the ground at his feet, he looked between the book and his wife in astonishment
“Leave” she said quietly standing from the couch “Just go to your game, just, just go” she turns from him but not before he can see the single tear slip down her cheek, realizing what he said he reaches for her hand and she slaps him away “Don’t touch me” she protests weakly grabbing her book off the floor and walking up the stairs.
Nate moved sullenly and almost silently to the kitchen cooking dinner, when it was done an hour later figuring Carrie would have cooled off he called her to come and eat, when she didn’t respond he ate alone and set her plate in the microwave. He walked up the stairs to get ready for the game expecting to see her lost in her book sitting on their bed, when she was nowhere to be found he changed into his suit and left the room.
Walking down the hall he opens the door to the spare room to see Carrie sitting on the bed reading. He watches her for a moment before he notices her not turning the pages, but staring at one
“Carrie”
“Don’t, there is nothing you can say right now to make what you said downstairs any better. Just go, it’s the last time I’m asking you that”
“Ya know we can’t all be perfect like characters in a book Carrie, people mess up, hell we sleep and go to the bathroom too. Your life is not one of your fairytales”
“You’re right it isn’t because if it was you would have realized by now what you insinuated downstairs was more than just a small fight. Go before you’re late”
“So you’re just gonna sit here and read and be childish”
“Yeah I guess I’m going to be childish”
With Nate
It was late when he pulled into the driveway. Knowing Carrie was not up he carefully makes his way into the house and up the stairs quietly. He sighs seeing his pajamas on the floor and jiggles the handle to find locked. As if it wasn’t bad enough that once again the Sabres lost and the hopes of a post season were slipping away, his wife was still mad at him too. With an irritated sigh he made his way to the bathroom took a shower and heads to the guest room to sleep.
With Carrie
Carrie was sitting in bed, exhausted from nothing other than fighting with Nate, sure it wasn’t that big of a fight and it would probably all blow over by the morning but she was still thinking about it. She heard him come in the house and walk up the stairs; she even heard the irritated sad way he sighed finding he was locked out. She sat there wondering if he even knew how much he hurt her, not because he really said anything to make her feel bad, and she knew he would never lay a hand on her, but because of what he implied.
His statement was still ringing in her ears “Maybe you should go take care of your ‘baby’ Sidney” it was so bitter she couldn’t get past that. Her mind was racing and all she kept coming back to was the fight they had after the whole Derek thing, how Nate had just assumed she only cared he was a hockey player and that given the chance she would move on to another one. She was starting to give herself a headache and all she wanted to do in that moment was cuddle tightly into Nate’s side and fall asleep to his heartbeat because she was hurting and he could solve that, and at the same time she was still wondering if the one who had caused her to be hurting could still make it all better?
It was another hour of sleeplessness before she got out of bed and unlocked the door, knowing that by now Nate would be sound asleep so she wouldn’t have to worry about him coming in. She crawls back into bed burying her face in his pillow it was only a moment before she threw it to the floor agitated and rolled over trying once again to fall asleep.

With Nate
He sat wide awake on the bed in the guest room, he knew for sure there was no way he was falling asleep tonight and he couldn’t figure out why Carrie was still so mad. He was sure if he could just talk to her they would make up and everything would be ok, but that was apparently not happening tonight. From down the hall in the silence of the house he heard a thud and figured Carrie was still awake.
He got out of bed quietly and made his way down the hall trying to remain silent. He reached for the door knob turning it slowly and was surprised when it clicked open. He quickly found the source of the thud and picked up his pillow tossing it gently onto the bed and slid under the comforter quickly. Carrie had her back to him but he knew she had to be awake, as he was about to speak she rolled over towards him and scooted herself closer. They were eye to eye and toe to toe, just far enough away from each other to not be touching; Carrie broke eye contact first and lowered her head. With a small smile Nate places a kiss on her forehead and rests his hand on her hip.
“I’m sorry Carrie” he murmurs into her hair and she just shakes her head
“Nate” she paused not knowing how to word what she was feeling “We need to move past this”
“Move past what? It was an innocent fight, it happens”
“No Nate it was not an innocent fight, consider for a minute what you said to me” She looked up to make eye contact with him once more she didn’t even realize she was crying again until he wiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb “You, you just assume I… It hurt Nate, why don’t you get that?”
“You deserve so much better than me” He says and even in the dark she sees the sadness in his eyes, Carrie reaches over him turning the light on his night stand on and taking a moment to adjust to the light before speaking
“What are you talking about?”
“Look at you, all I keep doing is making you cry, God I hate seeing you cry I’m not supposed to break your heart I’m supposed to be the one to fix it”
“You’re the first and only break” she says quietly almost sullen
“I know, I’m sorry baby that was never supposed to happen”
“Nate-”
“Listen for just a second please, when I found out about this whole arranged marriage thing I was so pissed at my parents and yours. Then as fate would have it I end up in Buffalo and I meet your dad and I dunno you must be like 16 or 17 in the picture I have of you and it felt so wrong cause I was in my twenties already and I’m carrying around a picture of a kid and yet I’m starting to be ok with this arranged marriage. I was so ok with it that I started telling the guys I had a girlfriend and when they would ask to see a picture I would say the only one I had was an old high school picture because you hated cameras” Nate laughed and ran his hand through his hair “I’ve been in love with you since I was 5 years old, then when I finally get the chance to be in love with more than just a picture I mess everything up. You deserve better, I don’t see you cry often, but I seem to be the one that makes it happen the easiest”
“Do you want to know what I’ve been sitting here thinking all night?” when he didn’t answer her or even make eye contact she continued anyway “I’ve been sitting here thinking about us, all my life I’ve been the awkward tom boy who always got along better with the boys, or fictional characters. You bring out the best and the worst in me and I wouldn’t want to be right here right now with anyone else”
“But”
“No buts, Nate I don’t want good, or good enough I want can’t eat can’t sleep without your love. I want the kind of love that doesn’t make sense to anybody else, I know now that it’s not right unless you’ve lost your mind. I don’t want easy I want crazy”
“Are you quoting song lyrics again?” Nate asks with a laugh
“So Hunter Hayes may have come out with a new single and it may have pertained to the situation, don’t judge me”
Nate laughs again and shakes his head at her “Ok then” he says turning to shut the light off “Let’s be crazy” he says with a smile before pulling her into his side, their bodies seem to melt into one as Nate deepens the kiss taking away any doubt that the love they both share can ever be broken.
Carrie opens her eyes into the early afternoon light and stretches hearing Nate’s groggy chuckle besides her
“Morning sleepy head”
“Don’t you have practice today?” she says looking at the clock
“Optional skate” Carrie nods and yawns
“We didn’t resolve anything last night” Carrie says facing him
“I think we resolved a lot” Nate says with a smile and Carrie shakes her head “What could we possibly need to resolve?”
“I feel bad that Sidney is out for the rest of the season because he took a puck to the mouth” Carrie says and she waits only a second before Nate’s entire demeanor changes “That right there, that’s what we need to resolve”
“You feeling bad for Crosby?”
“No your mood change. What is with you?”
“Nothing” he says getting up from their bed and heading towards his bathroom “Maybe I will go to practice”
“Nate”
“What do you want me to say Carrie?”
“Anything but ‘maybe I will go to practice’”
“I don’t know what to say, because there’s nothing to say”
Carrie just rolls her eyes, gets out of bed and heads down the stairs to let Cash out. She’s in the kitchen cooking and reading on her kindle when Nate comes downstairs hair wet from being in the shower
“Going to practice?”
“No by the time I get there it will be over anyway”
Carrie nods and quietly goes back to her reading, when the oven beeps letting her know it’s fully preheated she turns and puts her roast into the oven and walks out of the room and into the living room to read
“So it’s going to be the silent treatment then?” Nate asks following her
“Beats the hell out of fighting over something you deny”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Carrie closes the cover of her kindle and sets it on the coffee table looking up at him “It’s simple really, you seem to get pissed or at least have a mood change every time I show concern or interest in anyone, you turned off the TV last week while I was watching Criminal Minds because I said Spencer Reid is so nerdy he’s gorgeous”
“I did not”
“I missed ¾ of the new episode because you child locked the channel. So I ask again what is your problem?”
“You didn’t chose me”
“What?”
“This right here is not the life you would have chosen, your parents chose it for you and I don’t know I hear statements like that and it just makes me think that’s who she would have chosen”
Carrie stood up off the couch looking him right in the eye “You are so wrong there, I’ve wanted to marry you since you played for Portland and then I didn’t even know what you looked like. I knew you had to be adorable and a bad ass to be a Sabres prospect and be that tiny.” Nate let out a whole hearted laugh and wrapped his arms around her waist “Your first game was December 6th, 2008, it was against Tampa Bay. Your first NHL goal was December of 2009 and in March of that same season you scored your second one, that one was a game winner. 2010 was your first full season as a Sabre and 3 goals were game winners”
“I get it”
“You sure I can keep going, I’ve watched you like a well trained dog every time your skates hit NHL ice and 5 years later I get just as excited as the first time I saw you”
“I’m sure”
“Nate Gerbe or no one was the answer for 3 years when I was asked who I wanted my friends to set me up on a date with; do you really still think my parents chose you?”
“I’m sorry baby”
“You’re forgiven” she says kissing him quickly and he scoffs
“You know you were fighting with me too, an I’m sorry will do”
“But I was right” she says with a laugh “You don’t apologize when you win”
“You do if you want your kindle back”
“NO! Not my books! Don’t even play like that, give it to me!”
“Say you’re sorry”
“You’re sorry!”
“Smart ass”
“You love me, now give me back my kindle or die!” Nate laughed and shook his head walking out of the living room carrying her kindle “Wait! I’m sorry! Give it back!” Nate turns and hands her the electronic “I love you”
“I love you too”
“I was talking to my kindle, but I love you too”
“I don’t think our parents could have ever foreseen this, sure they may have decided we’d get married long before we could have an opinion on it; but something tells me they couldn’t have imagined we would actually fall in love like this.”
“Like what?”
“That kind of love where you’re my best friend” Carrie smiled at him and kissed him gently as he wrapped his arms tightly around her
“Handsome, you’re squishing my kindle”
“And books are your best friend” he says with a laugh letting go of her, she sets her kindle down on the counter turning again to Nate and kisses him lightly
“Not true, Lacey is” she says with a chuckle and Nate pouts “Oh, I hate when you do that. You know you’re my best friend too, stop pouting”