Shut Your Eyes

When I woke up again I was in my bed.

The room was still dark and for a moment I considered going back to sleep. Neon blue numbers glowed from the clock beside my bed, telling me that going back to sleep wasn’t an option. It was seven o’clock, and Max had to be at the CEC at noon so the boys could load up and head to the airport. Going back to sleep would knock me out until God knows when, so instead of snuggling back under the covers and hibernating for a few more hours I lazily crawled out of bed and dragged my tired body towards the bathroom.

I didn’t even bother turning the bathroom light on, unprepared for anything more than the dull light seeping into the bathroom window from the rising sun outside. I let the shower run as hot as I could stand and let the scorching water ease all the tension in my muscles. Mentally, I ran over the schedule for the next few days in my head while I washed my hair.

The boys flew to Toronto later that day, and wouldn’t be back until after their game in Vancouver on the 16th. That meant nine days on the road. Nine whole days without Max in the condo gave me plenty of time to finish painting the place without interruptions, and if I was sneaky I could maybe even get rid of Max’s disgusting recliner without being stopped. He’d had the monstrous piece of furniture since moving out and it had certainly seen better days.

If Max had his way, he and that chair would be together forever – but I had some ideas of my own and most of them involved destroying that thing beyond recognition.

Once the water the shower started to cool I knew it was time to get out. I dried my hair slowly, taking my sweet time since I had so much of it to use up. Knowing Max, he probably hadn’t even taken the time to pack his bags yet, so I went ahead and got dressed so I could help him when he inevitably became flustered and stressed out in the hour before leaving for the CEC.

Showering and getting ready didn’t take up as much time as I thought it would. There were still almost four hours until Max had to be at the Consol, and until he woke up there was nothing to do but wait. Wait and make breakfast.

Since I wouldn’t be seeing him for over a week, I figured food would be a good way to say “I’ll miss you”. I wandered out towards the kitchen while rubbing the last bit of sleep from my eyes and stifling a yawn. It was only after tumbling to the floor that I realized that I’d tripped over something in the hallway.

Untangling my foot from a strap, I noticed that I’d tripped over three large bags. Three very large, very familiar bags. The gears in my head were turning as quickly as they could, and it didn’t take long for me to connect the dots in the picture that was before me.

I stood up quickly and made my way upstairs two steps at a time. Max was still sleeping when I violently swung the door open to his bedroom, but after my loud entry he stirred and glanced over at me with heavy-lidded eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded.

He merely blinked at me, clearly caught off guard by my tone and my question. “You want the whole list?”

“Philadelphia, Max? That was your secret errand? Philly?”

Max had the good sense to look sheepish as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “Um, I -”

I cut him off, uninterested in whatever excuse he was about to come up with. “Not only did you go to Philadelphia and break into my old apartment, but you brought Kris along! Were you worried you’d be lonely once the cops arrested you and threw you in county lockup?”

Max huffed and looked at me with a frustrated expression in his eyes. “Stop yelling at me.”

“No! Have you lost your goddamn mind? Were you even going to bother telling me that you went, or were you going to feed me some bullshit story about how those bags ended up downstairs?”

Max threw his covers off angrily and stalked over to his desk where he ruffled around in some papers before coming back over to me with a folder in his hand. He was glaring at me, a clear sign that he’d had enough of my sass for one morning. Shoving the folder into my chest, he stuck an accusing finger in front of my face. “You don’t get to bitch at me about not telling you things.”

I recognized the folder in my hands without having to see what was inside of it. Another flare of anger rose up inside of me. I simply stared at him in silence for a moment, my icy blue eyes set against his mirror ones. “You had no right. Neither of you did.”

“What was I supposed to do, Margaux? Let him harass you for the rest of your life?”

“You weren’t supposed to go commit felony theft just to prove a point!”

Max let out a frustrated growl and gripped onto his hair with both hands like he usually did when he’d reached the end of his rope. “It doesn’t even count as theft! It’s your stuff, not his! Besides, he watched us leave with it, you can’t say someone stole your stuff if you LET THEM LEAVE WITH IT!”

I didn’t like being yelled at, especially by Max, but I was too distracted by what he’d said to care. “You saw him?”

The only sound that filled the room was Max’s heavy breathing. Eventually he nodded. “Yeah, we saw him.”

The mere thought of Max and Gavin in the same room made me sick to my stomach. So many terrible things could have happened and no one would have known. Gavin didn’t take well to being challenged, and that was exactly what Max and Kris had done. No doubt their little visit would have repercussions sooner or later, and I found myself wondering what price would have to be paid in the end. Max meant well, I knew that, but he hadn’t thought about the consequences that his actions might have.

I shook my head slightly and tightened my grip on the folder in my hands. “You don’t know what you’ve done - neither of you do. You should’ve just left it alone and minded your own business.”

Without waiting for a reply from him I turned on my heel and headed back downstairs. I ignored the bags that sat in a heap by the stairwell, choosing instead to lock myself away behind my bedroom door where Max’s prying eyes couldn’t find me. Judging by the contents of the folder I held in my hands he had already seen enough.



The drive to the CEC was spent in silence.

Max didn’t want to talk about what had transpired earlier and quite frankly neither did I. We were both still angry, myself more so than Max. He was more confused than anything else. I couldn’t really blame him; he did think he was doing me a favor, after all. That still didn’t change how I felt about the matter, though. He’d done something incredibly stupid and dangerous, all without asking me how I felt about the matter or even telling me where he would be. To top it all off he had dragged Kris into the matter, and I had the distinct feeling that he’d seen all the gory details inside that folder just as Max had.

As soon as Max parked the car I was out of it and headed for where Vero was leaning against the hood of Marc’s large black SUV. Even though I couldn’t tell her everything, she would still understand that I needed to be away from Max at the moment. On the way over to her I bumped into none other than Kris Letang.

“Where’s the fire, Mags?” He teased with a smile. I simply glanced back at Max who was watching me with a calculated stare as he sat in the driver’s seat.

“Maybe you should ask my brother.” I suggested quietly. I didn’t want to seem cross with him, especially when he had no idea what he’d done wrong. Kris cocked his head to the side and gave me a curious look as I moved past him without another word and headed to Vero’s side.

She peeked over at me from the corners of her eyes, concern evident in her face. “What’s put you in such a foul mood?”

I exhaled lowly and leaned back against the car with her. “Max.”

Vero nodded her head in understanding. After a moment or two spent in silence she leaned over and nudged me with her shoulder. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to make you angry, whatever he did.”

“I know he didn’t.” I whispered.

Vero was watching something behind me with heightened interest. “Incoming. I’m going to go find Marc.”

“Incoming what?” I asked quickly, confused as to why she was wandering off and leaving me alone by her car. It didn’t take long for me to get my answer, and it came in the form of a playful hip-check.

“Ow!” I exclaimed with a laugh. When I looked to my right I saw two very familiar amber eyes staring back at me in amusement.

“Oh please, there’s no way that actually hurt you.” He had a wide toothy grin on his face, one that I found myself becoming more and more attached to.

“Okay, it didn’t hurt, but it very well could have.”

“Well in that case, I apologize.” He chuckled as he leaned beside me on the hood of the car. Our shoulders were touching, whether by accident or on purpose I didn’t know, but neither of us moved to do anything about it.

“Are you excited about the trip?” I asked quietly.

Sidney nodded and let out a tired sigh. “I am.”

“You sound thrilled.” I chuckled. I saw him smile softly and glance down at his feet.

“No, I am. I’m just going to miss you, that’s all.”

His response sent my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. I was grateful that the cold air could be to blame for the rosy hue that had undoubtedly crossed over my cheeks.

“I’m only ever a phone call away.” I reminded him gently. “Besides, I’ll need someone to keep me company while I’m painting the rest of the condo.”

That comment seemed to spark his interest.

“That reminds me!” He searched around in his pockets for a minute before pulling out a shiny brass key and a small piece of paper, and holding them both out to me. “I need to ask you a question.”

“No, Sid, I will not move in with you.”

He rolled his eyes and feigned insult. “Way to bruise my ego, Mags.”

I simply smiled and waved my hand for him to go on with whatever question he’d intended to ask me in the first place.

“I was wondering if you’d keep an eye on the house for me while I’m gone.”

I nodded and took the key from his hands, glancing back up at him with a snarky grin. “Revive the plants?”

Sidney Crosby was good at many things, but keeping house plants alive was not one of them and I teased him relentlessly about it. Mere mention of the house plants sent a grimace onto his face and he shook his head slowly. “I think the plants are beyond even your level of expertise, Maggie.”

I simply chuckled and pocketed the key and the paper. “I’ll check up on the house. Who knows, maybe I’ll even enlist Vero and the two of us can finish painting it while you’re gone.”

He smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

More and more players were arriving and they had started to load both players and their belongings onto the bus. Sidney sighed again and looked down at me with a small smile. “That’s my queue.”

Without thinking about it, I wrapped my arms around his body under his coat and suit jacket and squeezed him tight. Sidney was warm, he always was, and he smelled like Old Spice and cinnamon. He held onto me and pressed a small kiss into my hair.

“I’ll miss you.” I mumbled into his dress shirt.

Sidney was quiet, and for a second I wondered if he’d even heard me. But before I could list my head and repeat myself he held me a little tighter and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Just a phone call away, Maggie.”

“I know.” I murmured.

His hands traveled to the sides of my head, and he lifted my face up so he could look me in the eyes. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Sid planted a soft kiss on my forehead and then another on my lips before he smiled and released me, picking his bag up and heading for the bus where the rest of the boys were standing around watching our exchange. The moment they saw Sid coming, Kris said something that made them all laugh and caused Sidney to turn red to the tips of his ears.

I saw Max walking towards me out of the group of Penguins standing around by the bus. He looked tired, and I felt a twinge of guilt for waking him up so early. Max came and stood in front of me with a sigh before fishing the car keys from his pocket and tossing them over to me.

“Be good while I’m gone?” He asked quietly.

I knew we were still frustrated with each other. I knew we would have to talk about it at some point. Words would be said, there would probably be more yelling, we might end up nowhere – but I wouldn’t let Max leave without a hug.

I opened my arms and he found his way into them, hugging me back just as tightly as I was holding on to him.

“Stay safe, Max.”

He kissed my hair just like Sidney had done moments ago and released his hold on me. Without another word Max turned and walked away from me, boarding the bus with the rest of the boys and putting the wall back up between us as easily as we’d torn it down only seconds before.