Shut Your Eyes

MaxPOV

“Thanks for the ride, Staalsy.”

“No problem. Say hi to Maggie for me.”

We’d gotten home early. Two hours early. Instead of calling Maggie to come pick me up, I figured I would surprise her. Even though we’d made up over the course of a very long long-distance phone call, I still felt guilty. I didn’t necessarily regret going to Philadelphia, not in the slightest, but the situation could have been handled more carefully.

In addition to my clumsily worded phone apology I’d brought her a surprise: strawberry candies from her favorite sweet shop in Montreal. Maggie had an insatiable sweet tooth that she very rarely indulged, a trait she’d picked up from our mother. If there was any trace of frustration left in her after our phone call, a bag of sweets would be just the thing to knock it out.

After fishing the spare key out from its very easily found hiding spot under a rock in the flowerbed I opened the front door and dragged myself and my bags inside. The first thing I noticed was the paint. She’d managed to finish painting the rest of the condo while I was gone, including the kitchen with all its many nooks and crannies– something I was dreading having to help her do. Maggie had also made prints of some of our family photos and hung them in thick black frames in the hallway. She was a piece of work, my sister was.

“Margaux Amandine?” I called out through the quiet house, knowing she wasn’t asleep.

I didn’t have to wait long before a shower of thick curly hair popped out from behind the kitchen doorway. “Max? I’m not supposed to pick you up until nine.”

“We got home earlier than expected so I just figured I’d surprise you. Oh! That reminds me.” I dug my hand around in the messenger bag that was still slung around my body from bringing my bags inside. “Think fast.”

Maggie easily caught the bag I’d tossed her. She had quicker hands than a lot of the hockey players I knew. Turning it over in her grasp, she quickly realized what she was holding. A familiar smile spread across her face. “Where did you get these?”

“Where do you think I got them? We had some extra time in Montreal. They’re an ‘I’m sorry I can be such a jackass, but here’s some candy to make up for it’ present.”

She laughed and untied the top of the muslin bag before plucking one of the rose colored candies out and unwrapping it so she could pop it into her mouth. After a moment of sucking on it, she gave me a pointed look. “You’re not as much of a jackass as you think.”

“That’s the candy talking.” I insisted.

She rolled her eyes with a grin and set her treat bag onto the counter. “I actually need to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. “Promise you won’t get mad?”

“Well I can’t exactly afford to get mad at you again, those candies aren’t cheap.”

“Max.”

“I promise.”

She scurried over to the area where we kept our phones and various other odds and ends, picking up a few pieces of paper and carrying them back over to me. She handed me the papers and stood back as she waited for me to read over them. I cocked a brow at her, confused at the way she was acting, but started to read through the papers like she’d asked. Once I realized what she’d handed me I looked back up at her in surprise.

“A restraining order?”

Maggie nodded slightly. I was confused.

“Why would I be mad about this?”

She shrugged and began tracing patterns on the granite countertop with her finger. “I don’t know. I figured you’d be upset that I didn’t wait for you to get home.”

I put the papers aside and sighed. “Mags, I’m never going to be mad at you for protecting yourself. You do know that, right?”

“I know.” She mumbled.

I stared at her for a second. She looked tired, the kind of tired that sank through to the bone. Maggie would never say it, but I knew she still had a lot on her mind – restraining order or not. We hadn’t talked about the folder Kris and I found in her apartment.

Honestly, I didn’t really blame her for not wanting to talk about it. I know the last thing I wanted to hear out of her mouth was the intimate detail in which someone had used and humiliated her. I’d seen more than enough, I didn’t need any more description. There were certain things a brother didn’t need to know about his baby sister.

Maggie needed some fun. Something to get her mind off of anything and everything that was occupying it. So I made a split-second decision.

Standing up quickly, I grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her out of the kitchen and towards her room.

“What’re you doing?” She asked quickly.

“Get dressed, I’m calling everyone and we’re going out.”

I kept pushing her until we were both standing in front of her closet. After letting go of her shoulders I turned around and headed back for the kitchen so I could get my phone and make all the necessary calls. She followed me for a few steps towards her bedroom door. “Where are we going?”

“Out. Now go pick out something to wear; try something that V would pick out for you.”

She huffed, but went back to her closet anyways and started sifting through her clothes while I wandered back into the kitchen to find my phone. On the way there I passed by the open archway to the living room, noticing that she’d finished painting in there as well. I walked in and took a quick look around.

Everything was the same, except for one thing.

“Maggie?” I called anxiously.

“What?”

“Where’s my recliner?” My recliner was missing. In its place was a black leather one that was about the same size, maybe with more stuffing, and positioned just as I’d left my old one.

“It’s right where you left it Max, Vero and I simply had it reupholstered.” She yelled back with a laugh.

I glanced back in the direction of her voice before skeptically walking over to the chair that was posing as my old one. I poked it with my foot. It kind of looked the same. If I was being totally honest, it looked ten times better than the dark grey leather that had been on it before. There were no more cracks or slits from where someone’s pocket knife or belt studs had torn through.

I sank down onto it carefully. It was more comfortable than when I left, that was for sure. I ran my hand over the lever for the footrest and smiled when my thumb brushed over the ‘M’ that I’d drunkenly carved into it one night. Will had informed me that it wasn’t my chair because it didn’t have my name on it, so I took care of that problem.

This was my chair alright; Maggie had just fancied it up a bit. I got back up and walked into the kitchen to find my phone like I’d previously meant to. I was going to make sure Maggie had some fun tonight if it killed me.



Vero POV

“Je ne sais pas pourquoi nous avons dû sortir ce soir.” (I don’t know why we had to go out tonight.)

This was ridiculous. The boys just got back into town and Max was dragging them back out again to go clubbing. He’d had them for over a week and he couldn’t let me have Marc for their first night back. Marc wasn’t exactly helping either; he was strangely excited to be going out.

“Ce sera amusant. Par ailleurs, Maggie serait la seule fille sans vous. Nous ne pouvons pas avoir cela, pouvons-nous?” (It’ll be fun. Besides, Maggie would be the only girl without you. We can’t have that, can we?)

My eyes nearly rolled into the back of my head. “Maggie a probablement été traîné hors de ce condo par ses tirants.” (Maggie was probably dragged out of the condo by her bootstraps.)

We pulled up to the club and got out of the car. Marc handed his keys over to the valet and pocketed the ticket before he wrapped an arm around my waist and attempted to calm me down. “Nous allons rester pendant une heure. Peut-être deux. Je vais t'avoir à la maison avant minuit, je te promets.” (We’ll just stay for an hour. Maybe two. I’ll have you home by midnight, I promise.)

Without another word we were ushered inside the tightly packed club. Lights were pulsing and the bass beat was overwhelmingly loud. Marc immediately started to look for a familiar face over the crowd. Eventually I gave up on his search and turned to face him with a better idea. “Les garçons sont probablement à l'étage.” (The boys are probably upstairs.)

He glanced around downstairs for a moment more before nodding at me and grabbing my hand to pull me through the crowds towards the stairs. When we got upstairs Max immediately spotted Max on a couch surrounded by a few of the boys and a couple of girls that looked like they’d been spending too much time in the tanning bed.

Tonight was already getting old.

“You two took long enough!” Max commented happily once we were within earshot. He’d obviously started drinking already. Kris, Geno, and TK were sitting around with him, and each had a beer in their hands.

I shot him a look. “Where’s Maggie?”

“She’s downstairs with Jordan, he’s making sure she’s having fun.”

I shrugged my arms out of my coat and handed it to Marc. “I’m going downstairs.”

He could tell I was less than pleased with Max’s antics. A sheepish look crossed his face. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re lucky I love you.” I reminded him with a sigh and a kiss to the cheek before I went off in search of Maggie.

It didn’t take much to find her; Maggie was notorious for sticking close to the bar when she felt awkward in social situations. She was comfortably seated on a barstool, looking quite striking in a cute skirt and a strapless black top in a sea of girls that just slipped on some spandex and left their homes.

I walked over to her and smacked the small bit of her bottom that was hanging off of the barstool. “Come here often?”

She’d stiffened at the contact, but instantly relaxed and giggled when she heard my voice. “You’re very lucky that my first instinct isn’t to punch.”

I laughed at her comment as I slid onto the stool beside her. “It should be! You’re too pretty to be sitting around here alone. Where’s Jordan?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “He’s off getting me a drink. Apparently I need to loosen up.”

“Yes you do.” Jordan’s booming voice interrupted us and he squeezed two glass filled hands between our bodies. “Drink up, ladies.”

“None for me, Jordan. I’ll end up the designated driver tonight without a doubt.”

He nudged Maggie on the shoulder. “You have no excuse, Max said to make sure you had fun, and I’m making sure you have fun. Knock that back.”

She looked at the glass skeptically. “What’s in it?”

He sighed and shook his head before pushing the glass closer to her. “Don’t ask. If you know, you won’t drink it.”

Maggie gave him a look. “That doesn’t make me feel better, Jordan.”

“Just drink it, I promise you it tastes like fruit.”

She took a cautious sip and raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise. “You weren’t kidding.”

Jordan smiled proudly. “See, I told you.”

I nudged Jordan a bit and beckoned him down so I could whisper to him. “What did you put in those?”

He shook his head. “Vero, trust me when I say you do not want to know. Just don’t drink it. I only drink those when we lose.”

If Maggie heard him, she didn’t let on, simply continued to sip happily at whatever concoction Jordan had brought to her.

Two hours later, Maggie was still sipping. Whatever Jordan brought her certainly loosened her up, and now Jordan and I were enjoying something that was a very rare treat: Maggie was drunk.

Maggie drunk was a fun experience. While some people cry, or get very angry under the influence, Maggie simply gets very friendly. She’ll talk your ear off in a minute and once you grow tired of listening to her drunken epiphanies she has no problem finding a complete stranger to befriend. Jordan was entertained with her antics at first, but once he realized how drunk Maggie was getting he began to get worried.

“Maybe we should find Max…” He suggested.

I waved him off. Maggie was easier to take care of than most, certainly nothing two people couldn’t handle. Besides, I’d seen her put away more than what she’d had that night and be perfectly capable of walking herself somewhere – as long as she took her heels off. “Stop worrying Jordan, Maggie is fine. I’ll cut her off when she’s had enough.”

“Yeah, Jordy, I am très bien.” Maggie assured him, making a clumsy “OK” with her fingers before reaching up to pat one side of his face. “So stop worrying!”

“I’ve never seen her like this.” He commented, keeping one arm behind Maggie at all times so she didn’t fall off of her barstool by accident.

I laughed. “I’ve seen her like this plenty of times. The worst that could happen would be if she wandered off. She likes to make friends when she’s drunk.”

Maggie slipped off of her barstool and grabbed onto Jordan’s hand. “Jordan, come dance with me.”

He picked her up by the waist and sat her back down on the stool. “I don’t dance, Mags.”

She pouted. Nudging her on the shoulder, I pointed towards the stairs. “Why don’t we go upstairs and see your brother?”

She shook her head adamantly. “I want to go dance! Let’s have fun! We never have fun like we used to!”

“We could go find your boyfriend to dance with you! That would be fun.” I suggested with a grin. Sid had arrived at the club only a few minutes after Marc and I, and the first person he wanted to see was Maggie. But after only ten minutes downstairs he realized that standing by the bar wasn’t a good idea when you were Sidney Crosby. He’d disappeared upstairs with the rest of the boys and told us he’d see us later.

Maggie rolled her eyes and took another sip of the Jack and Coke sitting in front of her before slightly slurring, “He isn’t my boyfriend!”

“Well he should be.” Jordan deadpanned. “He needs a girlfriend, you’re single, you both can’t get enough of each other – I don’t see the problem.”

Maggie looked over at Jordan and sighed. “I’m not exactly girlfriend material.”

I scoffed. “What does that even mean?”

She started waving one hand around in the air by her head. “It means I’m not girlfriend material, V! I am damaged goods.”

“You’re talking crazy, Mags. Maybe Jordan was right; you have had too much to drink.” I reached forward to take her cup from her but she pulled it away from me right before my fingers could wrap around the glass.

“I’m just fine.”

“Damaged goods? What’re you talking about? You seem pretty normal to me.” Jordan asked from his spot on the other side of Maggie. He was nursing a beer with one hand while the other was held out slightly behind Maggie’s chair just in case she started to fall out of it.

She laughed loudly and made a strange face before leaning towards Jordan with a finger pointed in his face. “Jordy, why did I move to Pittsburgh?”

He thought about it for a moment. My eyes narrowed a bit – where was she going with this?

“For work?”

She downed her drink and shook her head. “Nope. Gavin.”

Jordan and I looked at each other in confusion.

“Who’s Gavin?” I asked.

“Wait, wasn’t that who you were yelling about the other night while you were sleeping?” Jordan said quickly, gears turning audibly in his head.

Maggie tapped a long slender finger against the tip of her nose – something she always did to signify that whatever had been said was ‘right on the nose.’

I was still confused.

“Who’s Gavin?” I asked again, this time a bit more insistently.

“My boyfriend.”

Jordan nearly spit out the beer in his mouth. I stared at Maggie with my mouth agape. “You have a boyfriend?”

She looked over at me for a second in thought before shaking her head. “Not anymore, silly. I left him in Philadelphia.”

“You left your boyfriend and moved to Pittsburgh?” I asked in shock. For as long as I’d known Maggie, I’d never known about her boyfriend. This was all news to me, and Jordan apparently judging by the look on his face.

She nodded.

“Why’d you leave him?” Jordan asked quickly.

“He hit me.”

She said the words so matter-of-factly, I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly. Jordan was staring at her in shock with wide blue eyes. Maggie started looking around someone.

“What’d you say?”

She glanced back at me. “Where’s the bartender?”

Jordan gently took her face in one hand and turned it towards his. “Mags. Did you just say you left your boyfriend because he was hitting you?”

Maggie blinked up at him with wide blue eyes for a moment before she answered him in a whisper. “Did I say that out loud?”

Jordan quickly looked over at me. “She needs to go home.”

I nodded and stood up with shaky legs. “I’ll go get Max.”

“He left about an hour ago with some blonde.” Jordan grimaced.

“Then I’ll get the keys from Marc and take her home with me.”

I pointed myself in the direction of the stairs and started to make my way through the crowd. Thinking about Maggie’s words was making me feel nauseas. How long had this been going on? How long had we not known?

“Careful, V.”

I looked up into the eyes of the large Russian I’d run into. Geno and Kris were staring at me with strange looks on their face as they headed in the opposite direction of where I was headed.

“Is Marc still upstairs?” I asked quickly.

“Yeah.” Kris answered slowly. “We were on our way to come get you guys; no one is answering their phone.”

“Jordan’s still over there with Maggie. I need to take her home.”

“Why are you taking her home?”

“She’s just really drunk.” I replied quietly. “Can you two go help Jordan keep an eye on her?”

They nodded, both looking slightly confused as to why Jordan needed help baby-sitting a grown woman, but headed off towards the bar anyways in search of the two as I made my way towards the stairs to find Marc.



Sidney POV

“Go downstairs.” Marc said again with a laugh. “You keep glancing down there to see if she’s in the same spot.”

“I can’t go down there; it’s like being in a fishbowl.” I mumbled.

He shook his head with a smile. “Excuses, excuses.”

Out of nowhere Vero popped into our small circle of hockey players and extended a hand towards Marc. “I’m taking Maggie home, I need the keys.”

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked quickly, my mind going through every last scenario in the book.

Vero looked at me strangely for a second before mumbling, “She’s just really drunk. She needs to go home.”

“Maggie’s probably fine, V, just relax a little bit.” Marc assured her.

“I’m taking her home, Marc. Give me the keys.” Vero looked exhausted and worried. It was the second emotion that had me confused.

Before Marc could reply to her, Kris appeared behind Vero’s shoulder and tapped her lightly. She looked surprised to see him when she turned around.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Small problem. We lost her.”

Vero flared up instantly and rounded on him, making Kris step back a bit.

“You lost her?”

“Little bit, yeah.”

“How the hell do you lose someone who’s only five foot two and barely weighs more than hundred pounds?”

Kris looked frustrated. “She’s quick, Vero! By the time we got over there, Jordan had already lost her! Said he turned around for a second to answer someone’s question and when he looked back she was gone.”

I decided to step in before Vero actually killed Kris, because from the look in her eyes it didn’t look like it would be long until she did. “It won’t be that hard to find her, Vero, she’s an adult. We’ll just all go down there and look for her.”

A strange expression crossed Vero’s face.

“She’s just really drunk, Sid.” She whispered.

“We’ll find her, V. Stop worrying.”

Our little group got up and headed downstairs, Vero berating Kris the whole way down. Jordan and Geno stopped us at the foot of the stairwell and looked at Vero guiltily. She pointed a finger towards the both of them and narrowed her eyes. “I’ll deal with you two later.”

Jordan opened his mouth to say something but Geno quickly shoved him in an attempt to shut him up. Anything that would come out of his mouth was just going to make Vero angrier and Geno knew it. Marc placed a reassuring hand on the small of Vero’s back and started giving out orders.

“Jordan, go back and look around the bar. Kris and Geno can go look on the dance floor with Vero, and me and-”

“Oh my God.” My words interrupted Marc as I squeezed through our little wall of people and towards the back of the club.



As long as I’d known Maggie she was quiet as a church mouse. She didn’t really talk all that much unless she was alone with someone, and even then she rarely felt the need to fill silences with inconsequential chatter. When Maggie had something to say, she said it, and when she didn’t feel the need to contribute to a conversation she was happy to sit back and watch.

When I’d arrived at the club that night, Maggie was sitting happily with Jordan and Vero. She had her hair pinned up in some complicated way that I was sure I’d never understand, and was wearing heels that looked like they were killing her feet, but there was that same easy smile on her face that she always wore and it put me at ease too. Or it did, until I started to feel claustrophobic in the crowded downstairs club scene. Max knew that I wasn’t one for clubs, but he’d all but insisted on it, saying that we needed to “celebrate life” or some other strange saying that he came up with on the spot.

If Max could see what I was seeing, I wasn’t sure he’d be too thrilled about celebrating life.

Maggie was clearly as drunk as Vero had described, and here she was dancing on top of a table surrounded by people. As I got closer to her I could hear that the bar was playing some ancient rock song that Maggie had no doubt ordered them to play.

Talking's fine
If you got the time
But I ain't got the time to spare
Yeah

I just watched her for a second, letting a small smile slip onto my face. She was drunk alright. Seeing Maggie so undone wasn’t something I was used to, but I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed it. I watched her pull the pins from her hair and let it tumble down over one shoulder before she threw the pins off to one side and continued to dance and sing along to the music. She looked like she was having fun bouncing around in her own little world. I almost didn’t want to interrupt her.

Almost.

It stopped being funny the second I saw some random guy from the crowd reach up to grab at her. I quickly realized that I wasn’t the only one who thought she looked beautiful when she was undone. I also wasn’t the only one who could see how drunk she was.

I didn’t like the way the men in the crowd were looking at her. Never in my life had I felt as possessive as I did in that moment – they didn’t get to look at her like that. She wasn’t something for them to ogle and grab at.

I pushed my way through the crowd until I was at the edge of the table and staring up at Maggie. She noticed me almost immediately and smiled that famous Talbot grin as she continued to sing along.

Every girl an' boy
Needs a little joy
All you do is sit an' stare
Beggin' on my knees
Baby, won't you please
Run your fingers through my hair

She held her hands out towards mine and grinned. “Sid! Come dance with me!”

I chuckled at her child like enthusiasm, but shook my head and nodded towards the door. “I think it’s time for you to go home, Mags.”

Her bottom lip jutted out slightly. “But I’m not tired.”

“You don’t have to go to sleep, but we are taking you home. We’ve all had enough fun for one night.”

She looked like she was thinking over my words as she continued to dance. After a moment she shook her head. “No, I wanna keep dancing.”

“You can dance as much as you want when we get home.” I promised her, getting slightly desperate to get her off of the table.

The chorus of whatever song she was singing hit, and Maggie lit up like the sky on the fourth of July before starting to sing along again.

Do you wanna touch (Yeah)
Do you wanna touch (Yeah)
Do you wanna touch me there, where
Do you wanna touch-

Realizing that I’d lost her to the music, I went through with the only plan I had left.

I reached out and grabbed ahold of her waist, hauling her off of the table and over my shoulder. There were cheers, and groans, and plenty of guys threatening me and calling me an asshole – I didn’t really care what they thought, all I knew was that no one was going to look like Maggie like she was a piece of meat and I would make sure of that.

I walked back over to where our group was standing around. They were all staring at me with their mouths open in shock. I ignored them for the most part, choosing instead to head straight to Marc and toss him my keys.

“You have Max’s keys?”

He nodded silently, handing me the keys that he fished out of his pocket. “He parked just around the corner.”

“Take my car home?” I asked quickly.

He nodded again, this time with a small amused grin on his face. “Of course.”

Vero was holding my coat as well as Maggie’s, so I took them both and folded them over the one arm that wasn’t holding Maggie to my shoulder. Without another word I nodded goodbye to everyone and carried Maggie towards the door and out into the quiet night outside of it.