I'll Be Right Beside You

Jordan

The past two weeks I’d had to watch Cam all but fall apart. For the most part the guys had been pretty understanding; understandably Sid, Kris, Marc and James had been a little upset about it, but thanks to Becka Sid quickly came around, and Geno took to her being a girl extremely well. Some of the other guys were still on the fence, but Steve was helping us bring them around.

Then there was the media conference.

I’d had a bad feeling about it right from the start. I’d convinced Cam to at least keep our relationship a secret for now – as much as I hated it – but I just had a feeling things were going to be rough enough without that news getting out. She’d wanted to just get the truth out about everything, understandably, because she was sick of being dishonest with everybody. But considering the conversation we’d had with Sid and Geno, as well as talking with both of our parents over Skype, we came to the conclusion that I was actually right, and she’d finally agreed with me.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth there was dead silence in the conference room. A bunch of us guys from the team, as well as Dan, Ray and Mario, were sitting in a line of chairs behind the pedestal for support. It was long enough of a silence for us to all feel incredibly uncomfortable, and enough for me to see Cam begin to shake. Suddenly the entire room erupted into a cacophony of yelling, and it turned into a mess. Cam froze, and I had to all but pick her up to get her off of the stage and away from the onslaught of press. She had been going to answer questions, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to.

“Cam, are you okay?” I asked, my hands on her shoulders. She didn’t respond, merely stared blankly back at me. Not a good sign.

“Jordan,” I moved out of the way as Steve pulled her into a hug, which she slowly returned. It only took moments for the shaking to return, and I knew she was going to break down.

“Cam,” I took her back into my arms as the sobs wracked her body and her legs gave out on her. The guys watched, pained expressions on their faces at her being like this. I picked her up, and after a look to my coach carried her into his office and shut the door behind me.

“Oh my God Jordan, what have I done?” she asked, tears streaming down her face as she looked up at me.

“What do you mean sweetheart?” I asked, thumbing tears from her cheek.

“Most of my teammates hate me, now I’m going to lose my spot on the team,” she started, before a hiccup interrupted her words.

“No you’re not sweetheart,” I reassured her, and the guys came over to help her, hesitantly letting themselves into Dan’s office.

“Is okay Cam – you still Cam,” Geno reassured her, and she sniffled but managed a small smile for him.

“Thanks Geno,” she let him pull her into a hug, and as soon as she was out of his arms she was into Kris’s, and then Sid’s, and finally Steve’s, where she stayed longer.

“Let’s get her home,” He mouthed to me, and I nodded, going with the two of them and helping Steve get her into my car.

“If you need anything don’t hesitate to call,” Sid told us, and all of the guys nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, I’ll talk to you later,” I replied, and with that we left the media-center. I reached over and took her hand as I drove, glad we’d managed to get out of the building quick enough that the reporters were all still inside and we wouldn’t be hounded by anyone, because I needed to get her somewhere safe as soon as possible. I could feel her still trembling, and offered her a smile as I paused at a red light, hoping she’d see that it would all be okay, hoping that I was acting like it would all be okay.

I carried her up to my apartment, and immediately tucked her into my bed and crawled in with her. She curled into my side, her face buried against my chest as she struggled to get control over herself. Crying was something she hated to do, because she hated being vulnerable and weak, and even more than that she hated showing others that she was vulnerable. It was a learning process for her, something that I’d learned when we were in Thunder Bay. Eric had told me about her mini-breakdown after they’d basically patched things up, and it hurt to know that I was unintentionally causing her pain.

“Shh, it’s okay baby,” I murmured, kissing the top of her head as I rubbed her back until she fell asleep. She finally did, and I was left to stare at the ceiling and think. My eyes wandered over to the closet, where hidden up in a shoebox was a tiny velvet box, with a diamond ring inside of it. When I’d got back to Pittsburgh I’d been walking downtown and in the window of Urban Jewelers it had caught my eye. It was like it had been put there on purpose for me, and I hadn’t been able to resist going in and at least looking at it.

It was perfect. It had Cam written all over it; a black onyx and diamond ring; the main diamond was set in the round black onyx, and the silver band had forty-some tiny gemstones in it. They were laid into the band, and sparkled softly in the light without being too overwhelming. It was enough to catch attention, but definitely simple enough to blend in, something that suited her so well. I already knew I wanted to marry her, and somehow this ring seemed to be the right on. I felt guilty not spending more money on the ring, but I knew Cam would kill me if I ever proposed with some huge, gaudy engagement ring. This one was so perfectly her I couldn’t have made myself walk out of the store without it.

And so it had sat, hidden in my closet because I was prone to taking it out and staring at it, trying to picture what it would look like on her hand, and wondering when I’d grow a pair and ask her. Now with all of this I’d have to wait even longer to get down on one knee, not that either of our parents would complain. We’d only been dating for seven months, and as far as marriage goes that’s a fairly short relationship for us to be sure we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Even though I knew there’d never be another woman in my life the way Cam fit into mine.

I looked over at my clock, and saw it was already close to supper. I thought about getting up and ordering something so that we’d have food when Cam was up and feeling okay, but before I could I heard a knock at the door. I carefully extricated myself from Cam without waking her up, and padded quickly down the hall to open the door before somebody decided to ring the doorbell.

“Hello?” I pulled the door open, and saw Steve and Shelley Sullivan standing there, Shelley with several containers in hand.

“We brought you guys some food – all you have to do is dish up what you want and pop it in the microwave,” Shelley informed me as she let herself in and made herself at home in the kitchen. Steve gave me an apologetic shrug as he walked in as well, staying in the foyer.

“Thanks so much – you didn’t have to do all of this Shelley,” I told her, but she shook her head.

“That girl’s like a daughter to me Jordan, and she’s going through what nobody should ever have to,” she told me, and she got solemn as she looked into my eyes.

“I swear to God if you hurt her I will hunt you down Jordan. She means the world to us, and she’s an amazing girl. She deserves the world, and I won’t hear of you giving her anything less,”

“I don’t plan on giving her anything less Shelley; she’s my world too,” I replied, and her expression softened before she gave me a hug.

“You two are good for each other Jordan. When she first told me she liked you I really bristled at the thought – you were such a crazy ass, I was sure she’d end up getting hurt. But you turned around, and I’m glad, because it’s been good for both of you,” she let her arms drop then, and I could’ve sworn I saw a few tears in her eyes.

“I knew I had to get my act together if I could ever be good enough for her, I’m just glad she gave me a chance,” I admitted, and Steve patted my shoulder.

“She had it bad for you Gronk, she probably would have given you a chance even if you hadn’t got your act together,” he responded, and all I could do was grin.

“Thanks again, you know Cam will probably call and chew you out for going out of your way like this once she’s feeling more like herself,” I told Shelley, who just huffed.

“She last to learn to let others take care of her every once in a while, and to enjoy it,” was all she’d say, and soon they’d said their goodbyes and were out the door – off to pick up the kids from a friends’ house where they’d went after House Leagues at their school.

I put the containers in the fridge, noticing one held lasagna, another had lazy cabbage rolls, one had perogies in a home-made mushroom sauce, and the last one had a small roast in it. We would’ve been more than okay with ordering in something, but it was sure nice for Shelley to go out of her way and do this. And perogies were my favorite.

Cam came into the kitchen slowly, rubbing her eyes and nearly swimming in one of my Penguins hoodies that was several sizes too big for her. She eyed the casserole dish in my hand, obviously confused, because she knew I hadn’t been out here cooking.

“Your Pittsburgh Parents dropped off some food for us,” I explained, setting down the dish and wrapping my arms around her, letting my chin drop to rest on top of her head. She cuddled into me, and softly kissed my neck before pulling away.

“Shelley really shouldn’t have, I can’t imagine how much time she spent doing all this and then she probably made something for dinner for her crew too,” she sighed. I just shrugged, because she knew I’d agree with her and that I’d told Shelley that she hadn’t had to.

“Are you hungry sweetheart? You should probably eat something,” I suggested, and after a moment she nodded.

“Maybe something, I’m not really hungry, but I know I should eat,” she allowed, and I kissed the top of her head.

“Want me to make some soup?” I asked, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! I had Tanya show me how to make a few things after I got back to Thunder Bay from visiting you,” I admitted, and she rose up on her tiptoes to peck my lips.

“That’s really sweet,” she grinned, letting me kiss her in response.

“I can make chicken noodle soup if you want – it’s from a package but it’s still soup,” I told her, and she nodded.

“That’d be nice. Do you want any help?” she asked, but I shook my head.

“I got this sweetheart, why don’t you go lay down until it’s ready?” after a hesitation – because I knew she wanted to argue – she did as I asked, and curled up on the corner of the couch while I made soup. I was quite proud of myself for doing so – it was no secret that I was basically handicapped when it came to doing anything in the kitchen short of getting something out of the fridge.

We ate quietly, Cam hardly picking at the small bowl of soup in front of her. I’d convinced her to eat about half of it before she crawled over to my side of the couch to curl up, and about ten minutes later she’d fallen asleep. I laid there with her until I began to feel drowsy, and carried her back to my bedroom.

She woke up halfway – still more asleep than awake, but I managed to help her get out of her clothes and into something more comfortable to sleep in – I lent her a pair of boxers, but she insisted she wanted to stay in my hoodie, and then I stripped out of my jeans and crawled in with her, falling asleep fairly quickly.