Family Matters

Honestly I was in shock. I had no idea what I just saw a picture of, okay I did know I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know if I should’ve called Kris or not, so I called James.

“Jay! What the fuck was that?!” I yelled in the phone.

“Look, before you go all ape shit on Tanger you may want to listen to him first.” I was fuming.

“Put him on the phone!” I demanded.

“I’m not sure-” I cut him off.

“JAMES NEAL IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU’LL DO IT!” I was beyond livid, and only getting more pissed by the minute.

“Hi babe.” Kris got on the phone.

“DON’T ‘HI BABE’ ME KRISTOPHER ALLEN LETANG! DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHY THE FUCK NEALER SENT ME A PICTURE OF YOU PUNCHING SCOTT? HE’S A FUCKING PROSPECT! HE’S NOT A FUCKING THREAT TO YOU!” I screamed in the phone and if I knew more French we would be having a screaming match in French.

“Brie, listen to me.” He said calmly, well as calmly as he could, since he was still fuming from his fight.

“He was talking shit about you and your family. I wasn’t going to sit around and let him tear you apart. So, I punched him and it resulted in a fight.” I shook my head, it was sweet that he defended me but to get in a fight with a prospect?

“Babe, I love that you defended me, it means a lot to me but what’s going to happen when Dan or Ray find out? Shit’s going to happen and you’ll be miserable.” I knew he knew I was right.

“I couldn’t just-” I cut him off.

“You did the right thing, but Kris, you and I both know Dan and Ray are going to find out about this, and you have to tell the truth. Look I’ll do the best I can to clear it up, since they love me, but I’m not making any promises.”

The next morning, I got on the phone with Dan and Ray. It went as well as I had hoped. Let’s just say they weren’t going to go easy on Kris, and he may be mad at me afterwards. The plan was to scare Kris so he wouldn’t do it again. I told Dan and Ray what had happened and then came up with the brilliant plan of ‘we are pissed at you.’ Needless to say my plan worked.

I missed Kris a lot. Brody and Brett left for Charlotte, Kris was in Pittsburgh already, and I was at home, still trying to decide what to do. I knew if I stayed here, I’d have to see Taylor, which I didn’t mind but I still had feelings for him. Being at home, I’d have my dad and his girlfriend, but dad would be gone a lot during the season. I did miss my Uncle Darryl, and my cousins Jessica and Chris. This is what happens when you have so much family. My dad had six brothers, and being a hockey family at that complicated things a bit. We were all spread out, so I saw them at least once a year.

I sat dinner on the table, and sat down, engaging in light conversation with my dad.

“So…I was thinking of not going to Charlotte. I want to go visit Uncle Darryl. I miss him, Jessica and Chris. Please dad?” I hoped he would agree.

“Alright, if you help out with chores and it’s okay with him. I don’t see why not.” I smiled, knowing my uncle would say yes, that and I can whoop those boys into shape. I knew they were all defeated when they got knocked out of the Conference Finals.

The only problem with that plan was that I still wouldn’t get to see Kris. That and the fact at the end of January the Penguins travel out to L.A. for a game, probably won’t set well with him, knowing my Uncle is the coach and I’d be helping them. And the fact that I kind of knew who Dan was starting. Well now I needed to tell Kris, although I realized I’d still be the youngest Sutter in the house, as Chris and Jessica were in their twenties and I was still seventeen. To answer your question, I was going to enroll into one of the colleges near my uncles house.

“YOU’RE WHAT?!” Kris yelled on the phone.

I knew we would need to have this conversation sooner or later. I’d choose the latter if it were up to me, but knew it’d be better for him to hear it from me rather than someone else.

”C'est de la folie! Pourquoi voudriez-vous aller?” (This is insane! Why would you go?!)

“Parce que je ne serai pas choisir qui de vivre avec! Il est difficile de choisir entre mon frère et mon père.” (Because I won't be choosing who to live with! It's hard choosing between my brother and my dad.)

“I know, I’m sorry babe. We barely see each other as it is, and I don’t want you to move to LA.” Kris sighed.

And yes we did change back to English. “I think it’s the best thing for me Kris. I won’t get in trouble and you, Brody, and Brett don’t have to worry about me as much. I’ll be with Uncle Darryl and my cousins Jessica and Chris.”

I had been in L.A. for a few weeks. Training Camp had started, and boy did we need help. The boys were still mad about the playoffs. With the loss of Dustin Penner and Rob Scuderi, we needed to change lines. Watching the boys and helping with the team made me miss the Penguins, Brody and Brett. I knew that being in California was the best thing for me. I was going to major in Sports Journalism with a minor in Sports Medicine, so I could help with the guys. What can I say? I’m a Sutter, hockey’s in my blood.

I had a routine. Go to class, rink/do homework, cook dinner for the team on game days (or I would be when the season started), and go to said home games, then bed. On this particular day, I decided to hangout with Mike Richards. Usually it would be Penner, but he was in Anaheim.

“Are you okay? You look pale.” Mike asked as I sat on the couch. We were watching SuckerPunch, and the next thing I knew I was in Mike’s room with Mike and my uncle.

“What happened? Why am I in your bed? Mike did we?” He laughed.

“No we didn’t do anything. You blacked out.”