Sidney didn’t even have the door all the way open when Ali fell into his arms. She didn’t know why she chose him. Maybe because he had been honest with her before about James, and she felt she could trust him. And now her arms were wrapped around him, clinging to him for any sort of stability. She let her tears run another round when she felt him squeeze back.

“Hey….hey, it’s okay….” Sid’s voice was almost a whisper, but sounded a little uncertain. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay...”

Ali shook her head against his shoulder. “I don’t think so, Sidney.” She realized as she hugged him just how broad he was compared to James. Rock solid, a body built for his sport, but his voice was gentle and kind.

“Here, let’s go sit down.” When she let go of him, Sid was able to see more of her. He realized that she had been crying for a while by the redness in her face. “Just answer me this: is this about James?”

Ali bit her lip and nodded, more tears coming. Sid silently cursed his teammate in his mind, feeling his anger rising. He remained focused on Ali though, and lead her into his living room. She sat down on his couch, hands going to her face to wipe her eyes. Sid took a seat across from her on his coffee table so he could see her. Even if she wouldn’t look at him while she was there, he still wanted to see her.

“Do you want to talk about it right now?” he asked, treading lightly. “Because we don’t have to. I can just sit here with you, if that would help.”

“No…” Ali inhaled, her voice shaky. “No, we can talk about it. There’s not much to say.”

The sad part was, he already knew what this was about. He knew this moment would come eventually, but he had no idea Ali would run to him afterwards. He watched as Ali looked up, trying to compose herself. He gave her a smile, and that seemed to relax her a little.

“I guess he kissed some….some girl….” She wiped her eyes again. “Last week…I don’t know when...Brittany texted me and told me that she saw…” Ali shook her head and looked down at her hands, unable to finish because she started to cry again.

It pained Sid to see her like this, and it pissed him off that James could be such an asshole to her. He had tried to tell James, but he wouldn’t listen. He saw this coming a mile away. Anyone who knew James should’ve seen it coming.

“So Brittany saw the picture that was taken of him?” Sid prompted, and Ali nodded. He placed a hand on her knee, which made her look up at him. “Did you see the picture?”

“I don’t want to see it. Ever.”

“Okay…you don’t have to.” Sid searched her worn and tired gaze. Her eyes, even as red as they were, were large and expressive. She blinked and looked away, down at the floor again, avoiding him. Her dark hair had been in a ponytail at some point, but was loose and somewhat off center. Strings damp of hair stuck to her cheeks from crying. Sid had to tell himself he was dealing with someone else’s girlfriend to avoid moving those pieces away from her face.

“Ali.”

She sniffled, staring at the floor.

“Look at me.”

She did.

“I saw the kiss….It wasn’t what you think.”

“How many times is he going to do this to me?”

That blindsided Sid. He supposed it was the ultimate question, but there was so much more to discuss before he could ever answer that. He wasn’t sure it was even his place to answer that.

“He loves you.”

“He doesn’t.” Ali’s hands went to her face again, leaning on her knees with her elbows.

Well, Nealer…you really made a fucking mess of it this time, Sid thought.

“He really does love you, though.”

“How could he?”

In his pocket, Sid felt his cell phone vibrate. He pulled it out far enough to see it was James calling.

“He’s calling me right now” Sid told her. “Do you want me to answer?”

“No.”

He silenced the call, and put the phone back in the pocket of his jeans. “Does he even know you’re here?”

“No….And I don’t want him to know. Let him wonder. Let him worry, for once.”

Sid’s eyebrows rose. So she wasn’t just upset…she was upset. Her eyes met his, and they seemed to beg him to say something or do something.

“He doesn’t have to know you’re here” he began. “But he should know you’re safe somewhere. Doesn’t matter where. He deserves that much.”

Ali considered this, and then nodded. “You’re right…..but not now.”

“Okay.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Sid gave her that time, not pressing or asking any more questions. Her face seemed to go through several emotions as she wrestled with whatever was going through her mind. Sid waited, watching as her fingers nervously entwined together on her lap.

“Sometimes…” Ali said quietly, “I wish I had never met him.”

“Whoa, wait….” Sid moved to the couch beside her. “You don’t mean that, come on now, you know you don’t.”

“I’m just so confused, Sidney.” She looked at him, her brown eyes so full of concern and emotion. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Sid’s heart jumped. “Sure, stay as long as you need to.”

“I don’t have any clothes or anything.”

“I probably have something you could borrow.”

He smiled at her again, and Ali felt better just being there with him. She leaned into him and felt his arms wrap around her again. At least here, in his arms, she felt temporarily safe.

“Thank you” she mumbled weakly.

Sid rested his head on hers. “You’re welcome.”


* * *


James was a mess. He couldn’t get a hold of Sid, and he’d already tried everyone else on the team, but no one had heard from her. Paul had come over when James called him, and now he watched his friend walking around his kitchen, biting his knuckle as he thought to himself.

“She has to be there” James said. “Where else would she go?”

“How do you know she even went anywhere?” Paul asked. “How do you know she didn’t just go somewhere to sit and think. You know…like a coffee shop or maybe—“

“Ali doesn’t do that when she’s pissed, Paulie. When she’s pissed, she leans on people. It’s just what she does.” James’ nerves were already frazzled and it had only been an hour since she left. It was becoming a scary reality that she may never come back…at least not as his girlfriend.

“What about her coworkers?”

James glanced at Paul. “I don’t have any of their numbers.”

“Try the hotel.”

James snapped his fingers and grabbed his phone. He waited one ring before someone at the front desk of the Hyatt answered.

“Good evening, thank you for calling the Hyatt Regency at the Pittsburgh International Airport. How may I direct your call?”

“Who am I speaking to?” James asked.

“My name is Becky. Is there someone specific you would like to be transferred to?”

“No….No, my name is James Neal, and I’m just trying to see if anyone there has seen Allison Diserelli?”

There was a pause on the line. “I’m sorry, did you say James Neal?”

James rolled his eyes. “Yes. Have you seen Allison?”

“Um….” Another pause. “She isn’t scheduled to work until Wednesday. Let me ask my assistant.”

James looked at Paul and shook his head. If they had seen her, they would know, and they wouldn’t have missed her if her face looked like it did when she left there.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Neal, but no one here has seen Allison today. Is there something wrong with her that we should be alerted to?”

“No.” There’s something wrong with me. Ali is perfect, and I don’t deserve her. “Thank you, though.”

James hung up and tossed his phone on the table. Removing his hat, he scratched at his hair nervously. “Seriously, Paul…what the fuck am I going to do now. She thinks I’m this fucking manwhore who can’t go a road trip without groping some chick when she’s not there.”

Paul sat quietly, letting him rant. He knew how James got when he got nervous about games and about injuries, but he never saw him this nervous over a girl. He had to remind himself that this was the same James who, a year ago, wouldn’t even be thinking twice if a girl got pissed at him.

“You really do love her, don’t you?” Paul asked him.

James stopped pacing. “Yes. I absolutely fucking love that girl, Paulie. And this hurts, okay? This fucking hurts like a motherfucker. This is TWICE now, in just the past few weeks. She doesn’t deserve this.” He sat down with a heavy thud on one of the chairs next to Paul.

James’ phone vibrated in front of the two of them. He grabbed the phone and exhaled heavily when he saw the screen.

I’m staying at a friend’s until I figure something out. Don’t want you to worry that I’m not safe.

He read it out loud so Paul could hear. “So she’s okay. That’s good, right?” James asked.

“Yeah, but who is she staying with?” Paul saw the worried look reappear in James’ eyes. “Don’t worry. She at least thought enough of you to make sure you weren’t worried for her that way.”

“She’s gotta believe me….She has to talk to one of you guys and know I was set up” James said, trying to convince not only Paul, but himself, of the truths he needed Ali to understand. “Can’t you talk to her? You were there!”

“I don’t know where she is. And neither do you.”

“Call her for me.”

Paul shook his head. “I think you both should cool off tonight and let it go, then attack this again in the morning.”

“We have practice in the morning” James said, tossing his hat across the table. “How the fuck am I going to do this?” He raked his hands through his hair.

“We’ll figure something out, okay?” Paul was trying, but James seemed to be talking mostly to himself. He wasn’t sure of what else he could do or say for him, but he vowed to stay until he knew James wasn’t going to do something irrational.


* * *


Sid stood outside his guest bedroom, coffee mug in hand. He knocked gently, listening for movement inside. “Ali? Everything okay?”

After a few seconds, the door opened. Ali looked down at the t-shirt and gym shorts Sid had given her to wear to sleep. “They’re a little huge…but it’ll do.” She met his gaze and smiled. After she showered, Ali felt a lot better. Or, at least, a little more refreshed. The redness in her face diminished thanks to the hot water, but not much else washed away with it.

“I think you look great” Sid said with a smile. “Made you some tea.” He held up the mug, and Ali let a little laugh escape.

“Nice cup.”

Sid glanced down at the mug his mom had given him years ago. “It’s a family favorite.” He knew his old World’s Best Kid mug would make her smile.

Ali took the mug, cupping it in her hands. “Thank you….For everything.” She looked up at Sid as she took a sip. Now that their color wasn’t tainted by redness and tears, he thought her eyes were the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen.

“So do you feel a little better?” he asked. “Did the shower help?”

“Yes, definitely…thank you for that, too.”

Sid laughed, leaning a shoulder against the doorway. “You know, you don’t have to thank me for anything, let alone everything.”

“I know. But it’s really nice of you…you know…to take me in.” Ali looked down at the steam swirling up from her tea. “I know you and James are close, and you’re teammates…so if this is going to cause any trouble—“

“—Stop. No more of that, okay?” He watched Ali’s smile slowly reappear. “That’s my only request tonight. You’re not trouble, and you staying here isn’t trouble. If James has an issue with it, I’ll take the time to help him understand why it isn’t.”

Ali looked away down the hall, the blankness in her eyes returning. She was biting her lip, and Sid could tell she wanted to say something.

“You said you saw the kiss” she began, “and it wasn’t what ‘I thought it was’. What did you mean when you said that?” She finally looked at him again, her eyes full of fear.

“I meant: it wasn’t anything to worry about.” Ali never took her eyes off him; she didn’t even blink. Sid wondered if there was a more intense gaze out there than hers. “And what I mean by not worrying about it is: he didn’t prompt it. The whole thing was kind of weird. It seemed like this girl and her friends were just trying to get a picture with him.”

Ali finally released her gaze and took a sip of tea, fingering the ceramic of the mug in her hands.

“To tell you the truth” he said, “They came over to see me first. James jumped in to help take some of the pressure off, and he ended up really fucking with the one girl….The girl in the picture.”

“Fucking with her?” Ali questioned, her brow furrowing.

“You know…Being James. He was making her look pretty stupid.”

Ali looked down, and the corner of her mouth very faintly lifted into a smile. Sid was glad to see this. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an affectionate squeeze. “I told you. He loves you.”

Without much thought at all, Sid lifted his hand and brushed Ali’s cheek, barely touching her skin. To his surprise, she leaned into his palm so that he was cupping her face. Lifting one of her own hands, she took his large hands in hers, and kissed it.

“You’re sweet, Sidney. And a good friend. Thank you.”

Sid nodded. “Just let me know if you need me. Anytime.”

“Okay.” She smiled a weak smile, and then retreated into the bedroom.

When the door closed, Sid remained standing against its frame. He leaned his forehead against the wood and closed his eyes.


* * *


It was the first time James slept alone in his bed in the past ten months, and he hated it. It wasn’t right, it pissed him off, and he couldn’t fall asleep because of it. He lay on his side, staring at the pillow where Ali’s head should have been, her hair splayed and messy across the fabric, her eyes closed and her breathing regular. It was the music he fell asleep to every night when he was home, and the silence that now occupied the room was a reminder of just how much of a place Ali had come to occupy in his life. James didn’t want to lose that, not over a misunderstanding like this.

He shifted onto his back and stared at the ceiling, dimly lit from streetlights outside. Uneasy thoughts swirled nonstop in his mind, and despite lying in bed, every muscle in his body was tense. He couldn’t just sit there and not try something. It was slowly driving him mad that Ali was out there somewhere thinking he did something to ruin their relationship. He couldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t allow it.

Getting up, James crossed the bedroom and grabbed a t-shirt from his closet, throwing it on over his mess of hair. He threw on wind pants over his boxers, then headed downstairs. If he was just going to sit and accept that Ali left upset, then he wasn’t proving to her anything to make her want to stay.

James grabbed his keys and got into his car, knowing exactly where he was going first.


* * *


Ali’s eyes snapped open when she heard the familiar rumble of the engine. It took only a second in her mind to realize what was happening. She sat up in bed, hearing the soft movement of feet outside her door. They hurried down the steps, just as the sound of knocking could be heard on the door. The knocking turned to pounding before Sid made it there.

“Where is she.” James’ jaw was clenched, his eyes ablaze with anger. “And don’t fuck with me, Crosby. Her car is in the damn driveway.”

Sid hesitated, seeing how upset he was. “She’s upstairs, but she doesn’t—“

“ALI!” James tried to push past Sid, but his captain was as wide and strong as the door itself, and blocked the entrance.

Upstairs, Ali heard James calling her name, and fresh tears burned in her eyes. She got up and went to the door, opening it a crack so she could hear more.

“Let me in, Sid.”

“I would, but I can’t.”

Sidney felt like James was a dam holding back anger that was three seconds from bursting. His friend looked at him from under the brim of his black Pirates hat, his eyes begging him to let him in. And while Nealer would never admit it, Sid knew he was scared as hell. The look in his eyes said it all.

“I just want to talk to her.”

“I know.” Sid wanted to help him, but he was merely a spokesperson for Ali, so he shook his head. “But she doesn’t want to talk to you yet.”

James continued to stare at him, but the intensity faltered a little.

“Listen, Neal….she’s staying here tonight because she wants to.” Sid spoke softly, so as not to incite James further. He crossed his arms over his chest as he listened. “Ali told me she wants to cool down and think about things a little. I told her she could stay here as long as she needed.”

“If you fucking touch her even once, I swear to god, Sid…”

Sidney shook his head. “I’m here to try and fix things for you, dammit. Not fuck it up even further.”

Standing there, even in all his anger and fear, James was so close to Ali that he actually felt a spark. It was undeniable; with a feeling like that, James knew they were meant to be together. He could feel it. Knowing she was just feet away, he felt a pull inside him that would make him destroy anyone so he could get to her.

Instead, if Sid was telling the truth…and Ali wanted space to cool down….he’d give it to her, no matter how much he wanted to be selfish and bring her home. He rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the ground.

“Alright, Crosby.” He looked up and met the dark stare of his teammate. “I’ll trust you again, but this time, I’m trusting you with the most important thing in my life.”

Sid understood. With his hand still on the open door, he waited to see what James would do next, but he just stood there.

“It’ll be alright, Neal.”

James shifted his eyes up to meet his, but made no other movement.

“I’ll talk to her more.” Sid continued.

Finally, James gave a nod, conceding once and for all. “I LOVE YOU ALLISON” he shouted past Sid, hoping she would hear him, wherever she was inside.

Ali did hear it, and she wiped another tear from her cheek as she heard Sid close the door below.


* * *