These Things We Do

It had been two days since the disaster that was Christmas, and Sean still hadn’t talked to Charlie. They were leaving for a week and a half road trip to Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Colorado and Phoenix that afternoon and he didn’t know what to do. Brayden had tried speaking to him during practice, but he had no interest in hearing him out. He was so confused about everything. John had told him that there were multiple pictures of the two from that night, and it hurt him. These were two of the people he trusted the most and it seemed like they always had a secret. They were always hugging and flirting with each other.

Although they weren’t line mates, the amount of tension between the two young forwards was blatantly obvious to their teammates. In fear of ruining the team chemistry they had finally found right before the holiday, Giroux had called both Brayden and Sean to his house at the end of practice, to air out the issues between them. He had also asked Kimmo to be there, in hopes that the older defenseman could help in dispersing the tension and solving the problem.

“I still have to pack for the roadie.” Sean said, annoyed that his captain was getting involved.
“I don’t really care what you still have to do.” Claude snapped. “If you two don’t work this out, I’m calling Chief and telling him you’re both benched for the entire trip.”
What the fuck?
“Are you serious right now?” Brayden asked. Claude nodded. “So he freaks out over a stupid article, claims I’m trying to steal his girlfriend, and I get punished?”
“Those are my rules. Follow them, or don’t bother packing or showing up at the airport later.”
Brayden huffs, and turns his attention to Sean.
At that point, Kimmo decided to speak up. “I think maybe you two should just tell each other what’s going on. Put it all out there. That way we know what we’re dealing with. And really listen to what each other has to say. Couts, you’ve barely said a word the past couple days so I think you should start.”
Sean took a breath and looked at his captain, assistant captain, and supposed best friend.
“You’ve always been close with her. You two flirt all the time with the hugs and kissing her head and stuff. You always used to call me out for how hot she is and shit so I know you’re attracted to her. Now all of a sudden there’s these pictures online of you two getting all close to one another at the Christmas party? Who knows how many other moments you’ve had like this before that just didn’t get caught on camera? You’re supposed to be my best friend but you’re stabbing me in the back with my girlfriend. The one woman you know I’ve been in love with for years, and the only woman you know I want in my future. How can I trust you when you do this kind of stuff behind my back?”

“I don’t know why the fuck you would think that Charlie and I were sneaking around or whatever, but it’s absolutely not true. I have a girlfriend who I love, and she has a boyfriend who she loves. Neither of us would ever do anything to mess that up, especially not with someone we consider like a sibling. She’s one of my closest friends, man. Yeah she’s hot, and sure I love her, but not like that. I love her more like another little sister. If you want me to back off a little, I will. But I promise you there’s nothing more to me and her than that." He paused and looked Sean right in the eyes. He could see the pain behind them, and realized Brayden was telling the truth. "Man, I would never do that to you." He stressed. "Other than Luke, you're like my best friend. I respect you and Charlie both way too much to get involved with her. Especially when she's so madly in love with you.”

Sean took Kimmo's advice and really listened to his friend. He suddenly felt awful. He realized through Brayden’s speech that he had been wrong. Brayden had Janine, and Charlie had him. They had always had that close friendship, even before she was deployed and that was never going to change.

Sean was quiet. He didn’t want to admit he was wrong. Finally, he realized that he had no choice but suck up his pride and do what needed to be done. For the team. “I was an ass hole, wasn’t I?” He said to his friend.
“You were more than an ass hole. If you weren’t my teammate and my friend, I would have punched the shit out of you.” Brayden replied with a joking smile on his face. “But don’t worry, I’ll forgive you under one circumstance... Get Charlie to forgive you.”
“I just- I don’t know. She’s so perfect and she could have any man she wants. I get jealous when she’s close with other guys because I know she could leave me at any second. She’s not going to forgive me for hurting her like this.”
“She wants you.” Kimmo stated. “If she wanted any other man, she would be with any other man. But she loves you. She trusts you.”
“She shouldn’t trust me. Not after what I’ve done.” Sean could feel the pit in his stomach growing. He royally fucked this up, and didn’t know how he was going to fix it.
“What do I do now?” He asked his teammates.
“Obviously you talk to her.” Claude said, injecting his opinion on the subject for the first time. “You apologize profusely and hope she takes your sorry ass back.” Sean nodded his head and took out his phone.

He walked out to Claude’s porch and dialed the familiar number. One, two, three, four, five rings and her voicemail picked up. He hung up and called again, but was met with the same response. This time he left a message. “Hey baby, it’s me. I-I need to talk to you. I’m so sorry, Charlie, and I want to tell you in person. I need to tell you in person. I fucked up.” He paused, holding back tears. “I miss you.” He said in a soft voice. “Please. Please call me back. Please.” He said. “I love you, Charlie.” He hung up and went back inside. “She didn’t answer.” He told his teammates.
“Don’t be an even bigger moron.” Brayden said. “Go over to her place and find her.”
Sean nodded.
“We have to be at the airport by five. Don’t be late, or I really will bench your ass.” Claude said.

Sean drove like a mad man to get to Charlie’s place. He was pretty sure he was going to get pulled over, but he didn’t even care. She was worth it. When he got there, he grabbed her ring from his wallet and sprinted up the seven flights of stairs to her floor. Completely winded, he knocked on her door.

She didn’t answer. He knocked again, but still no answer. This time, he pounded on the door.
“Charlie, baby. It’s me. Please let me in.” He called. Still no answer. Her next door neighbor heard his call and stuck her head out of her door.
“She’s not here, sweetheart.” She said.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll just wait for her then.” He replied, and leaned against the wall.
“No, sweetie. I mean she’s not here at all. She left yesterday with a big suitcase. Asked me to tell anyone who came by looking for her that she wasn’t coming back for a while.”
“How long is a while? Do you know where she went?” He asked, panic in his voice.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.” She said with a sad look and returned to her own apartment. Sean slid down the wall and buried his face in his hands.

Notes

Hey guys, I know some of you may have already seen this on Mibba, but I would really appreciate some comments! I'm currently struggling with how to continue it (a bunch of chapters ahead) and I'd love the feedback. Maybe what you'd like to see from their relationship?