Counting Stars

For the next few days Sidney and I text regularly. Easily, I can see myself becoming too comfortable with our situation. We only have about two weeks left of filming though, so I won’t have a reason to stay in Pittsburgh. As much fun as Sidney and I have, I know long distance is out of the question. Sidney would probably think I was crazy anyways for even thinking about it.

When I get back to my hotel on Saturday night I’m exhausted. Emma texted me earlier wondering if we could watch the boys’ game tonight, but I tell her that I’m just going to watch alone, which turned out to be a good thing. The game was ugly, I don’t know what the problem was but nothing would go the Penguins way. I could tell that Sidney and all of the team for that matter were getting frustrated. Finally in the third the tensions boiled over and Engelland turned and punched a Blue’s player. I have no idea whether or not he won, but it seemed like it helped motivate the guys. Unfortunately, during the commercial break I drift off.

My cell phone startles me from my uncomfortable slumber on the couch. I rub my eyes and grapple for my cell. Sidney is calling me, and then I remember that I didn’t see the end of the game. “Hello?”

It’s loud on the other end, “Did you watch it?”

I glance at my watch and see that it’s well past 1 am, but I answer anyways, “Yeah, I watched the game.” I bit my lip. “You guys played well.”

He snorts, its loud and out of his character, “Don’t bullshit me, Brooklyn. We played like shit.”

“Are you feeling okay Sidney? Where are you?”

There is more shuffling on the other line and the music gets louder, “A few of us went out to blow off some steam. We were all pissed.”

“Well, you will have about 70 more so I think you guys will be fine.”

“This is where you are supposed to stroke my ego you know.”

I laugh, “Honestly, I think you have enough people doing that already.”

There is a pause and for a second I think he might have hung up, “You’re probably right, but more importantly I’m mad at you.”

It’s becoming extremely difficult to take Sidney seriously. Trying to contain my laugh I lie down on my couch, “Oh really?”

“This girl was all over me tonight and all I could do was think about you,” Well this is interesting, I open my mouth ready to interject when Sidney continues. “Which is pointless right? There is no us right? You’ll be gone before Christmas and never come back.”

We are both silent, “And if I wanted there to be an us?”

On the other end Sidney’s breath is labored, “Don’t pity me Donahue.”

“I want this Sidney, and I want you. What are you going to do about it?”

“Fuck,” I hear Sidney inhale. “You are wearing my jersey on Wednesday. That makes you mine.”

As soon as he says that I hear someone yell his name and he swears, “I’m going to call you tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds good Captain, enjoy your night.”

We hang up and I get to thinking. Sidney was extremely drunk tonight and there was a very good chance that he might not remember our conversation in the morning, or at least regret it. I decide to send a quick e-mail to Janet though, asking her to look into roles that will film at least partially in the new studios here in Pittsburgh. I’m excited for this thing between Sidney and I, even though I doubt it will ever work. As I move towards my bed though my phone starts to ring again.

I answer with a chuckle, “Something to add Sidney?”

“Who is Sidney Brooklyn?” My blood runs cold; it’s Zac on the other line and doesn’t sound like he is in a good place.

“What do you need Zac?”

“Am I not allowed to miss you?”

This game of twenty questions needs to stop immediately. “Zac, I know you’re using. I’m going to help you. Where are you?”

“I know what I’m doing okay Brooklyn. And I came to visit you,” when he finishes I hear a knock on the door and the line go dead. I run through my suite and sure enough Zac is slumped in the hallway outside of my door.

“Shit,” I drag Zac in and try to slap his face. He’s not responding. Immediately I dial Jacob and he answers on the second ring alert even though it’s well into the night, “What’s wrong Brooklyn?”

“It’s Zac. He showed up at my room and I think he might have overdosed. He’s not waking up, I need help Jacob.”

‘’I’m on my way. Get some water and splash it one his face. If that doesn’t work make him puke. I’ll call his agent and see what their game plan is. If you don’t hear from me or I’m not there in 15 minutes call an ambulance, got it?”
Jacob’s voice is all business, but I can’t seem to function. My ex-boyfriend is unconscious on my floor. And I need to help him, but I can’t seem to move.

“Brooklyn, he is going to be fine. You can do this.”

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, “Okay, hurry though.”

The next few minutes are an out of body experience. I grab water and that doesn’t seem to help so I grab a tooth brush. With a deep breath I shove it down his throat. He vomits just as Jacob walks in but Zac is still unresponsive.
I look up frantically, “What do we do Jacob?”

“His manager is coming with a personal doctor and an EMS, they don’t want a scene,” Jacob won’t look me in the eyes as he says this.

“So we are supposed to wait, he’s barely breathing Jacob!” My voice is bordering on hysterics, and Jacob merely nods. “Fuck that.” I stand up and reach for phone to dial 911. Jacob grabs my arm and takes my phone away.

“We have to listen to his handler, that’s how this works sweetheart, you know that.”
I’m still shaking in Jacob’s arms when Zac’s people come in a minute or so later. His manager, Nick, oversees the doctor and once Zac is stable they take him out of the room. Nick comes back in and looks at me, “He was in town for an audition, so it’s lucky we were all here,” He pulls out his phone and starts typing. “Sorry about all this Brooklyn, but I know that we can expect discretion from the two of you.”

I break away from Jacob, “Get him some help Nick, before it’s too late.”

He just shakes his head, ‘’That’s why he had you.” And with that Nick leaves my hotel suite. I stumble into the kitchen and pour myself a rather large glass of wine. Jacob joins me, ‘’I talked to housekeeping they are sending someone up to clean it. Are you okay?’’

Instead of answering I pour myself more wine and give Jacob a glass of whiskey, he nods his thanks. “Jesus, thank you for coming so quickly Jacob. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“It’s what I do Brooklyn. I’m surprised you were still awake though.’’

“I was actually on the phone with Sidney,” out of the corner of my eye I see Jacob’s eyebrows rise slightly, but he doesn’t say anything.

‘’Really, you don’t have anything to say about that?”

He takes another sip of his drink, “I don’t know him Brooklyn, at least not personally. Ethan has some friends on the Kings though.”

“And?”

He shrugs, “Some of them don’t have the best things to say about him. Not to mention I’ve been out with them before and hockey players aren’t always the most gentlemanly people out there.”

“But still, you don’t know him personally,” I finish my second glass in one big gulp and proceed to pour myself a third. ‘’Whatever we shouldn’t even talk about this. I’m going to go hop in the shower and then pass the fuck out. Thanks again for being here.’’

“I’m going to stay here tonight just in case if that’s all right?’’

I know he is not really asking, so I don’t even bother answering him. In the shower the night’s events catch up to me and I have difficulty breathing. I cannot believe that I talked to Sidney only an hour ago. Shaking my head I step out of the shower and walk back to my room, my exhausted body immediately falls asleep.

*******


The alarm going off the next morning might be the most painful noise I’ve ever experienced. I groan and turn over while I hear Duper beside me get up and answer the wakeup call. “Sidney, are you alive over there man?”

I mumble something incoherent and he just laughs, which in turn hurts my head even more. “Do you have any idea when I got home last night?”

“No, I just know it was late. You all are a bunch of idiots.”

“Beau and Olli said that they could out drink us,” I rub my forehead. “I’m pretty sure they were right.”

There is a knock on the door and Duper gets up to let Geno and Nealer in. I crack my eyes open and smile. They both look worse for the wear as well. I hold up a hand and give a little wave. Geno responds, “Any word from Brooklyn this morning?”

I shake my head until it starts to hurt, “No, why would I?”

Geno and Nealer both start laughing, “You called her last night remember?”

Suddenly all the memories from last night come flooding back to me. I sit up with a start, “Oh shit, I called her. And I was drunk, I was so drunk. I told her I would call her when we got back to Pittsburgh.”

Now Duper joins in with Geno and Nealer as well, “I’m proud of you Sid, not going to lie. But we should probably all get a move on. Bus leaves in thirty.”

Somehow I get out of bed and make myself slightly presentable. Duper and I are downstairs just in time to make it on the bus and I notice that a few fans have gathered outside. Quickly I reach into my bag and pull out a pair of sunglasses. Duper and I get on the bus after a few pictures and autographs and then we are on way back home.

When the plane touches down in Pittsburgh it’s around noon, my hangover has definitely subsided. We all say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. In my range rover on the way home I gather up the courage to call Brooklyn. She picks up on the third ring, “How are you feeling today? I definitely didn’t except a call until at least three.”

“Har, har, har. I’m feeling pretty good actually, and I’m feeling a lot better than I did about four hours ago.”

She laughs and it’s one of the best things I’ve heard in a while. “Well, that’s good to hear. Did you leave any alcohol in St. Louis?”

“Maybe a little, but not much,” He pauses. “I just wanted to say in regards to what I said last night…”

“It’s fine I understand you were drunk..”

Oh she thinks that I’m going to deny everything, I need to make her realize that even though I as drunk last night it was the truth, without sounding like too much of a sap. “I meant everything. And if you want to give this a go, I’m in.”

“Yes, me too.”

“That’s um, that’s great. To celebrate do you want to grab dinner tonight? I can come bring over some food.”

She chuckles, “I would love to. But I need to get out of this apartment, I’ve been craving pizza. How does that sound?”

This girl is so bad for my diet and I can hear our conditioning coaches lecturing me, but the good outweighs the possible consequences.
“That sounds great, I’ll pick you up at like five?”

“Perfect, I’ll see you then,” she hangs up almost immediately.

*******
Sidney’s call at noon woke me up and since we hung up an hour ago I still haven’t left my bed. Everything that happened with Zac last night is still running through my mind and for all I know Jacob is still here on my couch. I need to get up though that is definitely a necessity. When I walk out into the living area I see that Jacob is still there on my couch. “Glad you made yourself at home.”

He takes a bite out of his sandwich before he answers, “I know you can spare a sandwich. How are you feeling?”

“Well, I wasn’t the one who was unconscious on my floor last night so I’ll be fine. Have you heard anything from Zac’s people.”

He nods, “He woke up in the hospital this morning stable, official story is a seizure.”

I roll my eyes, “People are going to stop believing that one of the hottest men on the planet is a colossal klutz. At least everyone in the business is going to know he is using again.”

Jacob stands up and walks to me, “What you Gods and Goddesses of Hollywood do on Mount Olympus should stay a secret from us poor mortals.”

I punch him in the arm, even though it’s right. We get away with a lot since we are famous. Everyone is willing to do you a favor, get you whatever you want. It can be addicting and when Zac and I were together we both indulged briefly. Until I missed my cousin’s high school graduation and realized that I didn’t want to be that person. Zac and I both gave it up, but he fell off the wagon, like he has before and I told him that it was either me or his destructive lifestyle. He chose the lifestyle and I’ve never looked back. Officially, the story is we drifted apart; Jacob is the only one who knows everything that really happened.

“Heard you on the phone, you have plans tonight?” Jacob interrupted my flashbacks.

I nod, “Yeah, I need to get out of this place. Sidney is picking me up for pizza.”

Jacob stands, “Well, you have fun with your piece of meat. I will see you tomorrow.”

“Wait,” I walk over to him and pull him into a hug. “Thank you, seriously Jacob. I couldn’t have done anything without you.” He just huffs and pats my back before disentangling himself and leaving my suite.

At quarter till five I am waiting anxiously on my couch for Sidney. I decided to keep it extremely casual. I’m wearing black leggings as usual, with a large Ohio State sweater. When the doorbell rings outside of my suite I grab my coat and my purse and open the door. Once I see him I can’t help but smile. Sidney looks good, really good. He’s wearing jeans and a navy sweater with no jacket.

“You look great,” we hug and he we share a quick kiss. “Ready to go?”

We walk out to his range rover and he opens the door for me. The short ride to the pizza place is made up of companionable silence and Sidney holds my hand the entire ride there. We sit down at a both towards the back and our waiter graciously pretends he doesn’t recognize either of us. “I feel like I should apologize one last time for that phone call last night.”

It takes me a second to remember that Sidney called me before Zac did last night, but once I do I try to laugh, “Trust me, it was the most entertaining part of my night. I was watching the game and then I fell asleep or else I would have texted you, promise.”

He nods, “It’s strange though. I hate talking to people after a loss, especially people I know. But you did that first time and I was expecting it last night too. And then you didn’t, I was disappointed.”

“To be honest, I enjoyed drunk Sidney,” he laughs. And I quickly pull out my phone. “But if this helps any.”

His phone beeps and he pulls it out of his pocket and reads, “You guys played like crap and deserved to lose,” he puts his phone back. “That was really sweet of you Brooklyn, you’re too kind.”

We decide to share a cheese pizza and we are both apparently hungry because we don’t speak for a few minutes. I come up for air, “This is actually delicious.”

“I know, but I’m glad you like it. Are you excited for Wednesday?”

I paused then remembered our bet, “Of course, it’s going to be a little difficult to cheer for the flyers in your jersey though.”

He immediately stopped eating, “Never joke about the Flyers. The game is going to be intense, they’re on a win streak and we of course need to pick up two points as well.”

“Seriously, I’m excited that I get to wear the winning team’s colors.”

“Alright, you’ve redeemed yourself. I’ll leave two tickets at Will Call again and you can invite Emma if you want. In the meantime though are you busy on Monday or Tuesday?”

I wince, “Unfortunately, my scenes are supposed to wrap in two weeks and we are a little behind schedule so I’m working like 18 hour days this week.”

Sidney just whistles, “Damn, that’s intense. Is it always like this?”

I shake my head, “No, it’s just a new studio here in Pittsburgh so everyone is catching their bearings. I’ll make the game on Wednesday though no problem, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He smiles and the rest of the meal is us staying away from all work topics, when the waiter brings us the check. Sidney happily pays it and we are just about to leave when the waiter asks me for my autograph. I smile and say sure. And then he wants a picture with me, he leaves without asking anything from Sidney.

“That has never happened before,” we are walking back to his car. “Usually everyone wants a picture of me,” Sidney wraps an arm around my waist. “I think I’m going to keep you around Donahue.”

I scoff teasing him, “Typical, just using me for my fame.”

He laughs and his hand slides lower, “And your hot body of course.”

Notes

I was trying to illustrate the difference between Brooklyn's and Sidney lives, hopefully it wasn't too depressing. But it ended with some Sidney time, so it can't all be bad! Thanks for all the wonderful feedback so far!