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Mibba

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Of Icings, Halfpipes, and Pterodactyls

Chapter 14: And the walls come (relatively) tumbling down.

Veronique and I did not end up going to the game, which was just as well because the Penguins lost painfully to the Sabres 4 to 1. It wasn’t because they lost we were glad we stayed in, it was mix of her being as preggers, she was not feeling great and my brain being pretty discombobulated and my foot bothering me. In addition, Marc was not supposed to play in net, so it had made the decision much easier to stay at the house instead of going to CONSOL. Unfortunately, due to the rather unfortunate swing of the game, Marc was put into the net several minutes into the second period. Despite his efforts being flawless, the goals had already been scored and the Pen’s goal scorers couldn’t net anything.

Staying in also had many perks because I was sleeping over at Veronique’s and Marc’s for the night. The guys were all off to New York for the next 28ish hours, so after talking about it, Veronique and I thought it best if I just stayed with her. This way, Veronique wasn’t alone if something happened, like the baby decided to come early.

Veronique and I had a lot of fun during the game despite the team losing so dismally. She filled me in on all of the Wives and Girlfriends, or WAGS as she called them, gossip, which surprisingly distracted me quite well. There was an entire complexity that came along with being one of these WAGS. Apparently one of the girlfriends had done something over the head of a wife and it had upset the an entire pecking order which was disastrous. Veronique’s solution was to continue along the normal routine of things. Thus, tomorrow there would be one of their Away game parties. It so happened to be Veronique’s turn to host said party at her house. Yet another reason why it made sense for me to stay with her; I would be able to help her run all the errands she needed to in the morning and then help her set up for all the women and children coming over later tomorrow.

At the end of the game, I didn’t allow her to get up off the couch, and I cleaned up all the dishes from the plates of food we had been pigging out on while sitting in front of the tv. By the time I was done with the dishes and came back into their living room, I found her asleep on the couch. I gently woke her up and made sure she got to bed before I found myself in their guest room.

I changed into a pair of shorts and a tank and slid into the bed, not really feeling tired at all. I had done a good job at keeping my brain busy for the rest of the afternoon, but now, I couldn’t escape thoughts of what happened earlier. And I most certainly couldn’t fall asleep. All I could see when I shut my eyes was Crosby's hand writing.


“It is rather mean of you to be drinking that around a pregnant lady,” Veronique complained as I took a sip of my giant hazelnut macchiato from Starbucks.

“If you want a functional Lily, she needs the coffee,” I grumbled.

Not only had we had started running errands about an hour ago, at an ungodly early hour, but it seemed like there was no end insight. Veronique made no argument as she pulled into a parking space which was close to the grocery store entrance. As she did so, I quickly made a silly face while looking at the coffee and took a selfie with my phone. Veronique started laughing at me as I took the picture.

“I got a friendly reminder that I need to be more active on my Twitter account thing,” I sighed, “I would ask if you would want to do a selfie picture with me, but I assume you like some privacy to your life.”

“Merci,” Veronique laughed as we got out of the car.

“But there is something you could help me with,” I confessed, “I don’t really remember how to get it onto the Twitter.”

This sent Veronique into another fit of laughter as we headed into the store.

“I don’t do this sorta thing a lot,” I whined pathetically, as I grabbed the cart; it would be nice to be able to lean on something as shopped. Veronique took my phone and started hitting buttons. I followed her, pushing the cart and drinking the coffee.

“What do you want it to say?”

“Early morning errands with a friend and I finally cracked,” I said lamely thinking about all the times I fought against drinking coffee. Veronique shook her head, but typed something and handed me back my phone.

It was my turn to start laughing; she had written something in French as the caption.

“Verooooo,” I rolled my head around as I followed her into the fruits and veggie section of the store, “Please just tell me it isn’t something really, really scandalous.”

“Je ne sais pas. Je ne parle pas francais,” she said shrugging her shoulders as she started putting some apples into a plastic bag.

I shook my head, and slid my phone back into my purse and took another deep drink of coffee. We moseyed around the store picking up different things both for the party that night and regular groceries she and Marc needed.

“No, no!” I exclaimed as she started picking up one type of Greek yogurt, “Don’t get that kind!”

“What? What?” She asked confused.

“It has GMOS in it!” I said scowling at the yogurt, “You wouldn’t know it by looking at it, and the labeling says it is all natural or whatever. Not good for baby.”

“Really?” She asked surprised putting it back, she grabbed two different kinds instead looking at the nutritional information, “Which one is better?”

“Hold on a sec,” I said, feeling my purse vibrating repeatedly; someone was calling me.

As I took out my phone, I frowned at my phone. The contact information read, Crosby.

“Crosby, I know you like to be difficult, but really, I really think when the doctors are all telling you the same thing, talking is a big no-no at this point.”

“Lily?” a female voice said that was definitely not Crosby and I felt my heart sink.

“This is she. Who may I ask is calling?” I said formally all trace of humor dropped from my voice. Veronique turned away from looking at the different types of Greek Yogurt and frowned at the drop in my tone and formality of my words.

“Lily, it’s Nathalie Lemieux,” the voice said brightly.

I felt a strange sense of relief wash over me, “Mrs. Lemieux, hi! How are you?”

“Great dear. I am really sorry to impose on you again, but I was wondering if you could come back tonight around 7?” her tone was hopeful, and I wondered how many people she called before me. I glanced at Veronique who, holding the two different containers of yogurt, was grinning at me, as if she knew what was going on.

“Um, I--could you hold on a second?” I asked.

“Of course.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear, “Veronique, is it okay if--”

“Go!” She urged, “All the other girls will be over.”

“Mrs. Lemieux?” I said back into my phone.

“Yes?”

“7 is fine.”

“Great! See you then!”

I heard the other line disconnect and I lowered my phone looking at it strangely, before looking at Veronique. Veronique had put down both containers of yogurt and had taken her cell out of her pocket, and was checking it. An odd look passed over her face before it passed and she was back to herself.
She knew something, obviously that was why she had pushed me into going to watch Crosby yesterday and her implications on the phone when I first called her when I arrived in Pittsburgh. But unlike Jen, Veronique did not push, well, didn’t push as much as she really could. I was very grateful for this, because I didn’t know why or what I was doing.

“It’s funny,” she explained, “I don’t have any missed calls.”

“That yogurt,” I pointed out a safe brand of yogurt, completely not wanting to talk about it.


Today, I actually managed to ring the doorbell. It was a good minute before the door opened and Mrs. Lemieux greeted me, her coat and shoes already on.

“Sid’s awake! The soup is just reheating! Thank you so much again!” she called as she dashed out behind me.

I awkwardly waved goodbye as I watched her hop in the car. Frowning, I shut the door, locking it behind me. I took my shoe off, and took my coat off, hanging it up the closet I left my purse in there as well, but took my phone with me. As I proceeded into the kitchen, I straightened out my sweater letting the hood fall behind my head and tugged my slightly loose black leggings up my waist a bit.

I heard the microwave ding go off and opened it, finding instead of a bowl, a large mug. Taking out the mug, I was careful about the steaming contents before setting it down on the countertop. I went to the frig and grabbed two water bottles tucking them both under an arm before taking the hot mug and leaving the kitchen for upstairs.

“Marco!” I yelled loudly and then paused, “Marco! Marco! Marco!”

I nudged door open with my foot and couldn’t help but grin when I saw Crosby sitting in bed holding up his white board, his eyes crinkled in amusement. The board read:

POLO!!!

I let out a dramatic sigh as I walked over to the nightstand near him and set down the steaming mug carefully, asking rhetorically, “It doesn’t work quite as well at the moment, does it?”

Crosby shook his head as he reached for the mug.

“I wouldn’t do that just quite yet,” I warned, “I am pretty sure lava is cooler than the soup right now.”

He glanced at me raising an eyebrow.

“No, no, no, no, I am not trying to kill you or maim you this time around,” I waved my hands defensively as I moved to lean against the end of his bed, “I am just the soup deliverer.”

He erased and started writing on the board.

I have eaten an embarrassing amount of the soup since I saw you yesterday.

I couldn’t help but grin as I looked at him. In the dim lighting of his room, I could of swore that his cheeks were slightly pink, but it could have been my imagination.

“That is what you were supposed to do!” I exclaimed, “I am glad you like it. I can make more of it, or some other kinds if you want.”

He was already scribbling something.

I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

I shook my head, “No bother. Plus it is the first time in weeks I have felt productive or helpful at all.”

Crosby was giving me an odd look. I knew he was still confused, and I knew I should tell him, but I didn’t want to make things weird again. I mean, it was like when we were in Colorado together, easy and fun.

“So, what are the crazy plans tonight? Kegger? Rave?” I suggested playfully.

He squinted at me like I was ridiculous as he wrote, “Game starts in a couple minutes.

“Oh,” my voice caught in my throat. Of course he would still want to watch the game. I gave a silent prayer to the Hockey Gods Paul Martin had once told me about, and asked them to allow the Penguins to win tonight.

The Hockey Gods were not listening. The Rangers showed no mercy to the Penguins and in the first period, they were up 3 to 0. I was not watching the game as much as I was watching Crosby. You could see him getting frustrated not being able to be out there helping his team, nor be able to vocalize what was going on. The second period was not much better, though Dupuis did score, thus not allowing the Rangers to get a shut out. But the Rangers scored twice in the period, and the third period brought one more goal by the Rangers. At the sound of the buzzer, Crosby flicked of the tv with sigh. He had been very quiet during the game, not just because he couldn’t talk, but he had not written anything either.

“I am going to take this down, and be right back okay?” I said gesturing at the empty mug and water bottles, wanting to give him a little time alone.


I frowned as I came back into the room, Crosby wasn’t in his bed. I had only been gone a minute or two; I just put the mug into the dishwasher. I heard rustling and water coming from the bathroom. Potty break, right. I sighed, I hadn’t figured on enjoying this as much as I was. It was just fun to hang out with him, sorta like Geno, but really different. Crosby was really intense.

I heard a strange clatter in the bathroom and a moan that drew an immediate sick feeling in my stomach.

“Crosby?” I hobbled over to the door, knocking softly on the door. There was no answer on the door, and the strange noise had stopped, however, I felt incredibly uneasy.

I opened the door a crack giving him a warning, “Crosby, I’m coming in.”

He was hunched over the sink, gripping the edges of the counter, his knuckles bone white. It was obvious his body was racked in pain. Though Crosby’s head was hung over, I could see in the reflection that his eyes were screwed up and he was trying desperately to hide whatever pain he was in.

Without a thought, I rushed over to him, softly putting a hand on his back rubbing gently and another on his shoulder, trying to turn him to figure out what was going on. He shook his head and tried to brush me off, shrugging his shoulder to get me away.

“Hey,” I quietly said, putting my hand softly on his back again, “Crosby, you don’t have to be brave with me.”

The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I had said. Crosby slowly turned his head towards me and looked at me. I saw there was a little blood around his mouth, but I was more distracted by the mix of emotions coming from his eyes and face. Some of what was going on in those eyes were completely unreadable, some I didn’t understand, and some scared me. It was unlike any Crosby face I had seen before. I think the thing that startled me the most was that this was actually Sidney Crosby.

If there was an audible click from my brain figuring things out, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Here was Sidney Crosby, Canada’s Golden Boy, The Kid, The Next One, the face of hockey. He had spent so many years of his life, since he was a child, needing to be perfect all of the time. He wasn’t allowed to show weakness, he wasn’t allowed to show anger or fear or anything too much. His walls were different from mine, but he had walls; a whole battlement and fortress of walls protecting him. I was just in the place where I had accidentally caught him with them partially down and then said something that seemed to widen the crack in them.

I am not sure how long we sat there in silence, but he didn’t push me away again. Finally, I tried speaking again.

“Now,” my voice cracked. I coughed and tried once more, “Now, what happened?”

Crosby pointed at the plastic syringes sitting on the counter and the cup of mouth cleaning solution.

“You were cleaning your mouth when you nic’d something or other?” I asked looking over the range cleaning instruments and looking back at Crosby.

He nodded his head.

“Alright, alright.” I muttered trying to sort out a plan in my head, “Can you sit over there?

I pointed over to the edge of his large tub. He looked over at it, and looked over at me questioningly but did as I said. I grabbed all of the utensils and a hand towel that was on the counter.

I set them carefully on the side of the tub next to Crosby. Crosby was perched on the edge of the tub, his height now was much more conducive for me to be able to help him. I moved my hands and gently separated his knees more so I could better stand in between his legs. He moved with my directing easily.

“Okay, open,” I ordered, after I had loaded the plastic syringe with the cleansing liquid. He did what I asked without protesting. I bit back a gag as I peered into his slightly open mouth. It was a gross mess of stitches, inflamed gums and tissue. I held back my inability to deal with gross medical things like this and gently squirted in the liquid around his mouth.

“Okay close,” I said, “Just spit it out in the tub. No-No don’t give me that look. Hot water and cleaner will rinse it out just fine.”
Crosby glared at me for a moment, but then spat out in the tub. We did this a few more times, to make sure his mouth was completely cleaned out.
“There,” I rubbed the top of his head, “All done.”

I took the hand towel and with the most gentle touch I possessed, dabbed it across his chin to clean off the bit of blood there. I took the supplies and moved them back to the sink. As I did that, I heard water start running from the tub, and shook my head. Crosby, what an OCD nut at times. By the time I had re-organized everything, he had turned off the water and was walking back into the bedroom.

I followed him and watched as he crawled under his covers. I gently pulled them up and watched him for a while. I wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually, I glanced at a clock and saw it was past midnight. Grimacing, I realized I needed to head out, Geno would be expecting me whenever he eventually got back to the house from New York.

“I’m going to head out now,” I sighed knowing Crosby was still awake, “I am sure I will be back tomorrow or sometime soon. I will bring more soup or make it here, promise.”

Crosby nodded, not able to look at me. I paused in the door way, but shook my head and continued out and onto the landing. Carefully and trying not to think, I made my way down the stairs. I got my coat and purse out of the closet. ‘This makes perfect sense,’ I assured myself as I moved and sat on the bottom stair putting my right boot on. Once I had the boot on, I moved to the front door unlocking the door. As my hand went to the doorknob, an image of Sidney in the bathroom flashed in my head.
“Fuck it all!” I muttered as I relocked the front door. I threw off my coat and unzipped my boot, tossing them plus my purse haphazardly down on the ground. I climbed back up all the stairs and limped back into Crosby’s room.

I opened his door, and I could hear him sitting up in bed, confused. To get back to this room safely, I had turned on the flashlight mode of my phone. Now it lit up a good chunk of the room, revealing Crosby's wide eyed surprised face that I was back.

“Don’t say anything,” I warned him and I cringed realizing how stupid that sounded. I walked to the other side of his bed, carefully hoping up. Pausing, I waited for some sort of protest from Crosby, but none came. Taking a deep breath, I swung my legs over the side so they were up on the bed. On my back, I scooted up so our heads were even, though he had returned to laying on his side.

I turned my head over and looked at him carefully. Even in the dark, I could feel his vulnerability oozing off of him still.

Something, I am not sure what, flipped on in my head again and before I knew it, I had turned onto my side and I was scooting close to him. I reached out a hand and softly put it on his side first, leaving it there for a moment, before I allowed the rest of my body to move closer.

My chest was pressed against his back as was my stomach, my hips were against his butt, my legs were curled behind his and even my mouth was mere inches from the back of his neck. Despite the proximity of our bodies, despite his normal ability to completely intoxicate me, in this moment, in this position, there was absolutely nothing sexual about it. I didn’t understand exactly what was going on, hell I didn’t know why I was even doing this, but I just knew that Crosby needed this.

I felt him slightly shift, and I was readying myself for him to push me away. But he didn’t. I felt his fingers reach up and intertwine with my hand that was resting on his side. He pulled my hand and arm down, so I was holding him and tucked said arm under part of his arm, keeping our fingers intertwined.

I didn’t say a word and he didn’t make a sound.

Notes

Hey friends! That was a turn in events?

As always, thanks for reading/subscribing/commenting/rating!!! What is coming next?

SO! ON A DIFFERENT NOTE, After reading the comments about Geno, it sorta pushed me more into something I had been thinking about for a while: what about the story of Geno and Lily (before Lily met Sidney and such)??? Make comments and you shall receive (not in a creepy weird way). I will have the first chapter up of that story later today :)


Comments

Come backkkkkk

amyb11 amyb11
6/23/16

:(

HockeyGirl17 HockeyGirl17
1/23/16

I have marathon read this in the last not even 12 hours and I want mooorreee! I reached the end of the chapter and saw it was the latest one and almost cried. This story is fantastic! Your writing is amazing and I absolutely love the plot. You are fantastic and I cannot wait for the next update!

scootsmcgoots scootsmcgoots
12/18/15

LOVE THIS STILL

addiegregory addiegregory
12/7/15

Just reread this and I would surely love to see an update!?! I'm hoping you have time and are still interested in finishing it! Thanks in advance and hugs to you!

Maddie Maddie
9/8/15