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Stay, Stay, Stay

Chapter Fourteen

After I got out of the shower that day, Sidney came to me with a proposal. He wanted me to stay with him until Christmas, which was only a few weeks away. Immediately I declined, informing him that I didn’t need a babysitter. He explained that that wasn’t what he was suggesting at all, rather he wanted to spend more time with me, and he hoped that being closer to the rink would relieve some of my stress. After giving it some thought, I reminded myself that fear wasn’t going to control me anymore and agreed.

It didn’t take much to persuade Beau to keep my new living arrangements quiet. I told him I’d occasionally bake things and I wouldn’t start decorating the place with pink throw cushions. I couldn’t guarantee I’d do much in the kitchen, but the promise to keep the decor as is was no problem. I didn’t plan on staying long enough to make any changes.

The first few days of our cohabitation went smoothly. Sid had cleared space in his closet for me and the house was easily big enough for the three of us. Our peaceful existence didn’t last long. I was standing behind the bench when it happened. We were behind by two against Los Angeles and the tension was rising. I didn’t see it happen because I was looking up at the scoreboard, I heard the reaction of the crowd before I saw the outcome. The fans cried in outrage and I looked across the ice to see Sidney facedown on the ice and not getting up. Panicked I pushed open the bench door and started to run across the ice, supply bag in hand. Geno met me half way and held my hand for balance as I rushed to my obviously hurt boyfriend. Boyfriend I thought as I looked at him. I’d never used that word to describe him. He was just Sidney, my Sid. I knelt down on the ice next to him, lowering my face to his so I could see him. His nose was bleeding and he held his head in his hands. My heart raced seeing the pained look on his face.
“Honey?” I whispered, terrified. Unprofessional and I knew it, but I wanted him to know it was me.
“Fuck,” he groaned. It was a groan very different from the ones I usually heard coming from him.
“What happened?” I asked, reaching in my bag for a towel to soak up the blood from his nose.
“My head,” he mumbled.
“Can you stand up?” I pushed the towel towards him. By this time Larry and one of the other medics had made their way to us.
“Where’s the injury?” Larry asked.
I pointed to Sidney’s head, unable to form words. I already knew what this meant. “Is he responsive?”
“Yeah,” I managed to answer. As if on cue, Sidney moaned and tried to roll over. His face, as well as the ice was covered in blood, but that wasn’t going to be our main concern.
Slowly, we helped him to his feet. He smiled weakly at me and I winked, reassuring him that he was going to be fine. While the two men escorted him off the ice, I followed him, once again clinging to Geno for balance. As we approached the bench I squeezed Geno’s wrist nervously.
“It’ll be okay,” he whispered in my ear, leaning down to make up for the height difference. “Sid is strong.” He smiled and helped me off of the ice, his words echoing in my mind. Sidney was strong, and I had to be too. Although it was becoming clear that our relationship wasn’t as concealed as we had thought.
I raced down the hallway and into the dressing room. My mind a mess with anxiety. I was trying not to cry, I couldn’t have the other medics seeing me this upset. I found Sidney in an exam room with Larry. His nose had stopped bleeding and he lay on the exam table with half of his gear on the floor beside him. He smiled when he saw me standing in the door.
“I’m okay,” he reassured me unconvincingly. I choked back tears and tried to smile back at him. “Baby, it’s fine.” He reached from my hand and squeezed it. I didn’t look at Larry, I was too focused on Sidney to worry about the reaction of my boss.
“We’re going to do a concussion test and send him in for an MRI,” Larry informed me in a professional tone. “If you could tell Dan and meet us after that would be appreciated.”
I nodded and wiped my eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that week. As I went to leave the room Sidney held onto my hand and pulled me back. I looked at him confused and he motioned for me to come closer. I leaned closer to him, my hips pressing against his side.
“I love you,” he whispered and kissed me gently.
I kissed him back, now unable to control my emotions. “I love you too,” I said, my lips still brushing against his and my eyes watering. It took everything I had in me to leave that room. He squeezed my hand before I let ago, as if to tell me that everything was going to be alright. But I knew no one could be sure. This wasn’t the first hit to the head he’d taken in his career and as both a hockey fan and someone in the medical field I knew the impact it could have on his life.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I walked back to the bench, focusing on my teeth digging into the flesh kept me from breaking down. There was still five minutes left in the second period, I didn’t know how they could still be play, I could hardly keep myself upright. At the final door before going into the rink, I took a deep breath. I needed to be optimistic. I needed to be the strong one, for Sidney and for myself. I didn’t care about keeping our relationship a secret anymore, or being professional. I cared about him and doing everything I could to help him recover, no matter the outcome.
I walked onto the bench, trying to radiate a sense of calm and collected confidence. Inside I was shaking, but I kept it hidden behind a relaxed face. Dan noticed me right away and after whispering something to the assistant coach made a beeline for me.
“What’s the word?” he asked, I could tell he was anxious.
“Larry’s doing a concussion test and an MRI. He’s responsive but a little groggy.” I relayed the information I’d been given, trying to keep my emotions out of it.
“Shit,” Dan cursed under his breath. No coach wanted to hear that their star player may have a concussion. “Thanks for letting me know,” he looked at me compassionately. “Go be with him. He’ll want you there,” he smiled knowingly.
I tried to play it off like I didn’t know what he was talking about. He smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder, “It’s okay,” he said tenderly.
I smiled back at him relieved. I was crazy to think that Sidney and I could keep our relationship a secret from everyone. While we tried our hardest to treat each other with only professional curtesy at work, it was hard to hide the sideways glances and lingering touches.

I stood outside the MRI room waiting for some news, any news. Pacing back and forth while nervously wringing my hands I tried to imagine the possible outcomes. On one hand, he could be perfectly fine and just a little shocked, on the other hand his time on the ice could be over. I shook my head, trying to forget the worst case scenario. I was considering knocking on the heavy black door when my phone started to vibrate from my pocket. I fished it out of my khaki pants to see Serena’s name illuminated on the screen.
“Bea!” she cried when I answered. “What’s going on? Is he okay?”
My throat started to tighten again in response to my best friend’s worried voice.
“I don’t know,” I replied fighting the tears.
“But you were there, I saw you on the ice.” she continued.
“I didn’t see it happen,” My eyes were watering again. “All I can tell you is the he’s conscious.” It really was all I could tell her. The need for confidentiality kept me from telling her how scared I was, and how bad it could be.
“Okay,” she sighed. “Tell me when you know something? I’ll keep my phone next to my bed.” Her support and compassion made it even harder to keep myself together. “I love you,” she said before hanging up.

I slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, dropping my phone next to me. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. Cradling my head in my hands I tried to breath and stop the tears from flowing. I again reminded myself that I didn’t have time to fall apart, I needed to be the stable one, just in case. I was calming myself down when the heavy black door opened. Larry came out followed by another medic pushing Sidney in a wheelchair. His gear had been taken off and he was left in his tight fitting UnderArmor.
“What do we know?” I asked jumping up. “Are you okay?” I rested my hand gently on his shoulder.
“We won’t know anything conclusive for a while, but we’re going to head to the hospital just to be on the safe side.” Larry replied.
“I’m going to be fine,” Sid smiled weekly and placed his hand over mine.
We headed for the corral where an ambulance was waiting. I had to work to keep up with the two men and Sidney.
“I’m coming to the hospital,” I said, trying to sound assertive.
“That’s fine,” Larry glanced over at me. There was no use hiding out relationship anymore.
“Can you get my stuff and meet me there with my truck?” Sidney asked, his voice was rough and low.
“Where are your keys?” I replied as we approached the back of the ambulance.
“In my jacket pocket, my clothes are in my stall too, and my phone.” They lifted him into the ambulance.
“Okay,” I smiled. “I’ll see you there.” He reached down for my hand.
“Thank you,” he squeezed it gently. “I love you.”
For the second time that night, he’d said the words I’d been afraid to think. Words that felt too true to say aloud.

As I headed for the locker room Larry called after me. “Don’t talk to anyone,” he warned. “We’ll release a statement later, but for now you have no comment.” I nodded and kept walking without looking back.

Comments

This was so good!!! I was in tears at the end when thinking about Sid retiring haha

Court31 Court31
2/17/21

Beautiful story.

Aleja21 Aleja21
10/29/18

This story was great and very relatable because of the beliefs that Bea and I share. You really captured the struggle of being in a relationship and making a marriage work. Keep up the good work and don't stop writing. :)

RoxPensChick RoxPensChick
9/17/17

@melindaone
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!! Thanks for sticking through and reading :D :D



TheoAirplane TheoAirplane
9/11/17

Well, that was sooo good. I loved their story. I still do. Their love, strenght, humor..this all made me fall in love. So thank you for a chance to be a part of K.C. family.

melindaone melindaone
9/8/17