Save Me

I knocked a few times on Geno’s front door waiting for him to answer.
“There you are! You’re late!” Jordy pulled me into a hug.
“Jordan I’m five minutes late. It’s not that big of a deal. Plus, there are like four of us here right now.” Jordan shrugged and led me into the kitchen where Sid, Nealer, and Geno were about to take a shot. “Starting the party without me?” I laughed grabbing Sid’s glass feeling the familiar burn as the liquid went down my throat.
“So Keeley, when are we going to meet this mysterious boyfriend of yours?” Nealer asked taking his shot. I felt my face fall at the mention of Justin.
“Umm, I don’t know. He’s really busy with work.” Lie. I grabbed the vodka bottle and poured myself another shot. If I was going to be driving home tonight, I would have to stop with the shots of Vodka right now.
“Come on! We need to meet the guy that’s dating my baby sister.” Jordan wrapped his arm around me.
“Who do we need to meet?” Asked the familiar French accent that belonged to no one other than Marc-Andre Fleury. “FLOWER!” I yelled jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly. He kissed the side of my hurt cheek, making me wince a little. “This must be Keeley!” A woman that I had never seen before gushed.
“Vero, this is Keeley. Keeley meet Vero, my wife.” Flower said. I smiled and told her that I had heard so much about her, which wasn’t a lie. I was glad I was finally meeting one of the wives. I heard my name being called from the living room, so I politely excused myself from the group.
“Keeley! There you are!” Sunshine said picking me up and spinning me around in a hug.
“When did you get back?!” I asked hugging him tighter. “A few hours ago! I haven’t even been back to my house yet.” He laughed. “I had to come see you.” I kissed his cheek as he set me back on solid ground. Sunshine, better known as Beau Bennett, is like my little brother. He was a few years younger than I but a lot taller. I hadn’t seen him in a few months due to an injury that had happened while he was training in Cali, before the season. He decided to see a doctor and do therapy there instead of coming back here. I really didn’t blame him. I was just hopeful that I could keep him healthy this season. “How’s the leg? All better?” I asked taking a seat on the couch next to him.
“It feels great. I’m back to playing at 100%. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.” He laughed. “So what’s this I hear about you having a boyfriend? I’m upset you didn’t tell your big little brother.” I shoved him in the shoulder and laughed, but honestly I wanted nothing more than for people to stop bringing him up. I wanted one night away from him and his bull shit. “When does the team get to meet him?” He asked.
“I don’t know. He’s really busy with work.” I lied once again. I wasn’t really that good at lying to the guys but I guess I was doing a pretty good job tonight.
“You should bring him to a game sometime.” He suggested grabbing a beer from the cooler next to him. He offered one and I gladly took it. I knew G wouldn’t mind me staying at his place tonight. I’d deal with Justin in the morning. I took a long drink of the beer Sunshine gave me and put my head on his shoulder. “So why is G having this party anyways?” I asked taking another drink.
“It was his turn to host. Plus when isn’t it a good time to have a party?” He laughed as I finished my beer.
“Let’s dance.” He suggested pulling me off the couch and over to where some of the guys and their wives or girlfriends were dancing. I placed my back against Beau’s chest and he brought his hands to my waist. We were dancing for a while before I noticed a few guys watching. Geno seemed upset about something.
“I’m going to go see Geno, I’ll see you around. Okay?” I kissed Beau’s cheek and made my way over to where Geno was sitting with a bottle of vodka in one hand.
“Everything okay G?” I asked taking a long drink from the bottle.
“It good.” He replied, putting his arm around me pulling me close. I could smell his cologne and it was intoxicating.
“You know you’re not getting this bottle back, right?” I asked smiling.
“You drink you stay.” He ordered pulling me even closer. I smiled and took another long drink.
By the time the bottle was gone I was more than wasted. I was hammered and didn’t have a care in the world. One bottle of vodka, two shots, and three beers later I wasn’t feeling much of anything honestly. I was having one hell of a time dancing, if you could call it that. I could barely walk let alone stand by myself.

***Jordy’s point of view***
“Nealer! Get your ass over here.” I yelled above the music. James rolled his eyes but came over to where I was standing with Flower, Sunshine and Geno.
“Have you seen Keeley lately?” I asked. He shook his head no, so I pointed in her direction. She was attempting to dance with an intoxicated Kris Letang. They were both laughing about something, what it was we weren’t sure.
“Dude, she’s fucking hammered.” He laughed. “I’ve never seen her this drunk. This is great. There’s no way she’s going anywhere tonight. Where’s she staying?” He asked no one in particular.
“She stay here.” Geno spoke drinking some coconut water, in an attempt to rehydrate before our practice tomorrow afternoon.
“You sure?” Neal asked with his eyebrow raised. Geno nodded in response.
“Alright boys, I’m heading out. I’ll see you at practice.” The boys nodded in response as I walked out the door to my car.

***Keeley’s point of view***
I opened my eyes but snapped them shut quickly. My head was killing me and I wasn’t sure where I was. The last thing I remember was being cuddled up on the couch with Geno and his bottle of Vodka. Was I still at Geno’s? I slowly opened my eyes letting them adjust to the light.
“Good you’re awake! Here.” James handed me a glass of water and some Tylenol. “How are you feeling?” He asked with a cocky smile.
“Like I got hit by a bus.” I mumbled taking the medicine and drinking the water. “Where’s Geno?” I asked looking around his bed room.
“He’s making breakfast. You have to be at work in a few hours.” Thank you James Neal for pointing out the obvious.
“Where’s my phone?” I asked quickly getting out of Geno’s bed.
“Downstairs where you left it. It’s been buzzing all morning. Someone keeps texting you. “Fuck” I mumbled racing down the stairs and into the kitchen. I said good morning to the guys and quickly grabbed my phone. I had thirty missed texts from Justin and a few missed calls. Fuck fuck fuck! I have to get home before this gets any worse.
“Have any of you seen my keys?” I asked while looking around like a chicken with its head cut off. They replied with a no. I searched for a few minutes longer until I found them laying under James’ jacket.I’ll see you guys at practice! I have to get going.” I yelled from the front door. They all came over giving me a hug before I walked out the door. I raced back to my apartment. If I was lucky then Justin would be gone and I wouldn’t have to deal with it until after practice tonight.
“Justin, are you home?” I yelled into the apartment. Unfortunately I wasn’t as lucky as I had hoped to be. “Where have you been? I’ve sent you a bunch of texts and called you. Why didn’t you answer?” He asked stepping closer to me. “Evgeni had a party and he invited the team and staff, I didn’t think it would be very nice of me if I was the only one that didn’t show up. It was late and I didn’t want to drive, so he let me stay in the guest bedroom.” My explanation just added fuel to Justin’s fire. “You fucking bitch. I bet you fucked him too. Didn’t you? Admit it! You fucked Mr. Big Shot hockey player.” He yelled punching me in the face. I fell to the floor my hand clutching my cheek. I knew better than to say anything. It would just make him angrier. “I’m speaking to you whore. Tell me the truth. Did you fuck him?” He yelled dragging me into the living room by my hair. “Nothing happened!” I cried out after I hit the coffee table. I could taste the blood that was coming from my lip. I was going to have a hard time trying to cover that up. “You’re a good for nothing whore! I don’t know why I put up with your shit! You’re trash and good for absolutely nothing! Do you hear me?” He yelled pulling me up again. I don’t know what gave me the courage but I spit in his face. “You’re the one that’s trash! I don’t know why I stay with you! All you do is sit here and drink. That’s it. You have no job, no car and you pay for nothing! I do it all! I deserve a hell of a lot better than you!” I yelled. I could see the anger in his eyes. In a split second Justin brought his arm back, his hand in a tight fist. He brought it forward quickly hitting me square in the jaw. He held onto my shirt and repeated the process at least three times. I lost count. The last hit caused me to crash into the wall, smacking my head off the wall. I slid down to the floor with a slight groan.Justin took a step towards me and knocked me into the middle of the living room. He swung his leg back relentlessly kicking me in the ribs. I tried to crawl away but the pain was terrible. “Please stop Justin. Please.” I begged. I saw him smirk as he pushed me back on the floor and climbed on top of me. His knees pinned my arms while he gripped my jaw with one of his hands. The other ran up and down my chest and stomach. “Justin, please stop. Don’t do this, please.” I begged. He brought his hand across my cheek. The sound echoing through the small apartment. I let more tears fall. “Remember who you belong to slut.” He dug his knees into my arms. I knew that it’d bruise. “I expect you home by five thirty tonight, no excuses.” He got off me. “It’s my late night to work. I don’t get off until eleven.” I squeaked out. “Be home no later than eleven thirty then, and answer your phone when I call. Now go get cleaned up for work. We can’t have people asking questions now can we?” He smiled and walked out of the apartment. For some reason I didn’t feel upset, all I felt was numbness. I slowly picked myself up off of the floor and made my way into the bathroom to get ready for work.

***Sidney’s point of view***
I made my way into the CEC, ready for the practice that would be starting in about a half hour. We would need all the practice that we could get before our road trip on Monday. It was a week long and we had four games. First was the Blackhawks, then the Hurricanes, then the Bruins and we would finish up with the fucking Flyers. Even though we’re in first place we need to win all of our games. Since Keeley, our good luck charm as Tanger likes to call her, was coming along I had faith that we would win. I sat on the bench in front of my stall, my gear already on, with the exception of my jersey and skates, those could wait, and waited on the arrival of Flower and Duper. I knew Staal, Geno and Nealer would be the last ones to arrive. They were late for everything, I’m debating on telling them that practice would be moved forward by twenty minutes, just so they’d be here on time. Though I wasn’t sure how that work, because they’d figure it out sooner or later. My attention was brought back to the locker room when the door opened and Flower, Tanger, Sunshine and Duper strolled in. “Afternoon Cap!” They said taking their spots at their stall.
“Hey boys, I have a question. It needs to stay between us though.” I said as their attention was brought back to me. They nodded and came to stand in front of me. I knew I had their full attention. “Has anyone been to Keeley’s or met this boyfriend of hers?” I don’t know why I was asking but I had a strange feeling about the whole situation. “I haven’t. I asked her about him last night at the party and she was short with her answers. She went hard on the alcohol after that. Though I wasn’t too worried about her because she was attached to G’s hip until she passed out. I kinda get the feeling like something is up with them. She’s been to our houses but no one’s been to hers. Hell none of us even know where she lives.” I agreed with Beau’s statement. He hit the nail on the head there. “I was thinking the same thing.” I said with a sigh. “Maybe we can get G, Neal and Gronk to join us with Keeley for lunch later?” I questioned. “Marc, you should bring Vero!” Flower grinned and grabbed his phone out of his gear bag. “Anyone else down?” I asked. Sunshine said yes but Duper and Tanger already had plans. The locker room started to fill up and we all went about our business getting ready for practice.
***Keeley’s point of view***
I stared at my reflection in my rear view mirror. I was successfully able to hide the bruises and black eye but the fat lip that was also cut wasn’t hidden at all. There was no hiding that one. I continued to look at it until I was startled by someone knocking on my car window. I let out a slight scream, even though it hurt. I quickly turned my head and found Jordan’s smiling face. I sighed, turning the car off and slipped out the door, smacking Jordan on the arm. “Don’t scare me like that again! I wrapped my arm around his and walked into the building. “So are you going to tell me what happened to your lip?” He whispered in my ear. “I fell this morning and cut it. You know how clumsy I am.” I lied. Again. I was starting to feel bad about it but there wasn’t really a whole lot that I could do about it. If the boys found out then things would get a whole lot worse. I didn’t want that. Jordan seemed to believe my excuse. “I’m going to head into my office. I have some things I need to finish up.” I said goodbye and left for my office. I hadn’t been in there long before I got a text from Sid asking about lunch. I debated on going, but I don’t know if that’s really such a good idea. I set my phone back down and went back to working on paper work. It took me about an hour but I finally finished all of the paperwork from the last few months. I smiled and relaxed in my chair for a moment. I decided to check my phone and I noticed a few missed calls from my favorite boys in Chicago. I quickly called the first number in my missed call log.
“There’s my favorite athletic trainer! How are things in Pittsburgh? We miss you!” I sighed into the phone. I missed them more than I had realized. If I just stayed in Chicago then I wouldn’t have this issue right now. “I miss you guys too. Things are okay here, I guess. How are things there?” I asked picking the pen up off my desk and twirling it around with my fingers. I listened to what he was saying, taking in the story about how Sharpie and Burish had messed with his and Johnny’s meal sheet at the hotel last week. “What did you do with all of that food?” I asked smiling for the first time today. “Johnny had it sent back. They even had our wake up time set for six am. That sucked.” He laughed. “Johnny isn’t much of a morning person.” I commented as Kaner agreed. “Please tell me that you’re coming with the Pens on Tuesday!” He practically yelled into the phone. “Pat, no need to yell, and yes, I’m coming to Chicago. We don’t leave until late Wednesday either. I could hear some hollering on the other end. “Patrick Timothy Kane! Do you have me on speaker phone?!” It got quiet before he quietly mumbled yes. “Who’s there?” I asked curiously. “Well there’s the great one.” I quickly cut him off, “The great one isn’t in Chicago, Crosby is here in Pittsburgh. I just saw him.” I laughed at my joke. “Real funny, Keels. Jon, Steeger, Crow and Sharpie are all here.” He said. “Hi boys! I can’t wait to see y’all on Tuesday!” I laughed as they started to celebrate again. “You’re staying at Johnny and my apartment, just like old times. It’s already decided.” I laughed at how sure of himself he was. “Okay Kaner. I’ll stay with you two. I have to talk to you two anyways. Hey, I have to go, Geno and a few others just walked in. I’ll see you on Tuesday. Okay. Bye guys.” I said hanging up the phone.
“What can I do for y’all?” I asked putting my phone down on my desk. I saw Jordan step forward. “Well Sid here texted you about lunch and you never replied.” Jordan hadn’t finished his sentence before Crosby spoke up. “I’m really hurt by that too. I thought we were closer than that.” He said placing a hand over his heart and faking a sniffle. I couldn’t help but laugh at how silly they were being.
“Sorry boys, I have too much work to do here. Maybe next time.” I smiled and turned back to my computer, hoping they’d get the hint. “What happen to lip?” Geno questioned. I sighed, “Nothing really. I was just really clumsy and hurt it. No big deal.” I smiled and hoped that they would leave it at that. The last thing that I really needed was the guys poking and prodding around my life and personal business. Yes, I loved all of them and thought of most of them like brothers, they had earned my trust, but there were still things that weren’t spoken about. This situation happened to be one of them. Plus if I didn’t feel like I could handle it or things got too out of control I could always hang out at the arena or go to one of their houses. The guys said their goodbyes hugging me and kissing my cheek before exiting my office. After the night I had and all of the events that happened this morning, it was safe to say that I was exhausted. All I wanted was to go home and sleep but I had too much work to do.

Notes