Captive

“The team is struggling,” Sidney said, his chin resting on my arm in a spooning position.

“They need their captain,” I mumbled, hugging his arm to my naked body.

“Soon enough,” he said and turned my face towards him, our eyes locking. “How about after the holidays?”

“In three weeks?”

“Yep.”

“Um, I, I mean, why not,” I said.

“What’s with all the excitement? Jeez,” he said with a small frown.

“I just woke up, Sid. No, let me rephrase. You just woke me up to complain about a hockey game.”

“Hey!” he poked me in the ribs and I involuntarily chuckled.

A commotion outside my room made us pause. Jamie was speaking loudly to my mom, louder than he needed to.

“Let’s get dressed. I’m sure dad has prepared breakfast and would like us to join.”

Before I could move, his hand slipped between my legs, “how are you feeling?” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

“Okay,” I said hoarsely.

His lips found mine, his hand lingering.

“How about you start taking the pill?”

“Yeah, was thinking about that.”

I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed, but my family had other plans that came in the form of a loud bang. Did Jamie throw something at my door?

“I thought you were the troublemaker in the family,” Sidney said, nodding his head towards the noise.

We both sighed and resigned.

My stomach growled at the smell of bacon.

“Looks delicious, dad,” I said before taking the seat next to Sidney.

“So, Sidney, any plans now that you can travel?” Olivia asked as she passed the bread basket to Jamie.

“Well,” he said as he wiped his lips, “Mia and I were thinking after the holidays,” he smiled briefly my way.

“You and Mia after the holidays…” my dad questioned and I almost choked on my coffee.

“Yeah, we thought we’d spend the holidays at home, then leave,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Leave? Where to?” My mom asked. My dad’s confused expression was turning into a frown.

Sidney looked at me, opening his mouth then closing it.

“Pittsburgh,” I said, staring at my plate.

“Oh?” my dad said, raising his eyebrows. “For how long?”

I squeezed my eyes hard, hoping to disappear and escape the torture of this interrogation.

“We don’t know yet. Depending on Mia’s leave,” Sidney said, this time, not looking at me. He started moving the hash browns around his plate.

“Wait, hold on,” Jamie said, “you mean you will be spending the rest of your leave in Pittsburgh?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I will still visit,” I said with an eye roll.

Jamie nodded slowly, Olivia tilted her head, and mom and dad exchanged looks.

I chanced a look at Sidney to see his jaw tighten and his gaze fixated on the hash browns that were getting stabbed now. He obviously assumed I’d told everyone.

The rest of breakfast was spent in silence. I was preparing myself for a ‘family talk’ once Sidney leaves.

“Thanks for breakfast,” Sidney said, standing up and taking his plate to the kitchen. He washed his hands quickly and turned to see me standing behind him.

“I need a ride home.”

“Let me get the keys,” I said, looking away, mirroring his detached tone.

As I pulled out of the driveway, Sidney gazed outside his window. To say he was tense is an understatement. After five minutes of silence, he finally spoke.

“When were you planning on telling your family?”

“I… I was waiting to see what will happen at the briefing,” came my lame excuse.

“Are you sure that’s the only reason?” his tone was serious. I could picture his nostrils flaring, but I kept my eyes on the road.

“What else would it be?”

“You tell me.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight right now?”

He sighed loudly and stared right at me. I ignored his gaze and focused on getting to his house in one piece as my blood started boiling. The second I parked, he was out of the car. No goodbye, no see you later. Was I supposed to follow him? Then he turned towards me and placed his hands on his waist.

I turned off the engine and stepped out. I stood facing him and waiting for his rage. He looked sad instead.

“Let me tell you what I think. You’re hesitant to come with me and that’s why you haven’t told your family. You’re having second thoughts.”

“It’s not… it’s not about going with you. It’s about my job. It’s about extending my leave.”

“The Forces gave you 12 months. And Trudeau said that they’re open to give you more even.”

“No, they gave me 6 months and said they’re open to negotiating up to a year.”
“So what? you take a year. We talked about this. You were okay with it just a few weeks ago. What changed?”

“Sid, it’s my job, my duty.”

“And you taking a leave does not mean you’re ignoring your duty. I’m sure they’ve found a replacement a while ago.”

“I meant it when I said I want to spend the rest of my leave with you in Pittsburgh. But that doesn’t make it easy for me.”

“Is it so difficult that you changed your mind?” he asked, worry lacing his voice.

“I haven’t changed my mind. I just…” I fiddled with my hands.

He waited me out and did not move closer as I expected him to do when he senses my distress.

I chanced a look at him and averted my gaze quickly.

“I don’t want to commit to staying for 12 months in Pittsburgh. I just… How about we agree that I go for the 5 months left in my leave and then we’ll see.”

“See what? if we can make it beyond 5 months? Is that it? You don’t think our relationship is strong enough or serious enough?”

Back to anger.

“No. It’s not that!” I said defensively.

“What is it then?”

“I’m not sure how I will feel about sitting around and doing nothing for 12 months while you play hockey and travel half the time,” I yelled back.

He shook his head. “It’s not like I’m going to lock you up, Mia. You’ll meet my friends and family there. Your family can come visit any time, and you can come back here as you please. I just wanted for us to be together. If you don’t come, God knows when we will get to see each other again. Just think about it.” His tone was more desperate this time.

“I have thought about it. If I report back to duty in April and you make it deep into the playoffs…” I trailed, almost choking up at the thought.

“We’ll be back here in the summer.”

I nodded weakly and closed the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest.

“I want to go but I’m just scared to make a promise I can’t keep,” I whispered.

He sighed and kissed my hair. “I’m not asking you to promise me anything. Just come with me and if you can no longer take it 5 months later, you will let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he said, stroking my hair.

“I love you, Sid. I’m not letting you go,” I said as I looked into his hazel eyes. He smiled and pecked my lips.

"Love you too."

“I have to go talk to my family now,” I said as I reluctantly untangled myself from his warmth.

“Yeah. I have to talk to Sully and the team. Come over in the evening?”

“Of course.” I stood on the tip of my toes and kissed him. It didn’t take long for us to get tangled up again.

Notes

My dear readers,

It has been soooo long. I'm sorry! everything is weird these days, including my schedule. I hope you enjoyed this brief update. I just got back to writing this story and will try to update more frequently. Lots of events are lined up so don't miss out!

New season started! Let's go pens :D

love,
Charlie