Chapter 39

I hope you all don't feel like the next few chapters are too clichéd but they are fun to write so I am going ahead with it anyway! Also, it's almost been a year since I started writing on this rusty old blog with my first story so I felt compelled to be a little ridiculous :)

This one's short but necessary.

Emma's POV:

By the end of the week, I was so grateful that it was the weekend. Not in that typical way of feeling happy for Friday but in the desperate, grateful way of feeling happy that it was finally Friday. Eliza had even sent me a "Thank Fucking God It's Friday" email with distracting pictures of adorable baby animals to look at in commemeration of the blissful day.

All of the Pens' offices had been especially busy this week as the regular season was dwindling down and the players were getting ready for another run at the Playoffs. Everything was so crazy that I probably would have been feeling overwhelmed by now if I hadn't been devoting all of my time to my work and staying ahead on my work. It was easier than facing the truth that Sidney and I were over and that I had been a coward the whole time by not confronting him earlier or stopping him before he walked out the door.

You had to basically have a good set of cajones on you if you were going to date Sidney Crosby and suddenly, I wasn't so sure that I was the best woman for the job. I just hoped that in time, we could eventually be friends again. Over the past couple of years, he had been one of my best friends and if I had to lose him as a lover, I didn't want to lose him as a friend.

To top off all of the craziness, I was having dinner with my parents tomorrow at their palatial home in Fox Chapel. It was weird that they both wanted to be in the same place at the same time in the home that I had partially grown up in but my Mother insisted that we were going to have a "nice family dinner."

Still, I was a big girl now. I could handle both of them and honestly, it wasn't like my week could get any worse at this point.

"Knock, knock!" I looked up at the familiar voice at my door and grinned.

"Hey, Max. What brings you here?"

"Oh you know, just to chat." He grinned a shit eating smile at me and I wasn't fooled by it. He and several others had been "subtly" checking up on me throughout the week and while it was touching, it was now bordering on disruptive. Didn't they all have hockey to play? They were either genuinely worried, or Sidney was sending them up to check on me. If that was the case, then it kind of pissed me off.

"To chat, or to check up on me because a certain Captain told you to check up on me?"

Max at least had the decency to try to look offended before he sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs facing my desk. "Yeah, okay. He sent me. But that doesn't mean that I don't care!"

"Whatever" I said smiling. "I just hope you realize that you're truly a minion now. Did he pay you or something?"

"Please," he said snorting. "Him looking and acting pathetic is enough. I just feel sorry for him."

I nodded and continued to sort through papers on my desk that didn't need to be sorted through. All joking aside, this wasn't the most comfortable subject to be discussing with Sidney's best friend and I wasn't quite sure what he wanted from me. Did he want me to say that I was feeling and acting pathetically too? Did he want me to be in despair so that he could report back to Sid? I did have enough dignity to prevent myself from sinking that low.

"Well you can tell your fearless leader that I'm doing just fine" I finally spoke up. Even if it was petty, I wanted Sid to think that I was fine.

"Bullshit" Max said crossing one leg across his thigh casually. "He's a wreck, you're not looking too great, so why not call each other and just get the inevitable makeup over with?"

I took a deep breath and tried not to feel irritated and let it show. "It's not that simple" I said honestly. It just wasn't and if he thought that it was, then he was blinded by his own perfect relationship with Eliza.

"Well, it should be that simple. It's obvious that he's crazy about you and normally I would think that's great except for the fact that he can't play hockey anymore." Max emphasized this part and looked at me pointedly like he was actually going to blame me for Sid's recent playing behavior.

I knew that he was trying to bait me into doing something but unfortunately for him, it wasn't working. I had a lot on my plate and couldn't deal with him at the moment- especially with the upcoming dinner with my parents to think about.

"Just drop it, please Max" I begged willing him to either change the subject or leave my office altogether. What happened to having him feel bad for me? I knew that Sid was his best friend but that didn't mean that he got to lay into me either.

"Okay, okay" he said holding his hands up in defeat. "I just want you two to stop being so damn stubborn."

I wanted to point out that it wasn't actually an issue about who or who wasn't stubborn, but instead I nodded and tried to act like I was fully absorbed in my work so that he would just leave me alone. Eventually after a few minutes of small talk, he left me alone and said goodbye, shutting the door quietly behind him.

The next morning, I got up early and went for a long hike to clear my mind and force myself to do something other than watch TV or work on my laptop. I was starting to go a little crazy from being indoors all of the time, only getting air when I walked to and from my car.  Still on a high from the endorphins after my hike, I fit in a quick yoga session at the YMCA in one of their classes. By noon, I was so relaxed and tired from all of the physical exertion that I almost managed to forget what lay ahead of me that night.

I managed to fit in a nap for an hour before beginning the laborous task of getting physically ready to present myself to my Mother. For the special occasion, I picked out the same plum dress that I had worn the night of my first big charity and a cardigan to put over it for modesty's sake.  I made sure that my toes and nails were freshly buffed and painted remembering that no small beauty detail would go unnoticed (or uncriticized) by her. With my hair freshly curled and my entire person plucked, tweezed and moisturized, I slipped into my heels and made my way downstairs. I had about 20 minutes before I had to leave and I decided to burn off nervous energy by cleaning up dishes from the previous night and loading the dishwasher.

Mid-scrub, the doorbell rang surprising me into almost dropping a skillet. I wasn't expecting anyone and it was too late for those door to door people to still be going around. Like the Mormons trying to sell me another Bible. Were there even that many Mormons in Pittsburgh?

I was astonished to see the person who was actually standing on my stoop and who most certainly was not going to try to sell me a Bible.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"I'm coming in" Sid said pushing his shoulder through the door and practically knocking me down with his determination.

"What?" I couldn't get past the sight of him actually standing and breathing in my home after he had marched out last week. "What the hell are you doing here right now?"

"We have to talk" he said firmly. Dumbfounded and annoyed by the extent of his arrogance, I shut the door behind him and turned to face him with my hands on my hips. He had some explaining to do.

"Talk about what? Why are you dressed like that?" For the first time that he barged through my door, I became aware of how dressy he was for a confrontation in my home. He was wearing tan slacks, his fancy shoes that he only wore for important press conferences and a collared shirt. It was strange to see him like this when usually when we hung out, he was in sweats.

"I need to talk to you" he said taking off his shoes and leaving them by the front door out of habit. It seemed that his manners were ingrained in him even while we were in the middle of an argument.

"We had all week to talk" I told him picking up his shoes and shoving them back at him. "Now don't be getting comfortable, I have to leave."

He took his shoes back and dropped them to the floor to put them on. "I know, I'm going with you."

Uh, what? Under no circumstances would we be going anywhere. Especially where I was about to go.

"What are you talking about? You can't go with me!" An idea was slowly forming in my head and if my instinct was right, I was going to have to kill someone. Specifically two people who both had the last name Talbot. They weren't supposed to meddle or disclose any information that I told them- especially Eliza! She was supposed to be my friend, one of my best friends and best friends did not go around giving out information like this.

"I'm going with you to dinner at your parents" he stated looking at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Reaching forward to grasp my arm firmly in his hand, he pulled me closer as he attempted to herd me out the front door like some belligerent sheep in need of forceful guiding. Against the disadvantage of my skinny high heels and Sid's strength, I almost toppled after him before I managed to dig my heels in and hold my ground.

Now I knew for sure: I was going to kill Max and Eliza Talbot. Then get to Sidney next.