Chapter 31

Caitlin's Point of View ;)

I text Ruthanne in the morning. Brittny drama, wish you were here. :'| I send it to her before I even look at what other texts I might have. I'm up early today, so I don't think there'll be any. I'll leave Sidney one for once since I'm up before him.
Hey. thanks for the help. how was the babysitting? <3 I text him before deciding that I really need to be less dependent I'm always feeling bored and don't know what to do when he's not around. It's like I might die if I didn't get to see him for a day.
I sigh and lay back on my bed. It's so nice to be home. It's just too bad I'll be leaving this one soon. I think I might get some of my stuff moved into the apartment before Ruthanne comes, but I'm not going to set anything up quite yet. I want her to be there for that so I don't get in trouble if I do something she doesn't like. We haven't even called dibs on rooms yet.
I get a text back from Sidney as I'm laying on my bed thinking.
The kids were wonderful, as always, haha. You're welcome. You have plans today?
I break a half smile. It'll be impossible to become less dependent on him if he invites me to do something every day.
That's good. :) I've got nothing to do, most of my stuff is packed and my parents aren't going to be here
I text him back. My parents are going to some kind of event that I wasn't interested in. When I was a kid, I had to go to all of them. Since, I haven't enjoyed any so I stay home from most.
I pick up my phone when it buzzes again. I should be getting up and around and doing something, like taking care of my dog, who's scratching on my bedroom door because he wants out. He's been so excited ever since I got back. I'll feel bad when I start going to classes and he has to stay behind. Ruthanne and I are living in a pet friendly apartment, so I might bring him, but, I don't know yet.
Sidney's text reads, You should come over. All the guys and their girls of course are gonna be here.
Sounds like fun ;) Call me later about it.. gtg shower. <3 I reply, then get up and go to let my dog out. There's a note on the counter for me.
Caitlin, Brittny called again. She didn't leave a message for me to give to you, so... anyways, I need you to do the dishes from last night, and vacuum the living room for me please. Love ya, Mom.
I sigh, Brittny. Then figure I'll do the dishes, then let the dog in, then shower, then vacuum. By then, if Sidney hasn't called, I'll call him. I hate having lists of things to do, but then again, on a day like today, it's almost nice. I'd be bored out of my mind otherwise. Gotta stay busy.
So by the time I finish all that and sit down for a few minutes, I come back to my phone. 2 missed calls. Sidney, Brittny. I erase the Brittny one. Then call Sidney back.
"Hey." He says. "Everyone's here, it's 4:30, you coming?"
"Yeah yeah." I say. "I just had some stuff to do."
"ohh. Ok. Well, when will you get here? We're planning on going out to dinner, then maybe to one of the clubs around here. I wanted to wait for you." He says.
"I don't know.. it depends on traffic," I say. "Maybe 45 minutes?"
"I could come pick you up," he says, "if you wanted me to."
"Nah. I think I'll drive this time. You're always picking me up." I say.
"You sound tired. Are you upset?" He asks, sounding worried.
"No. I am tired, I had a bunch of stuff to get done." I tell him. "Brittny called me again. Twice today."
"Ughhh." Sidney groans. "I hate that bitch."
"Believe me, I do too." I sigh, "well, see you soon. I'm gonna get heading." I take my dog back to his kennel, then head out the door.
"Bye," Sidney says.
The drive to Mario's isn't really all that long. I just always seem to drive at the wrong time. Sidney answers the door right before I knock on it.
"Heyyy!!" He hugs me, and lets me in.
"Hey!" I say back, sounding just as happy, but not knowing why I'm not as excited to see him. I guess I'm just tired.
Of course all the girls are the same, except the one Eric's with. I say hello to all of them, and sit down. Ruthanne's not here to help me blend in so I feel awkward being so quiet. I'm introduced to Eric's "girlfriend" Mia and we're getting along splendidly. The guys are all preoccupied with some game on the Playstation or X Box or something, but Sidney always finds a reason to come back and hang out with me. I like that about him.
Ruthanne finally texts me back. Again? God that woman's annoying.
Tell me about it. Sidney's afraid she's gonna try and break us up. I write back.
"Who are ya textin?" Veronique leans over my shoulder.
"Ruthanne." I tell her, hoping she remembers who she is.
"She was here last time we all got together? With Kris." I nod and hit send.
"Yeah." I say, "she's in Montreal now."
"Oh yeah? with Kris?" She looks more interested now.
"Yeah." I say. "I guess it's not a happy affair, but she's happy to be with him."
"I love Montreal." She says.
"I"ve never been out of the U.S." I say. She laughs and that's when the conversation ends because Marc-Andre Fleury comes back up from the game the guys were playing. Sidney walks over too.
"Heyyy!" I say as he pretends to sit on my lap, then sits beside me. "did you win?" I kiss him real quick.
"You mean... You weren't watching?" Sidney makes a really sad, pouty face. I instantly feel guilty. "I kicked ass Caitlin!" His pitiful expression gone, he's back to being excited about the game.
"Dang. I missed it." We laugh and he hugs me. "sorry,"
"are you having a good time?" He asks.
"yeah." I say. And I am. Talking to Veronique and the other girls, who seem to know each other really well.
"So." Veronique leans over again when Marc-Andre leaves. "We're having a girls night next next Friday, at my house. You want to come?" She asks.
"Yeah. It sounds like fun." We exchange numbers and she gives me directions to her apartment building and all that fun stuff. I'm excited to go, even though I hardly know the other girls. I can only remember a couple of their names. Laura, Veronique, and Tess.... And then everything comes together. Sidney had acted strange when introducing me to her. He recently explained that their relationship ended badly because of Brittny. Who's she dating now?
"we might be going out to a club, soo, bring your dancing shoes! The guys don't know yet. and they're not invited. So, shh!" Marc and Sidney come back and we talk to them instead of each other.
"Heyy." I say, still not totally getting the Tess thing, but since she's in the room, I'm not going to ask. "Did you win again?" I fake a smile. I really don't care.
"No. Marc over there killed me in the first round." He glares at Flower across the room and I laugh. When Marc notices he glares viciously back. Veronique winks at me. I laugh again.
"Poor you." I look up at him. He's standing behind the couch I'm sitting on.
All of a sudden all the guys around the room stand up from their game. Max says, "Hey, we're going to get heading to the club."
Sidney grabs my hand and pulls me up out of my seat. "Let's go!" Max and the girl with him end up riding with me and Sidney. I don't know why but I can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy seeing her holding hands with him.

The club is all lit up. I'm don't regularly go to these kinds of places, but they're fun. At 3:00 AM it's about time for closing and we get ready to leave.
I found out the girl with Max is an old friend. Her name is Heather. Sidney had had a drink earlier (it's still not an excuse) and I caught him flirting it up with some drunk girl when I came out of the restroom. In the car, it's silent. Max and Heather know I'm mad at Sidney.
Back at Mario's, Max and Heather and everyone else leaves. When Sidney says, "goodbye." I feel like I'm going to cry. I totally forgot about my parents and freeze when I get in the car. I might be 18 and legally an adult, but I still live with them. They're going to kill me.
If I wasn't so mad at Sidney, I'd ask if I could stay with him. I get a text from Max on the way home.
Sorry 'bout Sidney. Not much I can say for him. I watched it happen too. -Max
It's ok. I guess if it's meant to work out, it will. Meanwhile, I'll be in my room, crying. I reply while driving, which I guess wasn't the smartest thing to do, but, I feel like I need someone to talk to.
I'm sure it will work out. However much I don't want it to. He responds.
Great, he must still like me. Max... Is all I write. I don't know what else to say.
The next text comes when I pull into my driveway. I can't help that I like you. I feel like we'd be perfect for each other. It was hard enough to stay away from you on that cruise. You're the only reason I went, really. A tear courses down my cheek. I've always liked Max, but I tried to put aside my feelings for him and love Sidney. I do like them both. And here we go again on that emotional roller coaster. I had really hoped Max would forget that he liked me. But I guess he hasn't.
Max. I like you too. I just... don't want to hurt Sidney, and I don't want him to think I'm doing anything because I'm upset. I write. and it's true. I have been happy with Sidney, but I find myself faking it a lot of the time too. I don't want to have the rest of this conversation right now, so I follow up the last text with: I've got to go to bed. Night Max.
I take a shower. I would never be able to sleep smelling like smoke like I do. And I go to bed with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Ruthanne's Point of View <3

Today is our one last free day until after everything's done and taken care of.
Kris takes me out sightseeing today. It's wonderful in Montreal. I like it better than Pittsburgh. Kris finally decided that we'd be staying a week after his last scheduled NHL interview thing. We're leaving for home next Friday then. He's going to Luc's parents this Saturday. Nobody is supposed to know about it, so that the media doesn't show up. I told him I wasn't going, even though he really wants me to.
"But they're like my second set of parents," he whined. "you have to meet them."
"It'd be too weird. That's not the reason why you're going to see them anyways." I tell him.
"Well what will you do while I'm gone?" He tried again.
"I'll stay here and hang out with your parents. I'm not going." I say. I don't really want to hang out with his parents alone, but it's a good enough thing to do while he's gone. Maybe I'll go sightseeing again and take my camera with me.
I snap a photo of me and Kris in front of a neat looking building. Then I kiss him and skip down the sidewalk ahead of him. He walks, hands in his pockets and laughs at me. I turn around and wait for him at the corner. He jogs up and takes my hand. I lean on his shoulder.
"j'taime." Kris says. I can't help but smile. His voice is so much better when he speaks in French.
"I love you too." I say, holding onto his arm and leaning on his shoulder.
We drive to different places in the city, and then walk around from there. I'm having so much fun with Kris, I forget about all the stuff and the troubles back home. We decide to go home somewhere around 4:00.
We get back and Kris's mom is waiting for us with lunch. I don't normally eat lunch at 4:00, but it's delicious. I'm in such a happy mood today, I just can't stop smiling.
Kris's mom asks why and I look at Kris. She laughs at us and gets up to wash dishes.
"You two are so cute." She says a moment later. I burst out laughing and Kris blushes. We go up to his room, because he feels awkward when his mom says stuff like that.
We hang out up there for a long time. It's like 7:30 when we come back down and sit in the living room.
Kris's mother is working on dinner. It smells really good too. "whatcha makin' mom?" Kris yells.
"Meatloaf." she says back. That's definitely not what it smells like, but I like meatloaf.
After dinner Kris and I go for a walk in the dark. Montreal is even prettier lit up. I love it here.
Kris and I go to bed after our walk. He's got a big day tomorrow, and he's got to get up early. And I guess that means I do too. yay.