Chapter 12

Jess’s Point of View
I opened the front door to my house and walked over the threshold, down the hall and into the kitchen where my dad was sitting at our little table reading the sports section in the newspaper.
“Where’s Mommy?” I asked.
“I think she went for a walk or something, why?”
“Because we-I have to talk to her,” I stated blankly.
“Oh, don’t worry, I talked to her about you two,” he said, nodding at Sid who was standing behind me. “I convinced her that you really do need someone to help you through this. Jess, I’m so sorry we won’t be there for you. You have no clue how much this is killing me. I feel horrible,” he said, his voice filled with sadness.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine, but you’re sure she’s OK with Sid and me being together and everything? Because that’s my main concern,” I said anxiously.
“Sweetie, she supports your decisions, even if it seems like she doesn’t. We’re behind you, whatever you choose to do,” he said with a small smile.
“Thank you Daddy! I just wanted Mommy to be OK with us. I want her to like Sid,” I said, grabbing his hand. “I want her to see that he’s good for me.”
A sad look crossed my dad’s face, and I think he realized how far I had fallen for Sid, and knowing that, he knew that I was slowly slipping away from him. I was no longer Daddy’s Little Girl.
“Sir, I promise, I’ll take care of Jess after her surgery. I’ll help her through it. Rest assured,” Sid chimed in. His arm was around my waist, and I was beaming at my dad who nodded and said, “I’m sure you’re more than capable. I don’t want any harm to come to my daughter. I’m relying on you to help her through this.”
“I’ll do my best,” Sid said with a loving tone in his voice and a kiss on my temple, and right then and there, I knew that everything would be OK.
-
Sid’s Point of View
After we had lunch and sorted everything out with Jess’s dad, we ended up driving down to Yorktown Beach, a major hangout spot according to Jess.
“There’s this place, called Crawford Road near here, and everyone says that it’s really haunted at night,” Jess said. “I’ve never been. I’m way too scared to go anywhere near it.”
“Is it really that bad?” I asked, an idea creeping into my head.
“It’s what I’ve always heard. Apparently the Ku Klux Klan used to hang people off of the bridge that Crawford Road goes over.” she replied as we got out of the SUV, and fighting the cold wind and mist from the water, walked over to a cluster of shops, all with weird names, like The Yorktown Onion. We wandered through each and every one of them, some with better things than others, and ended up in a little coffee shop called Aromas around 4.
“I actually really like it down here,” Jess said once we sat down and got our coffee. “This is one of the better places around here. It’s really nice in the summer.” She took a sip of her coffee and settled further into the cushioned armchair she was occupying.
“Like I said earlier, I like it here in general, but there is possibly one thing I like better…” I said leaning towards her over the coffee table between us. She leaned forward out of her comfort and met me for a kiss halfway. Our lips lingered and I tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, still inches apart.
“I like you,” I whispered.
“I like you more,” she said, her competitive side coming out, and a smile spreading across her face as we settled back into our respective chairs.
-
We talked about everything for the next hour, from what could be happening back in Pittsburgh, to why it was so cold this winter. It was beginning to get dark outside, so we decided that it would be best to head home to the newly reconciled atmosphere. We wandered out the door and into the biting wind and mist, our hands intertwined, exposed to the cold, but warmed by each others grip. As soon as we got in the car, Jess kissed my cheek quickly before sitting back in her seat. “What was that for?” I inquired, a little confused.
“For being here with me here,” she said, gesturing around her head wildly. “I appreciate it.” A smile was creeping across her lips now, and I leaned over to kiss them. I could feel her smiling into my lips as she kissed me back.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered as we parted. Her smile grew even more and she blushed a cute shade of pink as I backed the SUV out of the parking space and headed towards the hill we came in on. About halfway up the hill I asked, “So where’s this Crawford Road you were talking about?
“It’s up here on the left,” she said nonchalantly while looking around the window twirling a curl around her finger, but once she really realized what I asked, her head snapped around to look at me and she said, “Don’t you do it Sidney Crosby. I know what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, come on Jess! It’ll be fun,” I said with a smirk as we neared the turn. I was going to turn regardless.
“No Sid! I’m so scared of all these things!”
“I’ll comfort you if you get scared,” I said, turning onto the street. She seemed to perk up at this.
“Oh? And how would you go about doing that?” she asked, curiosity replacing the fear that was there seconds ago. I pulled down the street a little ways and parked the SUV.
“Let’s get out,” I said, opening up my door and stepping out into the darkness. I had to admit, it was kind of creepy. Jess hesitated for a second, but then opened her door and ran around the SUV to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Oh, God, something just moved in the bushes!” Jess yelled, hugging me even tighter.
“It’s OK, don’t worry, nothing can hurt you. I’m here,” I said, hoping that would calm her down.
“Sid, you’re too good to me,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before getting spooked by a noise in the trees and jumping between me and SUV.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God.” She was backed up against the car now like a deer caught in the headlights. I realized that if she was this scared of a made up story, she’d be even more scared of her surgery. I turned around to face her, and it was as if she knew what I was thinking.
“Jess, baby, come on, don’t be scared,” I said, brushing the hair out of her eyes and resting my hand on the side of her face.
“How am I going to have surgery?!” she wailed. “I can’t even deal with some road that’s supposedly haunted!” She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“Come here,” I said, and pulled her into my chest. “You’re going to have to face your fears eventually. Better sooner than later, eh? Let’s start with this road. Now tell me, what’s so scary about a bird in a tree? Or a mouse in the bushes?”
“Nothing...” she said, her mouth near my ear.
“Exactly. Nothing is truly scary if you think about it logically,” I stated. “Now, what’s so scary about surgery; surgery that’s going to allow you to play basketball again.” I asked, hoping this would help her overcome her fears.
“I really want to play again, but I’ve never had surgery before in my life. Surgery’s scary,” she whispered in my ear, her voice constricting. She paused for a few moments then said, “I can do it though. It has to be done.” Her voice was coming back to its full strength now. “I can do this. Thank you Sid, you make me…” she paused searching for the right words. “You make me so happy, and safe, and I feel like I can do anything if you’re there with me. I just-“ I cut her off with my mouth against hers.
“Don’t ruin it,” I said when I pulled away. “I know how you feel. I feel it too. You do so many things to me that I don’t understand,” I said before kissing her again.
-
Jess’s Point of View
With those last words of his, all of my fears melted away into a puddle on the ground. I felt so much better with him there. We stood in that embrace, my arms wrapped around his waist, his stroking my back, for awhile more before getting back into the car and driving home. Words weren’t needed for what we had just created between us: a bond that, hopefully, could never be broken; an understanding.
I wandered down the hallway to the kitchen when we finally made it home, Sid behind me. My mom was cooking something over the stove, but by the look of things, dinner was almost ready.
“How was the beach?” my mom asked, throwing me off guard.
“Oh, it was fun. I showed Sid that haunted road up there. I freaked,” I said with a small smile, a little skepticism peppering my voice. I glanced over at my dad to see if he was witnessing this as well, he just grinned warmly at me, and I realized this was his doing. He must have convinced her to let me be; that I could make my own decisions. Part of me was elated, but the other part was desperately seeking her approval.
-
There was no shouting match over the mashed potatoes during dinner, so that was a good thing, and my mom seemed to be trying to accept Sid. With a forced smile, she asked him things like, ‘Where are you from?’. General cookie cutter questions like that. My dad and Mitch genuinely seemed interested in getting to know Sid, but my mom just sat there saying the bare minimum, with a smile plastered on her face the whole time, attempting what seemed like the impossible to her: accepting that I had found someone good for me.
Over the dishwasher later that night, while Sid was in the other room with Mitch playing NHL 09 or Rockband, I said, “Mommy, thank you for being nice to Sid. I really care about him.”
She smiled back at me in response and said, “Well, your father told me that I should back your decisions. I don’t have anything against Sidney personally, just the fact that you could be making a huge mistake.” Then after a pause she continued, “But I’ll let you find that out on your own. I won’t interfere with your relationship. He genuinely seems to really like you. The look he gets in his eyes when he looks at you…” she trailed off, remembering what it must have been like when she was young. “And to offer to take care of you after your surgery… Steven never would have done that. Anyway, I really do hope this works out for you, and just know, I’ll always be here for you,” she finished with a smile.
I was tearing up by now, knowing that I really did have her support. She actually wanted this to work. Of course she does. She doesn’t want to see this fail like your last relationship. “Thank you Mommy. Thank you so much,” I said as I hugged her tight. “This means so much to me.”
“Just be careful with your heart,” she said, a small, sad smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She too, realized that I was floating away from her and towards Sid. She realized that I wasn’t a little girl anymore and that she couldn’t just kiss my boo-boos and make them better when I was hurting. She couldn’t fix my broken heart before, and now, she had to let me make my own decisions about who I should be with.

Chapter 11

Jess’s Point of View
The next day, I woke up to see Sid’s peaceful face inches from mine, and for a minute, I couldn’t remember how I had gotten there. After a few seconds it all came rushing back to me; the painful memories, my crawling into his bed and Sid’s promise to never leave me. I then realized that if my parents found me in bed with my “sort-of” boyfriend, I’d be in trouble. I whipped my head around to look at the clock hanging on the wall: 8:30. My parents wouldn’t be up for awhile, but despite the fact that I never wanted to leave his arms, I figured I’d be on the safe side and go back to my room. I attempted to ease myself out of his arms, but when I had almost freed myself, his grip tightened and I saw his eyes open. “Jess, come back to bed,” he moaned. “Please.” I took in his muscular arms, lean chest and pleading eyes before I gave in and rested myself on his chest. He sighed contentedly and wrapped his arms around me, our bodies melding together. “I’ll never leave you Jess,” he whispered in my ear, his eyes closing, repeating the words from last night. I kissed his chest, and I closed my eyes for what seemed like 5 minutes, but when I opened them again, it was 9:30, and Mitch was standing in the doorway, his mouth open.
“Jess, what are you doing?! Mom and dad are up, so I suggest you get out of there, and quickly.” I didn’t even think twice as I bolted out of Sid’s arms, past Mitch, and into my room, throwing back the blankets and getting underneath them, waiting and listening for my parents to come out of their room. All I heard was Mitch walking down the stairs, but then I heard them walking down the hallway towards my room. I sat up in bed, pretending to have just woken up. My mom poked her head in and said, “Good morning! Daddy’s going to make waffles this morning.” I just nodded, my eyes half-closed, knowing that once Sid and I got downstairs, we’d have questions to face. Her cheerfulness was just an act; I knew it. She walked downstairs and I was close behind her. “So I was thinking I’d show Sid my high school and everything today,” I said quickly as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Surprisingly enough, my dad answered, “Sure, that sounds like a great idea!” He was in full-on chef mode by now. Making waffles was no easy task in our family. My mom on the other hand said, “Well, I don’t know if you spending so much time with him is a good thing.
“Mommy, we came down here together. He has nothing else to do but be with me,” I said over-defensively.
“That’s what I mean Jess! I can see it! You’re going to get hurt again. You’re devoting yourself to him. What about you? You’re throwing-“ I cut her off there. I knew what she was going to say, and I didn’t want to hear it.
“Did I tell you guys that instead of you two going up there to Pittsburgh and helping me through my surgery, Sid’s going to take care of me? Since you two couldn’t take time out to help me with one of the hardest things I will ever have to do, I needed someone else. Happy?,” It felt like venom on my tongue as I said it, and I knew my parents wouldn’t be happy with it. I was purposefully trying to make them feel bad. Their reaction was totally different than what I expected.
“Sweetie, you have Melissa,” my dad said, struggling to come up with an excuse for why he wasn’t there for me.
“You think that’s enough? You think having Melissa, who isn’t even home half the time, is the equivalent to having your parents with you? I don’t think so. I need more than that, I deserve more than that.” With that, my final blow, I stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the guest room where Sid was still in bed.
“Were you yelling?” he asked sleepily as he sat up in the bed.
“Yes. Get dressed. We’re going out for breakfast,” I snapped.
“But I heard your mom say we’re having waffles,” he whined, now fully awake.
“Do you want her to spit in your food? I just completely blew up at her. She says I’m spending too much time with you. Then I accused them of not being there for me during this surgery.” Sid’s mouth was hanging open as he listened to me jump from one thing to the next.
“Let’s go to out,” he said quickly, clearly not comfortable with the situation I had just put him in. He jumped off of the bed and started getting dressed. I walked back into my room after kissing him quickly and pulled on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. I walked out of my room to see him ready, keys in hand, wearing a Reebok zip up sweatshirt, Reebok hat and a decent pair of jeans. I stomped down the stairs, Sid behind me, and walked out the front door and into the biting cold without a word to my or from my parents.
-
Sid’s Point of View
“Maybe we should get our own place to stay for the next few days,” I offered as soon as we got in the SUV. I could tell Jess was thinking it over, but her answer surprised me.
“No. My dad really likes you, it’s my mom that’s being a bitch about us. I think we’ll be alright. Mitch is there and so is my dad. They’ll placate her.”
“OK. I’ll trust your judgment on this one. You know them better than me,” I said and leaned over to kiss her before pulling out onto the main street near her neighborhood.
We ended up at an iHop not 10 minutes away. “So I’m thinking I’ll show you my old high school and you can meet my coaches and everything today. Sound good?” Jess asked over our pancakes and waffles, her bad mood gone.
“Yeah, I’d love to meet them. I want to know where you came from Jess, and so far, I can see you growing up here. I can picture you here.”
“It’s OK. It’s definitely not the best place to be. I mean, go down the street that way,” she gestured out the window, “10 minutes and you’re in the ghetto.”
“This part is nice. I like it,” I said. Jess glanced up at the clock resting on the wall; it read 11:30.
“So, do you want to meet my old coaches or what? They’re probably having practice right now,” she said beaming at me.
“Anything you want,” I said and leaned across the table to kiss her.
We got up out of our chairs and headed in the direction of her high school. About half way there, she grew quiet, and I had to ask. “What’s wrong?” I thought that it would have something to do with her knee, and I was right.
“What will they say? My coach expected me to dominate in college. How am I going to tell her I’m done this season?” she looked at me, worry filling her face.
“She should understand. You had no control over what happened,” I said reassuringly, and squeezed her knee.
“You’re right, you’re right, but I feel like I’m letting her down,” she said, biting her lower lip.
“You’ll be fine; don’t worry about it, eh? Promise me that? You’re already stressed out about enough things. You don’t need one more.”
“OK, I’ll try. Help me out if I start stressing,” she said.
“And how might I go about doing that?” I asked, a smile growing on my face. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. We had pulled into the parking lot of her high school by now and I had just parked before she leaned over the console towards me.
“Oh, I don’t know. Use your imagination,” she said as she kissed me deeply. I kissed her back, hard.
“I think I have an idea of how to do that,” I said, breaking one of the only kisses we had shared in the past few days.
-
Jess’s Point of View
“To the gym?” he asked expectantly after pulling away from one of the best kisses I had experienced in days.
“Of course,” I answered, hopping down out of the SUV and leading him to a door on the side of the school. A huge “Tabb High School” was written on the side of the school, in case anyone forgot where they were. We entered through the doors and walked down a hallway lined with trophies of all shapes and sizes. Some for basketball, some for track, some for baseball; there was a huge variety. Right before the trophies, there were pictures of athletes who had made All-District.
“The best of the Bay Rivers District,” I explained to him as I led him by the hand down the hall.
Sid spotted me up there amongst all of the other elite athletes. My hair was long then, and I had this big silly grin on my face. I looked ridiculous. I dragged him further down the hallway, away from my picture. I led him past all of the trophies and to a pair of double doors which I proceeded to open to a group of girls practicing.
“Jess!” one girl screamed when I walked through the doors. I waved, smiled and proceeded to walk over to my old coach and give her a hug.
“Jess! What a surprise!” she exclaimed. I realized Sid was hanging around the doors and I motioned for him to come over.
“Sid, this is my former coach, Kay Aultman,” I said, beaming for the second time in an hour. “Coach, this is Sidney Crosby.”
Coach raised her eyebrows at him and said, “Well, I always knew Jess would do well for herself, but this is good work on her part.” She was smiling and he laughed good-naturedly as I grabbed his hand.
“So I take it you know who I am?” he asked. He didn’t sound conceited or anything, just curious.
“Of course I know who you are!” she said. “Anyone who follows any sport has heard your name before. So what brings you two back down here to Yorktown? How’s basketball going Jess?”
I shifted my weight back and forth between my feet, favoring my right and said, “Well Coach, I came back down here before I had surgery for my knee.”
Coach’s smile was gone instantaneously and she said, “What happened?”
“I tore my ACL,” I said. Coach didn’t really seem to know how to handle this, so she said, “When’s surgery?”
“The 23rd” I replied.
“Oh, well that’s too bad. I really hope you do well Jess. Do you want to say hi to the girls?”
I felt numb as I nodded my head yes. She was acting like she didn’t care. I wanted at least some sympathy. I was worried she’d be disappointed, not indifferent. I figured she’d at least care that I couldn’t play at all this season, but it seemed like it wasn’t even a concern. Of course it isn’t a concern. You’re not her player anymore. I was pulled out of my thoughts by all of the girls running over and giving me hugs. The ones I didn’t know hung back and waited until everyone else was done. “Rachel, how have you been?!” I asked a little point guard who was now a senior. She was a freshman when I was a junior, and this was basically her team now.
“Good. We’re pretty amazing this year. And you?” she said, with a sideways look at Sid.
“I’ve been good!” I laughed. All of the girls were staring at Sid by now, and I had to admit, he was looking extra good today. “Everyone, this is Sidney, my boyfriend.” Every girl chimed back with a ‘Hi!’ or ‘Hey!’ and a coy smile.
“Where’d you find him?” Rachel whispered in my ear.
“Pittsburgh,” I giggled back. I felt like I was right back here again, practicing and goofing off.
“Wait… Are you Sidney Crosby!?” one girl yelled, dropping the ball she was holding.
“Yes, I am,” Sid answered humbly.
“OH MY GOD! I FREAKING LOVE YOU!” she screamed and ran over to me, still screaming, and asked, “CAN I TOUCH HIM!?”
“Sure, I guess,” I answered, smirking at Sid as this girl clung to him. Rachel informed me her name was Brooke and all she talked about was Sidney Crosby. I was rolling with laughter as Sid, looking uncomfortable, tried to pry her off unsuccessfully. I went over to him and gently peeled the girl’s arms away. I pulled him towards me and he slung his arm around me.
“Well, it was great to see you all! I hope you ladies finish the year out strong! I’ll see you guys around.” And with that, and a wave to Rachel and the rest of the girls, Sid and I walked back out the doors we entered through, back down the hallway and out to the car.
“Why didn’t you tell them you were having surgery?” Sid asked as soon as we got in the car.
“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to be disappointed by their reactions,” I said, a little embarrassed.
“That’s perfectly fine, I understand,” he said, picking up on my embarrassment. “Whereto now?” he asked after a slight pause.
I thought about it for a second before saying, “Well, it’s already 12:30, why don’t we go home and brave my mom for lunch?” Sid looked a little unsure of this idea.
“Do we really have to go back home to your mom?” “We’ve got to go home eventually,” I said.
“Or we could get a hotel for a few days,” Sid offered again.
“It’s free to stay with my parents. My mom will come around eventually.”
“Money’s not the issue. I don’t want you to get stressed about nothing before your surgery.”
“It’s not nothing Sid! We’re talking about my mom hating my boyfriend! She has to like you,” I was pleading now. I needed my mom to like him, to reassure me that I was doing the right thing by being with him. A few hours earlier, I didn’t care what she had to say, but now something in my mind told me that without her behind us, this would never work. She’d keep it from working. Sid pulled up to a red light and looked over at me. He leaned over and kissed me quickly before saying, “OK, I’ll trust you.” I smiled at him as he pulled away from the light when it turned green.
“Thank you,” I said to him, my hand now resting in his.