Goalies Who Suck At Fighting

I woke up suddenly, looking around the room before seeing Abby heading into the bathroom. A grin spread across my face as I remembered the events of last night. Deciding that it was never too late for round two; I sat up, stretching as I threw my legs over the edge of the bed.
I watched Abby stop walking as her legs buckled underneath her. Clutching her head, I watched in slow motion as she began to fall forward; “Abby? Baby, are you ok?” I hoped out of bed and ran at her - reaching the bathroom just as her head bashed into the side of the tub. “Abby!” I screamed, flipped her onto her back and pulling her into my arms.
She was breathing, but she wasn’t responding to me; and the bruise that was already darkening the side of her head was screaming concussion at me.

I stood up, cradling her, as I made my way back to our bed. I sat down gingerly and felt for a pulse; my entire body relaxing with relief as she opened her eyes. “Marc? Wha- what’s going on? I need to get ready for work why are we-” I cut her off as she looked around the room, panic setting in on her face.

“Babe it’s ok, just breath alright.” I shifted her in my lap until she was sitting upright; her head resting on my shoulder. “You just fainted, but you hit your head on the tub so you just need to relax ok? I’m gonna throw some pants on, and then we’ll head to outpatients.”

“What? Why? I don’t need to go to the hospital Marc… I’m fine!”

“Abby… not only did you just faint, but you smashed your head on porcelain… you need to go to a hospital.” I sighed, wondering if this was just a side effect of the concussion I assumed she had.

“No.” She said it harshly, pushing me away and dusting herself off before heading back to the bathroom on wobbling legs; slamming the door behind her. I always knew that Abby was a strong person; she hated feeling like she needed to rely on anyone, but, this was a little much.


I sat on the bed and stared at the bathroom door for a bit, before finally getting dressed and grabbing a few things for practice. I didn’t want to leave, I was positive that Abby needed my help but; at the same time I didn’t want her to be mad at me. “Abby… I got to get going for practice… are you sure you’re ok?”

“I’m fine.” Came the animated response for the closed door.

“Alright… I’ll see you after then…” I sighed as I headed down the stairs, pulling out my cell phone as I hit the front door. “Hey Braeden, could you do something for me? I need you to check on Abby later on… she fainted and she won’t go to the hospital… she hit her head pretty hard too…”

“Oh, yah sure! No problem… good luck at your game tonight.”

“Thanks man.” I smiled as I hung up; it was nice having someone I could trust Abby with.




“So… you’re sure that you’re ok?” I asked softly as Abby sat down beside me.

She started to chuckle slightly as she leaned her head against my shoulder. “Yes Marc, I’m fine. Now please drop it… I feel like a total dork.”

I sighed and kissed the top of her head. The bruise had gotten darker already, and was a lot bigger than I had anticipated; I was worried about her, but she wanted nothing to do with my concerns. I opened my mouth to say something else when the phone rang.

I crossed the room and picked it off the receiver; as I held it to my ear, my eyes found Abby again - I studied her closely as I started to talk. “Hello?”

“Bonjour Marc!”

I let out a sigh as Vero’s voice sang through the phone. I wished I could just blab to her in French, - so I could give her a few choice words that I didn’t think Abby would approve of - but I didn’t want Abby to know who I was talking to. “What’s up?” I asked finally, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Well, I just wanted to call and apologise if I caused any rift between you guys. But also, I have great news!”

“Oh, and what’s that?” I didn’t bother saying anything about her apology. I knew now that Vero didn’t mean any harm, but at the same time, I didn’t want her to think she could move back in here.

“Pierre asked me to marry him… I said yes! You’ll come won’t you? You and Abby?” I stood in complete awe for a minute, trying to figure out what my next course of action should be.

I let out a death-rattle as I clutched the phone against my ear; my eyes squinting in concentration. “Pierre like… I like to hit women, Pierre?”

“Marc! You don’t understand- you weren’t- it’s ok. He apologised, we worked it out. He said he’ll never do it again and… well I believe him.”

“You do realize that most proposals come without a punch in the face, right?”

“UGH!” I heard her scream her frustration out at me as I continued to stare at Abby. “Marc! Why can’t you just be happy for me-”

“Because you’re making a huge mistake!” I finally lost my cool, snapping back at Vero too loudly; loudly enough to draw Abby’s attention. She turned around to look at me over the couch.

Vero sighed softly. “Just tell me that you’ll both come… it would mean a lot to me if you did.”

I shrugged my shoulders. This was a huge mistake but, Vero’s life didn’t involve me anymore; she had to be free to make her own choices. “Umm… sure, I’ll ask her and let you know.”

I could hear the smile in Vero’s voice as we hung up. I headed over to Abby and plopped down beside her; leaning back and inhaling deeply before I started to explain what had just happened.

“No! She can’t!” Abby moaned from beside me.

“Well, I told her I’d ask you and let her know…”

“We can’t go Marc! He abuses her!”

I nodded, not trying to deny her comment at all. “There’s nothing we can do about it Abby…” She sighed next to me and shook her head. She knew I was right; but that didn’t make either of us like the idea any more.



Four goals. Four goals!? How the hell did I let the Kings score four goals… the Kings!
The Kings aren’t even a hockey team; they’re a fabrication made to make LA feel like they actually have a reason to watch hockey… fuck!
Luckily for me, Sid and Geno were having an ‘on’ night, so we were still winning by three goals; but never-the-less; I still felt like an ass.

“Flower man, everything ok?” I shook my head as Max sat down beside me. “You and Abby didn’t work things out yet?”

“No… she’s over the ring but, I’m just worried about her… and it feels like she’s hiding something from me. She passed out this morning and banged her head off the tub, and she wouldn’t let me take her to the doctor… she wouldn’t even let me touch her.”

“Shit… what are you gonna do?” I shrugged, letting my shoulders droop as I started at the floor. What indeed? “You don’t think she’s sick or something, do you?”

My head snapped up and I stared at Max, fear on my face. “What? Why? You think she is?”

“Woah, calm down… I don’t know anything, other than… healthy people don’t normally pass out…” His face crinkled up as he concentrated, trying - like me - to figure out what could possibly be going on.

“I guess I’ll just try to talk to her again tonight… see how that goes.”

He nodded, getting up off the bench. “Well, if she kicks you out… you can always sleep on my couch.”

I grimaced as I watched him leave. “Thanks… I think…”



I was in a bad mood when I got home, then again, what‘s to be expected after a shity loss? I was looking forward to just relaxing with Abby, but she had other plans. “Why did you call my brother? You think I can’t look after myself?” I had only taken a step into the house when Abby came stalking up to me; her face flushed with anger - extenuating the bruise in a grotesque fashion.

“I was just worried-”

“Oh I bet you were! Well… I’m a grown adult thank you very much!” She spat before turning on her heel and storming off.
I decided to let her go, dumping my gear and heading upstairs. It didn’t make sense for her to be so mad at me anyway. I was the one that watched her pass-out, that just found out his ex was about to marry a douche, AND the one who had just lost a hockey game because he was too worried about everything else. If anyone should be mad… it’s me!

“Marc…” I heard Abby sigh for the doorway, causing me to spin around. “I’m sorry about that… and I‘m sorry about your game-”

“You should be!” I yelled, not really sure why I was yelling… or what I was talking about. “It’s your fault I sucked!”

“Umm… my fault? How is it my fault?” She folded her arms over her chest and locked her leg into place - the way girls always do when they’re about to take you down with their power of talking-too-fast.

“Because! I couldn’t focus… I thought about you all night and we lost… if you just went to the doctor’s… then none of this would have happened. I hope you’re happy!” I was being ridiculous; bordering on freaking out all together and bursting into laughter. “Besides… why do you even care what happens to the Pens anymore… you quit! You don’t want me to win!”

“What are you talking about?!” I had no idea; and worst of all, she knew I had no idea.

“Oh… you know…” Hey… it always worked for mom!

She started to laugh as she shook her head at me. “You’ve been spending too much time with Max I think…”

Speaking of Max… “Are you sick?”

“What?”

“What’s wrong with you?” She took a step back; the pain in her eyes couldn’t be more obvious it I slapped her. She dropped her arms and hugged them protectively around her stomach.

“What are you talking about?” She said it so quietly, I had to strain to hear her.

I shrugged, automatically feeling sorry for what I’d just said. “I don’t mean… I think there’s something wrong with you… I just mean…” I sighed, taking a few steps towards her. “You’d tell me if something was wrong right?”

“Do I look like there’s something wrong with me?” I shook my head as she sighed audibly; tears starting to fall down her face.

I exhaled loudly and crossed the bedroom floor; wrapping her in my arms. “I’m sorry Abby… I’m an idiot… I just… I had a bad day. I didn’t mean anything about it… just forget it ok?” She nodded against my chest as I shook my head. Yes, I hate loosing but there's no reason for me to tak it out on Abby. "This is why I became a goalie... I suck at confrontation..." She chuckled slightly into me and I allowed a small smile to gently touch my face; why didn't I think of this sooner? If I'm 'stressed out and pissing Abby off because of hockey... then there's no reason why we couldn't just go to France... now...