Chapter 9

Karen drove to the outskirts of Pittsburgh and to the one place she could get away from everything. Her grandmother had died a few months prior and between her and Britnie, Karen was the favorite and it showed. In her grandmother's will, she had left the house to Karen. She figured if Sidney ever wanted to get away from the pressures of hockey, her house would work. Not to mention a little getaway for them. Karen pulled up and got out, grabbing her bags and going inside. She knew there wouldn't be any electrity so she took the flashlight out of her car to help her get around. Karen found the bedroom and carefully took the dustcover off the bed. She changed her clothes, turned off the flashlight and crawled into bed as the tears fell freely.

Meanwhile, Jordan had taken Britnie home from the club.

"Did you want to stay the night?" she asked him sweetly.

"Actually, we need to talk about something. Well more like I need to tell you something" Jordan said as he took a step back. Britnie knew what was about to happen but she was more prepared to fight to keep him around.

"Ok." They headed inside and sat down in the living room. "Just tell me what you need to" she said taking his hand into hers.

"There really is no other way to tell you this and I'm sorry for hurting you but you need to know that since we've gotten together, I've been with another woman."

"Who is she?" Britnie said trying to remain calm.

"Karen" he said looking to the floor.

Britnie got up and looked back down at him "my sister Karen? You slept with my sister?"

"Yeah but if you let me explain you'll see this happened before you and I got together. It's not that I have never been unsatisfied by you or that I don't love you, I just couldn't get her out of my mind."

"Then explain it to me" she said sitting back down beside him.

"After I met Karen a couple years ago at the arena, there was something about her. I think all the guys saw it. When we all went out one time and she came along with us. We were drinking pretty good and her and I snuck off to a private area of the club. After that, we kind of flirted everytime we saw each other. Some time passed and I guess Sidney started to like her and they eventually began to see one another. I guess you could say I got a little jealous and pursued her until she gave in and we had another night together. When they got married, I knew it was over but I guess I didn't want to accept it. We snuck around a couple times but nothing really happened until a couple nights ago when were got together again. But this time, Sidney came over to see Karen after the fight they had and he caught us together."

Britnie sat there and processed everything. "So since we've been together you've only been with her once?"

"Twice just the same day. Brit, this was nothing personal against you it was just a continuation of my feelings towards Karen. I can understand if you want to break up and never see me again."

"That would be my first thought but I love you and I need to know how you really feel about me Jordan."

"I do love you Brit, but I think I love Karen too."

"So if Karen and Sid don't work it out..." she said trailing off not wanting to say the words.

"I don't know what will happened" Jordan said looking at her.

Britnie got up and paced around "maybe you should go home Jordan. I need time to think about all this."

"Yeah, I think that's best. I'm not going to pressure you about what to do, I'll leave it up to you. Whatever you decide, I will accept it" he said getting up. Jordan walked over to her and held her giving her a kiss before he left. Britnie watched him leave and sat down on the couch, putting her head in her hands and finally letting the tears fall. Out of anybody, it had to be her sister. She decided to go to bed and let everything fall where they needed to and hopefully her and Jordan would be together in the end.

Sidney had left Diesel not too much longer after Karen did. He had hoped he would catch her at home or know where she went. He wouldn't have done anything with that girl or anyone else, he needed to show her how it felt from what he saw between them. Sidney got home and didn't see her car. He ran his hand through his hair and went inside. Walking upstairs and turning on the light to their bedroom, Sidney stopped when he saw her half of the closet was half empty. He went to the dressers and opened a couple drawers seeing them as empty. She had left and it showed she would be gone for awhile with the amount of clothes she took, he just didn't know where she went but he prayed she was alright.

The next morning, Karen woke up when the sun was coming into the window. She looked around and remembered where she was. Looking at her watch, she saw it was about 9a and got up grabbing her cell phone. She placed a call to Ray Shero and told him that she needed a few days for personal family issues that were going on. He could tell by the sound of her voice something was wrong but didn't press the issue. He told her to take a week if she needed it and he'd see her when she came back to the office. Karen thanked him and hung up. She called the electric company next and got the electricity turned back on. Karen decided to take off the dustcovers from the furniture and clean up a little before going out to get some food She didn't know how long she would stay there, but she would at least be there for a week...without talking to anyone.

Sidney was at the arena for their morning skate. They had a game tonight and he needed to get focused but that went away when Jordan came in and started getting ready. Sidney walked over to him and sat down making Jordan look at him.

"Is she with you?"

"Is who with me?"

"Don't be an ass right now Jordan, did Karen stay with you last night?"

"No she didn't. I thought she might have stayed with Natalie." Jordan saw the look in his eyes "I'm telling the truth whether you want to hear it or not. She didn't come over last night, besides I told Britnie what was going on and was at her house until late."

Sidney got up and went back to his stall but Jordan got up and followed him "what happened?"

"I guess when Karen left she went to the house, packed some of her clothes and left."

"Came you blame her?"

"What?"

"Sid, I came to you and made you deal with me the other day but have you even tried to listen to her and what's going through her head about this. She probably figures if you're not going to hear her out, why bother sticking around" he said before getting up and leaving the room. Sidney sat back on the bench and wondered if he was right. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Karen's number but when it went directly to voicemail, he hung up and finished getting ready for practice.

Karen had gotten things cleaned up and decided to hook up her computer. She was thankful of her wireless card and could get a signal anywhere. Karen checked her email and went to a couple sites...the Penguins home page being one of them. She saw there was a game tonight which she forgot and debated if she would actually watch. Who was she kidding, of course she would watch. Just because she was married to their captain didn't mean she was a fan of the team otherwise. She put her computer away and sat there letting her thoughts consume her.