Chapter 9

I could not sleep. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling. What had happened tonight? How had Sidney found out that I held those season tickets? Why did he send someone for me? More questions just kept popping into my head. None of this made sense. Did Sidney Crosby actually ask me to have coffee with him? The more I though about the events that had transpired this evening the more confused I became. I think the biggest confusion of all was how Sidney made me feel. He made me angry. He made me nervous (and I don't get nervous). He made me feel sad. Sad for the immense pressure that was on this poor kid's shoulders and the media scrutiny that surrounded him every day. He could never have a normal life. But most of all, he lit a fire inside me that had been extinguished the first time Jeff ever laid his hands on me. That is what scared the hell out of me. I thought back to the moment Sid pulled me into his arms. In that instant I felt...safe. Like nothing in the outside world could ever hurt me. And his soft lips brushing against my cheek had almost made me explode inside. How could this be happening to me? He was a kid. He was a kid that in such a brief time was able to make me forget the horific reality that was my past, even if it was only for a moment. A past so painful I had completely shut down and built a wall around my heart. I had not had feelings like this for...well, ever. I made up my mind that I just could not think about Sidney this way. The truth is that he is still just a kid and I am far from it. Nothing good could come out of decieving myself into thinking otherwise.
Before I knew it, the sun had come up and I had yet to sleep. Thank god I was off today. I got Alex and Jake off to school and decided to go back home and try to get a few hours sleep. I hadn't been home for more than 5 minutes when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to see the biggest bouquet of yellow roses that I had ever seen!
"Rebekah Jones?"
"Yes, that's me."
"These are for you," the delivery man said as he handed me the rather large and heavy vase. "Have a nice day!"
"Thank you."
I set the vase down on the kitchen counter grabbed the card.
"Thank you for sharing some of your time with me. You are like a ray of sunshine. Hope these brighten your day! I'll be in touch soon. -Sidney