Chapter 13

About five minutes after Max said that he pulled into a long driveway to a house that was surrounded by trees and it was pretty secluded. There were already a few of the guys' cars there which made me feel a little better.

"Here we are guys." Max stated as he parked and we got out of the car. When we looked we saw Marc and Vero pulling in right beside us so we decided to wait for them so we could all go in together.

"Brooke you look so pretty tonight." Vero said with a smile as they got out of Marc's truck.
"Thanks Vero, you look great too."
"Well thank you."
"Alright you all ready to head inside?" Max asked.
Everyone nodded while Logan and I just looked at each other with horrified looks on our faces.
"There's nothing to be worried about." Marc said with a smile clearly having seen the looks Logan and I had just given each other.
"Yeah you've been hanging out with us for months now so there's no difference." Max said trying to calm us down.
"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked with my voice more panicky than I had meant it to be. "This is Mario Lemieux's house. He's going to be watching us and making sure we're good enough for the team. What happens if he doesn't like us? Oh my God I am so clumsy, what if I break something?"
"I'm with her." Logan responded. "This is Mario and his Penguins and we're not built for this type of thing. We mess up, that's what we do."
"OK you two just stop." Vero said while laughing at us. "We were all nervous the first time we came here but it's not as bad as you think. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming so stop worrying and let's go inside."

Logan and I nodded, then followed Max, Marc, and Vero to the front door of this beautiful, big house. Max rang the door bell and I was a little relieved to see Sid answer the door.

"Hey guys, glad you could come." He greeted as he stepped aside for us to go in.
"Let's get these two inside before they try to escape." Max stated as he pointed towards Logan and myself, causing us both to smile.
"Why, what's wrong with you guys?" Sid asked us.
"It's just that you guys, Mario mostly, it's kind of crazy that Brooke and I are even here." Logan answered.
"I'm scared I'm going to break something." I said with a little chuckle.
Sid started laughing. "It's no big deal we're all just here to have some fun and relax. So come on in and calm down."

That being said we all walked inside and saw that all of the team were already there and all of the wives and girlfriends were there as well. The guys were in the game room having a good time while all the women were in the living room talking. Vero grabbed my arm and I followed her to the living room. Logan and I shot each other a frightened look while we headed in our own directions. Vero then introduced me to all the wives/girlfriends which also included Nathalie, and Sid's mother, Trina, his sister, Taylor, and of course Holly.
About an hour passed of chatting and laughing and the guys decided to make their way out with us girls and everyone began mingling together in both the kitchen and living room. I was spaced off in my own little world until I felt someone tap me on the shoulder causing me to jump a little.

"Scare you did I?" Sid asked laughing at my startled expression.
"Yeah, you think?" I answered laughing along with him.
"So it's not as bad as you thought it was going to be, is it?"
"Actually it's been pretty great. Everyone is so nice and super happy. It's been way more fun than I thought it would be."
"I told you it wasn't going to be a big deal."
"I know and I have managed to avoid meeting Mario so far so that's kinda of cool. I haven't had to go through that terrifying meeting." I said as I noticed Holly glaring at me.
"Well that's soon going to change. Mario can you come here for a minute."
I looked over my shoulder to see Mario and another man walking towards us and instantly felt terrified. "I hate you." I whispered as I turned around to greet the two men, causing Sid to laugh a little.
"Guys this is Brooke, Logan's cousing from Newfoundland we told you about." He began. "Brooke, this is Mario Lemieux and my father, Troy."
"Nice to meet you." I said while shaking both of their hands and trying to stay as calm as I could manage.
"It's nice to finally meet you Brooke." Mario began with a smile. "The guys have been saying such great things about you and Logan for a while now. We've already met him, he seems like a great kid, funny too."
"Yeah I guess that's why he fits in with these guys so well." I responded.
"Seems like you both fit in well, the guys seem to adore you." Mario said still smiling.
"They're a great bunch of guys. And thank you so much for inviting Logan and me here tonight."
"Oh it was my pleasure to have you two here."

Just then Sid's mom, Trina, sang out to the guys and they all excused themselves and began to leave. I began to turn the other way to look for Max or Logan but I heard someone speak up behind me.

"You think I don't know what you're doing here?" Troy stated very sternly to me.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I responded completely shocked at how this man was talking to me.
"You and your troubled cousin come here with absolutely nothing and conveniently make friends with these guys. I'm not buying your innocent act like the rest of the guys are, I know you two have an alterior motive so the best thing for the both of you would be to stay away from this team, especially my son."
I didn't have a chance to respond before he turned and walked away from me, leaving me standing there completely stunned.

"What did he say to you?" Logan asked as he approached me.
"Pretty much that we're evil and we should stay away from the guys, with extra emphasis on Sid." I answered still pretty taken aback at what had just happened.
"He basically said the same thing to me when all the guys left the game room."
"Wow, I did not see that one coming. Everyone else has been so nice."
"Yeah that guy scares me. Think we should get Max to take us home so we don't cause any trouble at Mario Lemieux's house."
"I think that would be a good idea. I'm going to text Max and tell him to meet us outside."
"Good idea."

Then Logan and I went out front and about a minute later Max showed up. "What's up guys?"
"We were wondering if you could take us home?" Logan asked.
"What, already? Are you guys not having a good time.?"
"It's not that we just don't want to cause any trouble since Mario was nice enough to invite us here tonight." I answered.
"What are you talking about?" He asked clearly confused. We went on then to tell him about our encounters with Troy Crosby.

"You're not leaving because of that. He doesn't control the team and who we hang out with so just ignore him. He's like that when it comes to Sid all of the time anyway."
"It's fine though Max I just don't want to ruin everyone else's time, this is supposed to be a celebration for you guys making the playoffs."

He grabbed us both by our arms and began dragging us back towards the house. "Don't you two worry your Newfie butts off." He stated with a huge smile as he opened the door. "I'll take care of this."

Logan and I shot each other confused glances but followed him back inside to see what he was talking about, both hoping that we could enjoy the rest of our night.