| �The trade deadline is in twenty-three hours.� Brielle was sitting on the stationary bike, and looked up at Glenn when he walked in the room. �I know,� she said, in between breaths. �Have you gotten any calls from Pittsburgh yet?� Glenn shook his head. �Not yet.� He paused. �So where�s Eric?� �He�s at the mall with Toby and Tommy, helping pick out something for Toby�s sister�s birthday.� Brielle looked up at Glenn, who was leaning against the door frame to the exercise room with his arms crossed, smiling. She suddenly stopped pedaling. �Am I that transparent?� she asked, giving Glenn a small smile. Glenn laughed a little. �I saw the way he looked at you. I saw the way Army looked at you, too. But Army�s looks didn�t have quite as much emotion behind them as Eric�s did.� He paused. �Army hasn�t spent nearly as much time thinking about you as Eric has. I can promise you that much. Fourteen years is a long time to hold on to something.� �Yeah, it is,� Brielle said, looking down at the floor momentarily. �Has Colby talked to you at all today about last night?� she asked, biting her bottom lip. �No,� Glenn replied. �I�d imagine he�s gonna lay low for a while.� �Understandably so� God, Glenn, I feel horrible about this.� �Don�t feel too bad,� Glenn commented. �You love Eric, don�t you?� Brielle nodded. �Yeah, I do. I�ve never been so sure of anything in my life,� she said. �Then Army�ll understand,� Glenn said, heading into his office. �He might act like a kid a lot, but he�s surprisingly mature. He will understand, don�t worry too much about him.� Twenty minutes later, some of the team showed up at the arena, just to sit around and hang out. Colby and Shane were the only two that didn�t show up. Calista had announced that she was taking a small vacation, and had left earlier that day without saying why or where she was going. Brielle was sitting on the couch in between Eric and Toby when Glenn called her into his office. �What�s up?� she asked, taking a seat across from him. �There�s been a trade,� Glenn said, staring at the computer screen in front of him. Brielle forrowed her brows in confusion. �How exactly does it affect the team?� she asked intently. �Frankie�s been traded.� Brielle opened and closed her mouth twice before stuttering, �To where and for who?� �Springfield, and for Guillaume Lefebvre,� Glenn replied, rubbing his temples. �Lefebvre� he played for Philly, didn�t he?� Brielle asked, even more confused than before. �If I remember what Eric told me correctly, he fought him last season.� �Yeah, but he was traded to Springfield earlier today,� Glenn explained. �He�ll be here for practice tomorrow before the Flames game.� Brielle sat back, staring at the wall behind Glenn. �I can�t believe that we�re losing Frankie� This is a complete shock. He was just saying, not ten minutes ago, that lightning would strike him and he would find a shark in the hot tub before he got traded.� �I know, we never thought we�d lose him,� Glenn commented. �But we have to tell him before he finds out some other way.� �Yeah,� Brielle said, standing up. �I�ll get him.� ~*~*~ �You can�t leave,� Brielle whimpered, hugging Frankie. After his initial shock set in, he was instructed that he had an eleven thirty flight to Springfield, and had to get most of his gear packed. He and a few other members of the team helped him back, and by nine o�clock, he was in the parking lot of the arena, saying his goodbyes and getting ready to go. �I have to,� Frankie said, hugging Brielle back. �It�s not my choice, as much as I don�t want to, I have to.� �No you don�t! As your coach, I am not letting you,� Brielle said, not letting go of Frankie�s waist. �Elle, sweetie, you�re not his coach anymore,� Eric pointed out. With Eric�s statement, Brielle burst out crying. �You can�t go! I am not letting you go! They won�t let you on the plane if I�m attached to you, and I am not letting you go!� Frankie lifted Brielle�s head. �Ellie, please stop crying, you�re gonna make me cry. I have to go. But I promise you, I will be back here the instant the season ends.� Brielle sniffed. �You promise?� she asked, still whimpering. �I promise,� Frankie said, kissing Brielle�s forehead. Brielle reluctantly let go of Frankie�s waist and watched as he tossed his hockey gear in the back of his rental truck. Eric stood beside her and put his arm around Brielle�s shoulders as Frankie drove away, rubbing the side of her arm when she began to sniff. �Elle, it�s gonna be okay,� Eric said, trying to comfort her. Frankie and Brielle had gotten close in the past month, not as close and she and Toby had been, but Frankie was her bodyguard. He was 6�6�, and whenever they went out to a club, Frankie was the one who accompanied her and made sure she was being taken care of. He always made sure that if she happened to have a few to drink, that the only one she was going home with was him. �I know, and I�ve gone through so many trades before� but this just hurts so much more than the other ones,� she said, still sniffing and trying not to cry. �Frankie always had my back� I am really gonna miss him.� �He said he�d be back,� Eric pointed out. �And besides, he just bought a house in Pittsburgh. He has to come back. And Pittsburgh�s a half hour away from here on a plane, he�s closer than you think.� �Yeah, I know,� Brielle said, walking back inside the arena with Eric. �But still� He shouldn�t be in Massachusetts, he should be here.� Eric opened his mouth to agree, but was caught off guard by Glenn skidding to a stop as they turned the corner. �We got another player,� he said breathlessly. Brielle frowned. �Who�s leaving now?� she asked, slightly annoyed. �Toby? Murls?� �Someone from Pittsburgh, it doesn�t affect us,� Glenn said in a rush. �But we�re getting someone out of the deal. Which is good, because I just got the word that Lefebvre is going up to Pittsburgh.� �Well, who are we getting?� Brielle asked, growing impatient. �Micki DuPont,� Glenn answered. �Aren�t we supposed to play him tomorrow?� Eric asked. �He�s on the Flames, right?� �Yes, he is,� Glenn nodded. �He�s actually on his way here as we speak, Calgary�s GM called their coach, and they�re on the bus right now. He�s staying in the Flames� hotel tonight, but he�ll be practicing with us tomorrow morning.� Glenn turned to Brielle. �He�s an offensive forward and he lead the Flames in defense points for the past two seasons. I�m gonna need you to help me with some plays for him.� Brielle nodded and turned to Eric. �I�m gonna be busy for a while, I�ll catch up with you guys later,� she said, giving him a quick kiss before following Glenn to his office. |
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