Chapter 134: Cheli IV—He’ll Be Just Fine
As soon as the game was over he had been rushed into the press conference. Of course there had to be a press conference, and Chelios said his piece on the actions of the children. Dammit his wrist still hurt from that little bitch, he couldn’t believe she had bit him like she did. Where the hell was parental control?
Don’t you dare touch him!
The way she had said it had rung a bell deep within him and had momentarily frightened him. He didn’t know who that girl was; he had never seen the likes of her angry black eyes before. He had even been momentarily breathtaken by how exquisite she was. And then those pearly little teeth of hers sunk into his flesh and he knew at that moment where he had seen anger the like of which her eyes carried before.
He had stood angry and scared for Kirk as the trainers surrounded him, as the stretcher was brought out. He had refused treatment for his wrist save a gauze bandage he applied himself so that there would be no taking from Maltby’s attention. If Kirk was hurt or dead! He didn’t know what he would do, how could a boy do this much damage? Why the fuck had Kirk even touched that little girl to begin with?
He knew Kirk’s heart, the annoying, cheerful man offering him vitamins and hangover remedies. He loved children too. Shit the man couldn’t even watch those commercials begging funds for starving Somalian children without collapsing into a weeping mess. Of course he would have picked up that bleeding, crying little girl.
But Kirk hadn’t known what he knew. That little girl was a poison, just as much as her mother was. Chris knew this now, that that woman’s poison was far reaching, potent and in her children. Nothing good could come of that family, and Kirk’s plight was just another new highlight of it.
And that girl that bit him? Who was she? She was protecting Jonathan; she belonged to the boy. And she was filled with him, wasn’t she. He saw as Patrick carried his weeping daughter to the benches to be cared for in the locker room no doubt. And then he saw them carry HER onto the ice. She had blood running down the side of her face, and she still had the balls to glare with her blue haughty eyes. The man holding her had put her down and there it was, that chin held high on her skinny little throat, the jut to her bottom lip. And she was looking at Kirk, looking at what her son had done and no doubt feeling smug about it.
Chris couldn’t take it and he snarled, "Bitch!"
Stevie Y, who had been standing next to him jumped and exclaimed. "What?"
Chelios had ignored him as he skated to her, staring her down, wanting her to fear for herself once in her fucking life. But there was no fear. He nostrils fluttered as if she had smelled something disgusting and she drew back against some man.
Chris yelled at her but he couldn’t remember what it was because she snarled, "Piss off!" The way she usually did. No remorse, no compassion, no feelings.
Chris had sighed at the questions pointed at them during the conference, endured them! He was worried about Kirk. At least Kirk had been standing, and muttering, he hadn’t been carried off by a stretcher. That had to be a good sign.
"Why do you think that Patrick Roy’s son reacted so violently to Kirk Maltby, what do you think his actions might signify as to the state of hockey today?"
Chelios blinked once, realizing that the question was pointed at him. What the fuck kind of question was that? Dumbass reporters! Taking a deep breath, he answered the question as best as he could. "Kirk was only trying to help the girl it’s a shame that his own son doesn’t understand how to behave! I don’t think this signifies anything for hockey other than sometimes hockey players don’t raise their children properly."
"Do you think it had to do with Maltby’s hit on Patrick during the game?"
"I’m sure it had everything to do with that hit," Chelios replied. "You see...."
And then there was a murmur and buzz as the curtains flew back and two little bodies ran into the room. Chelios stared in disbelief at the two little children with the autographs scrawled on their foreheads. The little girl with her large blue eyes, her haughty little chin.... And they had the audacity to dart in front of their feet and try to escape!
Shanny was the first to snatch the little girl causing her to squeal like a puppy and Chelios grabbed the boy who really didn’t seem to mind. This was exactly what he had been talking about, lack of parental control!
Of course the press conference turned into a mini-circus when the little boy asked for the autograph. The cameras flared away when Yzerman, always looking for an excuse to brighten the mood, brought out a stick and had the team autograph it for the wide eyed, adoring little Sakic boy. The Roy princess wouldn’t be dislodged from Shanny’s lap and she was making herself a media darling with the few cameras around her grinning and waving. What a weird day.
As soon as that insanity was done with, Chris went straight to the hospital to see Kirk. He felt somehow that it was his fault that all of this happened to him. He knew that logically it wasn’t. But he couldn’t escape the feeling that perhaps if he hadn’t have brought that damn bracelet back into the air, if Kirk hadn’t touched it, been slapped by her all because he had called her there. If none of that had happened maybe Kirk would have been different and things would be OK. Kirk wouldn’t have been poisoned.
"Is Kirk gonna be OK?" he asked the nurse with the nametag that read Polly.
"Yes," she said, her plump red cheeks blushing. "He’ll be just fine. Only a slight concussion, gotta keep him up through the night."
"Slight concussion!" Chris exclaimed. "How do you mean? He hit the fu...fricking ice head first!"
"No," Polly said looking at her watch, "Not at all. His shoulders are severely bruised so it looks like those took the brunt of the fall, his head hit afterwards causing the concussion."
"The blood!" Chelios said, "He was out cold!"
"Most of the blood seems to have come from a severe laceration on his cheek, and he was out cold I’m sure because of the weight of little Roy on his chest. He was just winded."
Little Roy? Chelios thought. She had said the boy’s name with so much affection. Was everyone here INSANE! He had just tried to kill Maltby!
"Hey Cheli," Kirk said with his back facing him as he lay on his bed.
"How’d you know it was me?" Chris said.
Kirk turned around on the bed and smiled with a tired mouth. "That shitty cologne of yours. I can smell it half a world away."
Chelios smiled back and sat on the edge of Kirk’s bed. "Hey, you gave us a scare! What the hell were you doing grabbing that kid!"
Maltby’s eyes trembled and filled with tears. "Hey!" he said pointing his finger. "That little girl was scared and bleeding! I didn’t want her getting hurt any worse than she was! I would do it again if I had the chance!"
"Yeah and get attacked by a psycho..."
"Hey!" Maltby said in the same tone still pointing his finger. "That boy was only protecting his sister as he saw fit, I’m sure he would do it again if he had the chance!"
Chelios sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "Malt.. Malt... Malt..." was all he could say.
Yup, he thought, Malt’s gonna be juuuust fine. He was already back to normal. By morning he would probably be scouring the alleys for stray kittens to rescue.
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