Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Almost a week passed, and things slowly started to seem a little more normal. Sidney’s games were all at home that week and Lauren enjoyed being able to spend the extra time with him. Her friends had been great too. Liz and Maria spent a lot of time with her when Sidney was away at practices and stuff. Lauren loved that she was getting to spend so much quality time with her friends and family, but hated the circumstances under which she suddenly had all the free time.

Lauren was at her house one afternoon, watching soaps on TV with her mom and playing with her dog, Emma, when her phone rang. She panicked when she saw it was the detective who had been investigating the case. She turned the volume down on the TV before answering.

“Hello?” she said, swallowing the giant lump in her throat.

“Lauren, we got him.” The detective said. “They found him near Cole Harbour this morning and immediately took him into custody.”

Lauren let out the huge breath she had been holding. “Are you sure it was him?” she asked hesitantly, afraid to get her hopes up.

“Yep, it’s him. The DNA matched perfectly.”

“Thank you for calling. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just doing my job. And after what he did to you, it’s nice to know this jerk isn’t walking around freely anymore. I’ll be in touch in a few days about what happens next – I just wanted to let you know.”

“Thank you, again. Talk to you soon.” Lauren said, hearing the detective hang up.

“Lauren? Honey, who was that?” her mom asked, having watched her on the phone.

“It was the detective. Mom, they got him.” Lauren said, a relieved smile spreading across her face. Her mother jumped up and pulled her into a hug.

“Oh this is wonderful!” her mother replied.

Suddenly, Lauren pulled away and started looking for her shoes. “I have to tell Sidney. Now. Will you go down to the rink with me? He’s at practice right now.”

“Of course! Let’s go!” her mom replied, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her keys.

Lauren was impressed with how fast her mom drove down to the rink and zipped into a parking spot. Lauren practically sprinted inside and ran down to the boards. They were running a drill, so she waited anxiously until they took a short break to get Sidney’s attention. When he saw her, his eyebrows shot up in alarm and he rushed over to her. He pushed the door open and she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest.

“Baby, what is it? Did something happen?” he asked, his voice stricken with panic and fear.

“They got him. The detective called and they found him in Cole Harbour and they arrested him this morning!” Lauren said breathlessly, watching Sidney’s expression as he registered what she was saying.

“Thank God.” Sidney said, picking her up off her feet and holding her tightly in his arms. When he set her back down, Lauren’s eyes caught Jordan’s. Him and Marc had been standing a short distance away, watching them and trying to figure out what was going on. She motioned for them to come over.

“They arrested Jimmy this morning.” She said, and both men let out a collective sigh of relief.

“I feel so much better now that he’s not out there.” Marc said as Lauren pulled him into a hug.

“We should call Vero and tell her.” Lauren said, pulling out her phone. As Lauren and Marc told Vero the news, Jordan and Sidney headed for the workout room. Jordan climbed on the bike, but Sidney sort of paced the room.

“You okay?” Jordan asked, seeing Sidney’s obvious tension.

“Yeah, I just get so mad when I think about him. When I think about what he did to her, I just want to kill him.” Sidney said, slamming his fist into the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.

“I know what you mean, man. I want to do the same thing. We all do. You should have seen the guys yesterday at practice. Everybody was ready to kill each other out on the ice – we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were teammates and it wasn’t each other that we were mad at.” Jordan said.

Sidney hadn’t gone to practice the day before – it had been optional and the coach had specifically told him not to come. It made him smile to think about how protective his teammates were of Lauren – he knew she really loved all of them and it was great that they loved her too.

Lauren and Marc came into the workout room. “Sidney, mom’s got to go run some errands – can I ride home with you?” she asked.

“Sure, babe. Let me get a shower and then we’ll go.” Sidney said, trying to appear much calmer than he had been a few minutes earlier.

When they got in the car, Sidney put the car in gear and then took Lauren’s hand in his own. “Can we drive around for a while?” she asked.

“Sure. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“Nowhere in particular, I just don’t want to go home yet. I need some fresh air.”

A little while later, she smiled as they pulled into a familiar parking lot. Sidney came and opened her car door and took her hand as they walked through the park – their park.

“This is just what I needed today. How’d you know?” she said, smiling at him.

“Being here makes me happy – it makes me think about how lucky I am. And all my wonderful memories from this place include you.” He said, turning to face her.

“Sidney, when do you think we’re going to get to make happy memories again? Everything lately has been so sad.”

“Lauren, we don’t have to wait. We can start being happy again right now. In fact, I’m quite happy right now, here with you.” He said, kissing her forehead. “It’s not like everything is suddenly going to go back to normal or anything, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun and laugh. I miss your laugh.” He said, trying to coax a smile out of her.

“I miss it too.” She admitted. “I just feel like every time I start to feel the tiniest bit happier, I panic and think something bad is going to happen again.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen ever again, if I can help it. But you can’t let that worry that pretty little head of yours.” He said. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips.

“I love you. That’s what’s in my head right now.”

“Good.” He murmured, his lips pressed against hers. “Because I love you too.” Sidney kissed her again, cradling her face gently in his hands.

Just then Sidney’s stomach let out a loud growl, causing them both to giggle. “I think that’s a sign we should head home and get you something to eat.” Lauren said, rubbing his stomach. They walked hand in hand back to the car and Lauren felt happier than she had since….well, since everything got so messed up.