Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“From your lips to God’s ears.” He glances at the watch wrapped around his left wrist. “Do you want me to hang around until you’re done? I don’t like the idea of you being here alone.”
“No, I’ll be fine.” I shake my head, knowing he probably has a ton more work to do before he goes to bed tonight. “I won’t stay long.”
Indecision flashes across his face before he gives me another tight smile and heads toward his office in the locker room.
When he’s about a dozen or so feet away, he swings around. “Text me when you get back to your apartment, all right? I won’t sleep well unless I know you’re safe.”
My rigidly held muscles loosen. “I will.”
“Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you too.”
Once he disappears, I turn my attention to the ice. The familiar chill of the air settles around me, soothing the tension in my body. This is exactly what I need. An escape from everything gnawing away at the back of my brain.
As soon as my blades cut through the smooth surface, a sense of calm washes over me. The rink has always been my sanctuary. Even after everything that happened with Nathan, it still feels like home.
It’s the one constant in my life.
But it’s still not able to fully erase the pain of a broken heart.
Not tonight.
As I glide across the ice, my mind drifts back to the conversation with Dad. As much as the thought of skating under Nadia excites me, the idea of leaving everything I’ve built here at Western—the friends I’ve made, the life I’m trying to piece together—is terrifying.
No matter if I return to skating or not, I can’t shake the feeling that something just as important has slipped through my fingers.
Hayes.
As I push off and glide forward, a chill runs down my spine. It’s colder than usual. Or maybe it’s just me. I pick up speed and try to shake off the strange feelings by losing myself in the rhythm of my skates as they cut through the ice.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The movements come easily at first, the familiarity of my routine taking over. A spin, a turn, a jump that I land perfectly. The sound of my blades hitting the ice echoes in the empty rink.
No matter how fast I go or how many times I push my body to its limits, the disturbing sensation that I’m not alone continues to linger.
I remind myself that there’s no one else here.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, the shadows at the edges of the rink seem darker tonight.
Deeper.
Almost as if something is hiding just out of sight, watching me.
I spin again, harder this time, hoping that if I go fast enough, I can blur out everything around me.
But the sound of my skates isn’t enough to drown out the silence. I keep expecting to hear something.
A footstep.
A creak.
Anything.
But there’s nothing.
Just the empty arena and the weight of my thoughts pressing in on me.
I attempt a triple lutz. It’s a jump I’ve done a thousand times before. As I rise in the air, there’s a split second where it feels like the ice pulls away from me. My landing is solid, but my heart is pounding in my chest, louder than the scrape of my blades.
I force myself to keep moving, to focus on the steps, the jumps, the spins. But it’s hard. My mind keeps wandering back to everything I’ve been trying to forget.
What I walked in on at the hockey house.
Nathan’s refusal to leave me alone.
And Nadia.
What if she decides that my best years are already behind me? Even though I’m not sure if I want the chance, I want to be the one who makes that decision.
Another jump that flows into a spin. I’m desperate to quiet my mind. It seems like the harder I push, the more the rink pushes back at me. The ice feels too smooth, too slick. Almost as if it’s playing tricks on me, waiting for me to crash and burn.
My breath comes in sharp bursts as I slow down, finally coasting to a stop near the center of the rink. The hum of the lights seems louder now, like they’re buzzing right in my ears. I glance around, half-expecting to see someone standing at the edge of the rink, watching me.
But there’s no one.
Just the shadows.
I exhale sharply, trying to laugh it off, but it comes out shaky. I’m being ridiculous.
I’ve been skating alone for years.
Why does it feel so different now?
I take one last deep breath and close my eyes, trying to force everything from my mind.
The cold.
The shadows.
The fear that Nathan is actually stalking me.
Not from across the country but from here at Western.
I focus on the sound of my breath, the feel of the ice beneath my feet, the familiar tension in my legs.