Chapter 14 Ryan
The week had slipped by faster than I expected, buried under work, practices, and the endless to-do list that came with being a business owner.
I hadn’t been able to stop by Benny’s in the mornings, and Harper hadn’t been to the last couple of practices.
We’d been texting here and there, but it wasn’t the same.
The lack of her presence was starting to feel like a hole in my routine. The absence of her smile, her energy, was messing with me more than I wanted to admit. I hadn’t realized how much I’d gotten used to seeing her. How much I liked it.
Leaning back in my chair, I pulled out my phone and shot her a text.
Me: Got any big Friday night plans?
It didn’t take long for her response to pop up.
Harper: Oh, you know. Wild night ahead. Nina and Liam are coming over after school, and we’ll probably order takeout. I do not cook on Fridays.
I grinned.
Me: Solid life rule.
Harper: I think so.
I hesitated before typing out my next message. I wanted to see her. I also didn’t want to just invite myself over. A few seconds later, my phone buzzed again.
Harper: Want to come over?
Yeah. Yeah, I did.
Me: Wouldn’t say no to that.
I barely had time to set my phone down before it started ringing. Shane’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey,” I answered
“Pub for dinner?” he asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Actually, I’m heading over to Harper’s.”
Shane was quiet for a beat. Then– “Ohhhh. A date.”
I rolled my eyes. “Connor is going to be there. Nina and Liam too.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s not a date.”
Shane made a noise like he was pretending to think about it. “Well, in that case…”
I sighed, already knowing where this was going.
“Pick me up on your way over.”
I pulled up to Shane’s place just as he was stepping outside, shrugging on his coat. He climbed into the passenger seat, tossing his bag onto the floor.
“You know, one of these days, you could just drive yourself,” I said.
Shane smirked. “And miss out on your charming company? Not a chance.”
I shook my head, pulling away from the curb. The sun was already dipping lower in the sky, casting an orange glow over the town. It was only four o’clock, but with winter settling in, daylight was starting to fade earlier and earlier.
By the time we got to Harper’s, the porch light was already on. I knocked once before pushing the door open, and Harper greeted us with a small smile, stepping aside to let us in.
She didn’t even blink at Shane being there, like she’d just assumed he’d invite himself. Which, fair. That was exactly what had happened.
Nina, however, was not as subtle. She leaned against the back of the couch, arms crossed, giving Shane a once-over.
“Oh great,” she said dryly. “It’s you.”
Shane gave her a lazy grin. “Nice to see you too, sweetheart.”
Nina rolled her eyes. “Just so we’re clear, this is not a reenactment of last weekend. I was nursing that hangover for days.”
Harper snorted. “You say that like it was anyone’s fault but your own.”
Nina ignored her, keeping her gaze on Shane, daring him to challenge her. He just smirked, clearly enjoying the reaction he got out of her.
Before Nina could fire off another comeback, the sound of running footsteps pounded down the stairs. Connor and Liam burst into the room, practically vibrating with excitement.
“We’re going to the pond!” Connor grinned, waving his hockey stick.
Both boys were fully geared up–well, almost. They had their skates, helmets, gloves, and sticks. They were missing one key piece, though.
“Jackets,” Harper reminded them.
Connor groaned. “But we’re just gonna–”
“Jackets,” she repeated, giving him a pointed look.
Liam sighed dramatically but didn’t argue, heading toward the coat rack. Connor followed suit, grumbling under his breath about how jackets weren’t necessary.
“They’ll just slow us down,” he muttered.
Shane raised a brow. “Yeah, well, hypothermia’s even slower, kid.”
That earned a reluctant chuckle from both boys as they tugged on their coats.
“We’re just gonna get our gear on down at the pond,” Liam said, zipping up his jacket.
Harper narrowed her eyes. “That’s fine, but you wait before stepping on the ice, understood?”
Connor huffed. “Yeah, yeah, we know.”
“I mean it,” Harper pressed. “You don’t go on until one of us gets down there to check it.”
Liam nodded. “Got it.”
Harper watched them for a moment longer, as if deciding whether or not to believe them, then sighed. “Alright, go get ready. We’ll be down in a bit.”
The boys bolted for the door, sticks clattering against the floor as they ran outside.
From the doorway, I watched them race down the snowy path toward the pond.
Connor’s fire-red jacket was easy to spot against the white landscape, a blur of colour as he tried to keep pace with Liam, who was already waving his stick in some imaginary victory.
Their breath puffed in the frigid air, little clouds that vanished almost as fast as they made them.
Skates clanked against their sticks, laughter echoing over the frozen yard.
Shane smirked. “You really think they’re gonna wait?”
Harper exhaled, rubbing her temples. “They better.”
Nina snorted, flopping onto the couch and stretching her legs out in front of her. “Five bucks says they step on the ice the second they hit the pond.”
I shook my head. “Not taking that bet. We all know they will.”
Shane chuckled, nudging me with his elbow. “I’ll bet you were the same way when you were their age. Probably worse.”
“Right,” Nina drawled, rolling her eyes. “Please. Remember when you tried to impress the older kids by skating full speed across old Miller’s pond with your eyes closed?”
I could feel my brows shot up. “Wait–what?”
“Oh, yeah,” Nina grinned. “Didn’t end well, did it, O’Connell?”
Shane huffed. “I was thirteen. It was a solid plan.”
“You ran straight into a goalpost,” Nina deadpanned. “Knocked yourself out cold.”
I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. “Jesus.”
Harper pressed her lips together like she was trying not to smile. “And you’re judging the boys?”
Shane sighed dramatically. “Fine. Maybe I get it.”
Laughter still lingered in the air as we moved toward the door, jackets in hand, when a sound–distant but sharp–cut through the warmth of the kitchen. A splash. Then a scream.
“CONNOR!”
Everything inside me went cold.
I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. My jacket hit the floor as I tore out the back door, socked feet slamming against the frozen ground.
The cold air sliced through me, but I barely felt it.
All I saw was Liam, standing on the bank of the pond, face white with panic, arms flailing as he pointed at the jagged, gaping hole in the ice.
“Oh my God–oh my God–Connor!” Harper’s screams shattered the air behind me, raw with terror.
I hit the pond at full speed, the ice groaning beneath my weight. I didn’t stop. I didn’t think. I just ran.
The second I reached the hole, I dropped to my knees, my hands instantly submerged in freezing water as I started punching at the ice, breaking it apart with everything I had. My fists stung, the sharp edges cutting into my skin, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t care.
A loud crack sounded beside me, and suddenly Shane was there, his own hands tearing at the ice.
Behind us, Harper’s breathing was ragged, uneven. “Hurry! Please, hurry,” she begged, her voice thick with panic. “He’s just a kid–oh my God, Ryan–please.”
The water was dark. Too dark. I couldn’t see him.
Panic clawed at my throat, and I forced it down. Focus. Keep going. Get to him.
The hole widened. Not enough. Not yet.
“Come on, come on–” Harper’s words blurred together. I could hear her breath hitching. She was crying. She was terrified.
I had to get to him. I had to bring him back.
“Ryan!”
Harper’s voice. Desperate. Terrified.
I didn’t look up. Didn’t stop.
The moment the opening was big enough, I launched forward, plunging into the freezing abyss.
The second I hit the water, it stole the air from my lungs.
The cold wasn’t just cold–it was agony. A full-body shock so intense it felt like knives driving into every inch of my skin. My chest seized. The instinct to suck in a breath slammed into me, my body screaming for air that wasn’t there.
Panic clawed at my throat.
I couldn’t move.
For a split second, everything in me wanted to thrash, to claw my way back to the surface–to survive. I forced the instinct down.
No. Find him.
Darkness swallowed me. The ice above blocked out the world, and down here, there was nothing but a thick, endless void.
My body protested every movement, my limbs sluggish, the cold turning them to dead weight.
I kicked harder, forcing myself deeper, my arms cutting through the frigid water as my vision blurred.
Where is he?
My lungs burned. My fingers were going numb.
Then–a flash of something bright.
Red.
Connor’s jacket.
I lunged toward it, my hands outstretched, blindly grasping. My fingers brushed against fabric, then something solid. An arm.
Got him.
I wrapped my arm around his small, limp body and kicked hard, my legs barely responding, the cold turning them sluggish and weak.
The weight of him dragged me down. My chest screamed, my head throbbed, my vision started to blacken at the edges.
Up. I have to get up.
I forced my body to move, pushing toward where I thought the surface was.
Everything looked the same.
No light. No direction. No way to know if I was even going the right way.
My lungs clenched, burning, every instinct screaming for me to open my mouth, to breathe, to give in.
No. Hold on.
I kicked harder, dragging Connor with me, my arms tightening around his limp body. I had to get him out. I had to get him back to Harper. She was waiting up there–waiting for him to break through the surface, waiting to hear his voice, waiting for me to bring him back to her.
I couldn’t fail her. I couldn’t fail him.
My legs were sluggish, my body numb, but I forced myself to move. One more kick. One more push. Just a little more–
Then I slammed into something solid.
Ice.
No. No, no, no.
Panic surged through me, sharp and all-consuming. I shoved at the barrier, my hands slipping, my lungs convulsing.
Where’s the hole?
I twisted, searching, but there was nothing–just an unbroken sheet of ice.
I was trapped.