Chapter Eleven #2
"I'm fine," she says, beginning to pull out of my hold, her voice is thin and shaky.
Zack reaches for her arm, his touch gentle, reassuring, and she leans into it.
Something dark and ugly coils in my chest, and I want to smack his hand away from her.
Instead, I don’t move. I let her move back towards Zack.
"What the hell was that? Where were you?" I ask him.
"It got a little out of hand, but I can assure you, she's safe with me. I promise," Zack says, meeting my eyes. His tone is calm and friendly. There’s no challenge, no edge. Just a guy doing his job.
I should agree. Should step back, let him handle this. That's what makes sense.
Instead, I hear myself say, "Is she?"
The words came out accusatory. A statement, not really a question.
Zack blinks, his easy smile faltering. "I... yeah. Of course. I was right there—"
"You were too far away."
"Luka," Natalia's voice warns. She's looking at me now, really looking, and I can see the moment she registers what just happened. What I just did.
"I'm fine," she says again, firmer this time.
I force myself to let it go.
That’s when I see Annabella skiing down toward us, taking her time, her expression amused.
"I almost lost you back there. Damn, you’re a fast skier," she says, pulling to a stop with a flourish.
"And that save was dramatic. I saw it all from the lift.
Did you seriously dive off at ten feet? That was hot.
" Then she glances around at Zack and Natalia.
"Hi I'm Annabella," she greets, as if Natalia is just some random skier that I have no connection to.
"You jumped off the ski lift at ten feet?" Natalia barks, her eyebrows knitting together, lips tight, eyes searching mine. No amusement in them, only anger, as if she's furious that I would do that.
"It wasn’t that far," I lie to her.
"It was high enough to break something," Annabella counters. "Why would you jump?"
"Because she was in trouble," I answer, still watching Natalia. "And I wasn’t waiting."
Annabella laughs again, like that’s charming or reckless… or both.
Natalia doesn’t laugh. Her jaw tightens instead. "So instead of waiting another few minutes to safely exit, you risked an injury? Luka, that was reckless."
Is she serious? She would have hit the tree if I had waited even a few seconds.
"I landed."
"That’s not the point," she says, her voice coming across irritated, her hip jutting out the way she does it when she’s annoyed with me.
"It usually is," I fire back.
Annabella looks between us as if she’s watching a tennis match. "Do you two know each other?"
"Yes," Natalia and I barked back at the same time.
"It’s not a big deal," I tell Natalia, ignoring the fact that Zack and Annabella are witnessing this. Third parties to another ridiculous argument. "I didn’t get hurt. And neither did you. Most people would just say thank you and move on."
"I’m not most people," she fires back, tilting her head in that deliberate way that tells me she’s gearing up for a fight. "I was hired to protect your career. You could have broken a leg or an arm, or worse. You could’ve been out for the rest of the season, Luka."
Her voice tightens, but she doesn’t look away.
"But I didn’t get hurt."
Of course she’s pissed, because she can’t stand the way I do anything… including saving her life. Figures.
"That’s not the point, and you know it." She rolls her eyes as if I’m being dense. "It could have cost the Hawkeyes a Stanley Cup, and I would’ve been the reason."
That’s the part that sticks. Not the accusation that I was reckless, but an understanding.
For a moment, I just look at her, because she skipped right past the headlines and the sponsorships and the Olympic committee and went straight to the only thing that would actually matter to me. Most people never get that far. They assume it’s about reputation, image, and an inflated ego.
She went straight to the team and the Cup.
"I didn’t know you were the hero type," Annabella says, stepping closer to me to reclaim her spot.
"I’m not," I reply, my attention not leaving Natalia.
The truth is sitting in my chest like a stone.
A sensation heavier than I’d like and unmoveable at this point.
I chose Natalia over routine, over escape, over the woman standing in front of me offering exactly what I usually take.
Over the possibility of an injury that could cost me and my team the playoffs. That’s the one that hits the hardest.
Deep down, I don't want this. It only leads to false hope, disappointment, and heartbreak. People can’t be trusted, especially if they want something from you.
I don't want the way my pulse is still hammering, the way my hands are clenched into fists, the way every instinct in my body is screaming to stay close to Natalia even though she's fine, she's safe, Zack is perfectly capable and I have no right. I have no claim on her. Nor do I want one. At least that’s what I tell myself.
"Come on, Luka," Annabella's voice pulls me back. She's smiling now, easy and confident. "You won fair and square on the last slope. I'm ready to pay up with a massage. My place or yours?"
She pushes off, heading back toward the lift.
I should take the ‘out’ Annabella is offering. It’s far simpler than staying on this mountain with Natalia and Zack.
But my feet don't move. Not until Natalia speaks.
"You'd better go," she says, her tone light, almost casual. "Sounds like you have plans."
I look at her. She's standing there, brushing snow off her jacket, not meeting my eyes. Her expression is carefully neutral, but there's something underneath. Something that I recognize because I've used it myself… Armor.
"I won't wait up tonight," she adds, assuming she knows what’s going to happen with Annabella.
I leave. Not because Annabella is waiting, but because I can't justify staying. I can't explain it to myself without crossing a line I refuse to cross.
So I turn and ski back down the hill the same way Annabella did, my legs moving on autopilot, my mind still back on that bunny hill with Natalia's heartbeat against my chest and the look in her eyes.
Behind me, I hear Zack ask if she wants to try again.
I don't hear her answering.
I don't look back.