Chapter 3
As soon as I’m on the ice I’ve all but forgotten about the two guys on the other rink. This is where I’m happiest. Out here, I feel weightless. Like the ice absorbs everything I don’t want to carry. This is where I’m free. Nothing else in the world makes me feel as alive as-
“Oof!”
I go crashing to the ground. Someone is falling with me. My arms instinctively reach out to brace us, but I end up grabbing onto the other more than anything else.
All I can see is jet black, silky hair, and my stomach lurches. No. No no no. There’s no way he made it to this rink that fast, and what are the odds I’d fall into him of all people? A high-pitched squeak bursts out as we hit the ice. She squeaks.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” the girl gasps, her voice rushing out in quick, panicked bursts. “I don’t usually pay attention when I skate and I really need to start because that was totally my fault! Are you okay?”
The words tumble out of her mouth before I’ve even caught my breath.
My heart’s still in my throat, and I’m trying to piece together what just happened.
I finally look up and freeze. Jet black hair.
Bright blue eyes. My breath stutters again, but this face is softer.
Pale skin with a dusting of freckles, a sharply cut nose, and lips that are more curious than cruel.
“Uhm…” I begin, but the sound of skates barreling toward us cuts me off.
“Morella!”
Before I can process anything else, the girl in front of me is yanked to her feet. I’m still on the ice when I realize we’re suddenly surrounded. At least four guys in hockey sweaters have formed a circle around us.
I glance up and there he is. Blue grey eyes, now drilling into me with another world-ending glare.
“Rafe, let go!” the girl, Morella, snaps as she twists out of his grip. She kneels back down and offers me her hand, helping me to my feet.
“Are you okay?” she asks again, eyebrows knitting together in concern. Her face is a mirror of his. Same eyes, nose, same everything, but where his expression cuts like ice, hers is soft and warm.
“Yeah… I think I’m good,” I murmur, quickly glancing down to assess. Nothing hurts. Honestly, I doubt either of us weighs enough to snap a branch, even together.
“Why are you asking her?” a voice cuts in, low and sharp. “She ran into you.”
Morella groans. “Seriously, Rafe? Does it even matter?”
She’s still holding my arm, and is glaring up at her brother, because they have to be siblings. There’s no other explanation for how carbon-copy identical they are.
Her scowl is laughable, though. She looks too much like a Disney princess trying to act tough. Aurora with a temper and jet-black hair. I gently tug my arm out of her grip. Morella looks down like she forgot she was holding it, then lets out a little giggle and releases me.
“Sorry! You’re good though, right?” she asks again, concern still written all over her face.
Beside her, Rafe huffs loudly and rolls his eyes like it physically pains him to witness empathy.
“Yeah, I’m good, thanks,” I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel. I glance around the wall of jerseys and spot a narrow opening between two of them.
“I’ll keep my eyes open next time,” I add as I slip through.
“Yeah, you better,” Rafe mutters behind me, low and venom-laced.
I roll my eyes but keep moving, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response. Instead, I skate out into the open and let myself breathe again. The cool air glides across my skin, and for a moment, everything feels right again.
By the time I make my first full turn around the rink, I notice most of the hockey players have migrated back to their side. I let out a sigh of relief. The peace doesn’t last long. Rafe and his two friends have lingered behind.
As I pass by, the one with blonde hair sticks his skate out just enough to catch mine. My body pitches forward and my knees slam into the ice. My palms hit next, barely saving my face. Pain shoots through my wrist on impact.
“Son of a…!” I shout, the rest of the curse dying in my throat.
The guy who tripped me bursts into laughter.
His friend, the one with shaggy dark brown hair, doesn’t laugh.
He smirks, like he's above it all but still very much amused. Rafe doesn’t say anything.
Arms folded and eyes narrowed, he just stares down at me.
I turn my head away and push myself up with my uninjured hand.
A pair of burgundy red skates stop beside me, sharp and elegant against the pale shimmer of the ice.
“You’re such a dick, Si.” Morella’s voice cuts through the laughter. She kneels beside me again. Carefully, she helps me into a sitting position.
“Are you hurt?” she asks, her eyes scanning my hands.
“Just a sprain,” I mutter, rolling my wrist gently in my other hand. “I think I’m done for the day.”
Morella nods, and together we get to our feet. I head toward the rink’s exit.
“What? Done playing already, Princess?” Si calls after me.
Morella shoots him another glare, but it still doesn’t quite land. Her brother’s scowl, though? Devastatingly effective. The other one with shaggy dark hair, smug as hell, smirks at the floor.
“Honestly, if you didn’t wear oversized skates to convince people you had a big dick, maybe they wouldn’t have gotten in my way,” I snap, pushing through the short swinging gate.
I stomp back to the bench and drop into my seat, yanking at my laces. My wrist twinges, but I ignore it. Behind me, laughter erupts like a pack of hyenas just got let loose on the ice.
“Don’t worry, Princess,” Si calls out, voice dripping with sleaze, “you’ll see just how big my dick really is soon enough.”
I gag audibly. “In your dreams,” I mutter under my breath.
Morella drops into the seat next to me. Her expression is soft, like she’s genuinely sorry for the idiots she’s forced to be around.
“I know it sounds silly,” she says, “but don’t let my brother and his friends get to you. They think they’re royalty. I mean they kind of are but they also think that means they have to act like assholes. Which, spoiler alert, they really don’t. It’s exhausting.”
She takes a deep breath and glances at me out of the corner of her eye, a little hesitant. “Sorry. I talk a lot.”
That’s when I realize I’ve got one eyebrow raised and my head tilted in that are you for real right now? way. I quickly school my expression and offer her a small smile.
“I guess California isn’t the only place with bullies, huh?”
Morella blinks rapidly and then her entire face lights up.
“You’re from California?! That’s so cool! Are you visiting or did you move here?” She leans in a little, already buzzing with questions. “I’ve always loved visiting California. Not that we go often—”
She cuts herself off with an audible snap of her mouth. I can’t help but laugh. This girl is something else.
“No, my family and I just moved here,” I say, pulling off my skates and dropping them into my bag. I fish out my flats and slide them on.
As I stand, Morella rises with me and holds out a small, delicate hand.
“I’m Morella,” she says with a bright smile, wiggling her fingers expectantly.
I hesitate, then give it a quick shake. “Olivia.”
I turn toward the lobby, expecting her to let me go but I hear the soft scrape of skates behind me as she trails after.
“Got any plans? I’d love to get to know you. You’re new in town and I’m sure you could use a friend.”
She’s looking at me with so much hope that it almost makes me pause.
“Actually, my dad’s across the road at the medical center. He’s picking me up soon to head home,” I say quickly. “Some other time.”
Before she can respond, I bolt for the doors, weaving past a few people and pushing through to the lobby. The lobby air hits me like a wall and I pause just long enough to glance back.
They’re all watching me. Morella, still standing near the rink. Her brother and his friends. Each of them wearing a different expression. My stomach sinks.
I’m not so sure things will be any different here at all.