Page 90 of Falling

“WE’RE A TEAM NOW, REMEMBER?”

I’ve spentthe better half of two weeks practicing non-stop. Maybe I’ve started to go delirious since I’ve not been eating well, and all my days have become one big cluster. Every time I close my eyes, I see myself falling on the ice again, and I can’t get that image out of my head.

Ineedto get it out of my head.

I know I’ve been distant with Miles since that night at the bar, but I had to. After having a few days off to hang out with my friends, I needed to go back to skating every day. It was fine when they encouraged me to take a break when the showcase was months away instead of tonight.

These showcases are not heavily graded, but they’re for fun to lead up to the real competitions and can sometimes reflect my final grade. In a way, it's good practice to be in front of an audience before the holidays. This way, if people turn up here, they’re more likely to turn up to the real events. Darcy says it’s vital to do things for fun in between comp seasons, and I usually enjoy them.

But nothing is ever fun with my mom. When it comes to skating, the steady relationship we’ve built over the years turns into something a lot more serious. She gets back into her coaching mode and forgets to be my mom.

“Good luck today.” I hear a voice from behind me as I walk toward the locker rooms. All I want to do is get the smell of sweat off me before indulging in my pre-skate ritual before the showcase later. For a second, I think it’s Miles, but when I turn around, I see him.

Augustus Holden.

I have not missed his face at all. He’s a few inches taller than me, a typically uptight Russian with dark-blond hair and scarily sharp cheekbones. He's attractive in a way he shouldn't be. It's almost unfair. It's just my luck that I see him before my performance.

I’ve hardly seen him around since the party, and I’m glad. All he does is mess with my head and try to convince me that I’m not as good as I was when we first started skating together. If we’re no longer a duet, I don’t need to put up with his pesky comments and his blows to my self-esteem. I like to think I’m stronger than that, but here he is, walking right toward me, and I’m momentarily frozen.

“What?” I ask after I compose myself.

“Isaid,good luck. We both know you’re going to need it,” he says as he towers over me, that smug as fuck smirk on his lips. My back presses against the wall, trying to put some space between us, but he moves in closer.

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” I retort. I don’t know why I’m even entertaining this. We rehashed what happened at regionals for weeks, and he’s still refusing to believe that it washisfault that I fell. “We both know that you messed up our routine on purpose.”

“Amelia, that’s not what happened, and you know it. I told you I didn’t want you anymore, and you couldn’t take it. It’s not my problem you let your feelings get in the way of the performance.”

“I don’t give a fuck that you dumped me. I care about the way that you handled it, you moron,” I shout, frustrated. “You could have done it in any way, but you wanted to mess with me for whatever reason, and it just reflects badly on thebothof us.”

He snickers. “Seems to me like you’ve been better off.”

“You know what? I have been.”

“You sure? I saw you at practice last week. You could hardly stand straight,” he mocks. I hadonebad morning amongst the chaos Austin has caused.One.

I curl my hands into fists and take a deep breath before shoving him in his chest, but he doesn't move much. “Go fuck yourself, Augustus.”

“Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?” he snarls, leaning further into me as his expensive cologne invades my senses. “I know you like to watch when I get myself off.”

I have the urge to tell him that I was only into that because it made him feel better after all the times he went down on me with no result. I take in another deep breath, and I meet his icy-blue eyes and whisper between pushes at his chest, “Fuck. You.”

I didn't even realize there was someone else in the hallway until I saw Miles’s tall body next to me, towering over Augustus.

“Wanna say that louder, baby? I don’t think he heard you,” Miles says, turning back to wink at me before blocking Augustus from my view as he pushes him, and he stumbles back.

Is it just me or has the temperature climbed up in this hallway?

Augustus laughs incredulously, looking at me from the side of Miles as he points at him. “Thisis your boyfriend? The hockey player with a god complex?”

I nod.

Augustus gives Miles a once-over, snickering like a child. There must be something that I'm missing because my fake boyfriend is gorgeous in comparison to Augustus. No matter how irritating he can be.

“Got a problem with that,Gus?” Miles asks, and I can literally see the blood drain from Augustus’s face. Calling him “Gus” is like poking a bear, and I’ve never known why it bothers him so much. If they were to fight right now, my money would be on Miles. Augustus is tall, but he couldn't hold a candle to Miles. He has a different kind of strength. He’s impossibly tall, but he’s broad too, which Augustus isn’t.

“Not at all,” he bites out, shaking his head before sauntering off down the corridor. I let out a real breath of relief this time, and Miles turns around to face me.

I immediately burst out laughing.Thisis why Augustus couldn't take him seriously. Hell, even I can't. Even though this guy oozes sex, he also has poor fashion choices. His T-shirt has “I ♥? my girlfriend” written across it in bold letters.

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