Page 43 of Redeeming Heart

I was still left stunned that Sasha would invite me and the guys out with them to celebrate their first win.

Her aunt suggested we can celebrate at her pub and while everyone was having a good time Sasha has been missing since we arrived. This has to be extremely overwhelming for her and she just needs some space and time to gather her thoughts.

They were starting with speeches and they only realize now she was missing.

I excused myself from the table and left to go look for her and she found her sitting outside on the steps hunched over as she stared up at the sky. I decided to leave since it looked like she wanted to be alone but she spoke up before I could leave.

“Sneaking around is usually done without letting the other person know you are there.” She glanced at me over her shoulder.

“They are looking for you,” I informed her.

“And they sent you to come to find me?” She stood up.

I shook my head. “Nobody besides you know that I snuck away.”

Her green eyes were hypnotizing and I knew they were holding back so much sadness but she didn’t want the world to know.

“I just thought about how my father doesn’t even know today and that he won’t probably believe me because he decided for me that I gave up. And, yeah. I once did.”

“That still doesn’t give him the right to undermine your strength.” I clarified.

I don’t know her father personally or met him before but the way she talks about him makes me believe he abandoned her during the toughest battles of her life.

“I don’t blame him. I wasn’t the easiest kid to be around when I lost my mom.”

It’s a trait of hers that I have to get used to. She still sees the good side of people even though they hurt her.

Her eyes shifted towards the entrance when we heard cheering. She wasn’t ready for it. It was obvious in her eyes and when she took a step back.

She handled the day well and from afar you couldn’t tell that she had problems but just being near her, I could sense she was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do.

“You must probably think I am a wimp.” She noted having no idea how rhetorical that was. She was far from being a wimp.

“I didn’t know wimps carry a whole team to victory after not competing for three years because of serious reasons. I think the correct term you are looking for is strong-willed.”

I tried not to smile when she rolled her eyes at me. A thing she occasionally does when she doesn’t approve of something.

“I am hiding away from my team with the hopes that they don’t find me.” She pointed out.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Yet, I don’t think of you as a wimp.”

The corners of her lips were quivering and I sensed she was trying hard not to smile. I’ve seen her smile but it was only done half-heartedly. I started to wonder what it would take to make her smile.

“The gladiator prince surely has some interesting remarks.”

I chuckled.

“Gladiator prince? I would say I am more of a king.” I joked.

Her smile came from nowhere and I had to remind myself to breathe. She only smiled like this back in the day when she was out on the field and doing what she loved.

“You are number one on the ice, what more do you want?” She asked with a smile in her voice.

You.

I kept my thoughts to a limit and made sure I didn’t say anything dumb or something that can ruin the moment.

I pulled up my shoulders like I didn’t know or want anything more when all I wanted is a chance to get to know her. “Being able to go out there every day and do what I love it’s all I really can ask for.”

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