Page 68 of Promise Me

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, Hudson. If I go with you, I can hold your hand the entire time, and if I start to fall, you can catch me.”

I let out what sounds like a grunt.

“Like I said, your brother would kill me if I let you do this.”

And yet, my body steers the truck to the parking lot.

“It’s a good thing I’m not asking for your permission then, isn’t it?”

She pulls on the door handle to get out.

“Sadie, wait,” I call out, doing the same. I rush behind her as she practically jogs to the front doors. Not only have I not beenon the ice, but I also haven’t been inside a rink since my accident.

Not one foot. Never even been this close to one.

My coach brought me all my personal belongings once the final decision was made, and I was released. He brought it to my house, and he stayed for maybe five minutes making awkward small talk. Maybe he had somewhere to be, or maybe the relationship I thought we’d built over the years was a joke. Either way, I never heard from him after that.

Sadie stops abruptly and turns on her toes. “Oh, are your skates in your truck?”

“What?” I ask.

Her question, although logical, throws me off.

“I’d assume you’d always have them with you for occasions like this, right?”

I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans and drop my chin to my chest. I’d like to think there’s a way for me to get out of this situation. Convince her that this a bad idea because of her head and what not, but let’s be real: this is Sadie. Nothing I say—or anyone else says, for that matter—can stand in her way.

“I haven’t been at a rink in a while.” I’m still looking down at the cement sidewalk.

Silence floats between us, so I chance a look up.

She’s looking at the rink now, her lips twisted as if she wants to say something but is trying to decide whether it’s a good idea or not.

Suddenly, her gaze flashes to mine.

“Do you want to go inside?”

Fuck yes, I do.

But I spent the last three years putting this life behind me so I can move on. What’s going to happen to me if I step in there? Will I get flashbacks? Will I get angry as the memory of everything I lost floods back to me?

“Let’s just go home,” Sadie says quickly and starts for the truck. “We can get the couch moved in, and then we can just?—”

“Yes,” I finally answer her before she can get too far away. “I want to go in.”

“You do?”

Her golden gaze meets mine, and even though I’m hesitant to confirm my answer, the glow of her hair as the sun sets behind her reminds me of what she’s been through since she showed up at my door.

She wants to be better. She wants to make sense of things. She wants to find herself again.

If I have even an ounce of her courage when it comes to the ice, I'll be okay.

“I’ll go in if you go to your dad’s this weekend for dinner.”

She rolls her eyes. “That’s a dirty trick.”

I shrug.

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