Page 69 of Off the Ice

I stopped abruptly, ice spraying around me as I turned to face her. My chest rose and fell with each breath, my lungs burning from the cold. “I’m fine.”

She took a careful step forward. “No, you’re not.”

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I’m skating, Ava. That’s all I’ve ever done. What’s the problem?”

She flinched at my tone but didn’t back down. “The problem is that you’re punishing yourself.”

I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. “I’m skating. That’s all this is.”

She didn’t look convinced. And the longer she stared at me, the tighter my chest felt.

Because I knew what she saw.

She saw a man clinging to something he had already lost.

She saw someone who was unraveling.

Ava swallowed. “I know this is hard—”

“You don’t know,” I snapped, the words out before I could stop them.

Her lips parted slightly, eyes widening just enough to make me feel like shit.

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. “Ava—”

“No.” Her voice was steadier now, firm. “Say it.”

I turned my back to her, staring at the empty net in front of me.

I hated myself for lashing out at her. She wasn’t the enemy here. She never was.

But the frustration, the bitterness, the exhaustion—I had nowhere else to put it.

I shook my head. “You have your career, Ava. You did your job. I lost everything.”

The words hung in the air, heavier than I expected.

Ava didn’t say anything right away.

And fuck, I should have taken them back. I should have told her that it wasn’t her fault, that I wasn’t blaming her. But the damage was already done.

When I finally turned back to face her, she looked… tired.

Not angry.

Not even hurt.

Just tired.

Like she had been carrying the weight of both of us and was finally reaching her breaking point.

“Ava…” I started, but I didn’t know what else to say.

She inhaled sharply, looking away. “I’m gonna head back.”

“Ava—”

She didn’t let me finish. “I’ll see you when you’re ready. I'll be waiting, I want to wait…I want to help you through this too. It's always been real.”

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