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“I saw you together, and I confronted him. He confessed what you two had been up to. He accused me of holding you back. Not just from the Olympics, but from the life you two were building together.”

She loses all color in her face. “Get out of here. Go. I never want to see you again.” She stumbles back and comes close to losing her balance but grabs the wall for support.

“Hurts when the truth blindsides you, doesn’t it?” I shoot back.

“I can’t believe I ever loved you,” she says woodenly.

“I can’t believe you ever loved me either, and in fact, I don’t believe it. Goodbye, Winny.”

Before she has the chance to respond, I turn on my heels and rush towards the doors. She doesn’t try to stop me, not that I expected her to.

What’s that saying about the truth setting you free? All bullshit. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Digging up the past does nothing but open old wounds. I never intended to say those things to Winny. I didn’t anticipate what being around her would do to me. As much as I tried to get over her, seeing her again brought all the old feelings rushing back.

Anger, heartache, devastation. Feelings I’ve kept buried are bubbling to the surface in a way that is just as painful now as it was the first time around, and no, the truth most definitely is not setting me free. It’s putting a tight vise around my entire body, and I’m gasping for air. No matter how much I struggle to breathe, the air refuses to fill my aching lungs.

I don’t know how I’ll make it through the next few weeks. It’s apparent now that our paths will continue to cross, no matter how much we both wish otherwise.

Though I might fight it, might wish otherwise, the hard truth is staring me in the face. I think I’m still in love with Winny Cramer.

And Winny Cramer hates me.

Chapter 4

Winny

I can’t believe the absolute nerve of him coming back into town and slinging accusations out against me without asking for an explanation.

Unbelievable.

He better not show up today. If he does, I won’t be responsible for what I say to him. Now that I’ve had time to reflect on the conversation from yesterday, I’m even more angry at the things he said to me.

Though I want nothing more than to cancel with Patricia today, I won’t. She needs my help, and I won’t disappoint her. Knowing this may be some of the last days we’ll be together is all the motivation I need to get myself over to her house. Once she moves, I won’t have our weekly coffee and chats to look forward to. Even if it means I run the risk of running into Brad, I have to do this last thing for his mother.

Trudging through the snow up to Patricia Ander’s house, I notice a Jeep and an SUV sitting side-by-side in the wide driveway. The Jeep belongs to Todd Anders, and my heart lurches when I realize the SUV must belong to Brad. I knew there was a chance I’d run into him today, but I’d hoped he’d be smart enough to get out of dodge once his mom told him I’d be coming by.

I take a resolute breath before grabbing ahold of the handrails of the steps leading to her house. As I slowly walk up the icy steps, my ears perk up to the yelling inside.

I hear Brad and his brother, Todd, my old skating partner, in a heated argument.

I know I should get back into my car. This fighting match is between the brothers and I need to give them privacy. I turn to head back down the stairs even though my curiosity is eating at me to know why they’re both so upset.

“You fucking asshole!” Brad yells.

Even with the windows tightly closed to keep the chill of winter out, I can still clearly hear Brad’s furious voice from where I’m standing on the porch.

“I’m not going to apologize for what I did,” I hear Todd say calmly. “You ruined her chances for the Olympics. And now look. She won’t even skate competitively anymore.”

I come to a dead stop. It’s obvious they’re arguing about me. I know it’s wrong to eavesdrop, but I can’t help it.

“So it’s all my fault? You lied to me, Todd. How could you do that to me? I spent the last four years away from everything and everyone I care about because of you.” Brad is no longer yelling. I hear the pain etched in his heated words.

“She was so wrapped up in her relationship with you that she couldn’t focus on her skating,” Todd says angrily. “And you didn’t care that she was throwing it all away. You let her do it and encouraged her to do it. I knew what you were up to. Even though you were sneaking around and trying to keep your relationship a secret, I knew. Do you remember how you’d keep her out late, even on nights before competitions? She’d show up the next day, and I could see she was in no shape to skate, much less win a competition. So, who cares if I lied to get you out of the picture? I’d do it again if I had to.”

“You told me she slept with you. Of all the lies you could have told, why did you have to tell me that, Todd? What kind of person does that to his own brother?”

I slam my hand over my mouth to cover the gasp of shock. All this time, Brad thought I slept with his brother. That’s why he left so suddenly?

Todd sneers. “Well, you were stupid enough to believe me.”