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She had another pair of students—much younger than us, only in their early teens—coming in for their session, so she turned her attention to them, trusting us to do as she’d instructed. Anthony and I continued on our own. Once we finished and he set me down on the ice, there was a long, loud, slow clap coming from the opposite side of the ice from Ellen.
“Bravo,” Guy said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue and turning my blood to ice. I didn’t even have to turn around to realize it was him. His voice still echoed in my head, even though I hadn’t seen him for months. Berating me. Threatening me. Begging me to forgive him, only to start in on me all over again the next day.
Anthony turned me in his arms and chucked me under the chin until I looked up to meet his eyes. “You okay? You went all stiff on me as soon as he showed up.”
I couldn’t speak. My tongue was thick with dread and fear and a bit of hatred, and bile was slowly climbing up my throat and making my eyes sting. I nodded. Lying. I always lied when it came to Guy. Anthony didn’t look like he believed me, so I forced a smile to my lips. “Fine,” I forced out. “Give me a minute, okay?”
“Want me to come with you?” There was a crease between his brows. Had to be from worry.
I shook my head, fully realizing my voice would betray me, and I skated over toward Guy.
“So what, he doesn’t trust you to be able to get rid of me on your own?” Guy asked, laughing, when I reached him.
I kept a few paces between us, though. No chance was I moving close enough for him to touch me. Because he would. He would touch me like he owned me. And that touch would make my skin crawl more than it already was from nothing more than seeing his sneering face.
I glanced over my shoulder. Anthony was far enough away that he couldn’t hear but close enough that he could intervene if needed. He had his eyes trained on the two of us. That helped calm the churning in my gut, but only so much.
“What are you doing here, Guy?” My voice cracked on the words. Nerves were eating me alive. I’d come a long way since I’d cut things off with him, but I wasn’t ready for this. To see him. To confront him. I wasn’t anywhere close to ready.
“I miss you, baby. I’m a mess without you.”
“You were always a mess with me, too.”
“Because I don’t know what to do if you’re not right by my side.” His voice had taken on the sickening tone he always used when he wanted to sweet-talk me into forgiving him. “This is a joke, right? Skating with him? You’ve got to come back to me.”
“This is not a joke. Anthony and I are partners now. I’m not coming back.”
“You have to.” His eyes went dark, taking on the slightly crazed look he got if he didn’t get his way. “I’ll die without you. As my partner. As my girl.”
I shook my head and backed up on the ice, putting more distance between me and Guy…less between me and Anthony. “It’s not going to happen, Guy. Let it go, okay? Just let me go.”
“I can’t. You know I’m worthless without you.”
I knew he was worthless, but that had nothing to do with me.
“I’ve seen you with your new boy toy. The Babcock kid. Hockey player.”
My throat got tight. Dry. I couldn’t swallow. “He’s not my boy toy.”
“No? Then you won’t care if anything happens to him?”
My insides knotted. Twisted. Tightened. I broke out in a cold sweat. Clammy. “What are you saying?”
“You be sure he’s not your boy toy, okay?”
“You need to leave,” I forced out. “Go back home.” But he wouldn’t. He might never be out of my life. The reality of the situation was creeping in on me, turning everything in my head into a gray, foggy, sodden mess. I had to go. I backed up again, until I felt Anthony’s warmth behind me. His hands landed on my arms, and he stroked them up and down, warming me. Soothing. A reminder that I wasn’t alone. That I didn’t have to live in Guy’s world anymore, that his lies were no longer the reality I chose for myself.
Guy turned and left, but his veiled threats wouldn’t go with him. They hung in the air, surrounding me. Suffocating me. I might not be his partner, his girlfriend anymore…but he still owned a piece of my mind.
Would I ever be free of him, once and for all?
“You okay?” Anthony asked. His voice calmed me down almost as much as the solidness of his body behind me.
I nodded. Blinking to keep myself from crying.
“Because you don’t seem okay. What was he doing here?”
I shook my head. The last thing I needed now was for everyone else in my life to start freaking out about Guy. I was doing enough of that on my own for all of us. “He only wanted to stop by since he was in town,” I forced through my teeth, tasting bile as the words left me. Because it was a lie.
