AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I groaned and dropped my head in my hands again.
“What?” she asked.
“Then I fucked up again.”
She rubbed my back in her motherly way. She’d had that motherly touch since she was a teenager.
“Think she’ll accept my apology?” I asked.
“Well, you won’t know until you try.”
37.Duke
By the next morning, I’d mapped out everything I needed to tell her. I was planning on groveling. I had special black roses– her favorite color– in hand, and a letter I carefully wrote out to help fix the situation.
I first went to Craig’s house where she was still staying, but her car wasn’t out front and no one came to the door when I knocked.
At the rink, I searched for her in her dad’s office, then Benny’s. It was still only a couple weeks after her surgery, so I knew she was still restricted to light work, but I also knew she had to be here somewhere. She couldn’t stay away from the rink.
When I popped my head into Benny’s and didn’t find her, I made my way up to the workout room.
I waved to Max leading a group of figure skaters in some weightlifting exercises, but after a quick scan, there was still no sign of her…
Until I swiveled around to head back downstairs.
My jaw immediately clamped shut and I felt my nose flare from anger.
There was the reason I couldn’t find her.
She was the one place she wasn’t supposed to be: On the fucking ice. And she wasn’t simply skating… No, that would’ve been bad enough. Claire had to rebel above and beyond. Claire was out there throwing triple jumps.
I cursed under my breath and threw the roses and letter in the workout room trash can with a loud thud. I moved as quickly as I could to get down to the ice.
I waited with a breath held tight in my chest as she entered a jump. I wanted to scream at her to stop, but it was too late for that. Doing that would only startle her, and I didn’t want to make her fall.
I watched her effortlessly land the triple loop, then gently touch her abdomen with her fingers, like she was checking to make sure she didn’t rip any stitches.
Panic coursed through my body as I envisioned her laying in the stupid hospital bed and all thoughts of apologizing went out the window.
“Are you kidding me, Claire?!” I yelled angrily across the ice.
She jumped a little, shocked at my voice, then slowly turned to look at me. Even from the middle of the blue line, I could see the stubbornness etched across her face. It felt like a time warp back to middle school when she was skipping class again, but this time, the repercussions of her rebellion could end up being so much worse than summer school.
I pointed an accusing finger at her. “You’re not supposed to be out there. You’re supposed to be resting for at least three to four weeks,” I yelled. “You’re not going to be happy until you pop your fucking stitches, are you?”
She arched an eyebrow at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m fine. Why do you care anyway?” She snorted at me in disgust.
I placed my hands on the board’s glass on either side of me to steady myself. A mixture of anxiety and anger settled in my chest, making me feel sick.
“Fuck this, Claire,” I said, looking up at her. “I risked everything for you, and now you don’t even care about yourself.” I rubbed a hand over my forehead. “I had a panic attack, Claire. Afucking panic attack. Wanna know why?! Because I’m so fucking scared for you, okay? And everyone thought I was overreacting, but look at you here, right now. How am I supposed tonotworry about you?!”
I sat there waiting for a response, but she stayed silent. We just stared daggers at each other from twenty feet away.
38.Claire
He was extremely mad.
But I was mad too.
