38. Colt - Our Rink, Our City

“Kappy, didn’t you pull your groin last time you played that dumbass game?” Coach hollered at him from the locker room doorway.

Kappy turned to look at Coach and Rossi, who was an ace at suey, chose that second to launch the soccer ball at him. The ball hit Kappy in the crotch, making him fold in half.

“Out!” Rossi called, a wicked grin on his face.

“Shut up, rookie,” Kappy murmured, giving him the side-eye.

JP cracked up laughing at his expense.

“Ten minutes!” Coach called out the warning and motioned to the ice. “Fuckin’ hate suey,” he murmured while turning his back to us.

“God,” Carroway groaned, slinging an arm around my neck, “how’d you get such a beauty with that ugly mug of yours, eh?”

I spun around, looking for signs of Mer.

Carroway pointed to the front entrance of our practice rink where she was walking at a brisk pace toward us.

I was about to crack a joke at him, but when I caught the look on Mer’s face, all humor died. Shoving Carroway off me, I moved toward Mer, ignoring the guys calling after me, because something was majorly off. Panic was written all over her face, making my protective instincts kick in.

I jogged around the boards to her and she walked straight into my chest.

“What’s wrong?” I held her tight against me and scanned the rink for clues of why she was trembling in my arms.

She tried to talk, but her breath was coming in ragged spurts, like she was on edge of a panic attack. My heart practically jumped to my throat.

Pulling her to a bench, I forced her to sit. “Breathe, baby.” Her muscles were tense and her guard was way up, all too much like the first time I saw her again. I gently pulled her hands in mine to stop her from scratching her neck. “You’re safe, you’re okay,” I whispered to her over and over again, determined to say it until she believed it.

After her body finally started to settle, she tried to start again. “I don't want to-” She struggled to take in air.

My eyebrows tugged together, trying to understand what was happening. “Hey, you’re okay. I’ve got you,” I said as forcefully as I could, rubbing a hand down her back to relax her. “We’re together. Nothing else matters.”

Her eyes fluttered closed. After a couple seconds, she nodded.

“Just breathe with me. We’ve got all the time in the world, alright? We can sit here for as long as you need,” I told her, and that was the truth. I’d gladly miss a whole day of practice if she needed me. Things were different this time around– I wasn’t a rookie hoping to make the roster. I was team captain, and if they wanted to fine me, scratch me, cut me, I didn't give a shit. My family came first.

After a couple minutes of breathing, she finally said, “When I tell you… Promise you’ll stay with me?”

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting her to say, but not that. “Okay.” My eyebrows tugged together. “I promise.”

With a sharp intake of air, she said, “Andy.”

My jaw locked. “Where?”

“No, Colt,” she said in a frail voice.

My body hummed with anger so palpable I could taste it. “Where is that prick?”

“No, stay here.” She grabbed my hand and held on tightly. “You promised. Please, Colt.”

“Did he do something?” I demanded. It went against every fiber in my being to stay with her instead of tracking him down and making him pay for what she went through, for what she was going through right now.

“No. He’s just here.”

“At the Coliseum?” I looked down the hall which led into the main part of the facility.

She nodded.

Him showing up couldn’t mean anything good.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “You have practice. I’m being so pathetic. It was just a shock.”

I held her against me. “No, I’m glad you came to me. We’ll get rid of him. This is our rink, our city, alright?”

She breathed in a ragged sigh. “I thought he was banned from US Figure Skating. I just don’t understand why he’s here.”

“He was banned because of what happened with you?” I continued rubbing out her muscles, hoping to relax her.

She let out a huff. “No, I wish. His next partner reported him and there was a whole Safetysport investigation. When they interviewed me, I didn’t hold back. I told them everything.”

I nodded. Safetysport didn’t just launch investigations into anyone. He was problematic. I knew it back then and hearing that it was finally proved filled me with a small sense of relief.

“I’ll look into it, okay? I’ll fix it. I’ll get rid of him.” I hugged her against me with both arms.

She glanced up at me with worried eyes. “You sound like the mafia. I don’t want this blowing back on you, okay? Please don’t do anything stupid. Promise me.”

I pressed a kiss into her hair, then leaned my chin against her head. “I promise. I’ll just look into it. We’ll figure it out together, alright?”

She nodded.

“You’re not in this alone, okay?” I reassured her.

She nodded, but then her face broke and the tears came quick. I immediately pulled her into my chest, worried I said the wrong thing, but then she let out a small “thank you” and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest.