Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

“ Y ou want to talk about it?” Wyatt said, joining Sasha in the room. The click of the lock brought her some comfort. But if Trent wanted to hurt her, a door lock wouldn’t keep him out. The injury on the ice proved how diabolical he could be.

“I don’t even know if there is anything to say,” she whispered, swiping at her eyes when the scenery became blurry.

“You could tell me about the guy who looked like he found his lost best friend, for starters,” he muttered, sitting beside her. The warmth of his body engulfed her, pushing back the chill trying to consume her.

“That’s Archer,” she said, nuzzling his chest. “He’s one of the good guys. Same with Brody and Cam.” She let out a shaky breath. “Ten years... I have missed them every day.”

“These are the guys, then? Your friends from Hockey?” Wyatt rubbed her arm in a soothing manner.

“Yep. The best friends a girl could ask for.”

“You don’t sound happy to see them,” he murmured.

“I am. It’s not them that has me like this...” The second she saw Trent’s face; she went into shutdown mode. Her heart pounded. Her palms dampened. Every time she inhaled; a sharp pain lanced her chest. Even her hands trembled.

“That big asshole,” Wyatt said. “Trent, is what Archer called him, right?”

She nodded. “He’s the one...” She swallowed hard as her mouth filled with saliva. “Oh, fuck.” Sasha ran for the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before she puked.

Because they’d left late, and they’d been stuck in traffic, she had eaten little of her lunch, so puking hurt like fuck. Icy dread raced down her spine as she lurched, vomiting more of the bile mixed with coffee and an omelet.

Wyatt was by her side in an instant. He closed the exterior door of the bathroom to give her another layer of privacy. “Shit, babe. You going to be okay?”

No.

Yes.

It was complicated.

When she was sure she wouldn’t puke again, she flushed the toilet and pushed herself into the corner of the bathroom, laying her head against her knees. “Eventually.” Sasha hated the raw, ragged sound of her voice. “He’s the one who messed my knee up so bad, I couldn’t play hockey ever again.”

“Rivalries,” Wyatt said, as if understanding her situation.

“Not even close,” she mumbled. “Try, he didn’t like girls playing in the boys’ league. So, he was teaching me a lesson.”

The color leached from Wyatt’s face before rage darkened his mercury gaze. “Him. He’s the reason. That motherfucker. I’ll kill him.”

She snorted. “From the look Archer threw him, I think you might have to get into line.” Seeing Archer again was a whole other kettle of fish.

He looked good. Really damn good. They weren’t kids anymore, that’s for sure. He stood at least a good six inches taller than her, bulky to boot, but she’d seen him flex when he stared at her, and he was muscular. Archer had tattoos, too. The colorful designs she hadn’t taken the time to appreciate covered his forearms. His auburn hair brushed his forehead, giving him a boyish charm while also giving that ruggedness only someone who beat himself up day in and day out on the ice could have.

“Well, at least I’m in good company there,” Wyatt said, scooting closer to her.

“After everything happened and I had surgery, we left. Mom and dad moved us to Colorado, where dad’s business is based out of, and mom continued to be a housewife. I never got a chance to say goodbye or at least tell them the extent of my injury. Plus, she said rolling her eyes, “my parents told them never to talk to me again. I’m sure of it”

“That would suck,” Wyatt said with a grimace. “Your parents couldn’t have held them responsible. They care about you way too much.”

“Just the reason they’d need to justify not wanted me to be in contact with them.” She gave a weak lift of her shoulder. “They might have blamed the guys for Trent’s actions. Thinking they were all the same, especially with all the names I’d been called over the years.”

“That’s messed up,” Wyatt murmured.

“Such is life,” Sasha whispered, closing her eyes. “Okay, subject change. I feel like we’re on an episode of Total Drama Island.”

“Tell me about it.” He scooted a little closer to put his arm around her shoulders, while she waited out her churning stomach.

“I know the obvious answer is yes, but Julian, Wyatt?” She cut her gaze in his direction while waiting to be sure she wouldn’t get sick again. “He’s so...”

“Wretched?” He chuckled softly. The self-deprecating sound hurt her heart. “In a different lifetime, Julian wasn’t always such a bitch.”

“Say no more,” Sasha said waving him off.

“It’s okay,” he replied. “I should tell you because we’re going to be stuck here all weekend with them. You also opened up to me, so it’s only fair. At least you’ve never fucked Trent.”

“Ew,” she whined. “That’s gross.”

“Yeah... Got myself with that one,” Wyatt said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “I can’t believe of all the rooms in this hotel, ours is where those two assholes are assigned.

She heard. The hotel and the resort were shut down because of the inclement weather. Would have to happen the weekend of the last competition before the US Team picked the ice-skating pairs going to Italy. Her stomach gave a heavy turn, and she readied herself to scurry back to the toilet.

“I knew him from the junior circuit. We hung out from time to time and one day, I guess we’d been fourteen... Maybe fifteen, Julian made a move.” He shrugged. “I could chalk it up to being a horny teen, who was getting to suck dick for the first time, but that makes me sound sloppy.”

“Well...” she teased, trying to clear the depressing thoughts from her mind. More importantly erasing Trent’s face.

“Eugh,” Wyatt playfully shoved her, “bitch.” Some of the sick feeling abated. “Anyway, I gave him head. He told me it was disgusting, and he wouldn’t reciprocate, but he gave me a hand job.”

“Oh, Wyatt...”

“No pitying me. I told you; I have shit luck with people. You’re the only person who’s stuck with me. Crazy, right?”

“No, you deserved better,” she argued. “So, what happened after that?”

“We fucked,” Wyatt shrugged. “Every time we went out of town for competitions, we ended up together. Until I found him with a different male skater.”

Sasha sighed. “That’s messed up. I knew about the hook-up culture with competitors, but that... He should have broken up with you.”

“I think he did it on purpose because he knew I was having issues with my partner at the time. Anything to fuck with my head, you know? Wyatt glanced at his hands. “That year I didn’t even get close to medaling. I dropped Madalyn on the ice during a lift and the rest was... Tragic.”

“We’re more alike than different,” she said. “Both fucked over by people in our lives we should have been able to trust.”

Wyatt exhaled. “Yeah. So, what do you want to do? You know, about this? Outside?”

“Well,” she said, slowly standing with Wyatt’s help. “I guess sex is off the table for now.”

“And here I thought we could make all of them miserable by fucking loudly.” He eased her into his arms.

“They’re not all dicks,” she said, sadness swamping her. “Us not being friends anymore was more on me than them. Thinking back on it, I should have tried to talk to them again. Said I didn’t blame them or something. Told them goodbye.”

“I know.” He tucked her into his side as a knock came at the room door. “I bet it’s your protectors.”

“I don’t know if I can face them yet.” The raw ache in her chest throbbed with fresh pain, as if ten years hadn’t passed in a blink of an eye.

“How about you get cleaned up and put some comfortable clothes on, and I’ll go out and entertain the guys for a bit?” He gave her a hopeful look.

“Sure,” she said, stopping at the sink where she’d put her toiletries when she unpacked their toys. “That sounds great.”

“We’ll figure this out. Act like nothing has changed, yet,” he said before exiting the bathroom.

When she heard the door to their room, click shut behind Wyatt, she sagged. Things had gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes. Seeing Archer, Cam, and Brody again, had been the highest of highs, even if she hadn’t felt it, given the circumstances. She was happy to see them. How they felt about her ten-year cold shoulder could go either way.

Trent... She wasn’t sure if she would survive him. Especially when her heart tripped a beat the minute her gaze locked on his smug features. Sasha hated him with every fiber of her body. Just being close to him made her sick to her stomach.

Sasha grabbed her toothbrush. Ain’t no one had time for vomit breath. She stared at her reflection as she wet her toothbrush, then began brushing. She looked like shit. Her skin was pale, with a sliver of green along her jaw. Her violet eyes were a bit too wide for her liking and her freckles stuck out like an old dot-to-dot puzzle across the bridge of her nose.

Maybe she’d take that nap after all.

Wyatt pulled his shirt on as he stepped out into the main area of the room. Not only had Sasha been thrown for a loop, so had he. Seeing Julian again after such a long time put him in a weird head space he wasn’t sure he liked. But that could wait. He needed to clear the air with her ex-teammates.

The specifics of her injuries were never talked about. It was always peripheral snapshots of the moment. There was also a detachment there whenever Sasha discussed why she had to quit hockey, then turn to ice dancing. Almost like it happened to someone else, and she’d been there to witness what had occurred. Wyatt knew her knee had been fucked up. He’d seen the scar—legit, how could he miss it—however, sometimes shit happened. He never pressed for a “how” answer because, in all honesty, he thought she’d told him everything and her fear kept her from playing.

Now, unfortunately, he knew the truth.

The rage burning across his sternum said to kick Trent out of their room and let him survive—if he could—out in the elements. He needed to experience an ounce of the anguish and terror he’d heaped onto Sasha. The other half of Wyatt said beat the shit out of Trent. He might be an ice dancer, but he also did MMA in the off season, just to keep up his stamina and fitness. Someone like Trent would go down hard.

“Hey,” Archer said, in way of greeting when he stepped toward the kitchen where they were huddled together. “How’s Sasha?”

“Miserable,” he replied. “She threw up because of Trent.”

“Fuck,” the guy with curly blond hair and black, square-frame glasses muttered. “We didn’t do this on purpose.”

“Didn’t think you did.” He shrugged before glancing over his shoulder. “Look, she just told me what really happened to her. I never the full story. If I see Trent again, I’m liable to beat the shit out of him.”

“Agreed,” Archer said. “We feel the same way.”

“Good,” he replied.

“So, what’s your deal with Julian?” the other guy, he thought was named Brody, asked.

“Long story. Not one I care to talk about. Sufficive to say, stay away from him, he’s bad news.” Wyatt’s chest ached just saying those words. “Anyway, has your coach called you or texted any kind of update about what’s going on? Seems weird we all got dropped in the same room.”

“Nothing,” Archer said. “It’s all been radio silence since Coach gave us the keys.”

Same for Jenny and Evgeni. “We have a meeting at five. Sasha is resting for a bit after everything that’s happened. If you could keep Trent away from her, I’d be grateful.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cam said. “We planned on doing so already.”

“Great, thanks.” He pivoted to head to the room, then turned back toward the guys. “Look, she missed you. She’s really beating herself up for not talking to you. I can’t imagine the kind of injury she had at such a young age or whatever Trent told her. Just give her time, okay?”

“We all agree with you,” Archer stated, lifting his chin. “We want her to tell us everything, but we’ll do it at her speed not ours.”

Wyatt relaxed. “Cool.”

He started for the room, when Brody called out, stopping him midway. “Hey, we’re going outside for a bit. You want to join us for a beer?”

Wyatt glanced at the door to the bedroom and back at the guys. This was his chance to get to know the men who’d been in Sasha’s life since she was a kid. “Sure. Why not. Not like there is much else to do around here.” Plus, if it gave Sasha time to rest without interruption all the better.

Just then his phone chimed as did the other’s. He grabbed his device off the island and slid his finger across the screen. COMPETITION DELAYED. UPDATES WILL BE DELIVERED VIA YOUR COACHES NO LATER THAN 10 AM TOMORROW. ALL MEETINGS ARE CANCELED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. He whistled, shaking his head. The only reason they were in Telluride for the weekend was to make the Olympic team.

“Looks like we’re not going anywhere, anytime soon,” Archer said. “What the fuck?”

Indeed. He felt the same way. “Guess we can indulge with more than one beer, huh?”

Cam chuckled, “I think I like you.”

“Just wait until you get to know me before throwing kind words around,” he said in a self-deprecating manner.

“If Sasha like you, then you’re good people. We trust her instincts, even if it has been ten years,” Archer added, handing him a beer from the alcohol fridge.

“Yeah, about that,” Wyatt said, “I had no idea you guys existed until about thirty minutes ago. Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she was afraid you’d hate her.”

“Fuck no,” Archer said. “Never. You know what...” He placed his beer on the counter then stormed toward the bedroom. Yanking the door open, he stood there for a minute before entering and closing it.

“We’d never hate her,” Cam said. “Worried? Sure. She’s our best friend. Best damn winger we ever had too. Until that day.” He picked at the label on the bottle, not making eye contact with Wyatt.

“She gave me a chance without batting an eye,” he murmured, remembering the day they met.

He’d just broken up with Julian and Margo, his third dance partner, had left him for Jorge Villalobos. Since then, she’d been a star for the US Pairs Figure Skating team. She could have had that with Wyatt, but she didn’t want to put the work in to be the best. She wanted to step into a roll where the partner was already at the peak of their sport.

When Sasha timidly stepped foot on the ice, he knew he found the right partner. Then she opened her mouth and said hi and he’d been a goner. Sasha was everything he wasn’t or ever could be. She made him want to be a better person, damn the consequences. She also had him trying new techniques he might not have tried without her at his side. Especially since their coach modified lifts and turns because of Sasha’s knee.

Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without her. They built the perfect foundation off and on the ice. They were best friends. Though it might not be “real” love, they had love for each other. For fuck sakes, they even lived together. If she could put up with him on and off the ice, that said something about her because really, he might not have been able to put up with his pity parties he seemed to have whenever he spotted a partner at an event.

The door to the bedroom opened and Archer carried Sasha out of the room. The small smile on her lips eased something within Wyatt. When he last saw her, she looked so lost and frail. She scared the shit out of him and worried him half to death in the process, too. The last time she looked so pale and fragile was the first couple of time she skated with him, just to get back used to the ice under her feet and in figure skating skates instead of hockey skates. He’d fussed and rang his hands the whole time Jenny talked Sasha down. He swore to himself in those few minutes, he’d do whatever it took to make sure she didn’t have another episode like that. For the last several years, he’d met that promise head on, until today.

“Look who decided to join us in the hot tub boys!” Archer chuckled carrying Sasha toward the balcony door. “Last one in has to buy dinner.”

Wyatt scrambled toward the door, not willing to be the last one out. “What about suits?”

“Strip down to your skivvies, boys,” Archer replied. “It’s time for a little R and R.”