Page 60 of Fake Skating

“Oh yeah,” Cassie said. “Ben’s parents eventually dropped the charges. It came out that Ben threw the first punch, but it was scary for a little bit. His mom and her husband are both lawyers, and they did not want to let it go.”

No wonder Alec hates him so much.

“So it’s a miracle that Ben isn’t being Ben about this,” Lillie said.

Oh, but he is.

“I think it shook Alec up or something, because he isn’t talking about it at all. To anyone. If someone mentions it, he tells them to shut the hell up. He’s crazy grumpy without you, so you need to get your ass to school tomorrow.”

I didn’t want to say it so badly , but I had to tell them. I cleared my throat and quietly said, “Actually, um, just so you know, we broke up.”

“Yeah, that’s part of why we’re here,” Cassie said, pursing her lips and tilting her head. “You okay?”

What?

I nodded, unsure of why they were here and being nice to me if they knew I wasn’t with Alec anymore.

“Listen,” I said, my voice so thick I sounded like Kermit the Frog. “I know he’s your friend, so I totally get it if—”

“So are you,” Lillie interrupted.

“Yeah, but he was your friend first so—”

“Who cares?” Liz said, looking at me like I was being ridiculous. “It’s not like we’re going to take his side because he tagged us first or something.”

“I know, but—”

“You are our friend and we’re here for you,” Cassie said, pointing the remote control at me. “Even though we love Zeus, too.”

So… this is real?

I looked at them, at my friends for real, and felt like crying again.

But happy tears this time.

Because when did this ever happen? I’d never found this at the other places I’d lived, as much as I wanted to and as hard as I’d tried.

Have I landed in the place I belong?

I shut that thought down instantly, though, because even if my new friends were actually genuine, that didn’t change the fact that I might’ve ruined everything else.

“And we’re going to have so much fun tomorrow that you’ll forget all about him,” Cassie said with a grin before she left. “My dad said they’re giving the team bus a police escort out of Southview—that’s how batshit wild this is gonna be.”

I smiled because of course this town would give the hockey team a police escort.

I couldn’t be on that bus, though.

I just couldn’t.

I’d already done enough.

So when morning came, I told my mom that my stomach still hurt (which wasn’t entirely untrue). She called me out of school and I thought I was in the clear, but everything changed when my grandpa knocked on my door after my mom left.

“Kid,” I heard from the other side of my bedroom door.

“Yeah?” I asked, sitting up and shoving the gummy bears into my nightstand drawer.

“Can I come in?”

“Hey,” I said, sniffling as I opened the door. “What’s up?”

He frowned and said, “Get dressed, I’m taking you to school.”

“What?”

He couldn’t be serious. I put every ounce of illness I could project into my voice when I said, “I can’t go to school. I’m sick.”

“Liar.”

“Grandpa!”

“You made a commitment, and you need to follow through. I don’t care if you broke up with your boyfriend or whatever the hell you have going on—you’re not a quitter.”

“How did you know about—”

“I can still hear when I’m in another room, for God’s sake,” he said in disgust.

“I can’t—”

“Yes, you can, Danigirl,” he said, cutting me off yet again.

I shook my head and swallowed hard, because the nickname and the way it sounded like he genuinely wanted me to open up made everything hurt a little more. “I can’t.”

He frowned harder. “Yes, you can. Now get dressed for school.”

I stared at him for a minute, speechless, and I could tell he wasn’t going to be moved on this. The man who’d once played an entire game with a broken wrist didn’t understand quitting.

I could tell I wasn’t going to win, so I went into the bathroom and pulled my hair back into a ponytail.

But as I started thinking about school, I started freaking out. I was going to have to face Alec, who probably hated me by now.

What if he wanted to talk about it? With the way he always managed to read my mind, what if he looked at me and knew about my agreement with Benji?

Before I had a chance to even register I was spiraling, I started breathing too fast. My heart was racing and I was sweating and— oh God— I couldn’t stop it.

I put my hands on top of my head and told myself what I always told myself— this is just your body freaking out, you are fine— but I couldn’t get air.

“Deep breaths, kid, deep breaths,” I heard, and when I looked in the mirror, my grandpa was standing in the doorway, watching me.

He gave me a nod and said it again. “In through your nose and count to four. You’re fine.”

I tried, but it still felt too fast.

It wasn’t working.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bathroom. I followed behind him, shaking, and was surprised when he pushed open the doors that led out onto the balcony. Frigid air rushed at me in my pajamas and stockinged feet.

“Grandpa, it’s freezing!” I said. “I—”

“It helps,” he said, cutting me off. “The cold air helps. Focus on how fucking cold it is.”

“It is fucking cold,” I said, which made him raise an eyebrow.

And then he smirked.

He stood out there with me for a long time, not saying a word as I paced around the balcony with my hands on top of my head, telling myself I was okay while freezing my ass off.

“Better?” he finally asked when I stopped pacing.

“Much,” I said, clearing my throat. The cold air had helped, and I was ridiculously grateful for this giant grump who’d talked me through the attack. “Thank you, Grandpa.”

“Now why don’t we go inside and you can tell me why you don’t want to go to school and the tournament so badly.”