Page 95 of Villainous Kingpin

“I thought you left already,” I muttered.

“Nope, you’re not that lucky.”

I rolled my eyes. Obviously. I sat back on my bed and Juliette threw herself on it.

“Get your mind off all the shit that happened at the championship,” she said, exasperated. “You let things fester inside you too much. Nationals are done and behind you. You’ll kick ass at the Olympics.”

I stared at the screen, unwilling to comment.

“Her days as a single skater were amazing. Her talent is incomparable.”Another announcer pondered.“But maybe her ambition reached too far. She should have stayed in the singles.”

My lips thinned and I finally pressed the mute button. The announcer wasn’t totally wrong. I skated better alone. Now more than ever, because more than ever, I hated having to trust someone to catch me as he swung me through the air. I trusted Bas and look how that fucking ended.

With a cracked heart, that’s how.I didn’t need a cracked skull too.

When I remained quiet, Juliette sat up and her arms came around me. “I heard what your mom said,” she whispered. “It wasn’t just your failure.You’renot a failure. You are amazing no matter what place you get.”

Then why can’t my own mother say that?I thought silently.

“You still have a chance at the Olympic gold,” Juliette comforted. “If you want it. You have a right to say no.”

My throat squeezed so hard that I couldn’t utter a single word. So I just nodded. What was that saying… Every cloud has a silver lining. I tried so hard to find the silver lining, but it kept escaping me.

We stared at each other in thick silence and I returned my attention to the muted television where my failure played on repeat.

“I still remember that day when you stepped on the ice,” Juliette said softly, breaking the tension that was so stifling I could hardly breathe. “I found a safe spot to sit down but you kept skating and falling. You were determined to stay on your feet.” I turned my head to meet Juliette’s blue eyes, wondering where she was going with it. “Yes, you had that crazy look on your face that said ice is your life.” She rolled her eyes. “Let me tell you, it was the most annoying look. But it wasn’t your love for ice that always fascinated me. It was your fucking determination.”

I blinked at her unexpected comment. “Determination?”

“Fuck yeah, Wynter.” She shoved her shoulder into me. “You’re the most determined, annoying woman ever. I knew that when I was five and I know it today.”

“Geez, thanks,” I muttered. “I’m feeling loved.”

She hugged me as if to compensate for her words. The truth was I didn’t mind them. I never minded Juliette’s honesty. Her crazy, unhinged ways… a bit. But never her honesty or directness. I loved her just the way she was though.

“I love you, Wyn.” Her hands around me tightened. “But it’s killing me seeing you this way. You shut down, refuse to talk about what happened.” When I said nothing, she continued, “Don’t think the yellow, faded bruises escaped me when you finally came back home.” For all Juliette’s reckless and wild ways, she noticed too much. “You don’t want to share, I won’t make you. Just know, no matter what, I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

Tears burned and my throat scratched. “I’m fine,” I choked out, not able to say anything else.

“You say you’re fine, but inside you, it’s like you’re still bleeding.”

I wanted to spill it all out, tell her what happened. But I didn’t trust her temper. She’d go on the warpath and pull in all the available resources to end every DiLustro on this planet. I told my best friends just enough. I’d rather leave it at the broken heart than attempted rape.

No matter what, I knew Juliette would go after him. The trouble was that I wouldn’t be able to live with the knowledge that a certain man with coal hair and the darkest eyes no longer walked this earth.

Regardless if he played me or not.

CHAPTER36

Wynter

Iconvinced Juliette to go on ahead of me. I promised I’d be right behind her. And I was, except as I approached the Nikolaev villa in the capital of Portugal, I took a detour. Just a few more minutes alone.

“Recalculating,” Siri kept complaining. Taking the long way took a whole new meaning with me. I kept finding excuses to delay seeing them all again. I had avoided my uncle and all the Nikolaev family, with the exception of Sasha. Sasha showed up whenever he wanted to and checked on me. If I lived on the East Coast, I was certain I’d see him even more.

It was the only benefit of being in California at my mother’s home. It was a different world.

Sasha even came along to Ireland three months ago when I went to visit Grandpa. The man made it his personal business to check up on me.