But finally, after twenty-one days, I walked into the lobby and saw her standing by the boards in the West rink. She was almost unrecognizable out of her skating clothes. This was the first time in about a year that I'd seen her long, dirty-blond hair flowing freely down to her mid-back instead of up in a tight low bun. Gone were her usual leggings and tight zip-up. Instead, she wore sweatpants, a simple t-shirt, and Adidas slides.
My limbs went jittery with the need to run to her and pull her into a hug, but I fought against it and slowed my pace, giving myself some time to scan the rink for any signs of Rossi.
I dropped my hockey bag right in front of Hans’ office, making him look up. I stared at him for a second, wondering how I could wordlessly ask who was working today.
He eyed me over his reading glasses. “I’m the only one here for the next hour,” he said in a low voice, somehow reading my mind. He wagged a finger at me. “But you better not tell Richard.”
Immense relief had a laugh popping out of me. Kappy would definitely take advantage and set up about a million different pranks for the old man if he had that knowledge. “You have my word. Thanks Hans,” I said, before rushing into the rink to give Ali a hug.
But when Ali turned, giving me a full view of her body, I came to a halt. Tension flew right back into my chest. She had large puffy bags under her eyes, and her right arm was covered in a cast from her fingers to her upper arm and held tightly against her body in a sling.
“Damn.” I grimaced, raking a hand over my hair.
“Yeah.” She sighed.
“What’s the damage?”
“Broken, of course, and I needed surgery.”
“Jeez.” I rubbed my jaw. “Does it still hurt?”
“A little.” Her tired face scrunched. “Kinda wanna take a hammer to this cast because the throbbing is so annoying. Kept me up all night.”
“Shit, Ali, I’m sorry.”
Biting her bottom lip, she turned her attention back to the ice. “It’s fine, I don't need my arm for figure skating anyway.”
My forehead creased. “But you need your arm for other stuff.”
She snorted. “Like what?” Her eyes followed one of her competitors as she launched into a jump.
I saddled up to the boards next to her. “This isn’t everything, Ali. Life goes on outside of this place, ya know?”
She wasn’t listening, she was glued to the ice. I wanted to take hold of her arms and say it again, make her hear it, but I wasn’t sure if she’d even be receptive to it.
“You need some more hobbies,” I muttered, shaking my head.
She laughed then and the sound loosened some of the tension in my chest. “Don’t I know it.” She let out a sigh. “Wow, that’s the first time I laughed in a while. Thank you.” She leaned into me for a side hug, her good arm looping around my lower back. I immediately turned to give her a full, proper hug, and her small body melted into mine. I’d grown in the last year while she hadn’t, and now she only came up to my mid-chest. A frog felt lodged in my throat as I rubbed her back. I waited way too long for this hug, way too long to know if she was okay or not. For the past couple weeks, every time I closed my eyes, I saw her mangled arm and tear-streaked face.
“You scared me,” I whispered. “You okay?”
Not breaking the hug, she nodded against me.
If only she could stay right here tucked under my arms, she wouldn’t get hurt anymore.
Woah, wait… What the fuck?
I was losing it
This girl wasmakingme lose it
“It is everything though,” she murmured quietly, peeking above my arm to look at the ice.
“Huh?”
“Skating is.” Her brown eyes flicked to mine. “Nothing else makes me happy,” she admitted.
“Nothing?”
