𝐟 𝐫 𝐨 𝐬 𝐭 𝐟 𝐥 𝐨 𝐰 𝐞 𝐫 𝐬 - pair figure skating romance

- t w o -

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I didn't know what to say or where to look. It was such a surreal situation. I had known Flynn all my life, we used to be best friends. But now, he barely looked at me. He just leaned onto the railing of the ice rink to listen to Isobel. Isobel who half-heartedly nodded at me like I was nothing more than an acquaintance to her.

Vicky tugged on my sleeve. "Maybe we should leave. A lot has happened since you've been gone and maybe we should talk about it in private..."

"Sorry for being late."

I looked over to the girl who had spoken. It was Heather. She lived right next to where Mom and I used to live. We weren't friends, but we were always friendly.

I had to admit, deep down, I had always envied Heather a bit. She was beautiful with her long, dark braids and her smooth, brown skin. She had always been more popular than me, more extroverted, more likable. She had also been my biggest competition. She was a single figure skater and for a moment, Isobel had considered picking her as Flynn's skating partner. That was until Flynn had made it clear he wouldn't skate with anyone but me.

I expected Heather to do her usual practice routine that I had witnessed a few times. Some spins, some jumps, an Axel. But instead, she stepped onto the ice and strode over to Flynn, placing her hand on his back.

I froze. What was Heather doing, speaking with Isobel - mine and Flynn's coach - and touching Flynn - my skating partner, my best friend - as if they were close friends?

I turned around to face Vicky. "What is going on?"

She looked at me, nervously. "Um... So, after you left, Isobel insisted that Flynn had to get a new skating partner. They chose Heather, and her and Flynn have been getting really close..."

They replaced me. They replaced me.

"How long have they been skating together?", I asked, already fearing the answer.

Vicky stared to the ground. "Three months?"

Three months. That meant Flynn and Isobel had replaced me only one month after I'd left. After I'd almost died.

I was tied to a hospital bed for a week. I barely knew where I was through the haze of the painkillers. I wasn't allowed to leave the house for a month. I was barely allowed to get up and walk around. My arm was in a cast for weeks, Mom looked at me like I was about to fall apart every second. I had to visit the doctor every week for checkups. I had to listen to people telling me I was lucky to be alive over and over again. I had to endure the look on Vicky's and Mom's faces every time they watched me flinch in pain.

I had to listen to Mom and the doctor telling me to give up on skating because it was too dangerous. It had taken me weeks to convince them I could manage to be back on the ice.

And Flynn replaced me in a matter of four weeks. And now he had the nerve to look at me like he didn't even know me.

"We should leave," I said to Vicky, trying to keep my voice calm and not let the bitterness come through.

In the last four months, I had learnt to not let others see my pain. So, I smiled politely as I walked past Flynn, Heather and Isobel, as if I didn't feel like a dagger was piercing through my heart.

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Vicky had offered to get some coffee with me, but I had refused. Instead, I stood outside the Cube, waiting.

I hoped I would catch Isobel alone. I didn't know if I could take it to see Flynn and Heather again.

Fortunately, I knew that Isobel always hurried out of the Cube right after practice ended, like she was desperate to get away from the ice rink.

I heard the heavy door open and stood up straighter. As I expected, Isobel walked out of the Cube, her black hair with the grey streaks tied up into a tight bun. She looked as intimidating as always.

I walked towards her. "Isobel, hey."

Isobel stopped and turned to look at me. "Addy," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Glad to see you're back."

I had learnt not to be intimidated by her cold behavior, so I just ignored her emotionless comment.

"Vicky told me Flynn is now skating with Heather."

Isobel shrugged, not even bothering to look at me. "We can't stop practicing just because you're away for four months. In a sport like figure skating, there is no time for unnecessary breaks. You know that."

Unnecessary breaks. Right. Because, of course, that was what my recovery was.

"Well, I'm back now," I tried to reason with her. "I think Flynn and I should skate together again."

No matter how cold he was towards me, I didn't know a world of figure skating where he wasn't my partner. I was sure we could work past whatever his problem was, if we just got the chance to skate together again.

"You know that's not how it works," Isobel said. "You've been away for so long, it will take you some time to get back into skating. And right now, Flynn and Heather are a good team."

I couldn't believe her. "Flynn and I have been skating together for twelve years! You can't get that kind of connection and compatibility in four months."

Isobel looked at her phone, distractedly. "I'm not here to argue with you. If you want to skate with Flynn again, you'll have to prove you're still as good as you were when you left."

I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind. That was just the way it was with Isobel. You had to prove you were worth her time, and if you weren't she dropped you in a matter of seconds.

She didn't care who her trainees were. All she cared about was that they won.

She had always been strict and not very appreciative towards me, but she had never deemed me not good enough before. Me and Flynn had always been her first choice of trainees. She always told us that we were the most talented skaters in town, clearly emphasizing in town. She had been very clear that she wasn't going to compliment or flatter us, Isobel was all about facts. And fact was: she didn't think I was the best skater in town anymore.

I had to prove her wrong.

I knew I was - had been - a talented skater, I had never doubted that. But suddenly, there were doubts starting to form in me. What if I wasn't that good anymore? What if the accident and the time in recovery had made me lose my skill?