𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭

thirteen

Delphine

The rink doors swung closed behind me, and I stumbled over to the trash can by the entrance. My stomach heaved, and I barely had time to brace myself before it all came up. My head spun, and I pressed a hand to my forehead, feeling the cold, damp sweat on my skin. The rink was empty now, quiet and echoing around me as I clung to the edge of the trash can, trying to catch my breath.

Every muscle ached, my legs felt like they were on fire, and the taste in my mouth only reminded me of how weak I'd looked out there. A shudder ran through me. Not the first time, and probably not the last, I thought, trying to shake it off.

"Are you okay?"

The voice was quiet but unmistakable. I looked up, and there he was—Kaiden, standing a few feet away, looking at me with what seemed like genuine concern. I straightened up, trying to brush it off, but my legs wobbled. The trash can was a bit of a crutch now, but I wasn't about to let him see that.

"Fine," I muttered, straightening and forcing my expression back to neutral.

The last thing I needed was pity, especially from him.

He'd already seen enough out there today, and I didn't want to give him any more reasons to think I was falling apart.

"You don't look fine," he replied, crossing his arms, his tone soft but not exactly gentle. It was more... curious. Like he was actually interested. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, lucky for you, appearances can be deceiving," I snapped back, not bothering to mask the edge in my voice.

I'd had enough of people commenting on how I looked, what I was doing wrong, how I wasn't enough.

My coach's words still rang in my head, and it took everything not to feel the sting of them.

Kaiden took a step closer, tilting his head slightly. "I mean... your coach doesn't exactly go easy on you, does he?"

A bitter laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "Understatement of the century don't you think?" I leaned back against the wall, suddenly too tired to care if he saw how exhausted I was. Let him think whatever he wanted.

"So why put yourself through it?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. "I mean, if he's that hard on you..."

I shot him a sharp look. "Because it matters. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he challenged, his eyes not leaving mine.

The nerve of this guy. He had no idea, none, about what it took to stay here, to even get to this point.

But his gaze was steady, almost disarming, and I hated how he made me feel exposed, like he was peeling back the layers I'd spent years building up.

After a long, quiet moment, I realized Kaiden was still standing there, waiting for something more than the quick brush-off I'd hoped he'd accept.

His steady gaze hadn't left me. I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to stand up a little straighter, wishing I could pull that mask of indifference over myself as easily as I normally could.

"What's with the interrogation?" I finally said, crossing my arms, hoping to deflect his attention. "I don't remember asking for your concern."

He shrugged, his expression unreadable. "Just curious. You seemed... off, I guess."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

He raised an eyebrow, almost like he found my attitude amusing. "Practice ended a while ago. I figured I'd see if you were, you know, okay."