Second Chance :: Nathan Chen

Chapter 12

Song: I'm Not Her by Clara Mae

 Kierra's POV

I sit there slightly shocked. "Pardon me?" I ask trying to make sense of the words Nathan has said.

"This is Amber Glen, my girlfriend," He repeats.

Girlfriend. 

The words ring loudly in my head. 

I get that I was never enough for Nathan, but I never expected him to start dating Amber. 

I thought that I didn't care about him, that I pushed him totally out of my life. But now that I see him again, I realize that I still care. 

And despite what I thought about moving on, I haven't. 

I'm still stuck in the past, even though he isn't. 

"Congratulations," I whisper numbly, my voice not sounding like me. 

I never thought it would come down to this. 

The shocked faces around me inform me that Nathan hasn't actually told anyone about him and Amber. 

Maia is standing next to me glaring at Nathan before I can stop her. 

"Nathan Wei Chen," She shrieks using Nathan's full name. "Why the fuck would you do that?"

Scorn and disgust drips from Maia's tongue as she steps closer to Nathan. 

"It's fine Maia," I whisper. "I don't need a boy like him."

But Maia doesn't listen to me. 

"I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, Kierra is the best thing that has ever happened to you. We all know that she's too good for you, and that's what we were all scared of. Nathan do you realized you've fucked up the one thing that will make you happy?" Maia questions. 

"I am happy now," Nathan states arrogantly, lifting his head. 

"I should have known," Maia states as she storms down the stairs. 

"I get it," I whisper finally. "I was stupid to trust you, and I realize that now. So Nathan, thanks for fucking up my life. I wish you nothing but the best."

Without another word, I spin on my heel and flip my hair obnoxiously as I walk past Nathan.

I stare at the good morning text from Vincent. It's kinda become a routine for him to text me in the morning despite our different time zones. 

It reminds us that despite the fact that we live in different states we wake up to the same sunrise. And that's one of the things I still hold fast to. 

Grabbing my already packed skating bag along with a water and apple I walk out to my car where I drive myself to the rink. 

The drive to the rink gives me a chance to reflect. 

There are a lot of things I miss about the past. 

The Olympics stands close to the top of that list. We were carefree teens without the pressures and stresses we have now. 

But all things change for the better, and sometimes moving on is a good thing. 

Pulling into the rink I slide into my parking spot the World Champion sign right in front of spot 97. 

Levina was the one who got the sign for me, and she proceeded to stick it over the sign that says 'Reserved for Kierra Yu.' 

So the sign now says 'Reserved for the World Champion.'

You've got to love Levina. 

My tennis shoes hit the asphalt as I jump out of my car dragging my bag with me. 

Swinging open the front door of the rink I slam face to face with Vincent.

"The hell are you doing out here?" I ask in shock as Levina snickers, filming the whole thing. 

"I think that you might have forgotten this thing called Valentine's Day, and I'm here to celebrate it with you," Vincent says smirking as he hands me a bouquet of roses. 

Several younger skaters giggle and point as they stare at us.

"You didn't have to," I state slightly embarrassed. 

"But you're my princess," Vincent replies. 

Things between Vincent and I ended rockily after the Olympics. 

But I wanted him as a friend, and so we stayed in each other's lives despite the different feelings we had for each other. 

I thought that I had feelings for Nathan, but at the end of the day, our heart always leads us back home. And back home meant back to Vincent. 

But we kept things as just friends because anything more is weird. 

"You do know I have a private with Emily?" I ask. 

"She's not here," Vincent states smoothly. "So I'm here to be your coach instead."

"You flew all the way from Colorado to be my coach for a day? That's not weird at all," I laugh as I roll my eyes.

"No, Emily says you can have the day off. And I'm here because I love you" Vincent informs me. "And since I'm a creative person I'm going to take you skating."

"Cool," I state smiling slightly. 

"At an outdoor rink." 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I ask as I scan the public ice rink.

Somehow, after getting lost several times we ended up in downtown San Jose in as promised, an outdoor rink. 

It's been years since I've skated in an outdoor rink. 

"You're a World Champion figure skater, how can you be nervous about skating around a rink?" Vincent asks eyes wide. 

"It's just that I've never really skated for like fun with someone. It's always been exciting, but it's for practice and stuff. I've always enjoyed it, but not like this," I attempt to explain. "What if I fall?"

"If you fall, I'll catch you," Vincent says as he stands. "Common a lot of couples do this for fun. We fit right in."

"Are you suggesting that we are a couple?" I question.

"Not exactly, but I wouldn't say no," Vincent says raising his eyebrows.

"Oh Vincent," I laugh. "I have to teach you a lot about flirting."

And so the two of us ended up speeding around the rink playing a game of tag. 

It's the way it was at the Olympics, young and carefree. 

"So was it fun?" Vincent asks as we skate off the ice our hands intertwined.

"I guess," I say shrugging.

"I know you love it, but you're just too scared to admit it," Vincent laughs.

"And what if I love you?" I ask flirtatiously.

"Excuse me, are you hitting on me?" Vincent questions shocked.

I answer his question by pecking him on the lips and skating away. "Maybe," I giggle.