Second Chance :: Nathan Chen

Chapter 33

Song: All These Years by Camilla Cabello

Nathan's POV

I stare at her frozen in my seat.

Because I know that laugh anywhere.

That laugh belongs to one person, one person that I haven't seen in a year.

I stare at her in shock as she flips her shoulder-length hair, never catching a glimpse of her face.

"Nathan?"

I turn back to reality where Maia and Alex sit in front of me.

"Is something wrong?" Maia asks, her wide eyes staring at me.

I shake my head, my long curly hair swaying slightly as I avert my gaze back to her.

Because she's laughing her head off with a young male.

"Are you sure?" Maia asks glancing at me with concern in her eyes.

Alex follows my eyes looking at her.

"Oh my god," He whispers, his voice so quiet I almost miss it.

Maia cranes her neck trying to stare at her.

She gasps loudly staring at Alex.

I sit dumbfounded in my seat.

Because it's her.

I stare at my therapist, my hands weaving together anxiously.

"You said you were abused by your fiancé?" He asks.

I nod anxiously.

"Now can u tell me everything and anything about your relationship, no matter how small it may be?" He asks as I breathe anxiously.

"I can try," I whisper.

He motions for me to continue.

"She was the 2018 pewter medalist. We were on the Stars on Ice Tour, and she was touring with us full time." I begin, the past hitting me in an instant. "She started texting me when I returned from the Olympics, but I was dating a girl named Kierra. We didn't really start talking till the Stars on Ice Tour. I thought that Kierra was having a fling with another skater named Vincent, so I flirted right back with her. I think me and Kierra had plans in my hometown, Salt Lake City, but then, she wanted to uh, finish something. And so I canceled on Kierra."

"Did you actually know her?" My therapist asks staring inquisitively at me.

"Vaguely, we had chilled a couple of times, and we were in a closet for 7 Minutes in Heaven once," I reply.

He nods.

"We were having sex," I state ashamed. "And apparently I forgot my phone at the hotel. So Kierra came to my house to give me my phone, and she found me and her in the bedroom. And she broke up with me."

"Would you say it affected you?" My therapist asks.

"Yeah," I reply. "We were best friends when we were kids, and our friendship has had it's up and downs. But I thought we would stick through everything, but we didn't."

"Okay," My therapists state slowly.

"She and I started dating that year, we met Kierra at the U.S. championships in 2019. After that she started getting more aggressive with me. We weren't living together, but from time to time, she would hit me, and I don't know, I don't remember. But I loved her, at least I thought I did. We met Kierra again in 2021, I proposed to her that night. That's when I realized that everything had gone wrong. She started beating me after that. We argued over who was coming to the wedding, and then all of a sudden it was the Olympics. She beat the hell out of me, and then Kierra found out. And then whatever lie I had told was up. She found out and was hella pissed, and so I called off the engagement. Because we weren't in love, we never were."

My therapist nods.

"And who is this her?"

I push my seat back standing up.

I run my hands through my hair anxiously, as I stare down at my suit and tie.

"Nathan."

Maia's voice rings through the air bringing me back to reality.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, if you're not ready."

But I have to.

Every step is frozen in time.

My feet are hitting the floor one and a time, each making a small tap.

The tears are rolling down my cheeks already, and Maia and Alex are standing up.

She's there, wearing a light blue lace dress with a ribbon around the center.

My throat is suddenly dry, and I can't breathe.

The next thing I know I'm next to her, my hand almost on her chair.

"Kierra?"

She swivels staring at me, her eyes deeper than before.

Deeper and filled with more pain than I remember.

I stare between her and the young man across from her.

I should have known.

"Nathan?" She cries a soft sob escaping her lips, the tears are rolling down her cheeks before I can stop them.

"Can we talk, outside?" I ask my voice trembling, as the tears pour down my cheeks.

She nods, suddenly shy and innocent.

I walk her outside.

I let out one steady breath, staring at her.

She looks older, more mature. 

It's only been a year, but a lot of things change. 

"You've moved on," I state, trying not to feel hurt.

"What?" Kierra asks confused, cutting through the somber silence.

"You're dating someone else," I reply.

"No, that's my manager," Kierra informs me. "I'm a model, and writer now."

"Oh," I whisper awkwardly. "Why did you leave? That day, why did you just walk out, why didn't you stay? You promised."

Kierra stares at me her eyes watering.

"I couldn't."

"That's not an answer," I reply.

"You didn't keep your promise when we were kids," Kierra retorts, not meeting my eyes.

"Kierra please," I plead.

"I couldn't stay, not with Vincent. And who knows, maybe it was better because we've all moved on. You're confident, and strong, he's off with a new beautiful girlfriend, and I'm learning to be me, and learning to move on," Kierra states.

"Didn't you care about me?" I ask my voice tinged with hurt.

"I did, maybe I cared too much," Kierra replies. "But you were only going to hurt me-"

"We could have worked it out," I suggest.

"Not then," Kierra says. "I was too hurt, and you were still with her."

"But we can now," I whisper.

"No," Kierra says backing away, "This is going to go anywhere. This is never going to get better."

"Please," I beg grabbing onto her hand.

"No," Kierra states her voice echoing in the darkness. "Did you ever think about how much you hurt me? After all this time, maybe I still have feelings for you, but you never noticed. You never noticed how much I loved you."

"We can start over," I whisper.

"But it will never work out," Kierra states. "I can't trust you, a boy who played with my heart and then cheated."

"I'll change," I plead. "Just don't leave."

"We can't do this Nathan."

"Please Kierra," I murmur. "Just give me a second chance."