Leave it to Fate (Fate Series - Book #1)

Chapter Sixteen - Hotel Room

By the time the snow started to fall, I showed Colson the ice castles in New Hampshire and we went ice skating in Boston Common. Which sounded romantic in theory.

"Have you never ice skated before?" he asked, trying to hold my arm as I scooted into the rink.

"Once," I replied, doing an unimpressive waddle.

"Once?" Colson chuckled, "This was your idea."

"I thought," I tried to move forward and stumbled, he caught me and I finished, "it would be romantic."

"Well, lucky for you. I'm great at ice skating." He stood up straight, then took my hand pulling me as he skated backward. Show off.

"How did you become such a good skater?" I asked, unwilling to admit I was impressed.

"My mom taught me," he replied.

That caught me off guard more than the ice beneath my feet. But I didn't want to shy away from his past. I decided for once, not to shy away.

"How old were you when she left?" I asked.

"Ten." Colson answered. 

It saddened me he didn't even need time to think about it. Like the sad memory was always at the tip of his memories. There was a tug in my heart thinking of how a mother could leave her child. I couldn't imagine my mother not being there despite our problems.

"That must have been so hard on you," I commented.

He nodded, "It still is, to be honest. I've never talked with anyone about this but it still hurts me, ya know? Like how could she do that?"

"I don't know, baby. But you didn't deserve that," I replied. 

I was still clinging to his waist, his arm around me holding me up as our skates glided.

"Neither did my Dad. I was so angry for a long time. Maybe I still am. It's part of what drives my music, that's for sure," he went on.

That explained a lot, I realized. The weed, the coke, the partying. The distractions. All to hide from his pain. I wondered if I could help alleviate that. Maybe, I could help him through, facing it instead of masking it, I wondered thoughtfully.

"Will you speak with you father even for the holidays?" I asked.

He shook his head, "I haven't for years. It didn't seem faze him when I did, so I stopped."

I pondered this, wondering if I should encourage him to reach out. He needed to work through his anger toward his parents, maybe then he could ease off some of his substances.

We did a couple laps with him holding me the entire time and I managed to not fall. Just a bit of a stumble when we walked off the ice. "I got ya," he promised, catching me.

"Ok, so maybe ice skating isn't my thing." I sat down on a bench, thankful to be off my feet.

Colson sat next to me and removed a flask from inside his jacket. He gave it a little shake toward me, offering a sip.

"Sure," I said, taking the flask and unscrewing the top. "Just a little to take the edge off." The whiskey had a sweetness to it. Honey. I detected. I like it. Colson lit a cigarette, tossing his arm around me.

"Nice night," he commented. Flicking the excess ash, he turned to me and asked, "You have me another night, Ms. Osgood. What would you like to do next?"

An idea flashed across my mind instantly and I gave him my most enticing smile. "You wanna get a hotel room?"

Colson lips curled up as he took a drag of his cigarette, nodding his head that he liked the idea.