Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 224

Chapter 224 Trust the Glide

Charlotte

&

Blake, Charlie and I are already laced up and ready to go by the time everyone else arrives.

I hijacked the speakers the second we walked in, dimmed the lights, and switched on the disco ball above the ice. Tihy flecks of

light scatter over the surface, spinning over the white like pieces of broken stars, and the second my blades touch down, my soul

sings.

I push away from the barrier and let the cold air rush over my face.

One lap is all it takes.

One full lap with my arms loose at my sides, my knees bending easily, my skates cutting clean beneath me, and the biggest smile

stretching across my face. The music fills the rink, vibrating through the boards and under my feet, and for a few precious seconds,

everything else fades into the walls.

There is just the ice, the sound of my blades, and my body remembering something it loves.

Blake and Charlie are already racing by the time I come around the bend. Blake is faster, but Charlie is stubborn, pushing hard after

him with his curls flying back from his forehead and his grin wide enough to split his face. They cut across the far side of the rink,

shoulders low, skates sharp, both of them moving like they have something to prove.

Boys.

I glide slower for a moment, watching them as the lights flicker over their backs.

I missed this.

The doors open behind me then, and familiar voices spill into the space.

Jessica and Annabelle step inside, bundled in jackets and scarves, both waving wildly the second they spot me. I lift a hand,

grinning, and I don’t miss the way Charlie stutters in his stride.

His blade catches, his shoulders jolt, and Blake shoots ahead with a victorious shout while Charlie forgets he was supposed to care.

He gives Jessica a quick flick of his wrist, trying to make it look casual, but nothing about the way his face changes is casual.

Jessica smiles

back, and Charlie almost skates straight into the boards.

I bite down on my grin and keep moving.

Theo and Emily arrive a few minutes later, and I feel myself brighten all over again.

11:07 Thu, Jul 23 TJO

Chapter 224 Trust the Glide

stands beside her, watching her with that ridiculous softness that seems to have permanently taken over his face.

I skate over to the barrier and stop in front of her, breathless and smiling. “Ready to skate?”

Emily looks up at me, a bundle of emotions written across her face. “Ready to fall.”

“That works too.”

I push off toward my bag and pull out the skates Blake bought for me. When I hand them to Emily, her gaze drops/to Mum’s ol worn pair on my feet.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course.” I tap one blade lightly against the rubber. “These are just fine for me.”

And they are.

They are scuffed and creased, with marks in the leather that will never come out. But they have carried every version of me that ha nowhere else to put her heart. Blake’s skates are beautiful, and I love them because he thought of me when he bought them.

But these ones will always be just fine for me.

Theo takes the skates from Emily and motions to the bench. “Sit down, and I’ll lace you up, Petal.”

Emily sits, holding the edge of the bench while he kneels in front of her. He takes his time with the laces, tightening them carefully, checking the fit at her ankle, his whole face serious and committed to the task at hand.

I lean against the barrier and watch them, smiling to myself as Theo fusses. When he finishes putting on his skates, ho

offers both hands.

Emily rises slowly, and the second h

Annabell

11:07 Thu, Jul 23T D

Chapter 224 Trust the Glide

I notice her knees are still too stiff, her grip still too tight around my hands, but she is smiling now, really smiling.

&

“Bend your knees a little,” I tell her. “Not too much, but enough that your body can move with the ice instead of fighting it.”

She does as I say, wobbling a little before finding her balance again.

“There you go,” I say, grinning. “That’s better.”

“Doesn’t feel better.”

“It will.”

I hear Mum’s voice in my head as clearly as if she is skating beside me.

Look where you want to go, sweetheart. Not at your feet. Your feet already know how to follow.

I swallow around the sudden ache in my throat and repeat the words to Emily.

“Look at me, not your skates. Your feet will follow where your eyes go.”

Emily lifts her gaze slowly, and I skate backwards a little smoother, drawing her with me.

“That’s it. Small pushes. Don’t try to walk. Skating isn’t walking on knives, even if it feels like it at first.”

She laughs, and the sound wobbles just as much as her feet do.

“Trust the glide,” I add, softer this time.

That was another one of Mum’s lessons.

Trust the glide. The ice will carry you if you let it.

I remember her hands in mine when I was that little girl with nervous eyes and a smile too bright for my face. I remember learning

that one of the coldest places was the one where I could feel the most warmth.

Now I watch Emily feel it too.

It’s a beautiful thing, watching someone lose the fear of falling. There is always a chance of going down: the slip, the impact, the

sting of cold against your palms.

The ice never promises it will be gentle with you.

11:07 Thu, Jul 23T Ở D

Chapter 224 Trust the Glide

I notice her knees are still too stiff, her grip still too tight around my hands, but she is smiling now, really smiling.

“Bend your knees a little,” I tell her. “Not too much, but enough that your body can move with the ice instead of fighting

She does as I say, wobbling a little before finding her balance again.

“There you go,” I say, grinning. “That’s better.”

“Doesn’t feel better.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify