SWNOVELS Splintered Ice: Chapter 26
I’m pretty positive that I break every traffic law possible as I race back to the campus. I didn’t expect Olivia to text me tonight asking me to come over. I was just lying in bed, still going over the way the game unfolded and what happened to Vaughn. It’s so scary the way things can happen within the blink of an eye and can literally change the course of your life.
Vaughn was destined for greatness. He had scouts looking at him since high school and there were talks of teams wanting him for the next season. All of that changed tonight from one hit. His career is officially ruined and I fucking hate that for him. It can literally happen to any of us, and to see someone with such a bright future have this happen to them really fucking sucks.
I plan on going to see him tomorrow in the hospital, but I don’t know if he’s going to want any visitors. I know I wouldn’t. When he wakes up after surgery and finds out he’s never going to play again, he’s going to be devastated. Hockey is his life, so what happens when that’s taken away?
As I pull into a parking spot in the lot outside of Olivia’s building, I push thoughts of Vaughn and his accident from my mind. I can’t focus on the negatives right now, not when I’m walking into what I hope is something good with Olivia. My entire heart is on the line right now. I handed it to her and she has the ability to completely shatter it.
The doors are locked when I walk up to the building, so I pull out my phone and find Olivia’s name before pressing the call button. It rings twice before she answers.
“Hello?” she says, her voice soft, sounding like the sweetest melody my ears have ever been graced with.
“Hey,” I reply quietly. “I’m outside. I think I need you to come let me in.”
“Oh shoot,” she says in a rush and I hear something rustling around, like she’s climbing out of bed. “I didn’t even think about that. I’ll be right down.”
“I’ll be here,” I assure her before ending the call. I shift my weight nervously as I stand in the cold and wait for her. I would stand in subzero temperatures for this girl, until my body was overcome with hypothermia.
Olivia wastes no time getting down to the door and she unlocks it before pushing it open for me. A rush of cold air slips in while I step inside and she shivers in her pajamas. I can’t fight the grin that tugs on my lips as I see her in her fluffy pants and oversized crewneck sweatshirt.
“Hi,” she says quietly, her arm brushing against mine as she locks the door again. “I’m glad you came.”
I smile down at her. “I’m glad you asked me to.”
She swallows hard and nods before turning around. I follow after her, taking the flight of stairs to the second floor. We walk in silence down the hall before slipping into her dorm room. Her roommate isn’t here and for that, I am thankful. I’m fairly certain that Olivia wouldn’t have even asked me to come here if she were home anyway.
I step into her room behind her, pushing the door shut behind me. Turning around, I switch over the lock before turning back to Olivia. She smiles at me, silently thanking me. The last thing we need is someone walking in right now. I don’t know what she wants to say to me, but I don’t want any interruptions. I want her all to myself right now.
Olivia walks over to her bed, sitting down before she motions for me to come over. I stride across the room, my long legs covering more ground than hers, and I stop in front of her as I reach the edge. She pats the spot on the mattress next to her and I oblige, taking a seat beside her.
She pulls her legs up onto the bed, tucking them underneath her as she grabs her pillow and holds it on her lap. It’s almost as if she’s guarding herself from something and I can’t tell if it’s from me or what she’s about to unleash on me. Either way, I hate how she already has her guard up, even though she has nothing but vulnerability written across her expression.
“What did you want to talk about, sunshine?” I ask her, my voice soft and gentle to try and create a sense of security. It’s not a facade. I really do want her to feel safe with me. I want her to be able to talk to me without feeling like she needs to be constantly looking for the nearest exit.
She swallows hard again and her eyes are filled with emotion as she turns to face me. Kicking off my shoes, I pull one of my legs onto the bed, bending my knee as we sit face to face. “I wanted to talk to you about everything. You shared your truth with me and I feel like I only gave you half of mine.”
I stare back at her, my eyes bouncing back and forth between hers, desperately wanting to be inside her mind right now. I’m afraid she isn’t going to tell me everything and I don’t want her to hold back on me. Not right now, not in this moment, and honestly, I never want her to.
“I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember, Sterling. I thought it was just a crush when we were younger and that it was something I would be able to get over, but I never could. Regardless of how badly I tried, I could never get you out of my mind. I was constantly comparing everyone else to you and no one could ever live up to you.”
Emotion wells in my throat and I reach out, my hand gentle as my fingertips stroke the soft skin on the side of her face. She stares back at me and I swear I could get lost in the depths of her irises and never surface again.
“I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I’m not terrified. You know how I am. I don’t do anything without thinking it through to the tiniest details possible. But there was something you told me that has stuck with me since. I haven’t truly been living life with how reserved I am about everything. I keep my guard up and don’t let people in because of the fear of getting hurt. Hell, I’m literally afraid of everything, which is why I do everything so cautiously and carefully.”
“I know, sunshine,” I tell her, cupping the side of her face as I slowly drag my thumb across her cheek. Her eyelids flutter shut and she leans against me, a sigh slipping from her lips. “You’re safe with me, Olivia. I can always promise you that. I would never do anything to hurt you, ever.”
“That’s what really scares me, but you know what I realized? Even if I do get hurt in the end, I would be missing out by not experiencing life being loved by you.”
Her words have my breath catching in my throat. I stare back at her, emotion flooding my body as I feel tears prick the corners of my eyes. I’ve never been one to let myself feel this deeply or to cry, but there’s something about the way she’s being with me right now that has me completely consumed by my feelings.
“I want to be with you, Sterling. I don’t care about the details and what happens in the future. I love you and you are the only person I have ever wanted.” She pauses for a moment, a smile pulling on the corners of her lips. “Whatever happens, we will always make it work. We can figure it all out as we come across different obstacles. I’m ready to fall… I just have one question for you.”
I stare back at her. “Ask me, baby.”
“Will you be the one to catch me?”
I’m literally choked up and my vision blurs with the tears that now fill my eyes. “I will always be the one to catch you and I will never fucking drop you. I swear on my life, I will never let you go, sunshine. You’re the sun that shines from my skies, even on the darkest days. You’re the only thing I want as a constant in my life.”
“Well, except hockey.” She laughs lightly and the sound caresses my eardrums like the softest silk.
“Hockey doesn’t come close to touching how important you are to me,” I tell her with nothing but honesty. “Yeah, it’s my passion and what I want to make a career out of, but you’re who I want a life with.”
A smile consumes her face and tears begin to fall from her eyes. Scooting closer to her, I cup both sides of her face, catching them with my thumbs as they slide down her cheeks. “I love you, Olivia Davis. So fucking much.”
“I love you too, Sterling,” she breathes as she stares directly into my soul.
Pulling her closer to me, our mouths collide and I’m lost in the moment with her. I want to be lost in every moment with her for the rest of my life. We have so much time ahead of us, so much to work out, but I know we can make this work.
Our love is something that has been building for many years.
And I’m ready to let it sweep us away.