Ice Cold

46

Part of me couldn't stomach the thought of food. I was so anxious about today that I felt nauseous. Seeing Wren eat his own food without a care in the world made me feel slightly better, so I followed his lead. He probably wouldn't have let me leave here without eating something anyway.

When we got in the car to head over to the arena, Wren placed his hand on my thigh. I hadn't even noticed I had been shaking my leg until his hand stilled me. Wren surprisingly didn't say anything about my anxiety.

"Do you know when Olivia will be on?" Wren asked as we drove down the road.

"I'm not sure," I told him, looking out the window as we neared the arena. "She does a short program and a free program."

I hadn't been to one of her competitions in a while, and it wasn't like my father brought me to many of them either. A lot of the time it was my mother who brought Livi to skating and my father who brought me to hockey. Needless to say, I wasn't well-versed in figure skating.

Wren parked the car, but left it running as he turned to me.

"We still have time to leave," Wren said with a grin.

I shot him an irritated look and got out of the car. Wren was quick to follow me and the two of us made our way inside.

There were more people here than I thought there would be, and that actually gave me some comfort. The more people there were, the less likely it was that I would run into my parents.

Wren walked beside me, clearly at ease. His walk was like a glide, his head held high. I looked at him and wished that I could be more like him. He caught me looking out of the corner of his eye and shot me a smile.

"A lot of people here," he commented.

"Probably a good thing," I responded.

I wanted him to hold my hand, but at the same time I wanted him to keep his distance. I craved his comfort while also wanting to keep him at arms length.

The two of us didn't say much as we found our way to our seats. I looked around before sitting down, but I didn't see my parents anywhere. They were probably closer to the front, ensuring the best view to catch all of Livi's mistakes. It was exactly how my father would always watch me play hockey, with a scrutinizing gaze instead of one of pride or admiration.

"I don't know much about figure skating," Wren said, bringing my attention to him. "How do we know if she's doing well?"

"Basically if she's nailing her jumps and spins and sticking the landings then she's doing good," I said. "I don't know much about it either. I've never really gotten to watch her that much."

Wren nodded, and a few moments later the first skater took to the ice. Neither of us cared much for watching the other skaters, but Wren watched the first short program while I watched him watch it.

"It's so cold in here," Wren said, clapping after the skater finished.

"Well, yeah," I said. "It's an ice rink."

"They can't make it warmer for the spectators?" he asked and I just shook my head at him.

We sat through a few more performances before it was Livi's turn. When I heard her name, I sat on the edge of my seat, my eyes glued to the rink.

Livi skated to her starting mark and began her program. All was going well at first. She skated with elegance and precision. It was the last jump that ruined her nearly perfect performance.

When she came down to land, her ankle shifted beneath her and sent her down on the ice. Livi got right back up and struck her final mark with a wide smile. I couldn't help but smile down at her.