Suicide, Skittles and Skates [✓]

Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Thump!

Kalila repressed a giggle and skated to the left, bending down to help Alex up from the ice again. "I can't believe you talked me into this," he grumbled wiping his wet hands on his equally wet jeans.

"At least you're smiling now unlike before," she laughed, gliding around him in circles effortlessly.

Momentarily forgetting that he couldn't ice skate without holding anything, Alex let go of the rail and stared at her in shock. Once again she had figured out something wasn't quite right with him without so much as a hint. He was so accustomed to plastering on a smile, acting as though everything was just peachy all the time that it threw him completely off his game. Nobody else could do that, not even Tyler and Lacey who had been his best friends for over a decade.

"Thank you," he said, so quietly that she wouldn't have heard if she wasn't paying careful attention. He didn't explain why he was thanking her though, he didn't really need to.

She smiled shyly in reply before grabbing hold of both his hands. They were so much broader than hers, enveloping them with skin that was rougher but still slightly soft for a guy. Alex's cobalt eyes grew brighter; the murky darkness of pain fading to a softer ocean-like hue. Realising just a little too late that Kalila was intending to force him into the middle of the rink as far from the railing as possible, he involuntarily let out a yelp in fear of tripping over his own feet for what felt like the billionth time.

"Dontcha trust me?" she asked jokingly, bemused at his reaction. She had taught a lot of people ice-skating over the years, many of whom weren't very good but Alex was the icing on the cake. No matter what she said, he just couldn't quite get the hang of balancing on the ice never mind the actual skating part.

His fear of falling was too huge.

He smiled then, willing his muscles to relax and let out the breath of air he was holding. Although Kalila had meant it as a joke, she was correct; there was nobody else he trusted quite so much as her. Everyone else just saw the good parts of him but she knew all his flaws, his fears and mistakes and yet she was still there. She hadn't let go when she had seen the worst of him so why was he scared she would let go now?

And with that thought in his mind he skated forward, slowly and wobbling a little but skating nevertheless. "I'm doing it, I'm doing it!" he exclaimed excitedly, concentrating carefully as he watched his feet, not being able to keep himself from beaming in pride.

'He's so cute,' Kalila thought to herself as she smiled in fondness at the boy still clutching onto her hands as if she were his lifeline.

What she didn't know is that she was.

The rain had come to a standstill, birds chirping in melody as they leaped from tree to tree. Alex was walking home after ice-skating with Kalila for about an hour. Her boss – Liz – had taken a picture of the two of them on the ice with his phone, commenting how 'cute' they were just before he left. Surprisingly the grin on his face in the picture looked genuine, the sparkle in his eyes was dim but still present. Kalila had managed to completely cheer him up.

Again.

He had been intending to go straight home to transfer the picture onto his laptop so it could be used for their art project that was due soon. There was also the matter of a Biology essay to write on the density of stomata in plants but he had something else on his mind.

Not for the first time he wished he could tell his sister about Kalila. Alice would know what to say, she always had been good at giving him advice about girls. She was the one who had warned him away from Melissa even when he didn't listen and when the shit hit the fan, she was the one there.