✓ | Melted Ice - Nolan Patrick

2.6

The Patrick sisters, Travis, Nolan and I all went in Nolan's car and the parents and James went in another. I was in the passenger's seat and of course Nolan was driving. We all talked and said what we were hoping we were getting for Christmas. That made the half an hour drive to the rink shorter than it seemed.

Nolan parked and I carefully got out of the car, wincing slightly when I bent my knee too much. I crutched into the building, Travis holding the door for me and Nolan's hand on the small of my back. A few minutes later our parents and James came in. I smiled at James as everyone went to go put on their skates. Once Nolan had quickly laced his up he walked over to me, holding the door to the rink open.

"Are you sure you're okay with this babe?" Nolan asked as we reached the stairs to go into the stands of the rink. I nodded and turned to kiss his cheek, but Nolan being Nolan he turned his head so I kissed him on the lips.

"Of course. I love watching people skate. And besides this'll only get me more excited to skate again when I'm cleared in a few weeks," I said and he nodded subtly. Nolan kept his arm around my waist as he helped me up into the stands.

I sat down on the concrete and watched as Nolan rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Babe," He started. "My Uncle James wants to talk to you about something. I just - I don't want it to mess things up, okay? But what ever decision you make it'll be okay and I support you." I furrowed my eyebrows but still nodded. He kissed my cheek and went down to the ice where both of our families were.

James came up a few minutes later. He sat down next to me and I smiled at him.

"James, why aren't you skating with everyone else?" I asked and he pursed his lips.

"I'm older than I seem, Lila. I can't risk getting hurt. Speaking of which, when do you get cleared?" He asked and I sighed.

"Hopefully in two weeks. Why?" I asked and turned towards him but soon turned my gaze towards the ice. I smiled as I watched Nolan skating with Travis as they talked. It seemed sort of serious.

James took a breath before he spoke. "Lila, Nolan has told me you're a phenomenal player. I don't know if he's told you but I coach a women's team here in Winnipeg. It would be an honor if you'd join. It's all young women your age," He said and my eyes widened. I didn't know what to say.

"I - I, wow. I don't know what to say. That sounds amazing actually. I've been looking for a team to play on. The only issue is that I'm gonna be away from Nol," I said. This was going to be a much harder decision than I thought.

"Listen, I completely understand, Lila. Just keep it as an open thought, okay?"

"Got it."

After an hour and a half both of the families were ready to go. I was planning on calling Alexa to talk to her about this whole predicament. As we were walking out Nolan noticed my mood change from the previous two hours. He tugged on my hand to keep me from walking.

"We're talking when we get back," He said quietly and I nodded as tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't know why I was about to cry. This wasn't that big of a deal.

We got back to the Patrick household around four o'clock. Without saying a word, Nolan and I went upstairs. Mom and Carrie looked at me sympathetically, they must've been informed on what was going on.

Nolan closed the door to his room and walked to the center before turning around to face me. I sat down on the edge of his bed since my knee was starting to bother me.

"Lila, I want you to do what's best for you. As your boyfriend speaking I don't want you to leave. But as a best friend I want you to leave. I want you to pursue these dreams you have," He said and put both of his hands behind his head. I closed my eyes for a few seconds.

"I don't want to leave, Nol. I love you, Nolan James. I've never felt this way about someone before. I've never actually dated someone before. I don't want to fuck this up." I ran a hand through my disheveled hair. Nolan kneeled down on the ground in front of me taking my hands in his. He kissed my hands softly before standing back up.

"I'm gonna leave you alone for a little bit. I'll be downstairs. I love you."

Once Nol was gone I pulled out my phone to call Lex. She would know what to do. On the second ring she answered.

"Hey babes, what's up? Merry Christmas, by the way!" She exclaimed and I smiled. I missed Lex more than anything.

"Merry Christmas, dude. So, um, Nolan's uncle just offered me a spot on his hockey team." I said and she started screaming loudly. "Calm down, my god woman."

"Lils that's amazing!" She said, I sighed.

"No. It isn't. His team is in Winnipeg," I said and she went quiet. "I don't know what to do, Lex!"

I fell back onto Nolan's bed dramatically as tears threatened to fall from my eyes. Alexa spoke. "I think you should go for it, Lila. You've been looking for a team for a while now. This is your shot."

↱ Nolan's Point of View ↲

I closed the door to my childhood room and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I don't know what I would do if Lila stayed in Winnipeg. I went back downstairs to see the Konecny's parents, mine and Uncle James in the living room. My sisters and Travis were in the kitchen, so I went in there.

"How'd it go?" Travis asked and I sighed and hopped up onto the counter.

"I honestly can't tell what she's doing. Only time will tell I guess," I mumbled and Travis frowned.

A few minutes later Lila came down the stairs with a slightly tear stained face. She walked over without saying a word and buried her face in my chest, wrapping her arms around me.

— December 25th —

❁ Lila's Point of View ❁

"So, I have a bit of an announcement," I said after I sat down at the table to eat breakfast. Nolan turned around quickly and stared at me. James did the same. Everyone in the house knew what was going on by now, I knew it was the topic of the night after I headed to sleep early. "I've decided that I'm going to join James' team once I'm cleared to play."

-a/n-
i apologize for this chapter. also, this isn't the scene i was getting emotional about, this story is gonna be a roller coaster