Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t w e n t y - t h r e e

The decision to gather her best friends in her living room on Saturday was not as difficult as Aspen anticipated it being. She wasn't sure if it was Charlie's gentle words or the constant sadness in her mom's eyes that compelled her, but she finally snapped. It had taken a long period of silent meditation and a mirror pep talk to convince herself that it was time, but she managed it. She needed to start healing. And there was only one way that she could do that.

Jay and Elle were both very clearly concerned by the girl's jittery and suspicious behavior, their foreheads creased anxiously. She rocked on her heel in front of them, her hands clasped in front of her. Elle bit her lip. "Why do I feel like you're about to tell us that you're pregnant?"

"What?" Aspen sputtered, her eyes widening. Jay let out a bark of laughter as the pale girl flushed. She furrowed her brows. "No offense, Elle, but I feel like you'd definitely beat me to that one."

Elle let out an offended huff as Jay continued in his laughter. When he calmed, he lifted his head arrogantly. "At least we all know I'll never have to worry about that," he declared.

Elle rolled her eyes. "Just because you won't be getting anyone pregnant doesn't mean that you don't have to be worried. Don't get me started on STD's, Jalen," she argued.

Aspen held her arms out before Jay could smack Elle for using his full name. "Let's just go back to assuming that none of us are having sex, hmm?" she consoled quickly, sighing in relief when both of her friends gave uncomfortable nods. She let out a shaky breath. "There really is something I need to talk to you guys about, though. Something I probably should've told you a long time ago."

Genuine concern littered Elle's face, and Aspen began to worry that her best friend might cry. Jay's eyes had softened significantly and he folded his hands in his lap. "What's up, Asp?" he asked cautiously.

Aspen took a deep breath. Could she keep herself from crying? The only person she had ever spoken about her accident with was her mother, and those conversations never ended with dry eyes or composed tones. She hadn't even been able to confide in Joey about the scar that the injury left. As she took in the expectant gazes that awaited her, she wondered if they would think she was being over dramatic or silly. But that didn't matter. There was no turning back now.

"I want to tell you about my accident," she finally breathed, wincing as the words left her mouth. Elle and Jay both looked startled at her declaration. They had figured ages ago that some stories just never needed to be shared, so they dropped it. They never wanted to push their noses into business that she was uncomfortable sharing. But now she was sharing.

When the room fell silent, Elle cleared her throat. "O-okay. But only if you're sure, Asp," she cautioned gently. She was being supportive, but she didn't want Aspen to make a mistake she wasn't ready for.

After another moment, Aspen nodded. "I'm sure," she promised. She sucked in a deep breath and put on her best smile. "After all, it does kinda involve you guys. I mean, I had to quit the team, I haven't come to any of your games... You guys are my best friends. You deserve to know."

Jay and Elle stayed silent, their warm gazes enough motivation for her to keep going. "I don't even remember what year it was, honestly. I think it was that season after our championship? Regardless, Joey had this big game coming up, one against Rick's team. Caine and I were helping him practice before dinner one night, but when we realized that he was being way too uptight about everything, we forced him to take a break and goof around.

"Joey chided Caine into attempting one of those figure skating pirouettes, which ended up making him look like a dolt. We both started laughing, and Caine's ego got rubbed all out of sorts, so he pestered me into trying it. I did what he did – better, of course, because I'm me – but I guess Joey thought I could do better. He dared me to try an axel, so I did."