by Olivia West
The door opened and Dr. James strolled in, looking tired in his scrubs and long white coat. “Hello, Hannah! Did you have to wait long?”
“No, no, it’s fine!”
“That’s good to hear. Let’s see your x-rays.” Several moments passed before he whirled around with a big smile on his face. “Great news, Hannah! Looks like during these past few months, your leg has been doing some quick healing!” Hannah smiled as the doctor’s positive words washed over her. “Looks like all your training and practices have paid off. Having a healthy body is essential to healing well and at a good speed.”
“So I will definitely be able to skate again?” she said eagerly, her face completely lit up with pure excitement. “And soon?”
“It’s looking that way! We should be able to take the cast off soon, and you’ll have to do some physical therapy to make sure that your functions return to normal, but other than that, everything will be alright.”
That was exactly what Hannah had wanted to hear for so long. “Thank you so much, Dr. James! I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my leg heals properly.”
“Okay, then you’ll want to know this…” And he went on, Hannah listening intently, praying that nothing would go wrong and her leg would stay healed for good.
***
As she waited for her next appointment with Dr. James, the one where she would be getting her cast off, Hannah threw herself completely into leg care. She spent her time online researching ways to make sure her leg stayed fine, and to ensure that she didn’t strain herself too much. She followed every single one of Dr. James’ instructions, to the letter. The urge to put her skates back on was like an itch that she couldn’t scratch, no matter how close she was to finding where the itch was.
The good thing was that she would have her cast off, very, very soon. She was so ready to be free from the restricting cast that she arrived to see Dr. James half an hour early. Jittery, Hannah sipped tea from her cute heart-shaped mug as she waited, wrapping her hands around the very warm sides of the mug, trying to heat up her digits.
The whole idea of having her cast completely off made her a little nervous, despite being excited for this moment for months. That was always the way – you wait so long for something and when you finally get it you don’t understand why you were excited anymore. I mean, I don’t even have a coach anymore, she kept thinking. It was going round and round her head like a negative mantra, or a strange nursery rhyme that was meant to scare her instead of sending her to sleep.
She hoped that the doctor wouldn’t find an infection or something underneath the cast. Though she realized her fears were somewhat unfounded, the internet research she had done had freaked her out somewhat. She knew she should never trust Google!
“Hey, Hannah, ready to get that cast off?” Dr. James greeted her with a big smile.
She looked down at the big clunky thing on her leg, and returned his smile as she thought of what she could do without it. She could skate. She could get her life back (or some form of it, anyway). “Of course! Let’s do this.”
Chapter 8
The law firm kept Hannah busy with work for the next several weeks. As she sat at her desk, reading reports and attempting to decipher the legal jargon, she kept looking down at her leg, as though she kept forgetting that she had the cast off in the first place. But to be honest, she just liked looking at her newly freed leg, out of its solid prison and ready to step back on the ice as soon as she made good enough progress in therapy. She went to physical therapy several times each week, and was really feeling the difference. In fact, the physical therapist had told her that she was most likely able to skate, but to take it easy.
Even though she was able to, she was afraid.
What if she fell again? What if she was nowhere near the level she was before she broke her leg, and she just made a fool of herself on the ice?
Where was she going to get a new partner and trainer from?
Hannah didn’t think she could handle being unable to skate. Yet the terror of hearing her bone shattering as it hit the ice still echoed in her mind.
But even with these fears in her mind, when she had finally completed enough paperwork to take a well-earned lunch break all to herself, Hannah found herself back at the ice rink. Though she tried to deny it to herself, to convince herself that she was only here to watch the budding skaters, she knew that a part of her was also looking for the smiling face of the graceful, handsome Andrew.
Her face fell a little when she realized that he wasn’t on the ice. She was about to turn away to pick up a sandwich or a soup, when she bumped into something. “Oh!” Hannah exclaimed, flinging her hands up in surprise and immediately taking a few steps back.
“Whoa there,” Andrew said, a huge smile blossoming on his face when he saw it was her.
“A-Andrew!” Hannah stuttered a little.
“Where are you headed?” The grin on his face never faded. He gazed down at her as he took a few steps back to give her some space.
“Lunch,” Hannah replied, readjusting the strap of her bag and pointing to the exit, where she had just come through less than ten minutes earlier.
“You’re not going to skate?” he asked. He held his black skating bag up. “Why don’t you join me on the ice today?”
“No, I can’t, my le…” Hannah trailed off when she looked down and remembered that she had her cast off. Maybe I should try skating. It’s been so long, after all. Hannah pursed her lips.
“Your leg? There’s nothing wrong with your leg!” Andrew smiled. “Come on, live a little! I told you before, I’ll teach you how to skate!”
Hannah remembered she hadn’t told him that she was a professional. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to get back on the ice. “Okay, fine, teach me how to skate,” she replied, a slightly amused look on her face.
Hannah followed Andrew to the rink, up to the skate rentals. “What size?” the bored-looking lady with frizzy red hair at the counter asked in a drawl.
“Seven,” Hannah replied, wondering how anyone could be bored working at such an exciting place. The lady handed her a pair of white skates, and when Hannah put on the pair of pure white shoes, a familiar feeling came over her. God, it felt so good to put on the figure skates again. She did up the laces in double-quick time and checked over the blades to make sure they weren’t damaged.
“You certainly look like you’ve done that a lot before,” Andrew commented as he pulled on his own black shoes.
Hannah said nothing, wondering how he was going to teach her. It would be fun to play along, she mused.
“Let’s go,” he prompted, offering her his hand. She took it, feeling a bit of a strange dip in her stomach as they touched properly for the first time, and followed him onto the rink.
Her first steps were hesitant, as if it were truly her first time on the ice. She was afraid of her leg giving out on her, though it had already healed. The pain and the horror from the fall still slightly echoed in her mind, and it showed clearly in her footsteps as she took one tiny step after the other on the pure white rink. But oh my God, it felt so good to step foot on ice again. It was comparable to a bird getting its wings back.
“It’s okay,” Andrew goaded. “I won’t let you fall.”
It was weird, but those plain words made her feel so safe; so protected. A part of her believed that yes, he wouldn’t let her fall, which was odd since they hadn’t known each other for very long. “Okay,” she replied, her innocent face gazing up at the guy who she didn’t know all that well yet trusted alarmingly quickly.
Testing the waters, she pushed forward, gliding on her skates. God, it felt good. The feelings she had not felt for so long on the ice came rushing back to her, putting a brilliant smile on her face, and allowing her to fully relax into her legs and feet so she had better flow in her skating.
Andrew watched her with something akin to amazement, as he could almost literally see a change coming over her. She had previously seemed shy an
d quiet, but when she was on the ice… He thought it was absolutely beautiful, the way her face lit up. But he wondered why such a change came over her. Wasn’t she supposed to be a new skater?
Hannah temporarily forgot that Andrew was even there as she began to take bigger strides, the wind rushing through her hair, sending it spiraling backwards as though it was trying to join in with the dancing. He simply stopped and stared for a moment, before realizing that he should probably catch up to her and make good on his promise to not allow her to fall.
Andrew sped after her, mesmerized by the way Hannah seemed to simply glide on the ice. She looked absolutely breathtaking, and completely at home. When she finally slowed down, and he was able to catch up to her, he stared at her, bewildered. “Hannah!” he started, pretending to be insulted. “You lied to me!”
“Huh?” Hannah replied, a smile creeping up on her lips and dying to break free. “When did I?”
“You told me you couldn’t skate!”
Hannah smirked. “When did I say that?” Her leg was feeling strong, and she was feeling an overwhelming rush of emotion as she had thought she would never be able to feel this wind ever again.
“You said it whe—” Andrew trailed off as he reflected on their conversations, and remembered that it was he who had assumed that she wasn’t able to skate. “Oh!”
“Remember now?” Hannah laughed. Being on the ice always put her in such a good mood, one that Andrew noticed.
“Oops,” he said sheepishly, laughing along with her. Her melodic giggling was truly contagious, and he couldn’t help but smile along. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, watching her as their skates scraped on the ice.
In a split second, Hannah’s happy smile turned into a look of surprise. “Look out!” Hannah exclaimed, making a rushed grab towards him. Hannah’s hand found his jacket and she gave it a hard tug, pulling him away. Andrew had been skating while watching her, and had almost crashed straight into the wall!
But the sudden imbalance of weight sent Andrew propelling towards Hannah, and before she could skate away, he had knocked her down. Hannah hit the ice, but thankfully hit it at the angle that made for the minimum of damage. “Ouch,” Hannah exclaimed, rubbing her back as she pushed herself up.
Andrew had fallen along with her, and their legs tangled in a heap as they stared at each other. They held each other’s gaze for a split second before hurriedly breaking it to pull their legs away. A slow blush grew on Hannah’s face, giving her pale cheeks some color. “Sorry about that,” Andrew murmured.
“Watch where you’re going!” Hannah exclaimed, with no anger behind the words. She brushed her hands across her leg, breathing a sigh of relief after realizing that it was alright. She was stronger than she thought. “At least you didn’t crash into the wall.”
“I got injured anyways,” Andrew laughed. “But thanks for pulling me away.”
“I tried!” Hannah retorted, slowly pushing herself to her feet and being careful not to put too much pressure on her leg. She found herself liking the way he laughed… the way his entire face lit up with an unexplainable sort of happiness. It was so carefree, and drew her in like a magnet. Blinking, Hannah realized she had been intently staring at him as he straightened back up. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her gaze.
“Like what you see?” he asked with something akin to a cross between a smile and a smirk, shattering all faith she had that he hadn’t seen.
“Not at all,” she said, giggling before she pushed off with one foot, starting to skate across the ice again. Suddenly, music poured over the loudspeakers, and Hannah recognized it instantly. Mozart.
It was as if the people around her faded away, and she were taken over by some sort of spirit. A new spring came into Hannah’s movements, and before she could stop herself, she was gliding around the ice doing crossovers, lifting her leg high, and switching to backwards skating. This continued for the entire song, and when it ended, Hannah seemed to come back into herself.
“Phew!” She exhaled a breath of air as she stood on the ice, feeling very confident after she had fully “performed” the step bit of the routine. She felt absolutely exhilarated, and it was an addicting feeling.
“Okay, seriously, how often do you skate? That was absolutely amazing!” Andrew sped beside her, his eyes wide open in surprise. He had been practicing for a long time himself during lunch times, but felt that he was nowhere near the level she was and with such ease! “You must have trained somewhere before?”
Knowing the gig was up, Hannah decided she might as well let Andrew know the truth. “Alright, fine, I concede. I actually used to be a professional figure skater. And when I say used to be, I mean that I stopped a few months ago.”
“Oh wow! That explains it.” Andrew exclaimed. “Wait, so why don’t you skate anymore?” From what he had seen of her, she seemed perfectly fine where her technique was concerned, and his curiosity was burning. Going purely by the look on her face when she was on the ice, she seemed to really enjoy being on the ice.
“I… I broke my leg. Really badly,” she said, wincing as she remembered how painful the break had been for her.
Andrew’s face turned somber as he looked at her. “I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible…” There was a tension in the air now, and Andrew wracked his brain for something he could say that would relieve it. Just as he was about to speak, Hannah’s stomach rumbled. “Hungry?” he asked, letting out a small laugh, remembering that he had pulled her away from getting her lunch to join him in the rink.
“A little,” Hannah replied, rubbing at her stomach. It growled again. “Okay, a lot!”
“Why don’t you grab some lunch with me?” Andrew said seriously. “My treat.”
Hannah thought about it for a split second. “Alright.” She smiled, thinking what harm could one lunch do?
The two headed off of the ice, and soon were walking towards a nearby café. “So what do you do, Andrew?” she asked. His button-up shirt and tie weren’t fantastic indicators of what he did.
“Ah, just some boring business job. I’d tell you more, but you’d be bored to tears. Tell me more about skating!”
Hannah recounted to him how she had first started skating, and how Francis and Erica had left her while she was in her hospital bed. By the time they had reached the café, he felt as if he had learned quite a bit about her. “That Francis guy sounds like a real tool,” he sympathized. “It’s a miracle that your leg healed so nicely, though! How does it feel?”
“A lot better now, thank you.” She walked through the door that he held open for her. They were seated quickly, and before long, Andrew had Hannah forgetting all about Francis as they chatted about all sorts of things. Hannah found that Andrew really was quite friendly, and somehow managed to make her laugh with all his interesting jokes and anecdotes.
Just as Andrew launched into a tale about his work acquaintance’s rowdy dog, Hannah’s phone rang. “Sorry,” she said as she read the text that had come in. Hannah, are you almost back yet? it read, and Hannah winced. “I’m going to be late!” she yelped, standing up from the table hurriedly.
“Oh, you’d better hurry. I’ll take of things here.” Andrew stood up too. Just as Hannah turned to leave, he caught her by the arm. “Wait, just a moment.” His eyes resembled those of a puppy dog. He was practically melting at the sight of her. “Can I have your number?” He handed his phone to her, and she decided that yes, she’d definitely like to see him again, so she gave him her real number.
Hannah gave him his phone back before almost sprinting out the door, in a hurry to return to the firm. Andrew watched her leave, never taking his eyes off her, all the while thinking that she was quite an interesting girl.
Chapter 9
Hannah was practically breaking a sweat by the time she got back to the law firm – she couldn’t run too much on her leg and so she was late. Fifteen minutes to be exact.
Anya hurried up to Hannah when she walked through the door,
her eyes bulging out of their sockets and shushing Hannah to her desk.
“Oh my God! Quickly, get back to your desk. No one can see that you’re late.” Still slightly out of breath from power walking back to work, Hannah spoke. “I just got held up at the ice rink… I went back on the ice for the first time!”
Anya looked slightly unimpressed. “I’m happy for you and all, but you can’t be late to this job! They take things like that really seriously. Plus it makes me look bad because I was the one that recommended they hire you!”
Less calm now about the situation, Hannah replied, “Just the once won’t hurt though?”
An exasperated Anya rolled her eyes. “Yeah it will, Han! If you do it again you get a formal warning, and if you keep doing it, then you won’t have a job anymore.”
“I’m so sorry, An. I promise it won’t happen again.”
