Four-Five Years Later
1519 Words
Rowan’s POV
FROSTHEAVEN UNIVERSITY
I stood right at the gate, marveling at the beauty of the school. The school is everything I ever pictured and more.
I may hate my father enough to spend the rest of my life running from everything he ever wanted for me, maybe even hockey.
But Violeta?
Violeta has always been different.
And if being here means I get to be close to her again, then maybe I could survive everything else.
****
“The Ice Classic event is coming up. With your reputation, that would be your best bet on getting back on track,” the woman who had introduced herself as Coach Petrova explained, her eyes watching me like she was waiting to see the Rowan everyone talked about. But, surprisingly, something about her made me feel calm, a feeling very foreign to me.
“Ice Classic? What’s that all about?” Everyone who knows Frostheaven is fully aware of their yearly events. They are always up to something new and foreign, but funny enough, that’s one of the reasons they remain one of the best schools, especially when it comes to sports.
“Oh, that’s actually our biggest event of every academic year. It has been in existence for over 15 years. Your father, Victor, should have told you about it. He participated in his time,” she beamed, a look in her eyes I couldn't explain as she spoke about him.
“Maybe he did. I just don’t recall.” I shrugged. If I am going to maintain my cool and stay away from trouble, I first learn how to not react to the first mention of my parents. That's how they always end up finding out how to rile me up.
“Hmm, maybe.” She nodded, but there was something in the way she looked at me that made me very unsettled.
“What is it all about?” I spoke up, breaking the sudden silence that was slowly building up.
“Well, first things first, you would need a partner. Considering you are just arriving, and the list of the pairings was already released this morning, that might be a little difficult, but I am sure we can work something out,” she responded.
A partner?
“Does Violeta Whitmore have a partner already? I wouldn’t mind pairing with her,” I found myself saying before I could even stop myself.
So much for watching from afar. If I go down this path, I will probably scare her off before we even get to meet.
“Violeta? You know Violeta Whitmore?” She didn’t hide her shock, not even a bit. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she stared at me, but there was also skepticism in them.
“Uh... yeah. One of the best figure skaters here. She is the last daughter of the Whitmore family. My father has mentioned her once too. Just wanting to work with the best you have here,” I quickly said, cringing at how pathetic I sounded.
My father would rather die than engage in a conversation with me about the Whitmores.
“Your father, Victor Mercer, told you about Violeta Whitmore?” Her tone was all I needed to know that I have officially started f*****g up.
“Uhm, yeah, something like that.” I kept my voice steady. I might as well defend my lies.
“Oh, that’s okay... surprising, but fine. Well, unfortunately, Violeta already has a partner for the event, and like you said, she is one of our best around here. We just can’t pair her with anybody.” If I wasn’t so sharp from past experiences, I would have missed the tone she was trying so hard to cover up.
“Anybody?” I blurted out, unable to stop myself from pressing further. Pops made it very clear that the Mercers have quite the legacy here, and now I am being referred to as just anybody? What a joke.
“I don’t mean it that way. I am just really surprised you actually want to be paired with Violeta Whitmore, like an actual member of the Whitmore family.”
You know, five years ago, when our parents always did their best to keep us apart, I always believed it was merely a small feud from their days back in school that would probably end soon. But now I am slowly getting to understand it is anything but small. Everything started here, and everything would have to end here too.
“Uhm, these pairings, I don’t get it. Figure skating is very different from hockey. The only link is they both happen on ice. How on earth does a hockey player partner with a figure skater? Do hockey players do more than play hockey now?” The last thing I want to discuss is either of the families. It already seems she knows more than she is letting on, and I am going to find out everything.
I am going to find out exactly why he had to take me away from her when he knew how important she was to me.
“You see, here at Frostheaven, we prioritize doing things differently and uniquely. The pairing is mainly for team spirit and also to push both parties to their full potential. I may not be able to fully break it down for you now, as I do have another meeting soon, but I am sure you would fully understand once you join us. Hockey is still hockey, and same for figure skating. The only thing that might be a bit foreign to you is the little programs we make the pairs do, but I am sure you would get the hang of it in no time. Nothing too serious,” she smiled at me, but this time, it wasn’t as warm and welcoming as when I first stepped in here, and that was all I needed to know that I can’t afford to let my guard down here.
****
You know, people always say have a reputation that speaks for you. It turns out I do have one. Not the type people struggle for, in fact, quite the opposite.
“Isn’t that Rowan Mercer, Victor Mercer’s son?”
“What is he doing here? Does he attend here now?”
“It’s mid-semester. Frostheaven never takes in new students in the middle of the semester.”
“His father is a legend here. It doesn’t matter.”
“I heard he broke someone’s arm in his previous school.”
“I heard he has been expelled from three schools in less than two years.”
I have known Frostheaven for a lot of things, but definitely not gossip. I guess things aren’t always as you thought them out to be.
Every single person I had passed today either had something to say or kept staring at me like they had seen a ghost, and the funniest part, no single person was being subtle about it. I am meant to hate it, but somehow, I like the attention. I have never been one who cared about what people had to say, and I would not start today.
I pulled my hoodie over my head as I made a sharp turn to a corner, just itching to get back to my assigned dorm, but for some blessed reason, the heavens decided to smile at me today.
Someone collided with me.
Hard.
But I was quick to catch her before she could hit the ground, one hand closing around her waist while the other steadied her arm.
"Careful," I murmured, and then I saw the tattoo as her hair fell to the side.
The tiny constellation just beneath her hairline.
My breath stopped. I know that tattoo anywhere.
I'd watched her choose it years ago, sitting beside her on the bathroom floor while she excitedly explained what every star meant, like they were her little babies. I had even suggested naming them since they made her so excited.
I had teased her about it for weeks, but never had I imagined I would see it again.
My grip loosened, and slowly, she looked at me, the world slowing down for a minute, as those blue eyes recognized me. A feeling hit me straight in the chest. It was only by a miracle I didn’t lose it that moment.
There she was... Violeta.
Maybe not still the girl I had left behind, but it is still her.
The same eyes, the same mouth I'd spent five years dreaming about.
The same girl who had once made the world feel like somewhere I belonged to.
Except now, she stared at me like I was the last person on earth she wanted to see.
Five years.
Five f*****g whole years.
And somehow, my first thought wasn't that she hates me.
It is how she is even more beautiful than I remember.
Fuck.
I am in so much trouble.
"So you still walk so fast when you're angry, Vi."
Five years could never have prepared me for seeing her again.
- Writer
