Breaking the Ice by Lizzy Ripp

Author:Lizzy Ripp [Ripp, Lizzy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

OVER THE NEXT several hours, Julia recounted more about her childhood and her relationship with her twin brother than she'd told anyone in years. She told him about growing up with Jacob and her brothers at the hockey rink every single weekend (and several weekday mornings), about being her brothers' biggest supporter and cheerleader, and about Jacob being recruited for juniors and playing in his first year when he was sixteen.

"Watching him play his first game in the juniors," she shook her head, her brown eyes huge and sparkling, "It was just incredible." She smiled. "He was happier than I had ever seen him. And he played amazingly," she said, becoming animated and enthusiastic. "It was like it was meant to be... Silly as that sounds," she laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "It was just... Really amazing to be there to watch someone's dream come true, you know? Especially when it was someone I loved so much. It felt like my dream was coming true too."

Yaro gave her a soft smile, waiting for her to go on.

"He was on fire that entire season," she said. "And it was like we were all counting down the days until he turned eighteen so he could be drafted. At the end of his first season, we all went to his last game. The whole family. Even my older brothers. And keep in mind, they played their whole lives too. But they were never good enough to get drafted. They weren't mad about it at all though - it was impossible to be anything but happy with everything Jacob had achieved. He worked so hard for it, and he wanted it so badly. And it was all coming true."

She looked so happy at the memory that Yaro wished that he could freeze that very moment, take a snapshot with his mind and carry it with him always. But it only lasted for a moment before it flickered and disappeared.

"Everything was going well, they were ahead. Jacob was playing as well as he ever had. But towards the end of the game, some of the play started getting... You know, maybe a bit rougher than usual. There was a scout for the NHL in the stands apparently. And things got competitive.

You forget how young they are, you know?" She said, turning to him. "Because they're so big. Jacob was the same. Almost as big as you," she nodded her head, indicating the size of Yaro’s body. "When he was about fifteen. They look like men but they're just kids. Stupid kids who make stupid mistakes," she finished dully.

"Someone checked him on the other team - and I'm not mad at him," she said, almost defiantly. "He was just a kid and it was an accident and I'm sure he feels terrible especially after everything... You know," she cleared her throat. "Everything that came after. But it was just a hit gone wrong. The angle... Something was wrong. And Jacob just went down screaming. He was screaming," she repeated, "Like he knew in that instant that he'd lost everything.

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