Page 101 of Icebound Hearts

Aiden nods as we near the top.

“Remember—move toward the edge of the seat, hold onto the railing, and face your snowboard ahead. Don’t hit me. Let the board touch the ground before you step on it.”

He nods again, and we do just that.

Aiden almost makes it but falls at the very end. I start laughing

but help him up, strapping his other boot in.

One by one, the others make it off. Alexei screams but somehow stays on his feet.

Will and Maddie, though? They both eat shit, and I lose it.

We spend the next few hours teaching them how to balance, shift their weight, and—most importantly—fall without breaking anything. Aiden catches on surprisingly fast, and by the third run, he actually makes it down the hill without falling.

“You killed that, baby!” I yell as I reach the bottom. Aiden grins, a little too proud of himself.

“Naturally.”

I roll my eyes, as I glance back at the hill for Will and Maddie. Will, on the other hand…? He sucks at snowboarding.

After lunch, we move to a bigger hill. Everything’s going great—until we see a crowd of people and paramedics gathering at the bottom.

Aiden and I snowboard closer. And that’s when we see Will. “Oh my God,” I whisper. The paramedics are surrounding him, and I push my way through until I reach Maddie.

“What happened?” I demand. Maddie’s pale as snow sitting next to Will, holding his hand on hers.

“His board got stuck in the snow, and he tumbled down the hill.” I wince, turning to Will.

“Will, are you okay?” He shakes his head no, his jaw clenched in pain. They decide to airlift him, which means Will gets his first helicopter ride. Maddie goes with him while the rest of us make it down the hill and drive straight to the hospital.

By the time we arrive, Will’s foot is in a cast, and Maddie is feeding him grapes.

“Life’s sweet, huh?” Alexei asks with a smirks. “I can’t believe you fell like that.”

Grayson slaps Will’s shoulder. “Dumbass.”

“Hey, at least I have a cool memory for my first time snow- boarding,” Will says.

Aiden glares at him, not finding it funny.

“It’s just a sprain,” Will reassures. “They said the cast will help stabilize it faster.”

Aiden nods, but I can tell he’s still mad. I wrap my arm around him, leaning into his warmth.

“I’m sorry, Will. We shouldn’t have done this today.” Will immediately shakes his head. “Not your fault, Kit Kat. I thought I had it and went too fast.” I nod, giving him a side hug.

Maddie stays with Will while we head back into town.

The rest of us drive home together, leaving Will’s car for Maddie to bring back tomorrow.

“God, it’s almost 4 p.m. We have our evening ice skating class today,” Aiden says as we pull into the driveway.

“Sophia is going to be at this one,” he adds, and I smile at the thought of seeing her.

We rush inside, and I quickly change into another pair of leggings, grab my gloves, my thick Columbia jacket, and my ice skating bag.

I hop into Aiden’s car, and we head toward campus. Fifteen minutes later, we pull up at the arena.

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