Page 7 of Break the Ice
“Eli,” I whisper, leaning closer to read him.
There’s a flightiness in his eyes that twists my chest. When he pullsback, I grip his arm. Firm enough to make him pause, to pin me with a glare.
“I’m fine,” Eli mutters, yanking away and grabbing his bag before heading out.
“Sylkes,” Thompson calls, stopping him.
Eli jerks back with a scowl, as far from Thompson as he can get.
“I get it, okay?” His voice cracks like a whip. “I messed up. I know.”
Thompson goes quiet, brows high on his forehead.
“Eli…” Hillier starts, but even Rio pauses for once. “Man…”
“I’ll do better,” Eli says before walking out.
It’s the tortured twist of his face that makes me follow. That lost-boy look ripping my insides apart has me pushing past reporters waiting for interviews.
“What’s going on?” I demand, falling into step beside him.
I can feel eyes on us as we head toward the players’ lot. He’s suited and booted. I’m still in compression gear, reeking of sweat.
“Elijah!” My bark slows him, and when we hit a quiet hallway, he stops.
The look he gives me says more than any words.
“Can you just… talk to me?”
His eyes fall to my hand hovering near his arm.
“I’m fine,” he murmurs, stepping back before heading for the exit. “I have to go.”
He disappears through the doors with the Comets logo, and I stand there debating whether to follow. My gut says yes. My head says give him space.
CHAPTER 3
FINLEY
Grandma once told me the only certainty in life is death—of your heart, your soul, your spirit, and eventually, your body.
I’m not sure what part of me is dying right now. Because everything hurts.
“Finley-James, don’t look so sullen,” Mom reprimands as we leave the women’s chapel. “You’re not a lamb to the slaughter, so stop acting like it.”
Before we exit the double wooden doors, she pauses to fix the oversized sailor collar of my white cotton dress.
“To love the Lord is to sacrifice the wants and whims of your flesh. To love the Lord is to submit yourself to the holders of His priesthood. When you love the Lord, He shines His light on you. You will be blessed with a righteous home and godly children who will spread His light into all the corners of the earth. Do you understand, Finley-James?”
I swallow down the reply I want to give her, opting for the one she expects. The one that won’t have me whipped to reason again.
“Yes, Mother.”
She gives a last approving glance over me—the ankle-length skirt, the plain white pumps—as though piety can be measured by cotton and modest hems.
Asher Montgomery is exactly six feet tall, which makes my five-nine height too close for comfort. But he’s an Elder’s son with a reputation that doesn’t bear repeating. Beggars can’t be choosers. Especially after the Elders’ doctor told my parents my virginity wasn’t physically intact.
So, a week of cleansing. A week locked away in the women’s chapelwith nothing but bread and water, with Evelyn Sylkes lashing me every morning until my sins bled out onto the floorboards.
