✔ Icebound » Justin Davis » Spinning Out

T h i r t y - O n e

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When All Is Said And Done

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Fastening her skates, Alaska took a deep breath. That was it, the day the pair had trained so hard for, dedicating months of their lives for a chance to reach glory. The day where their fate would be sealed, where they would return home with their tails between their legs, or carrying a prize in hand. 

A part of her, was nervous, terrified even, the other, felt as though she had been training for it for her entire life, which was not far from the truth. She wanted to make her mother proud, same as her partner, her coach, everyone else. People counted on her to bring the pride back to Sun Valley, and she did no intend to fail them, not that day. 

Bringing her out of her thoughts was the ringing melody of her phone. She picked it up, hardly anticipating for it to be serious. Perhaps Jenn wanted to meet up with her before her last training session, or perhaps it was Kat, wanting to discuss something before the havoc of showing begins, or perhaps Justin had gotten ready earlier, prepared to go out on the ice, searching for his lost partner.

Whatever it was that laid beyond the echoing music, whatever she thought laid beyond, was scarcely what she was met with. Three letters, those she never thought she'd see, shone vehemently on her screen, and it wasn't but a second until her phone was glued to her ear in anticipation. 

"Hello?! Mom"?! Alaska listened intently to the other side of the call, her panicked voice showcasing all of the concern she held within her for the past eventful days.

"Alaska, it's me" Charlotte took a deep breathe, her voice shaky, but mouth no doubt formed into a grin "Doctors told me how worried you were, I just wanted to tell you I'm alright".

"Mom" Alaska's lips trembled with the thought of the news that had rained down on her, blessing all of her being "Oh my god" Her breath rasped, holding back all of the tears "I'm so sorry, for everything, it's all my fault" She felt the need to bring everything to the table right away, to make things right.

"No, no, no" Charlotte repeated, the shuffling of her body, no doubt sitting up in her bed to sound more confident, could be heard among the distanced line "It wasn't your fault. It was never your fault".

"It wasn't yours either. I blamed you for everything. You didn't have control over it, no one did" Alaska could no longer reign over her tears, so they soiled themselves across her features, reddening her face "I'm so sorry".

"Don't be" The mother reassured, her brows furrowed in concern for her daughter's well-being. It didn't take much to know Alaska took everything that happened around her to heart, even if she did a great job at obscuring it from everyone.

 Charlotte paused for a moment, listening to her overwhelmed daughter on the other side of the call, before letting out a deep sigh "You weren't the last person to see him".

"How did you know"? The brunette's gaze widened at once, for she hadn't told anyone of her whereabouts that tragic day, anyone except her skating partner, who for sure hadn't exchanged a word with her mother.

"I was" Charlotte admitted, the smile that rested on her lips vanishing from view "I saw him, and I was so blinded by my selfishness, that I told him it was nothing, that he would get over it" The mother got distressed over her words, as though taken back to the moment, the moment she turned her back on her own son, sending him over the edge "It was my fault, I didn't save him" The revelation sunk in Alaska's veins, the sobs worsening her, shaking her up, as they did her mother, the two going back to the past, as though they were back in Montana, treading through the path of their own demise.