chapter 17

Ariel‘s POV I found Leona by the bleachers, just as the sky was beginning to bruise into evening. She was sitting alone, knees drawn to her chest, watching the ice rink through the glass wall. The surface gleamed under the lights—smooth, controlled, predictable. Nothing like what churned inside my chest. For a moment, I simply stood there and watched her breathe. I had imagined this moment a hundred times on the way here. Every version ended differently. In some, she smiled. In others, she walked away. In none of them did my heart feel this exposed. “Leona,” I said. She turned, surprise flickering across her face before softening into something gentler. “Ariel?” I gestured awkwardly toward the empty space beside her. “Can I?” She nodded. We sat in silence for a few seconds, the hum of the rink filling the gaps where words refused to form. I could feel her presence like gravity—subtle, constant, impossible to ignore. “I came to talk to you,” I said finally. “I thought you might,” she re