Fantine

I watched from the player's bench as Riley skated a hard lap around the perimeter of the ice rink, but halfway through his stride his posture collapsed and his skates lost their edge, causing him to crash violently into the padded boards before sliding face-first onto the cold surface. The sound of his heavy gear hitting the floor echoed through the empty arena and Coach Rufus immediately dropped his clipboard, shouting for the trainers as I sprinted across the slick surface in my heels, completely disregarding the risk of slipping because the frantic howling of Ava in my head told me this wasn't a standard sports injury.

"Riley! Stay...