Shattered Truths (Lies, Hearts and Truths, #3)

by H. Hunting

The first time I met Winter Marks, I almost took her out with my Jeep.

???

But she left me a souvenir: a single hockey skate.

Cinderelly

She was my icy Cinderella and I would be her Prince Not-So-Charming.

Well

“Damn. You’re gorgeous, with a sharp tongue, and you play hockey? This is divine intervention. You’re basically the woman of my dreams.”

Sir you almost just hit her with your car

dark hair—shaved at the sides, the top long enough to pull back with a hot pink spiral hair tie.

immediately no

“I’d like to introduce you to Winter, who you apparently tried to run over this morning.”

😭

“If you’re missing one, you know where you can find it. Hopefully I’ll see you later tonight. Rink three. Seven o’clock.”

holding the skate hostage is crazy

“I think he might be holding my skate hostage.” She

jinx

“You look like you belong on a stripper pole.” His gaze rakes over me, pausing at my bandaged knee. “Except no one would pay money to see you without clothes since you’re built like a boy and you act like one too.”

my god 😭

Instead of handing me my skate, BJ drops to one knee in front of me.

woof

His eyes crinkle in the corners when he laughs. “Fuck, I like you.”

jeez

“We’re destined to know each other. I like you. I think you’re fucking gorgeous. I want your digits so I can tell you that in awkward text messages.”

crying

“I feel a lot of things, Snowflake, but sorry for you isn’t one of them.

love it

“Make a wish.” “Wishes lead to disappointment.” “Wishes are hope with wings,” I counter. “Make one.”

hm

“Snowflake,” I call when she reaches the mouth of her driveway. She looks over her shoulder.

awe

If I’d been faster getting out the door this morning, BJ and I might not have almost collided. If my reaction time had been slower, his side panel might have a me-shaped dent.

butterfly effect !

I look up at Winter from under my lashes and bite my lip.

👎🏽

It’s a downer, and we can’t go back and change the past. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try not to make the same ones twice.”

But if you don’t at least give it a shot, you’ll never know. And isn’t that worse? The never knowing what could have been if you’d just taken a chance? Fear is hope’s nemesis. It doesn’t belong in this battle.”

“I was overwhelmed at first too. It was hard to wrap my head around all the options when usually mine were limited to peanut butter and jam or mac and cheese.” Fern gives me a small, understanding smile and hands me a plate. “You can go up as many times as you want.”

wait my heart

how people were connected. Like, you look at someone, and they look at you, and bam—the world aligns. Mostly I thought it was hilarious, hokey shit that only made sense in books, but now… I think I know what she meant.”

“I reserve my seriousness for skate practice and school. The rest of life needs a good dose of who gives a fuck.”

“Well, yeah, obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t still be sitting here listening to this endless fucking story. I’m over here waiting for something to happen, and you just keep talking and talking and talking.” “It’s a slow burn.”

“Are you nervous? Because if that’s the issue, I can help.” I grab the front of his shirt and pull him forward.

WOOWOOOWOW

“Shut up and kiss me.”

giggles

“I think we’re going to have a lot of fun together, Snowflake,” BJ whispers against my lips. “I think you should put your hand down my pants.”

LMFAOO

“Okay. Deal. Fingerbang Friday is on like Donkey Kong.”

😭😭😭😭😭

but it’s where I keep the things I don’t want my dad to know about, including my tuition money.

don’t tell me he’s gonna find it and steal it and it leads to her quitting the team and breaking up with bj

Here I am telling you wishes are hope with wings, and you’re used to having yours clipped.”

“Fingerbang Friday is my favorite,” I mumble. “Just wait. Tongue-Fuck Tuesday is gonna blow your mind.”

what in tarnation

Words leave invisible wounds, the kind that won’t heal no matter how much time passes. They fester and ooze and infect the heart. So anytime someone tries to get inside it, it infects them too.

“You don’t have to fight every fight with an army of one, Winter. Just remember that, okay?” “It’s all I’ve ever known.” “It doesn’t have to stay that way.”

“Your heart has too many cracks already, Snowflake. Don’t go shattering it by carrying burdens you don’t deserve.”

If you hate the box that’s been made for you, stop stepping back into it.”

“It’s okay to take a break from the trauma of it all.”

“It doesn’t have to lead to anything, Snowflake. I’d love to take care of you the way you take care of everyone else, whatever that looks like for you.”

my heart

“Probably less than you think. A Prince Albert piercing is surprisingly low on the pain scale.”

A PENILE PIERCING?!?!??

“Sometimes people have to find the bottom before they start looking for a way back to the surface,”

“I got you,” he whispers. “Let go like you want to.”

“I don’t know what kind of conversations you had in your house about sex, but here, it’s about making sure we’re safe and everything is consensual on both sides. Sex with someone you care about makes you human, and normal.”

my heart

“I think there’s some archaic belief systems in her house—very patriarchal and, based on what we’ve seen, highly misogynistic.

A MAN SAYING THIS?!?

“I just… I really like you, and the thought of losing this, you… I’ve felt sick all day. And anxious. My stomach has been in knots, and my mouth has been dry, and I can’t eat, and you’re all I can think about. I don’t want to fuck this up, Winter. So if there’s something I can do to make this better, I will. Just tell me what to do.”

“Serial killer.” She makes an ee-ee-ee sound and accompanies it with a stabbing motion. “Are you?”

😭

“No. That’s not—I want to be tied down. Not literally.” I think about that a moment. “Or like, maybe literally—depending on the mood and the setting and maybe a safe word.

😭😭😭😭😭

I wish we could stay here, in this perfect bubble of bliss, where it’s just her and me. But it has to break eventually. I just didn’t realize it had the potential to shatter.

what.

“Uh, no, dude. You don’t get to use me as your post-hookup shield.”

😭

“Winter saved your life. It’s all on tape. What happened, how it happened. If she hadn’t been there, you would have bled out in a matter of minutes.

damn

We’re not going to conquer the world today. We’re just going to take it one step and one breath at a time.”

“I love you too. So fucking much. I didn’t get the chance to tell you before,” I explain. “I wanted to say it back, but I didn’t get the chance.”

“I needed you to know how I felt, just in case.” Her eyes turn glassy. “I was scared it was the only time I’d get to tell you I love you.” “I couldn’t go anywhere without making sure you knew I felt the same way.”