Hometown hero, America's sweetheart, Ice Princess. Those were all things Rachel Beckett used to get called on a regular basis. A lot of people claimed she was the best figure skater in the world and practically guaranteed to win the US an Olympic gold medal. That was a long time ago though. Now the only nicknames she was called was the epic failure, the choke artist, the woman that single-handedly made her entire country feel let down all at once. She was famous all over the world, but especially in her little hometown in Minnesota, where everyone went from looking at her as their hero to looking at her as a disappointment. That's why she had left that town three years ago and swore she'd never come back, yet here she was.
She was back in her hometown, downing shots in this little hole in the wall bar with sad country music blaring from the antique jukebox in the corner. Sad music fit her current mood perfectly. Being back in this town was the last thing she wanted.
The only reason she came back was to see her family because it had been way too long and she felt guilty about that. She had been looking forward to finally getting to spend some time with her little brother and sister, but being back here only reminded Rachel of the reasons why she left in the first place. Besides the sideways looks and whispers from people in town, number one at the top of that list of reasons why she left was her Mom. To say that she was toxic would be an understatement.
Her Mom's disappointed looks and judgmental glances in Rachel's direction, the little insults or backhanded compliments she always snuck in at Rachel's expense, and the way she acted like having to do anything for her was an annoyance was almost unbearable. She had just bit her tongue and reminded herself that she was only here for two weeks and it wasn't worth it. Rachel's little sister Laney had always been her Mom's favorite and she didn't even try to hide it. She hadn't drank in a long time but after being back in this town and spending two, long excruciating days with her Mom, Rachel desperately needed to get drunk.
Rachel took the shot sitting in front of her, tipping it back and wincing slightly from the burn that seared her throat and then she set the shot glass down and looked around at all the faces in the bar staring at her and whispering. They all watched her awkwardly but didn't have the guts to say anything to her face. It didn't even matter. They didn't have to say it. She already knew what they were whispering because she had read it all in the comment sections on every news article or Youtube video of hers. What a sad, pitiful failure Rachel Beckett turned out to be. Such a waste of talent. What a disappointment.
She took a deep breath in and let out an exhale, shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts. She was starting to regret coming home. Being here brought back too many bad memories and reminded her of the old days that she'd rather forget.
******** Flashback to Four Years Ago *******
"Welcome back to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships where eighteen year old Rachel Beckett is set to take the ice again. She's America's sweetheart Nancy. She's definitely a crowd and judge's favorite. We fully expect her to not only make the Olympic team, but to bring back a Gold Medal for the United States next year," the announcer Brian said with a smile.
"That's right Brian! She's definitely the front runner. She was ranked in first place after the short program and she's about to perform her long program. Her routine has a very high level of difficulty so even if she falls, she could still take first place. She's one of the few women in competitive figure skating to ever land a quadruple lutz in competition and she landed two perfectly during her short program," retired figure skater Nancy Poleski said with a huge smile, speaking into the microphone.
The rink was even colder tonight than usual and Rachel felt a chill run down her spine and goosebumps pop up on her arms as she heard them call her name. It made her shiver. 'This is it', she thought taking in a deep breath and letting it out as she skated out to the center of the ice that was painted with the slogan 'National U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Road to the Olympics.'
YOU ARE READING
The Hockey Star and the Ice Princess (Complete)
RomanceFor Rachel Beckett the Olympics was a huge defining moment in her life, something she had been working tirelessly towards since she was five years old. Winning that gold medal meant everything to her and when she finally got there and choked, her li...
