Home > Work > On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3)
21 " Dating, or even just hooking up when you're stuck in a town this small sucks. You go out with someone one night and everyone knows by the next morning. And by everyone, I mean even the fucking mailman knows. It's just not worth it. "
― Julie Cross , On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3)
22 " It's hard not be intimidated by my hockey coach after three years of being yelled at and humiliated by him, especially when I've been held back during a game to follow that unspoken rule of not outplaying a senior. "
23 " It wouldn't be terrible to be able to talk about girls with Dad, but again, small town, small world. Talking about getting to third base with a girl who my mom used to babysit when we were little? A girl whose diapers Dad had been forced to change on at least a couple of occasions when my mom left him in charge to run to the store or something? It's just not worth the incestuous connections that come up in these situations. "
24 " I'm back on the main level in less than a minute, sporting running shoes, a coat and my iPhone and earbuds, but I'm not fast enough to miss Mom's nightly sobbing. The sound pierces through her bedroom door down the hallway and pierces right into my chest. "
25 " Even it's cold as hell outside, even if my legs get so tired I can't take another step, I need to remember that sound and not come back home until I don't have to hear it anymore. At least until tomorrow night. "
26 " After the light turns off under Grandma's door, I make my way out the back and across the yard, around the pound and then into the woods. Exploring the area at night, running on the trail without getting lost isn't a novice activity at all. It took me weeks of daily runs to brave it without shining a flashlight the whole way. "
27 " I felt that source of power for a minute when all eight of us seniors stood in front of the line of boys, knowing they were literally going to do whatever we told them, but the second we gave them the command for them to strip down, I felt the first twinge of indigestion. "
28 " Maybe the three years of steering clear of this Otter tradition was enough for the rest of the guys to forget how much it fucking sucked to be on that cold ground nearly naked. This event is exclusive to freshmen and seniors. Either you get to be pond scum or God. There is no in-between. "
29 " I almost head to my truck to wait of the rest of this nightmare when Red and Jenkins force two freshman to kick the shit out of each other while their hands are cuffed behind them. Through my truck's headlights, I can see several sets of blue lips. It's too cold for this. Too cold to be out here this long with so little clothing. "
30 " Any minute now. Any minute now, someone will bang on the door and tell Grandma everything. Why couldn't I have just stayed inside listening to Mom cry? It would've been better than what I ended up witnessing. Why did I have to crawl across the ice and help Jake Hammond out? But I already know the answer: Because no one else would have. "
31 " I've been in a 12-hour pain medication haze and coming out of that, realizing that I'm back home in my bed. It's impossible not to think that maybe last night wasn't real. Maybe I dreamed it. Maybe school hasn't even started and it's still summer, but the shooting pain across my chest and down my left arm tells me otherwise. "