Meant For You

forty-six.

Miles Dempsey

Nola didn't place.

As much as she wants to bring herself down, she really did amazing. Hell, I was in awe of her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her the whole performance. Memorized isn't a great enough word to describe the feelings her performance gave me. I felt it, the crowd felt it. I'm pissed that the judges couldn't see past those mistakes because she deserved to be up there in the top 24.

Seeing her crying made me feel like I was on fire. I had to fight the urge to comfort her. Her parents and brothers did a good job at it but I wanted to hold her and tell her that she was going to be okay. That her performance was way better than whatever the hell she was thinking.

Nola likes getting in her head a lot so I know this loss hurt. As much as I wanted this for her, I'm still confident she can make it to the Olympics next winter. There's a competition in September that can qualify figure skaters for the Olympics. If she can do well there, I'm positive she'll be on that Olympic team.

It's too soon to talk about that possibility right now so I didn't bring it up. All I tried to do was make sure that she was okay. That was my first priority.

"My parents aren't going to say no." Those are Nola's words before she pulls me toward the exit. I'm happy to be getting out of this place but I'm not happy to see that specific look on her dad's face again. I tried not to make it obvious, but I noticed the way he was staring me down. He's protective of her I'm sure and that's the reason behind the daggers he was shooting.

I open up the door before Nola can grab it, holding it open for her. As soon as we step out, eyes wander in our direction. I remove my hand from hers when I realize she's still holding it. All I did was come see my friend skate. I don't need a protective dad on my ass when whatever he's thinking is wrong.

My action doesn't seem to phase her because she goes straight for Ember, intertwining their arms. "Mom, Dad, can Ember and Miles come back home with us? They booked a one-way but they don't have to be here any longer than I do," she says. The small brunette lays her head on Nola's shoulder. This time, both of Nola's parents turn to look at me.

I'm sure they'd say yes to Ember. Me? They're considering.

Nola's mom was the one who stared at me longer this time. Her blue eyes squinted a bit like she was trying to figure out if she could trust me or not. When her dad didn't say anything, I figured he was waiting for his wife to speak up first. "Of course, we should get going soon, though," her mom finally says, a faint smile making its way onto her lips.

I've never looked at her mother long enough to realize how much she looked like her. The blonde hair, blue eyes, and thick brows. They're basically the older and younger versions of each other. I look nothing like my mom. Or even dad for that matter. That's obvious since I'm adopted.

Kind of a sad fact but when kids would ask me who I looked like my mom or dad, I would blurt out the fact that I'm adopted. The look on their faces was always priceless. They had no idea what to say to that. I don't blame them though because I wouldn't either.

Still, I'd get a laugh out of their reactions.

Now that I'm grown up, I tend to keep the fact more to myself. As a public figure that's almost impossible. If I could have kept that a secret forever, I would have. With the regular season coming to an end, the thought of finding my birth parents has been itching at me more. I want to take that step into solving this twenty-four-year mystery.

The only thing I was waiting for honestly was for Nola to compete at Worlds. If she had become an Olympian today, I would have celebrated with her for as long as possible and then handled business. If she hadn't moved on, I was going to be close to her for as long as she needed support. Everything was going to be about her until I made sure she was better.