The Ice Hockey Player

The Change

The first thing Skye noticed when she woke was the warmth and comfort. The second was a strange feeling of being safe. She hadn't felt that in years.

Cracking her eyes open, Skye saw she was back in her room, at Finn's house, in her bed and wrapped up in the doona. But that wasn't all. She turned her head and saw Finn's sleeping form next to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her body. Normally, she would have freaked – she had the last time – but this time she was glad for the company. She didn't want to be left alone with her thoughts and memories as her only source of company. She snuggled back down, her back pressing against his chest. He tightened his arms around her but stayed asleep.

Skye couldn't fall back asleep, and instead stayed awake, absentmindedly tracing circles and other patterns gently on Finn's skin, trying to keep her thoughts under control. Why had she frozen last night? She'd beaten that fear out of her, made her instinct response to be fight, not flight or freeze.

Finn shifted behind her, snuggling his face into her hair.

"Finn?" Skye asked quietly.

"Yeah?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Why are you sleeping with me?"

"You went into shock last night and I wanted to be there when you woke up," Finn mumbled into her neck, his breath tickling her skin.

"Oh..."

"The police also want a," Finn stopped to yawn widely before continuing "statement from you about what happened. Their looking into the brick now and checking the surveillance Raviera's as well." He paused for a moment. "What did happen?"

"I told you," Skye said quietly, still tracing an imaginary pattern on his arm, trying to distract herself. "I was reading and then someone threw a brick in the window. It scared me so I locked myself in the bathroom."

"Why did you freak when you saw I drove drunk?" Finn asked.

Skye didn't say anything and let the silence consume them. She didn't want to tell him anything; she didn't trust him completely. Yes, he had been incredibly understanding when she stabbed him, he probably guessed what was going on and never asked her, and he drove home from a party last night when she was in hysterics; but it didn't hide the fact he was still using her. He may care for her now, but after he had taken what he wanted he would leave, and Skye had enough of people leaving her.

***

Finn was slowly chewing his breakfast while Skye was in the shower. He had arranged to meet with Jay later on, having to desperately talk to him. The one thing Finn had never done with a girl, was wake up next to her, let alone hold her while they slept. The idea had never appealed to him before, but yet last night when Skye passed out that was all he had wanted to do. So he did it and now...

"Hey," Skye broke into his thoughts, shuffling into the kitchen with her pink hair damp and dark against her back. She was wearing another baggy sweater – a guy's sweater – and was seemingly clutching it hard in her knuckles. She wore many of these types of clothes. Maybe she had been through a bad break up. For some reason, thinking of Skye with another guy made a flare of jealousy shoot through him.

"Morning, how you feeling?" He said, forcing his voice to sound normal.

"Fine. You?"

"I'm good," Finn stood up, finished and put his bowl into the dishwasher. Skye had poured her milk and was sitting by the island. "I'm going out for about an hour with Jay; you'll be alright by yourself, won't you?"

Skye nodded. "I'll be fine. Last night was...an accident. I didn't mean to freak out. It won't happen again."

She seemed to be trying to convince herself more than him. If she had the nerve to stab him with a fork, freezing was an strange response. A brick was far less threatening than a grown man.