Ice Cold (bxb)

Prologue

Ice Cold - Prologue

Axel's POV

My late mother, Anya, always told me that the ice was the one place on this world where I could be myself, where I could ignore the passing judgement, the distractions, and cruelty the world could offer. It was a place of freedom, a place of unconditional love that we had built, from the very thing that brought us together – a love for the ice.

In terms of generation, this love is a trait that has been passed down and runs cold through my veins – quite literally.

My mom was known as 'Queen Anya' in the world of competitive figure skating, an unstoppable force that won three back to back Olympic golds, and gained the title as one of the most respected and well-decorated athletes in skating history. She was a graceful, ever-evolving skating monster, as Dad would say, and that's how, in his own words, he had 'fallen in love with her' years back. When he saw her practicing on the ice one day, and wolf-whistled at the beautifully elegant, yet absolutely dangerous skating machine, he'd have never expected her to skate up to him and flip him off at his face.

He was dumbstruck, taken aback. But it was from that moment on, that Dad knew she would be the woman he would one day marry.

And as if picked by fate herself, two Olympians, one a figure skating queen and the other an equally successful beast of ice hockey, would eventually be graced with a beautiful wedding, and soon after, a fulfilling retirement after a special baby was born.

That's where I, Axel Beckham, come into this narrative. Named after my own mother's signature jump, the triple axel, just the very essence of my being, down to the last fiber, was destined for the ice, as Queen Anya's own prodigy and successor.

I was told that I had learned to figure skate before I could even walk, which I'm sure is a blatant exaggeration from my father. Though I never actually confirmed this little fact with Mom, Dad had always been a little joking, but never demeaning or offensive of my natural attachment to figure skating. Growing up I'd always wondered why, as his only son, he didn't urge me to follow his path of testosterone-filled ice hockey – being a 'manly-man' and all. I guess both my parents always knew what destiny would await me from the beginning, so they devoted everything in supporting me pursue my heart's intent.

And I do mean everything, when I say everything – because when I was six, they erected an ice skating rink and named it A&A Skating Club, after my and my mother's names – Anya & Axel. It became our own sanctuary, a place for those who loved the ice, a place where I would train, grow and flourish with two of the most important people in my life.

Mom trained me, along with a handful other young skaters with promising futures, while dad tackled his dream to coach his own ice hockey team on the very same turf. It became more than just a place of training for us; rather, A&A became a second home.

Every skater that has ever carved his or her mark on the rink will always have a connection that intertwines them to its icy surface, whether or not we are winning or losing. Because every drop of blood, sweat, and tears that was shed on that ice reminds us all of the very reason that brought us together in that one place – and that reason, once again, is the eternal love we all have for the ice.

It's what Mom always wanted, and what gave her happiness. It was her truest legacy... and also her absolute, final dying wish.

When her life was taken on that dreadful day, I thought that everything I've ever had was over: our family, our skate club... my love for figure skating. And in my own purgatory, I did feel numb, cold, lifeless – as if I were frozen in time by my own ice. It wasn't the same ice that once offered me warmth and protection, however, but rather, a type of frost that shielded me from everyone and everything around me – including Dad.