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“What are you on about?” her dad asked.
“Dad! What are you doing out here?” Belle stood up from behind the kitchen table, setting her phone down quickly because just staring at it wasn’t going to make Chandler text her back.
“I can’t just be in the bedroom all day, every day,” he replied. “Besides, I don’t have a head injury or anything. I have my crutches, and my other ankle is fine now.”
“Sit down, please.” She pulled out another chair, and he flopped onto it. “God, that’s exhausting. It’s just from the bedroom to the kitchen.”
“Yeah, but you’re carrying extra cast weight and walking on one leg.”
“I guess I am,” he said with a smile. “So, why do you look upset? It can’t just be because I left the bedroom.”
“Do you want some coffee or something?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No, I want some answers from my daughter, who has been avoiding me.”
“I’m literally sitting in your kitchen.” Belle sat back down to prove the point.
“Why aren’t you hanging out with me in the bedroom if you’re here at all? I’m not sure there’s much of a point in you being in the kitchen if you’re not cooking us something to eat or just stealing my food.”
She rolled her eyes at her dad and said, “Are you hungry? I’ll make you something.”
“No, I’m not. Now, what is going on, Belle?”
“She left.”
“Who? Chandler?”
“Yeah. She got an offer from a skater to partner with her.”
“She left after your date? She did this to you again? I’ll kill her.”
Belle smiled at her dad and said, “No, Dad. Not exactly. I told her to go this time.”
“What?”
“It’s her shot. This guy is a great skater. I looked up more videos of him last night. He’s going to medal if nothing bad happens, and Chandler will get selected with him. She’ll finally get that medal she’s always wanted. I don’t know if it’ll be gold, silver, or bronze, but she should have one around her neck in about a year. So, I let her go.”
“You let her go?”
“I told her she’s off the hook.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“That it’s okay if she doesn’t message or call because she’s busy. I guess we’re still together. I mean, I know we are. We said as much. I have a girlfriend, Dad. It’s just going to be really hard without her for a while. I got used to having her around. And now that we’re finally together, she’s gone, but it’s okay. I’ll be okay, I mean. I just want her to be happy and to have all her dreams come true, you know? Maybe in a year or so, she’ll retire, and we’ll finally be able to have a normal relationship. I don’t know. I hope we can hold on that long.”
“You don’t know if you can?”
“I know I want to. But it’s been less than a day, and I’m already going back on what I told her. I’ve been staring at my phone for the past ten minutes, hoping she’ll text me back, and she hasn’t yet.” Belle shrugged a shoulder.
“You love her, don’t you?” he asked.
“Probably in one way or another for about twelve years or so,” she admitted with a little laugh. “I know it doesn’t mean as much when you’re basically a kid, but I liked her a lot back then, Dad. She was nicer to me than all the other girls. She made me laugh. She also worked really hard and put this intense pressure on herself to be great, and that made me want to work hard and be great, too. I don’t think that kind of pressure is healthy now that I’m an adult and know better, but she still made me a better skater. She would help hide the small runs and tears in my costumes and outfits when they were a little worn down. Did I ever tell you that?”
“No, you didn’t,” he answered.
“Yeah, a few times. She knew I didn’t have a lot of money. She did, obviously, but it wasn’t like she offered to buy me stuff, making me feel like a charity case. She’d help me hide stuff that others might have picked on me for, and I fell a little in love with her.”
“And you still are, huh?”
