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“You woke me up by–” She paused as she stared at the phone. “It’s my mom.”
“I guess we won’t be doing whatever you were about to say this morning,” Belle said. “Want me to go shower? I might as well start the day now.”
“No, stay. Please,” she replied and took Belle’s hand. “Mom, it’s early.”
“You should be up already. You compete tonight.”
“It’s six in the morning. I don’t compete until tonight.”
“Yes, and you should be up training.”
“Well, the alarm was set for seven. What time is it wherever you are?”
“Are you responsible for the fact that your sister is no longer answering her phone when I call?”
“What?” Chandler sat up in bed and leaned back against the pillows. “No. I’m not responsible for Cat.”
“Are you even responsible for yourself?”
“Mom, what is going on?”
“You’re competing with a woman when you could be competing with Lincoln Cates? Chandler, what is going on? I saw the interview you gave last night, and you told that reporter that you were going to compete as an individual. You won’t make the team that way. You’re a pairs skater. It’s why we switched you to pairs: it’s the only way you’ll be good enough to make the team.”
Chandler looked over at Belle, who was wiping her eyes from sleep.
“Mom, stop.”
“Stop what? I want you–”
“No,” she interjected.
“What do you mean, no? You didn’t even hear what I was going to say.”
“I’m almost twenty-seven years old, and you’ve been bossing me around my whole life.”
“I’m your mother.”
“No, you’re not. Not how you mean that, anyway. You gave birth to me, put me on skates, and practically ran away. You give me money and a skating rink, and that’s supposed to make you Mom of the Year, but it doesn’t.”
“Chandler…”
“Mom, if you actually want to be my mother, I’m here for that. I told Cat the same thing. I don’t want a coach; I want a sister. And I don’t need a skating rink and a giant, empty house with staff to take care of me. I needed my parents when I was growing up, and you weren’t there. Neither was Dad. If you want to try to be there for me someday, we can do that. For now, though, I’m focusing on this competition tonight and trying to make the team as an individual. If I don’t, but I work hard and give it everything I’ve got, that’s fine. I know it’s next to impossible now. I’d still know that I was the best I could be, though, and that’s enough for me. I’m not going to let you run my career anymore.”
“I went to the Olympics, Chandler. If anyone knows what it takes, it’s me.”
“Mom, I can’t even tell if this is something I actually want, or if it’s something you’ve told me I should want. I’ll probably be in therapy for years trying to figure that out, but you know what? I’m the happiest I have ever been. I have an amazing skater as my partner and–”
“Belle Elrod? The girl everyone knew had a thing for you when you were kids, and I had to talk to the program administrators about? Really, Chandler?”
“What did you just say?” Chandler asked and looked back over at Belle, who was doing her best to pretend like she wasn’t listening.
“I told them to keep the two of you apart. She was going to distract you. You weren’t there to make friends. You weren’t there for a silly relationship. You were there to learn and compete.”
“You told them to keep us apart? When?”
Belle turned her face to Chandler and looked confused.
“It didn’t matter, anyway. She left. I heard about the fact that she tried to kiss you and told them to get her out of there, but she left on her own before they could.”
