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She won’t answer the fucking door. What’s going on?
Just a few days ago, things were going great. Now her coach is forcing her to sit out?
“Leia, I know you’re in there. Please, just answer the door.”
Look at your goddamn pleading.
It got her to answer though.
When she opens the door, I’m shocked. She’s wearing a onesie, which is cute in its own way. When did she get a chance to buy it? There are stores in Bratislava that sell onesies?
That’s not the point, Jake. Focus.
But it’s not the onesie that shocks me. It’s the bags under her eyes. The puffiness around them tells me she’s been crying. My heart breaks seeing her like this.
“Jake, you have a keycard,” she says, annoyed. She walks away from the door and sits down on the bed. I close the door behind me, not caring what she said. I did have my keycard, but I wasn’t even thinking about using it. I just wanted to see her.
“Babe...what happened?”
“Larson, I’mreallynot in the mood for talking.” She’s sniffling as she changes the channel to the Nature Network. I take this moment to make a joke. It might go unrewarded, but it’s worth a try.
“Although I’m not above fooling around with my girl to help her forget her problems, I don’t think that’s the best idea right now.”
The appalled look she gives me tells me I said the wrong thing.I knew it would go unrewarded.That’s how I deal with difficult discussions.
“God, is that what you thought I meant? Your mind’sreallyin the gutterright now?” She gets under the covers to avoid me, but I quickly stop her.
“Wait, I’m sorry, that was a bad joke. Can we at least watch a movie or something? I’m not really into the Nature Network.”
Thatmakes her laugh at least. She looks as if she’s thinking about it.Please say yes...She throws the covers back and sits up, changing the channel.I’ll take that as a yes.
“What do you wanna watch?” I get up to pop some popcorn. As I get up, I notice a picture of us that we took at LAX right before boarding. We looked so happy. So hopeful for this trip. The juxtaposition between us then and us now is...scary.
“Certainly not my dreams slip away,” she mumbles.
I frown. “Babe, your dreams are not slipping away.”
She drops the remote and faces me, annoyed. “Really? Because it seems like my coach pretty much took them away! I can’t even run in the upcoming season, Jake. How do you think that looks to US track coaches?”
I feel like I’m watching a female version of myself right now. Such a dedicated girl. But I can’t bear to watch this. “Like you needed a break from track season?”
She looks as if I slapped her. “Larson, there are nobreaksin track. Don’t you know that?”
“Babe, I don’t know about that. You don’t wanna stress yourself out and get injured.” I know better than anyone.
“I’ve never been injured in my life.”
“And you’re not gonna start now.” Not if I can help it. If her coach wants her to take a break, she will. And I’ll make sure she’ll make the most of it.
“Why are you even concerned?”
“Is that a serious question?”
“Yeah, it is!”
I flinch. “Because I care about you! Obviously, or I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you!”
