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“My mother left that fucking money tome. Not you, you insufferable bitch.”
“Careful.” She tosses the Kleenex into my lap. “Don’t ever let your emotions get in the way of what needs to be done. You have some pretty intense training ahead for the Olympics, and you need to use all of your energy for that.”
“I hate you, Elaine,” I say. “I hate you so fucking much.”
“Yes, well, that’s your prerogative.” She shrugs. “Be ready at sunrise so I can take you shopping to get a sweater for your nextSkater’s Digestinterview.”
“I don’t want your help ever again.”
“Sounds even better.” She walks away, and it takes everything in me not to jump out and punch her to near-death like we’re in an octagon.
I pick up my phone and see a red-faced Travis.
His jaw is clenched and he’s shaking his head.
“Why hasn’t your dad stepped in and said anything about this shit?” he asks.
“Because he can’t see it,” I say. “He’s a shell of himself. You know that.”
“How much is the tuition?”
“I don’t want to think about it.” I wipe my face. “Can you do me a favor, though?”
He looks reluctant to change the subject, but he nods.
“The director of the school sent me an email about the payment and I need to tell her that I don’t have it.” I pause. “Can you log in to my email and handle that message for me? I’ll call her personally this weekend, but I don’t want them to hold my spot…I’ll text you the password, just tell me when you’ve done it.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t let him say a word. I don’t want to hurt anymore.
“Tell me the good news about landing that sponsorship, please…”
ACT NINE & A HALF
BACK THEN
TRAVIS
Hours later
Tacoma, Washington
I’ve seen Tatiana cry before, but never like this.
She’s lying on my chest, trying to tell me she’s fine, but the sobs wracking her body every few minutes say otherwise.
“I told you not to come here,” she says. “You shouldn’t have come…”
I rub my hand against her back, letting her tears soak my shirt as she speaks.
The moment she said, “I don’t want to live anymore,” I jumped into my car and made the drive.
“I can’t fathom being a figure skater past the date I told you about,” she says. “Even when I was in pairs, this was never my true dream for the long-term. You know?”
“You’ve told me…”
“Will we still have dinner together in Sochi?” she asks. “I mean, if you’re able to spend some time away from Penelope, I would love to.”
“I’m not going to Sochi anymore.”
