The other day, I was bored and snooped around the house, finding his office. Seeing all of his trophies and medals reminded me of the life I once lived and breathed, which now seems so far away, especially with everything I physically lost in the fire.
I throw myself a pity party for a few minutes, letting myself feel what I need to feel.
And then, I remind myself who I am.
I’m Teagan Witt, a professional gymnast and world champion. A kickass teacher. A soon-to-be mom. A great friend and sister.
And I can do anything. I know this because I’ve overcome every obstacle that’s ever come my way, this being no different. So while it may be a change in plans, it’s a good thing I’m pretty flexible to begin with.
While watching Quentin’s game was an entertaining distraction, that’s all it was. I needed a hobby or something, a thing I did just for me. Problem is, I didn’t know where the hell to start. I never had time to figure out what I liked to do for fun as a kid or teenager because all I did was train.
My phone begins to ring on the cushion beside me, breaking my inner thoughts apart. I pull it over to me and see Nina’s name on the screen.
With a dreadful sigh, I answer it. I may have been the one who told her to call me when she gets a chance, but I’m still nervous all the same because I’ll be telling her my news.
“Hey, Nina, how are you?”
“I’m great…how are you?” she says warily.
“Well, things have been better, honestly,” I admit as the image of my burned down apartment flashes through my mind.
“I heard about the fire. I’m so sorry, Teagan. I didn’t want to overwhelm you by reaching out. I know how you like to deal with things. But I can look for listings to see if there’s anything similar or close by.”
“That’s okay. Thank you, though.”
“Where are you staying?” she prods.
“Uh, about that.” I chuckle nervously.
“Teagan, you know beating around the bush gives me anxiety. Out with it,” she urges.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I got pregnant from a one-night stand, and now I’m temporarily living with the father. Also, he may or may not be the pitcher for the Detroit Panthers, Quentin Laurent.”
“Wow,” she breathes, sounding shocked. “Are we…happy about the baby?” she asks cautiously.
“I was shocked at first, but yes, I’m happy.”
Nina squeals. “Congratulations. I can’t wait to buy all the cute baby clothes and spoil them.”
“Thank you, Nina, and I’m sure this baby will be plenty spoiled,” I say with a soft chuckle.
“As your friend, I’m so excited for you, but…” She pauses, then says, “As your agent, this is going to be a media craze. We need to figure out how we’re announcing this. Are you two together?”
“No,” I say quickly. “We’re co-parenting and that’s it.”
“All right, not a problem. I’ll figure out a statement—”
“Nina,” I interrupt. “I know we can’t hold off forever because once I start to show, it’ll be impossible to ignore. But for right now, can we wait? Ian doesn’t know who the father is yet, and he’s not Quentin’s biggest fan…”
“Not a problem. You let me know when you’re ready and I’ll take care of it,” she tells me, then adds, “Are you planning on making your ‘retirement’ permanent, then?”
My stomach sinks at the idea of never competing again. I always knew eventually that day would come, but I imagined it at thirty, not at twenty-four.
“I’ll be competing in the next Olympics, mark my words. I’m not done yet.”
Aside from the fact that I still want to prove myself… There’s still a part of me that wonders if this time my mom will show up.
I’ve tried to convince myself for years that it didn’t matter, and yet, I clung to the tiniest bit of hope. And the problem with hope isthat it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have of it, either way, you’ll end up disappointed when it doesn’t happen.
