Getting angry with my coach isn’t the solution here. But damn it, now I’m stressed.
“You’ve been training for months. You’ve got this.”
It’s true. My knee feels fine. Good, even. I’ve been doing training runs here all week leading up to this. I could do this in my sleep.
But after the injury, everything is making me take a pause. Second-guess myself.
I know I can’t do this while I’m on the mountain. One split-second decision could mean the difference between making it down in one piece or tumbling down the mountain, unable to stop.
“I need…” My voice is breathy as I look around. “Fuck, I need…”
A commotion near the competitors’ tent distracts me as someone marches my way.
A very familiar someone.
“Logan?” My heart catches in my chest. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Denver.”
“I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
“But—”
He cuts me off as he stops in front of me, pulling off his gloves. “The question is, why aren’t you at the starting gate?”
Tears sting my eyes, freezing against my face as the cold wind whips around us.
“I’m scared.” My voice is small, quiet enough so that only he can hear me. “What if something happens?”
“You know what I think is going to happen?”
Logan takes a step closer to me, the snow crunching under his boots.
“What?”
Warm hands cup my cheeks, bringing my eyes to his. While mine hold nerves, his reflect the confidence he has in me. “You are going to have the best fucking run of your life. You are not going to let fear win. You, Audrey Meyers, are the best skier in the whole damn world, and I want you to go out there and show everyone else that. You got it?”
“But—”
“You got it?” Logan steps closer, dropping his forehead to mine.
“Yeah.”
“That doesn’t sound like you believe me.”
“What if I fail?”
“Then you’ll get back out there and try again.” Logan presses a warm kiss to my lips. “Audrey, I love you. And I know this is scary. Believe me, I get it. I’ve been where you are. The difference between us is that you have the chance to get back what you love.”
“What?” I don’t miss his words.
“You can go out there and win another medal.”
“Technically, qualify for the chance to compete for another medal.”
Logan smiles, dipping his mouth closer to me. “Fine. But you still have the chance to go out there and show everyone that you have what it takes. That you’re the biggest badass ever and that an injury won’t stop you.”
“Audrey. If you’re going, we have to go now,” my coach tells me. “You’ll DQ if you don’t.”
“Give her a fucking minute,” Logan growls.
