She looked a little off axis in the air, but she managed to stick the landing.
But on her next jump, her triple loop, she went down hard right on her hip. She took an extra second to pick herself up off the ice, and her stride was a little off as she moved into her combination spin.
I blew out a shaky breath. This was still okay. I nodded. She could still save this. She just needed to shake it off.
But then she fell on the next jump as well.
And the next.
And she popped the next.
My heart sunk for her.
I wanted to turn off her music.
She had a hard time hiding her emotions as she moved through her step sequence and her next two spins. It felt unfair that she couldn’t have a do-over. That she had to finish the rest of the program even though her chances of medaling had completely vanished.
She landed her last jump: a beautiful double axel.
When she hit her final pose, she looked completely gassed and devastated. Her face crumpled, and she quickly covered it, crying into her hands for a second.
It was over.
All the hard work, the injuries, the effort. It all led to this.
Figure skating didn’t earn you money, a career, or college. This was it. Even the top three girls who made it to the Olympics would fade into oblivion unless they won the gold while the world was watching.
Ali smoothed into a bow, her shoulders shaking with emotion as the crowd applauded her. As she glided off the ice, the crowd gave a polite cheer, but she held her forehead, struggling to keep it together. Not being able to hug her felt like torture.
“Such a shame,” someone behind me said. “She’s never been consistent though, she would’ve completely fallen apart in Sochi,” they said with a snort. “On to the next.”
Their cavalier attitude had my jaw hardening with anger. It took all I had in me not to snap at that person. This wasn’t just entertainment; this was her life’s work.
As soon as Ali exited the ice, I left the stands and wandered back out into the chilly day. I didn’t want to watch anyone else. I stared up at the stadium. She was in there somewhere. I wanted to go to her, talk to her, help her, just be with her. But more than anything, I wanted to tell her that this wasn’t everything. There was more to life than the rink.
But that wasn’t my place.
Not anymore.
I wasn’t her person.
Dropping my head, I turned on my heel and walked back to my hotel.
The only skater from Centre Ice who made it to the Olympics that year was Anastasia, which was fitting. It was extremely rare for figure skaters to get a happy ending.
34. JP - A HERB'S HOMECOMING
I knew it was Ali coming down into her parents’ kitchen by the sound of her light footsteps, and I was more grateful than ever to be waking up in the same house. After that dream, I wanted to keep her in my arms and never let go. I just wished my shoulder wasn’t busted so I could properly hold her.
After a few minutes, she brought over two mugs of coffee. After handing me one, she maneuvered onto the couch by my legs and snuggled up in the corner, tugging my blanket up to her chin.
“Sleep okay?” she asked with a small smile over her mug. “It’s a little cold down here, no?”
“Nah, it’s perfect,” I said, and I wasn’t talking about the temperature. I’d never get sick of waking up to her. Setting my mug down on the coffee table, I reached over and tugged her ankle into my lap to give her a foot massage, making her lips twist into a tiny smile. I just needed to be touching her. “But Icouldhear two girls yapping ‘til about 2am,” I added with a chuckle.
Her face broke into a brightest smile. “Could you really hear us? I’m sorry,” she said, but she didn’t look sorry at all. “It was fun catching up with Annie. She was telling me all about her ex.” She gave me a conspiratorial little grin and whispered. “You know who I think she’d be perfect with?”
I raised a curious eyebrow.
