Mateo’s was simpler.
Mateo: You’ve got this, baby. Kill it.
Mateo: We’re both rooting for you.
The text was followed by a picture of him and Tucker smiling at the camera. I stared at the screen for a second longer than I should have, like I could convince myself he was right. I wished he were here. Having his presence would help.
I had this. I just had to go out there and skate like I had all season so far.The score doesn’t matter. Just go out and have fun.I repeated Marcy’s mantra in my head, but it did little to actually soothe my nerves.
Slowly, one by one, the other skaters left to perform, leaving only Keira and me left. Knowing I was up soon, I took out my earbuds and stuffed them back in my bag. I stared down at my phone one last time.
“No pressure, right? Everyone’s kind of expecting this to be yours.”
The voice came from beside me. It was casual.Toocasual. I glanced up to find Keira standing there, arms loosely crossed, a small smile playing on her lips. A smile that made my neck tingle.
“Something like that,” I said, locking my phone and slipping it back into my bag.
“Is Mateo watching? You wouldn’t want to disappoint him if you suddenly didn’t do well.” The way she said Mateo’s name had me narrowing my eyes at her. Obviously, my relationship with Mateo wasn’t new news anymore, but I didn’t like Keira saying his name so nonchalantly.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, forcing a shrug like it didn’t matter. Like I hadn’t spent the last ten minutes internally freaking out. Her words weren’t helping.
“I’m sure you will,” Keira replied, already stepping back. “You always are…until it counts.”
She let her words hit and linger in the air, sending me one last fake smile before turning away from me.
Until it counts.
Those words buried themselves in my head before I could stop them. She did it on purpose, to get under my skin. I knew that, yet I kept hearing it on repeat.
Seconds later, Marcy popped her head through the doorway, telling me it was my turn on the ice. I had no other choice but to shove that all aside and focus on my routine.
I followed Marcy down the short hallway, ducking through the doorway that led to the rink. Multiple cameras followed me as I went, but I kept my eyes forward. My blade protectors thudded against the thick carpet the stadium had put down.
The sound of people clapping filled my ears as Marcy and I came up to the sideboards. The skater before me was sitting in the little alcove where we had to sit and wait for our scores to come in.
“Remember to just breathe. You’ve run through this routine a hundred times, so trust your body,” Marcy said, bending her head so I could hear her. Holding onto the boards, I reached down and took off my blade protectors, handing them to her before slipping out of my jacket.
“Just breathe,” I repeated. I really needed to get my head focused, but it was like I had a thousand thoughts trapped inside. Keira’s words did exactly what she intended.
Hands gripping my shoulders, I snapped my attention forward. “Emmie.” Her voice was firm, grounding. “You’ve got this.”
I took a deep, steadying breath. She was right. I could do this. This was just a regular ole competition like all the pastones. I gave her an unsteady smile, clamping a tight hold on the nerves rattling my belly.
Marcy squeezed my shoulders one last time as my name was announced through the arena. I put one skate on the ice and pushed off as I made my way to the center of the ice. Claps and some cheers filled the air.
“You’ve got this, Emmie. Just skate like you have been. Have fun with it,” I muttered to myself, rolling my shoulders. The hem of my dress fluttered in the small breeze as my skates propelled me forward into my starting position.
With my toe pick wedged into the ice, my body twisted with my hands wrapped around my upper body. I took one last breath as the beginning notes of my music started.
Let's do this.
Sixth place.Sixth.
The scores glared at me, as if mocking me for having done a horrible performance. My hands gripped my thighs, finger nails digging into my flesh as I averted my eyes from the screen displaying the scores.
“It’s okay, sixth isn’t bad. Tomorrow is a new day,” Marcy said, but I barely heard her.
The moment I stepped onto the ice, I was off. Hell, I was off the entire morning.
