Page 122 of More To Us

"How did what happen?"

"What happened to Kira? She wouldn't tell me."

"What do you mean she wouldn't tell you? You were at the hospital that whole time and she didn't tell you?"

"No. She said she'd tell me later. But I'm guessing it happened when you went walking with her?"

"Walking? No, we were at the gym."

"What gym? The one on campus?"

"No. My gym."

"Your gym?" Amber coughs, then wipes her nose on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "What are you talking about?"

"Kira belongs to my gym. It's across town. She takes the bus there every morning. We usually meet there at five-thirty or six."

She shuts her eyes and whispers, "Oh my God. Kira. No."

"What? She didn't tell you?"

"No." She opens her eyes. "Kira told me she was walking. She used to always like going on early morning walks with her mom. She never said she was going to a gym." Amber rubs her forehead. "So she's been going to the gym twice a day. No wonder she hurt herself."

"Twice a day? What do you mean she goes twice a day?"

"Kira always goes to the gym after class," Amber says, sniffling.

"What gym?"

"The gym on campus. You didn't know that?"

"No. I thought she was just going to my gym."

I'm getting that nagging feeling again and it's even worse than before. Why wouldn't Kira tell me she works out at the campus gym? And why was she working out twice a day? I've been pushing her hard for weeks. One workout a day was more than enough.

"I should've kept a closer eye on her," Amber says. "I knew she'd do this but she kept telling me she wouldn't."

"Do what? What do you mean?"

"She wants to train as if she's still competing. But she's not supposed to do that. She's only supposed to do moderate exercise, like walking or jogging. I thought she was walking every morning, but now you're telling me she's been going to your gym. She lied to me."

"She lied to me too," I mutter. "So what does she do at the other gym? The one she goes to in the afternoon?"

"I'm not sure but I think she does mostly cardio. Don't tell her this, but sometimes I'd sneak into the campus gym to spy on her, just to make sure she's not overdoing it. I'd usually see her on one of the bikes, or on the elliptical, so I wasn't worried. She's allowed to do that stuff. She can also lift weights as long as they're not too heavy, but she's only supposed to lift twice a week. They told her she's not supposed to do any more than that. What does she do at the other gym?"

"Okay, hold on. Who's 'they'? Who are you talking about?"

"Her doctor and her physical therapist back in Michigan. The ones who took care of her after the accident."

Part of me doesn't want to hear this because I have a feeling it's going to be bad, but I need to know.

"What accident? Tell me what happened."

"She fell. It happened at a gymnastics meet. It was really bad. So bad it ended her gymnastics career. Gymnastics is all Kira's ever wanted to do. She trained for hours a day, for years. And then one day, in one moment, it all ended." She pauses. "You sure you want to hear this right now? It's been a rough day and if you want to—"

"Just tell me. Tell me everything."

She proceeds to go into detail about the day Kira fell. She tells me how Kira slipped off the balance beam and landed wrong and broke her leg in several places, requiring immediate surgery to set the bones back in place. Then she tells me about the months of rehab, and how Kira finished physical therapy just a few weeks before moving here. She was encouraged to stay active in order to continue strengthening her leg, but was told not to overdo it.

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