Page 123 of More To Us

And yet the past month, that's all she's done. Pushing herself in the gym. And I've been there helping her do it.

"But of course she didn't listen," Amber says, "and now she has two stress fractures."

"What else could've happened? Do you know?"

"They said if she put too much force on her leg she might need surgery again. Her mom told me that leg bones take a really long time to heal. And even after your leg feels better, it's still healing, which is why Kira's not supposed to do anything too strenuous. What does she do when she goes to your gym in the morning?"

"She pushes herself. Uses the heaviest weights she can lift. Always tries to do extra reps."

"Why did you LET her?" Amber yells at me. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"Because I didn't freaking know!" I stand up. "I didn't know any of this. Shit, she's in great shape. I thought she was fine. I've been training her, and I told her to slow down but she wouldn't do it."

"Training her? Why are you training her? You're not a trainer."

"I'm not certified, but I've been working out long enough to know correct form and how to set up a plan for someone."

She huffs. "So you basically helped her hurt herself."

"Fuck! I didn't know, okay? If I'd known I would've stopped her."

We're both too angry to talk so we take a moment to calm down. But I can't calm down. I'm too pissed. And also worried. What have I done to Kira? Have I been hurting her this whole time? Making her leg worse instead of better? Obviously I have or she wouldn't have two stress fractures right now.

"Why wasn't she in pain?" I ask Amber. "All those weeks she was pushing herself, why wasn't she in pain?"

"She probably was. She's good at covering it up. And she's probably been loading up on painkillers."

"Prescription?"

"No. Her parents told Kira's doctor not to give her any refills on her prescription because they were worried she might do something like this. So if she's taking something, it's probably something over the counter. And I'm sure she keeps it in her backpack so I can't find it."

"Why would she do this? Why would she push herself like this, knowing it could hurt her leg?"

"Because she wants to compete again. She thinks she can go back to being a gymnast."

"She made it sound like she could. She said it was a long shot but that she was hoping she could at least compete at the college level."

"It's never going to happen. Kira just refuses to believe that because it means giving up her dream. Gymnastics is her life, or it was before she got hurt. Did she tell you she went to nationals?"

"Yeah. And she told me she grew up doing gymnastics. But other than that, she really didn't tell me much, and when I'd ask her about it, she'd change the subject, like she didn't want to talk about it."

"Because she didn't want to tell you why she wasn't competing anymore. She didn't want to tell you the truth."

"So that I'd train her." I sigh. "I can't believe she did that."

"I don't think that's the only reason. I think she just didn't want you to know. She's not really over it. Like I said, she tries to pretend it never happened."

I'm quiet, not sure how to respond. I'm still trying to process the fact that Kira hid this from me. I've seen her every day for over a month. We've spent hours talking, more time than I've ever spent talking to a girl. And yet she never told me this. She said she hurt her leg, but acted like it was nothing.

"I hope this doesn't end things for you guys," Amber says, "but if it does, then maybe it's for the best. I don't think it's good for Kira to be around someone who's as obsessed with working out as she is."

"I'm not obsessed. And if I'd known what she was doing, I swear to you, I would've put an end to it."

She nods, but I don't think she believes me.

"Did you call her parents?" I ask.

"No. Kira did. I threatened to call them if she didn't, so she called them herself."

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