Page 121 of My Best Bet

“At the Coliseum?” I looked down the hall which led into the main part of the facility.

She nodded.

Him showing up couldn’t mean anything good.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “You have practice. I’m being so pathetic. It was just a shock.”

I held her against me. “No, I’m glad you came to me. We’ll get rid of him. This is our rink, our city, alright?”

She breathed in a ragged sigh. “I thought he was banned from US Figure Skating. I just don’t understand why he’s here.”

“He was banned because of what happened with you?” I continued rubbing out her muscles, hoping to relax her.

She let out a huff. “No, I wish. His next partner reported him and there was a whole Safetysport investigation. When they interviewed me, I didn’t hold back. I told them everything.”

I nodded. Safetysport didn’t just launch investigations into anyone. He was problematic. I knew it back then and hearing that it was finally proved filled me with a small sense of relief.

“I’ll look into it, okay? I’ll fix it. I’ll get rid of him.” I hugged her against me with both arms.

She glanced up at me with worried eyes. “You sound like the mafia. I don’t want this blowing back on you, okay? Please don’t do anything stupid. Promise me.”

I pressed a kiss into her hair, then leaned my chin against her head. “I promise. I’ll just look into it. We’ll figure it out together, alright?”

She nodded.

“You’re not in this alone, okay?” I reassured her.

She nodded, but then her face broke and the tears came quick. I immediately pulled her into my chest, worried I said the wrong thing, but then she let out a small “thank you” and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest.

39.Mer - When?

The last couple weeks, dinnertime at Colt’s meant dancing around the kitchen and having fun making the meal together. Tonight was a stark contrast to that. We all seemed to be lost in our own inner worlds as we quietly did our part. Lucy set the table while Colt stirred the pasta on the stove and I chopped vegetables at the island counter.

By the time I made it back to Colt’s, he already had all the information he could get on Andy from Hans. Apparently some anonymous donor paid big money for him to come to the Coliseum to set up a pairs program. Hans guessed it was because their kid was a pairs skater. I questioned why anyone would want a coach banned by US Figure Skating, but that wouldn’t matter if the skater was representing a different country in competition.

Andy probably easily fooled the donor, giving out false promises of Olympic gold, just like most asshole coaches. He could charm easily with that disarming grin of his– I should know, I stupidly trusted him with my life for over a year.

Shit.

My eyes fluttered closed and I gripped the counter, trying to anchor myself. I’d practically blocked out all memories of Andy and my mistakes for so long. Recounting everything to Colt was the only exception, and I thought that’d be the end of it. I had no way of knowing I’d practically run into him only weeks later. It just didn’t seem fair that this would happen now, right when we got our happy ending. Andy’s presence was like a looming bad omen screaming at us that we were doomed to fail, that ourprophecy would never be changed no matter how hard we tried to outrun it.

When we sat down to eat, I asked Colt and Lucy about their highs and lows of the day, but looking down at my meal, I gripped my fork hard and struggled to stay in the present. It’s almost like seeing Andy acted as a trigger for me, because eating felt like a chore for the first time in years, which just spurred on a new tidal wave of worries– maybe I wasn’t a good role model for Lucy, maybe I wasn’t good for Colt, maybe I wasn’t good enough to be a figure skating coach, because how could I help other girls when I couldn’t even help myself?

Colt’s warm hand landed on my thigh, bringing me back to the present. But when his concerned gaze dipped to my plate, a mixture of anxiety and shame caved in on me.

“Can I be excused?” Lucy asked, eating her last bite.

“Yeah, honey, that’s fine,” he said, but his eyes were still locked on my profile.

“Can I watch the rest of High School Musical?” she asked, biting her lip in anticipation.

“Sure, honey,” Colt said with a chuckle, rising from his chair to plant a kiss on her hair.

The longer I sat in that seat, the more it felt like my throat was closing up. I quickly pushed my own seat back and threw a napkin on my plate, wanting to distance myself from this meal.

Acting like nothing was wrong, Colt cued up a slow folksy playlist while we cleaned up, and I was grateful for the distraction. He moved calmly around the kitchen beside me while I was an anxious mess.

After cleaning, he finally locked eyes with me and a hesitant look crossed his face. “Want me to make something else?” he asked, and I lost it.

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