Page 69 of Shining Through

“It’s exciting, and I owe so much to my amazing team, especially my coach Claudia Davis. She’s had so much success and I really think that—”

Mia’s words dissolved into another fit of coughs and throat clearing. The reporters waited, but this spell went on much longer than the last. Mia drained the last swallow in her water bottle, but it didn’t seem to help. Her naturally pale complexion looked even more washed out. Tabitha handed Mia her unopened bottle. “Here.”

She took it and chugged, then took a moment to collect herself. Then she smiled and turned back to the reporters. Flawless.

The moment the conference ended, Claudia swooped in and hustled Mia toward the elevators, without stopping to talk with any of the fans waiting nearby. Something was wrong. Tabitha and Brett were scheduled for an autograph session sponsored by their blade company, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Mia. Or the small item upstairs in her suitcase.

“Hey Peter? I need to run up to my room for a minute. I won’t be long. Can you let the HydroGlide people know that I’m on my way?”

She dashed to the elevators, and boarded the car with Mia, Claudia and a group of business travelers. Claudia acknowledged her with a brisk nod, but her concern was Mia, who stuck close to her coach and said nothing. The pair left the elevator on the same floor where Tabitha was staying and headed in the opposite direction. She watched Mia go into a room near the far end of the corridor.

In her room, Tabitha opened her suitcase and brought out the tattered bear she’d found in St. Petersburg, just as she was about to check out. The bear had been half-hidden by the comforter and blankets piled at the foot of Mia’s vacant bed. She’d missed it in her haste to leave for an early flight. Tabitha had grabbed it and stuffed it in the front pocket of her suitcase.

More than once, she’d considered mentioning the bear to Peter, but he never talked with Claudia—she thought. She’d been so immersed in her own pain, focusing on the ice was challenge enough. Bear or not, Mia had skated brilliantly in the International Series finals and seemed to be doing just fine.

Or was she?

Beneath the blond dye-job and glamorous make-up was a fifteen-year-old facing the challenge of her life. Tabitha had been in her shoes, though at the time, she’d been the scrappy underdog, rather than the much-hyped rising star. But stardom and hype carried their own burdens. Every little comfort helped, even a ragged stuffed bear.

She tucked the bear in a shopping bag and headed down the hall. She paused outside what she hoped was Mia’s door and heard the faint sound of a television. There was no answer when she knocked. She tried again. Still no answer. She turned to leave. Then the door opened behind her.

A small voice croaked, “Tabitha?”

Mia stood in the doorway, wearing plaid flannel lounge pants and an American Figure Skating hoodie. Her make-up was gone and her golden hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked small, pale and very young.

“You really are sick,” Tabitha said, quietly.

Mia nodded. “They thought it might be strep, but it’s not. Just a bad cold and sore throat.”

“Lousy timing though,” Tabitha said.

She cleared her throat. “Please don’t say anything. I don’t want people to think I’m not up to skating. I will be. I just need to rest.”

Tabitha glanced down at the paper bag in her hand. “I brought something that might help you feel better.”

Mia took the bag. The moment she saw what was inside, she gasped. “Jo-Jo!” She pulled the bear out, and clutched it to her chest, her lips pressed against its matted fur. “I thought he was gone forever.” She looked up, her eyes wet and glistening. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Tabitha nodded. She knew and was glad she’d brought Mia a little comfort. Her only regret was not letting her know sooner. “No problem.” she said, feeling a lump in her throat. “Take care of yourself and good luck on Friday.”

She turned to go.

“Hey, Tabitha?” Mia stood in the door to her room, still clutching the bear. “Even if things didn’t go so great in St. Petersburg, and it felt like you were sad about more than your free skate,” she paused, and Tabitha nodded. “I thought your short program was amazing. I mean, you’re always fantastic, but there was a spark to it that just drew me in.”

Tabitha bit her lip, knowing where that spark had come from. “Thanks for saying so.”

“One more thing,” Mia looked down, than back at Tabitha. “I know I’ve been kind of bitchy this season, but I hope that we both make the team for Grenoble. And that whatever you were so sad about is better now.”

It wasn’t, by a long shot, but Tabitha managed a wavering half-smile. “I’m working on it. And yeah, let’s take a picture together in Grenoble.”

Mia laughed. “But not with duck-faces.”

Before heading back down to sign autographs, she returned to her room to dab away the redness in her eyes. And to send a text. She knew it would go unanswered, and it was the last she would ever send to this number. That didn’t matter. She needed to send it, anyway.

Thanks for everything. I’ll never forget you.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

GRENOBLE, AT LEAST WHAT DANIILhad seen of it, was beautiful. At twilight, the city glowed with soft light that reflected off the surrounding mountains. After tonight’s Opening Ceremony, it would glow with light from the torch that rose from a hillside overlooking the city.

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