Page 66 of Skating the Blue Line
“He was never going to shut up about it,” he whispers, wiping his face on his jersey.
“He’s not going to shut up about it no matter what.” I say back, turning to look at Blake taking a victory lap.
I can’t help but wonder if his brother is just as competitive. A childhood where two siblings become professional athletes had to be interesting.
Blake finally calms down after his second lap, coming over to where the four of us are standing with a huge smile on his face.
“That was awesome. Anyone want to do it again?”
“No,” Coach, Logan, Christian and I all answer together.
“Damn. Way to burst a guys bubble,” he says, shaking his head.
I’m about to say something but my reply is cut off when I hear my name and Coach’s name being called from the tunnel.
Both of us skate over to the team doctor, who has a worried look on his face.
“Everything alright?” Coach asks, getting the same feeling that I am.
“I just got a call from Chicago Medical. They admitted a Chloe Vega, they have Liam down as an emergency contact.”
I don’t get off the ice fast enough.
17
CHLOE
I overworked my body.
That’s what the doctors told me at Chicago Med after I was rushed to the hospital and they did every single test in the book to make sure that me and the baby were okay.
I went too long without the proper amount of hydration and food that my body needed to function and having a four hour rehearsal was no help either. Those were the ER doctor’s exact words.
A part of me wanted to argue with him. I wanted to tell him that I was drinking enough liquids and eating right, but given how wiped out I was after rehearsal today, I know that I hadn’t.
I should have taken more breaks to eat and drink. I should have told our choreographer that I need to sit down for longer than a minute.
But because I was able to do those things every other day and came out of it, I didn’t.
Now I have to slow down and rest before it starts affecting the baby.
According to the doctor, slowing down means no more dancing. No rehearsals, heavy or not and definitely no performance. Nothing that will put strain on my body or give me the risk of falling.
Because not only was my body exhausted, it’s showing early signs of dehydration and my blood pressure was a little higher than normal. If I fall, I can hurt the baby even more.
As soon as he told me all that, I saw the rest of my winter performance go out the window.
The doctor told me that I should be out for only a few weeks, but a few weeks is all that’s left in the winter season.
I’m done dancing for the year.
And it’s all because I didn’t take care of myself like I promised Dr. Long I would.
“Are you okay?” Liam’s voice comes through the mental cloud I’m in as we make our way to my apartment.
When I decided to keep the pregnancy and Liam told me that he was going to be involved, I added him as my emergency contact to my medical forms.
It was a decision made with the baby in mind. If something were to happen, and I couldn’t reach the phone or Betty wasn’t available they could call him.
