Page 23 of The Fall

“Yep.”

Savannah has a strange look on her face. Usually, she’s glaring daggers at me, but today she looks… confused. Before I can ask her if everything is alright, Max takes her hand and pulls her out onto the ice.

I watch them skate. They’re beautiful as always, but something feels off today. It becomes even more apparent when Savannah gets into the position where her legs are resting on the top of Max’s skates as he glides along the ice. She shifts her knee just enough that it hits the ice and drags.

She winces in pain, and Max brings them to a stop, but the damage is done. Her tights are ripped, and I imagine she’s going to have some pretty bad ice burn.

They’ve done that move hundreds of times. Why would she put her knee down like that?

The two of them are arguing about something. I’m too far away to hear what’s being said, but I can see the frustration on Savannah’s face. I’ll admit it’s kind of nice seeing it directed at someone other than me. They both skate over to me, and the closer they get, the better I can see the rip in her tights and the redness forming from the ice burn on her knee.

“What happened?” I ask.

“I slid on the ice,” she states bluntly.

“Yeah, I saw that part, but why did it happen?”

“I don’t know,” she says through gritted teeth.

“She won’t tell me what’s going on with her,” Max says. “She’s all tense.”

“I’m fine! I’m just fucking tired. We’ve been going at this for days without a break. I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m ready for a freaking rest day!”

“Alright, alright,” I say. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. Max, take some laps around the ice to keep your muscles warm.”

“Yes, sir.” He skates off, and I offer my hand to Savannah. Unsurprisingly, she doesn’t take it as she slaps on her blade guards and walks past me. I grab my things and catch up with her.

We make our way to the first aid room. Tati showed me this area on my first day, but truthfully, I didn’t expect to have to use it.

“Can you sit up here?” I gesture to the table. She doesn’t say anything as she gets on and stretches her leg out.

I grab a clean washcloth from the cabinet and turn on the water to warm it. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Yes,” she snips.

I walk over to her and look at her knee. It’s not too bad, but it’ll hurt for a few days. “This might sting.”

“I know. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

I put the warm cloth on her knee, and she hisses. “I know you don’t like me, Savannah, but as your coach, I am here to help you. If there’s something you need to talk about, I want you to know I’m here for you.”

“Where were you yesterday?” she asks. I’ll admit, that’s not what I was expecting her to say.

“I had an appointment.”

“All day?”

“Yes, it was an all-day thing.”

She shakes her head, clearly not believing me.

“Is that why you’re upset? Because I wasn’t here yesterday? I thought you’d enjoy having a day away from me.”

“It’s just—” She stops herself from saying what she’s really thinking.

“It’s just what, Savannah?”

“We skated together,” she says slowly. “I thought—I thought we had a moment. And then you weren’t here the next day.”