Page 70 of Salto

I raised my hand.

He sighed. “Yes?”

“Can I stop doing this breathing exercise now?”

He glanced at his watch, then his palm fell to my abdomen again.

“Three more.”

CHAPTER 26

“You’ll need to increase your protein intake. Make sure you’re fueling before workouts with carbohydrates. The goal is to keep your blood sugar stable so you don’t have big spikes, which can lead to more inflammation and hormonal fluctuations.”

Lennon, the team nutritionist, slid a sheet of paper across the table while Ella, the athletic trainer, sat beside me.

Rove stood off to the side of the room while Lennon and Ella talked me through everything. He'd actually followed through on his word and set up the meeting with the nutritionist.

“I do think regular ice baths would help with inflammation,” Ella said, giving me a sympathetic smile.

Lennon nodded. “I agree. Recovery will be important with the intensity of your training. So if you can stick to this regimen and meet with Ella regularly”—he tapped the paper—“I think you should be safe to keep going.”

“Just make sure you take it easy,” Ella added gently. “You’ll need to let Rove know if you’re hurting so he can step in if necessary.”

Heat rose to my face.

Talking about my PCOS with Rove in the room felt a little strange. But it wasn’t as though I could hide it.

I still had severe pain on birth control. The whole point of taking it was to stop my periods. When I first started, I'd hoped it would take the pain with it.

It hadn't.

Not really.

Even without bleeding, there was still that deep, constant ache that never seemed to leave.

I didn’t know how I was going to be open with Rove about things like that. It had taken me a long time to feel remotely comfortable telling Caldwell. Even then, I hadn’t shared much.

Which was probably why Caldwell had simply told me to find the skills that hurt the least, and that was that—essentially washing his hands of the situation because he didn’t really know how to deal with it.

I glanced at Rove, but his face was unreadable. Whatever he thought about all of it, he wasn’t letting it show.

“Alright, well, that should be it. Just keep communicating with us. PCOS can be difficult, but it shouldn’t hinder your progress,” Ella said.

“Try to stick to your regimen and meet with Ella as often as possible,” Lennon added.

“Thank you both,” Rove said, pushing off from the wall. “If I think anything is too much, we’ll pull back.”

Ella nodded and gave my shoulder a small squeeze before leaving the room with Lennon.

Suddenly, it was just Rove and me again.

“So,” I said, hating how quiet the room felt.

He walked over and sat beside me at the table.

“Are you going to listen?” he asked suddenly.

“What?” My brow furrowed.