Abbie

Have you ever been called into the principal’s office? Your heart is racing, your palms are sweaty, and the waiting is the worst, almost as bad as waiting for potentially bad news at the doctor’s office. Not sure if the headaches you’ve been having are from something missing in your diet or cancer. You’re waiting to receive your punishment and find out how much trouble you’re in. That’s me right now, only I’m not in the principal’s office and I have no idea what I could be in trouble for. This is worse…so much worse.

The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. But what makes matters worse is I don’t know what I did wrong. I would think I’m overreacting, but the grim expressions on everyone’s faces tell me otherwise. Bruce, the owner of the gym where I train, has a deep scowl, but that’s not out of the ordinary. He’s a serious man, and nothing is more important to him than gymnastics and training the best of the best.

He’s sitting at his desk in his usual workout attire. He’s got a tight gray t—shirt that shows off every line of his muscles—I guess since he’s over forty he’s got to compensate somehow—a pair of black workout shorts, and tennis shoes. He’s long past his prime in the world of gymnastics, but since he was the best back in his day, he trains the best these days. When I got the chance to try out in front of him and potentially join the gym a few months ago, I thought I was nervous then. But that is nothing compared to the terror of thinking that I could lose it all.

It’s not unusual to be called into his office to discuss how training is going. The part that worries me is the guy standing behind him wearing a flashy black suit that looks like it costs more than the building we’re sitting in. I’m sure if something weird was going on, John would let me know. John is the amazing man in the chair to my right, and I can’t imagine my life without him. He’s one of the assistant coaches in the gym, and while it might be frowned upon, we’ve been secretly seeing each other. We skirted around each other in the beginning. A little flirting and innocent touching, but it didn’t take long before that wasn’t enough for either one of us.

I discreetly glance over at John and give him a small smile. His mouth is pulled into a tight frown and his left foot is bouncing up and down uncontrollably. If he’s nervous, then this must be serious. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him in the past few months, it’s that he never loses it. He’s always calm and collected. The one in control no matter what the situation.

Bruce clears his throat, pulling me from my train of thought and gaining my undivided attention. “It’s been brought to our attention that the two of you have been carrying on a romantic relationship together. As you both know, that’s against the code of conduct you signed when joining this team.” Okay, maybe a little more than frowned upon. Bruce makes a point of looking at the both of us individually. “Not to mention it being highly illegal with Abbie being underage. I don’t think I have to tell you what could happen if the Olympic Committee found out about this.”

No. No. No. That’s not possible. We’ve been careful; there’s no way anyone could have seen us. The one and only time John and I went on a date, he took us down to Newport, a good two hours away. Other than that, we’ve always stayed at his place in Ojai. Who could have seen us? The rapid pounding of my heart echoes in my head and I rub my saturated palms against the slick fabric of my warm—ups. I take a peek over my shoulder and I’m met with nothing. His head is still straight forward, trained on Bruce. Licking my lips, I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it.

“I didn’t want to embarrass anyone, but since my job and reputation are on the line, I feel I need to explain what’s been going on here.” I hold my breath in anticipation of whatever is about to leave his mouth. I honestly have no idea what I would say. I’m grateful he’s quick on his feet and able to say something for the both of us.

“I want to clarify there’s nothing inappropriate going on. I’ve been aware for a while now that Abbie has a small crush on me and it’s my fault I haven’t done anything to deter her advances. Nothing physical has gone on between us, but I will admit there has been some flirting. It was completely innocent on my part, but I’ve seen the error in my judgment. I feel horrible that I’ve let it go on this far. I’m extremely sorry and I hope you can see past this bump in the road. This was a one—time thing and I can guarantee you it won’t be repeated.”

The air leaves my body in a whoosh and my stomach crumples as if I’ve been punched. This can’t be happening right now. I can still feel his arms wrapped around my body as he whispered his love for me. The tingles traveled up my spine and I knew we were going to be forever. I gave him everything. He owns part of me that no other man has ever touched before. Sure, there was something fun about the forbidden aspect, but it was so much more than that. We’re soul mates; he said it himself.

The waves gracefully roll up onto the shore and there’s a slight breeze in the air. The salt tangles with his musky cologne and I’m in heaven as he holds me close. We’re in our own little world out here. We can escape to this hidden area of the beach and no one can interrupt us. The only person who knows we’re out here is an older homeless man who we gave our sack of leftover tacos to. But we don’t know each other and he has no reason to rat us out.

We dance slowly together under the shimmering moonlight to music only we can hear. He grazes his mouth along my hairline and whispers into my ear. “I love you, Abbie. I know we shouldn’t be doing this but I can’t stay away from you any longer. We were meant to be together. It’s like my soul wasn’t complete until you came into my life and I finally felt like I was whole. I can’t imagine my life without you and I know we’ll be together forever.”

His words make my knees go weak and I relax my body into his to hold myself up. He tightens his grip on my lower back and I know he’ll never let me go. “I feel the same way about you, John. I love you too.”

Every word leaving his mouth is exactly how I feel. It doesn’t matter that I’m only fourteen and he’s twenty—five. When you find your soul mate, you know. Age is just a number, right? I hold on to him tighter, hoping with everything inside me that he won’t come to his senses and leave me. He’s mine and I’m his. And I proceed to give him all of me that night, right there on the beach.

“Abbie?”

Shaking my head, I look up and around the room. Everyone’s faces are directed toward me, and I must have missed something while trapped in my own thoughts. My head involuntarily starts turning toward John, but I refuse to. That will make me appear guilty. That’s the last thing I want. “I’m sorry, I must have missed that. What did you say?”

Nobody looks like they want to say anything, and finally the guy standing behind Bruce speaks up. “Abbie, my name is Arthur. I’m Bruce’s lawyer. These are some serious accusations being thrown around about you and John here. We’re trying to get to the bottom of this. What do you have to say about it?”

Bringing my hand up, I run my fingers through my hair and start to massage my temple. This whole conversation is giving me a headache and I want nothing more than to leave this office right now and never return. If everyone finds out about this, I will be humiliated. Publicly branded as the girl who sleeps with her coaches. “I’m not sure what you guys want me to say here. I—”

“Abbie!” My name echoes from outside and carries into the office. I whip my head in the direction of where it’s coming from. Everyone’s faces are still trained on mine, expecting me to give them an answer that I don’t have.

“I’m sorry…I think that’s my dad.”

As if on cue, he comes barging into the office like he owns the place. His face is red like he ran here and his breathing comes out in a heavy wheeze. “Thank God.” Wheeze. “There you are.” Wheeze. “Abbie, we need to leave, now.”

Arthur, the suit, clears his throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Moretti—”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence before Dad interrupts him. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to finish this meeting when we get back.”

Wait, what? “Get back? Where are we going, Dad?”

“To Ashland. Abbie…it’s your sister.”

Ashtyn? What could be going on with Ashtyn? “What do you mean? What’s going on with Ashtyn? It’s six in the morning. I’m sure she’s not awake yet.”

His entire face crumbles at my last comment and only now do I notice his disheveled appearance. His eyes are wide and crazier than I’ve ever seen before. His hair is standing in multiple directions as if he’s been running is fingers through it repeatedly. Judging from the wrinkled state of his clothing, he either went to bed in the clothes he was wearing yesterday or he fished them out of the laundry hamper. His face is pale and he’s shaking. Something is wrong. Very wrong. “She’s been in a car accident with Chloe. Honey, she hit her head badly and hasn’t woken up yet. I don’t know any more details than that. Your mom has been calling me all night, but I accidentally turned my phone off when I went to bed. When she couldn’t get ahold of me, she sent Carl, her boss, to come check on me and deliver the news. He has his jet ready and waiting for us at the airport. We need to get going.”

I don’t hesitate. I jump up from the chair and follow Dad out of the office. What happened in that meeting doesn’t matter anymore. I can figure that out later. The only thing that matters right now is getting to my sister and making sure she’s okay. Screw that—she will be okay. I know she will. She has to. As those thoughts run through my mind, an unreal calmness settles over my body. She will be okay. What the hell just happened and, more importantly, why does it feel like it was supposed to?