Ice frozen dreams turned golden

Chapter 12

Lizzie sat on her bed, slowly and carefully pulling her sock from her right foot, trying not to flinch when she saw how swollen and blue her right ankle now was.

It had been three days since Lizzie broke the plates and turned Taylor's beautiful kitchen into a complete mess. While everything had been cleaned up again, and her hands were slowly starting to heal, her right ankle was still swollen and hurt with every step she took.

The girl had tried her best not to limp, not to let Taylor and Joe show in how much pain she was. She had already created enough of a fuss that evening and she didn't want to bother the two anymore.
And Lizzie had always had problems with her right ankle - being a figure skater and training as much as she did, came with a prize. And her right ankle had to pay this prize most of the time. She was used to it. But this time, the pain was worse, even though she didn't figure skate, didn't have to jump or train insane hours anymore.

The girl looked at her ankle again, examining the damage. She had hoped the pain would go away, but instead, it had gotten worse, and the ankle was now visibly swollen. She didn't know how much longer she could deal with the pain. Today while they had run track in school, she actually had to stop after a few rounds because the pain had almost made her faint.

Maybe she should tell Joe or Taylor about her ankle... Lizzie really didn't want to bother either of them, but Taylor and Joe always told her she could come to them with any problem, and they would help her. Maybe today was the day when she could find out if they really meant that.

****
"Joe?" Lizzie asked a few minutes later after she had fought a whole debate in her head and her brave side had finally won.

"Are you busy, or can I talk to you for a minute?" Lizzie was so nervous she stumbled over her words, and her German accent was stronger than ever.

Joe was sitting at his desk in the office, and Lizzie hated to interrupt something important. Her mom alone would have killed her for going into her office and asking a question, but Lizzie had lived with the Alwyns long enough to know that Joe and Taylor didn't get mad when they were interrupted by their kids. Still, Lizzie was terrified.

"Of course, I always have time for you. What's up?"

Lizzie walked into the room, trying her best not to limb, and sat down on the sofa that was standing in one corner of the room. "I think..." Lizzie's voice quivered a little bit as she was so nervous, "I might have hurt my right ankle the other night... when... when I broke the plates."

„You hurt your ankle?" Joe asked and stood up from his desk to sit down next to her. „Can you show it to me?"

Lizzie nodded and slowly pulled up her jeans and rolled down her sock to reveal her ankle. Joe examined it for a second, gently feeling how warm it was.

„Lizziebug, this must hurt really badly. Why didn't you say something earlier?" Joe asked sadly and carefully turned her ankle around to see the full damage.

"I'm sorry," Lizzie apologized, "But I already created so many problems the other night and I didn't want to bother you guys with anything else. I thought it would go away, Joe. But it didn't. It got worse and now it really hurts to walk. I'm really sorry, I know I'm a liability. "

Lizzie felt the first tears escaping her eyes, cursing herself. She felt so stupid. She should have said something earlier or nothing at all. She felt Joe hugging her and gently rubbing her back.

"You are never ever a liability, Lizzie," Joe told her sternly, " whether you would have come when it happened, or now. And I'm proud of you that you found the courage to ask for help."

Lizzie sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheeks. How could Taylor and Joe always see something positive in everything she did?

"I think we need to get this checked out by a doctor? Is it okay for you if I carry you downstairs and we discuss this with Taylor?"