The Gymnast

Part 14

I sit on the floor, tears forming in my eyes. My knee is throbbing and my ankle hurts more than any injury I have ever had. When I look down at my ankle, I see a huge bump forming on the outside of the ankle, and I grimace.

"Ana!" Sharon exclaims.

"Are you alright?" Jill asks.

I open my mouth to talk, but instead of words, a sob escapes my mouth. I shake my head, unable to speak.

"Okay, well why don't you move over to the side of the mat and Sharon will get an ice pack. I'll get Brody," Jill says calmly. Sharon runs to the kitchen to get an ice pack and Jill walks over to Brody.

Sabrina, Jessica, and Gabby run over to me.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asks.

"What happened?" Sabrina asks.

I shrug. "I don't really know. I know that I landed with my ankle twisted and my knee straight."

"Does it hurt a lot?" Gabby asks.

I nod.

The three of them hug me quickly before returning to their bar routines. We fall like this all the time, so it doesn't seem like a big deal.

Sharon returns with the ice, and when I put it on my ankle, I find that even that little bit of pressure hurts it. Sharon hugs my and hurries back to the bar to do a routine. A few minutes later, Brody and Jill arrive.

"Well, what do we have here?" Brody asks.

"Ana was doing a giant and fell over. When she landed, she hyperextended her knee and rolled her ankle,"Jill explains.

Brody proceeds to examine my ankle and knee, asking me questions. Whenever he touches my ankle, I cringe and try to retract my foot, but he holds it firmly. My knee is not that painful, the pain has improved, but my ankle pain has only worsened. 

"I'm going to bring you some ice. When the swelling stops, I'll tape the ankle and carry you to the car. The other girls will get your stuff and your phone so you can call your mom and decide on what you want to do," Brody says.

"Will I be able to compete this weekend?" I ask hopefully. Tears well up in my eyes again. I already know the answer.

"We'll see. Hopefully you will be able to return to practice by the end of the week, but I doubt it," he says.

I nod. Brody brings some ice over for my ankle. Sophie sees me sitting on a mat and walks over to me.

"I know we're fighting, but I hate it when we fight. And I just had a talk with the coaches that I want to tell you about, which I can't do if we're fighting. And if you got hurt, I want to be able to talk to you about it. Can you forgive me for what I said? Because I really didn't mean them," Sophie says.

"I can forgive you for now, but I am still hurt by what you said," I say. Sharon suddenly comes in with my phone, shoes, clothes, and bag. She is also holding a phone that belongs to the gym in one hand.

"Your mom is on the phone. She wants to talk to you," Sharon says.