golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter thirty-two

monday, july 20
ben woke up and looked over at the girl sleeping beside him. he took in the way her lips curved in a small smile. she looked so peaceful and so beautiful. he propped himself up on an elbow and played with the strands of hair that had strayed over to where he was. eliana's eyes fluttered open, and she turned over her shoulder to face ben. "hi."
"hi." he giggled. she pressed her lips to his and ran her hand through his messy curls.
"what a view to wake up to." ben smiled sleepily.
"you have any plans today?" she asked.
"i don't think so." he sat up as she got out of bed.
"i'll have to book another night or two, and i have to go into the gym at one, but i think that's it."
ben pouted. "you have to train today?"
"only one day of rest after comps." she said. "since i won, though, i don't have to be there that long. only until 4."
he smiled. "can i bring the boys in to see you?"
"they're gonna have to be quiet." she giggled. "do you think they can handle it?"
"they'll do anything for you." he smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. "i'd do anything for you."
she smiled and kissed him.

"your connections were awful on saturday." coach easton said as eliana climbed onto the beam. she just nodded in agreement.
"do ten of all of them. we'll run your routine, and then you can leave."
she gave a weak smile and started working. coach easton stood off to the side, watching her intently.

ben lead the other boys into the lobby of the gym. "you have to be quiet, she's gonna be busy."
they nodded back at him and walked up to the partition separating the lobby from the gym. eliana was on working something on beam, and ben smiled as he watched her. she kept doing a few things over and over again, building consistency. then, as she went for a front tuck, her foot slipped off of the beam and she fell onto the mats. ben sucked in a breath as coach easton walked over. he didn't hold out a hand to help, just glared down at her. "this is why you didn't place higher. you're terrible. if you can't figure your shit out on this, you're never going to make the olympic team. i don't care how good you are at bars." his voice rose to a yell. "you should have never gained back the weight you lost. márta was right when she said you were too fat for beam." he took a deep breath, fuming. "get your ass up and do it again."
eliana blinked the tears away from her eyes and hopped onto the beam. she steadied her breathing and her feet, and flipped, landing it this time.
"see?" coach easton said. "is it really that hard?"
she shook her head.
"do your routine." he commanded.
the boys watched in shock. ben felt anger boiling up in his stomach seeing how she was treated in the gym. jordan held up his phone in silence, having recorded everything the coach had said.
eliana dismounted and stuck the landing. coach easton nodded. "that's fine. you can leave." he disappeared into a room at the back of the gym and slammed the door.
eliana unwrapped her wrists as she walked back to her bag, ben's promise of coming to see her forgotten as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. she grabbed a towel and wiped her face off, forcing herself to stop crying. she pulled on her jacket and shouldered her bag, then walked towards the lobby. she stopped short when she saw the group of boys.
"hey, guys! how was hartford?" she smiled widely at them. sky blinked at her. "how is he allowed to talk to you like that?"
eliana swallowed. "like what?"
"we saw the whole thing." josh said.
"you need to report him." sky said. "that's emotional abuse, el."
"i got the whole thing on video." jordan added. "you can take him down if you want."
"i-"
"we can get him fired." ben said. her face was blank as they encouraged her. ben grabbed her hands. "you don't have to deal with him anymore."
"i, um..." she couldn't get anything out.
"ellie, you have to release it."
she shook her head. "please don't tell me what i have to do."
"sweetheart-"
she pushed through them out of the gym, and hurried down the street, her arms crossed in front of her. ben ran after her. "ellie, come back!"
she got into her hotel room and threw herself onto the bed as she sobbed.

ben watched her turn the corner and disappear from sight. he sank down against the brick wall as the boys filed out of the gym.
"dude, i'm sorry." sky said. ben lifted his head out of his hands, his eyes shining with tears. "i can't let her be abused like that. i-" his words caught.
"we'll find a way." sky assured him, and held out a hand to pull him to his feet. "we should leave her alone for a little bit, though." he clapped the younger boy on the back. ben nodded and ran a hand through his hair, still blinking back tears.