apologize for his unwarranted reaction.
I couldn’t remember anyone ever yelling at me the way he did. He was bossy and I hardly knew him. I had the right to be happy without him or my parents dictating how I’m supposed to live my life. When he gave me that ultimatum I sacrificed all my personal happiness for the benefit of ‘us,’ and he hardly showed a morsel of gratitude.
The next day was more of the same with the exception that I did break down once to eat, and I accidentally caught sight of my sorry self in the mirror. The image staring back at me was a puffy, forlorn face that made me retch with self-hate.
It wasn’t until the third day that I resolved to go through the motions of my daily routine even if my heart was scattered in tiny bits and pieces over my first love, Adam. I dressed in my favourite dress and sweater before checking my face in the mirror, haggard I thought. I used my much needed cover-up to hide the bags of depression that settled under my eyes and spritzed myself up with my prettiest perfume before checking the kitchen for food and hallway for keys.
A lunch was made for me to bring to school. I wasn’t sure if it was made on day one, two, or three but I took it. I also grabbed a banana for breakfast even though my stomach hadn’t completely settled from day two yet. The dizzy spells for the most part were gone.
The keys to dads car were in the hallway and I was grateful at his thoughtfulness. He showed more empathy towards me throughout this entire situation than mom ever did. I arrived on time to the arena walking quickly through the lounges. I felt people watching me but I ignored their stares. I changed in the locker room and made it out to the ice surface just as the Zamboni was leaving. I didn’t see Ryan and I felt a mixed bag of emotions, primarily relief and disappointment that he wasn’t there.
I began stroking slower than usual around the ice. I had a mild headache and my stomach wasn’t feeling normal yet. I didn’t have my usual level of energy to burn. I heard Ryan’s edges breaking the ice and felt his presence behind me before I saw him. He slipped his arm comfortably around my waist and I looked up at him to see him smiling back at me, “I was waiting for you to come back to me, I was worried.”
He stopped us from skating any further and hugged me right there in front of everyone. The mixed signals and the sheer audacity of his actions infuriated me. I attempted to pull away from his hug which was ridiculous, because he was way to strong for me and said, “You showed it when you called, oh wait you didn’t. Well, at least you apologized for your vile temper, oh wait you didn’t do that either.” I added sarcastically.
Ryan argued, “What did you expect me to do? You keep making these stupid decisions that risk everything we’ve ever worked for. Go back to single skating if you’re going to be a narcissistic asshole!”
I slapped him hard across the face and tried harder to break free from his grasp. With little effort on Ryan’s part he kept me there. All the other skaters stopped what they were doing and were watching us. His cheek was red from the assault and for a second I feared he would retaliate, but he didn’t.
Coach Hicks witnessed everything before yelling at us to come over, “Ryan, Dalia!” Ryan released his hold of me and we both skated over to him. His face was reddened with anger and his voice stern, “If the two of you have issues, you settle them OFF the ice. If I see either of you raise a hand against the other, you can find yourselves a new coach. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” we said in unison.
“Get off the ice and don’t come back until you can act professionally,” he seethed.
We got off the ice and went to our separate change rooms. Ryan was finished before me because I saw him waiting at the front doors. I walked passed him wordlessly. He followed me out, “I’ll drive you to school.”
“I’ve got my dad’s
I couldn’t remember anyone ever yelling at me the way he did. He was bossy and I hardly knew him. I had the right to be happy without him or my parents dictating how I’m supposed to live my life. When he gave me that ultimatum I sacrificed all my personal happiness for the benefit of ‘us,’ and he hardly showed a morsel of gratitude.
The next day was more of the same with the exception that I did break down once to eat, and I accidentally caught sight of my sorry self in the mirror. The image staring back at me was a puffy, forlorn face that made me retch with self-hate.
It wasn’t until the third day that I resolved to go through the motions of my daily routine even if my heart was scattered in tiny bits and pieces over my first love, Adam. I dressed in my favourite dress and sweater before checking my face in the mirror, haggard I thought. I used my much needed cover-up to hide the bags of depression that settled under my eyes and spritzed myself up with my prettiest perfume before checking the kitchen for food and hallway for keys.
A lunch was made for me to bring to school. I wasn’t sure if it was made on day one, two, or three but I took it. I also grabbed a banana for breakfast even though my stomach hadn’t completely settled from day two yet. The dizzy spells for the most part were gone.
The keys to dads car were in the hallway and I was grateful at his thoughtfulness. He showed more empathy towards me throughout this entire situation than mom ever did. I arrived on time to the arena walking quickly through the lounges. I felt people watching me but I ignored their stares. I changed in the locker room and made it out to the ice surface just as the Zamboni was leaving. I didn’t see Ryan and I felt a mixed bag of emotions, primarily relief and disappointment that he wasn’t there.
I began stroking slower than usual around the ice. I had a mild headache and my stomach wasn’t feeling normal yet. I didn’t have my usual level of energy to burn. I heard Ryan’s edges breaking the ice and felt his presence behind me before I saw him. He slipped his arm comfortably around my waist and I looked up at him to see him smiling back at me, “I was waiting for you to come back to me, I was worried.”
He stopped us from skating any further and hugged me right there in front of everyone. The mixed signals and the sheer audacity of his actions infuriated me. I attempted to pull away from his hug which was ridiculous, because he was way to strong for me and said, “You showed it when you called, oh wait you didn’t. Well, at least you apologized for your vile temper, oh wait you didn’t do that either.” I added sarcastically.
Ryan argued, “What did you expect me to do? You keep making these stupid decisions that risk everything we’ve ever worked for. Go back to single skating if you’re going to be a narcissistic asshole!”
I slapped him hard across the face and tried harder to break free from his grasp. With little effort on Ryan’s part he kept me there. All the other skaters stopped what they were doing and were watching us. His cheek was red from the assault and for a second I feared he would retaliate, but he didn’t.
Coach Hicks witnessed everything before yelling at us to come over, “Ryan, Dalia!” Ryan released his hold of me and we both skated over to him. His face was reddened with anger and his voice stern, “If the two of you have issues, you settle them OFF the ice. If I see either of you raise a hand against the other, you can find yourselves a new coach. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” we said in unison.
“Get off the ice and don’t come back until you can act professionally,” he seethed.
We got off the ice and went to our separate change rooms. Ryan was finished before me because I saw him waiting at the front doors. I walked passed him wordlessly. He followed me out, “I’ll drive you to school.”
“I’ve got my dad’s
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