Hallie’s less of a shoo-in for the Olympic team than we all had hoped.
“Thanks,” she says. “I mean, I’m okay. It’s just… unfair.”
“It is. It really is,” he says. “Is there anything I can do to make things easier for you right now?”
She gives him a skeptical look.
“I’m here if you want to chat,” he says warmly, sounding like a coach and a protective big brother all rolled into one. “Or if you want to smash things, I can bring in my old printer and a hammer. Or we can skip practice today and pick up tomorrow.”
She laughs. “No, I’ll be good. I appreciate all that, really, but no smashing necessary.”
“Okay. Just let me know,” he says.
“Will do.”
He starts to rise, but appears to think better of it. “If it’s any comfort, I have a tiny piece of news that might cheer you up,” he says.
“Trials are canceled, and I can go straight to the Olympics?” Hallie guesses.
I think I know where Ryan is going with this, and I don’t like it.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I mutter.
“Well, I’ve been talking with Dimitri, and he seems really excited about training you for 2024, if you still want that,” he says, offering a small smile.
There’s no way Dimitri would have ever used the word “excited.” Ryan’s exaggerating.
Hallie beams. “Well, that’s nice!”
“Just passing along a compliment,” Ryan says.
“I mean, I guess a lot depends on what happens this summer, but… without making promises, I think I do still want to keep 2024 open as an option.”
“Cool,” Ryan says, high-fiving her.
“Dimitri’s intense, isn’t he?” Hallie says, turning to me. “I mean, he’s the best, but he’s intense. Right, Avery?”
“Yeah, he’s intense,” I say darkly.
“Avery,” Ryan says quietly, as if he’s warning me.
He shoots me a meaningful glare, and I hesitate.
“I’m sure whatever happens, you’ll be amazing,” I tell her diplomatically.
It’s the truth. Not the whole truth, but there’s only so much I can say without crossing an inappropriate professional line.
She squeals and drums her hands against the mat. “Eep, thanks.”
Ryan smirks. “Glad I could cheer you up. Let’s get to work.”
• CHAPTER 26 •
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Jasmine got her shit together to leave Dimitri pretty quickly. Within two weeks of her telling me she wanted to divorce him, she had already contacted a good divorce lawyer, funneled away enough money into a separate bank account in order to put down a deposit and the first month of rent on an apartment in Cambridge, and officially broke the news to Dimitri. She told me she was going to do it on a Friday night; I spent all evening holding my breath, waiting for the frantic phone call that she needed help. I stayed in and watched a movie on Netflix with my phone resting in my hand, just in case. But the call never came—just a text at nearly midnight, asking me to come by the next morning to help her pack up her things. I was relieved.
So, on Saturday morning, for the final time, I drive to see Jasmine at her house. It’s a gorgeous seventy-five degrees outside, but I get a chill waiting on the front step for her to open the door. It’s hard to imagine that after nearly a lifetime with Dimitri, she’ll be leaving him behind for good. She opens the door in white jeans and a pink tank top and throws her arms around me into a hug.
“Thank you for coming!” she says.
She seems relieved to see me, which is, I guess, better than the alternative—miserable.
“I’m happy to,” I say. “Is Dimitri home?”
She wrinkles her nose. “No. He was at least nice enough to leave me alone while I packed today.”
“So, then, last night went okay?” I ask.
She heaves a sigh and starts to trudge up the stairs to her bedroom. “Yes and no. At first, he was furious. He screamed at me. He wanted to know if I was cheating, and he accused me of sabotaging Tokyo by throwing this distraction his way at a ‘crucial time,’ ” she says, rolling her eyes and making air quotes with her fingers. “He was mad at me, but ultimately, he didn’t argue with me. I mean, he can’t pretend like our marriage is happy. I think we’d both be happier with a divorce.”
“Wow.”
It’s a tiny, meager thing to say, but words just aren’t forming for me. I can’t imagine standing up to Dimitri like that. I’m impressed by her bravery.
We enter her bedroom, and I try not