The Point of No Return

SNAP.

The one sound in the world of competitive figure skating that a person never wants to hear.

The “oohh” of a crowd when someone messes up, the music stopping before a skater does, or a coach yelling at them for missing a step in a routine, those are sounds that they may not want to hear, but would rather hear than a snap.

A snap meant something went wrong. A snap meant their chances are over; they lost. A snap means they weren’t focused enough. A snap meant they messed up. A snap meant their career could be over and done.

That’s probably why she didn’t accept the sound until she felt her body collide with the ice. Even then, she didn’t move. She closed her eyes, willing herself to get up; the sound she heard was just her imagination and she couldn’t have really heard it.

She attempted to push herself off the ice and her ankle gave out, sending her crashing back to the cold realization that something went wrong. She could just hear Marcus, her coach, yelling at her for not being focused enough. She remained lying on the ice and her pride while she waited for someone to come and help her. She didn’t have to wait long.

Paramedics and Marcus immediately came rushing onto the ice. She could hear the announcer saying something to the crowd that was animatedly talking, but she ignored them as she focused on the fact that her ankle was quickly turning into a cankle on the outside of her skates.

She breathed out a huge breath as the paramedic untied her skates and attempted to pull it off. Marcus was at her shoulders, and thank God, too, because she screamed out and would’ve pulled her foot away if he hadn’t been holding onto her thigh.

“Look at me, Lisa,” he commanded and she looked into his moss-green eyes.

She didn’t remember when she fell in love with her coach, but it happened. She thought Marcus felt the same, as he always had an arm around her, or he'd kiss the side of her head. He always showed her some kind of affection. He even called her 'angel', saying she was his own personal ice angel.

She thought about that as she felt her skate being removed so they could examine her ankle. She took in his worried gaze as he glanced between her ankle, the paramedic and her face. She knew something was wrong.

“We’ve got to move her,” the paramedic said.

Marcus nodded and he scooped her up bridal style to carry her off of the ice.

“Come on, angel,” Marcus said as he moved her to a sitting area.

She happened to glance at her ankle and saw that it was double its normal size and the outside was protruding a bit. Her eyes crossed and she waited for them to tell her what she already knew.

“We’ve got to get you to a hospital,” the paramedic said as he looked between her and Marcus.

They both nodded and she sighed, knowing this couldn’t be a good sign.

She hated going to hospitals; they always creeped her out and gave her a sense of dread. The fact that her entire backside was bare and would be visible if she stood up didn’t help.

She looked at the hospital equipment all around her and inwardly groaned. Why couldn’t they just come in and tell her the horrible news already? Just tell her the ankle is broken and she can’t skate anymore. Just get it over with.

Marcus was on one side of her and her dad was on the other when the doctor finally came in.

He introduced himself and moved to the X-Ray board where he put up several pictures of her ankle. He explained how from the force of her jump, the fibula bone was thrown from its normal resting place and was fractured.

She closed her eyes and felt her dad’s hand on her shoulder as the doctor explained that it wasn’t as severe as it could’ve been, but it was still really bad. She thanked him, and watched him leave, her dad following after him.

Marcus sat down and looked at her, his hands folded in front of his face.

“I’ll be back in no time,” she said, trying to sound happy, but knowing she didn’t. “I’ll be back up after a couple of weeks and then I’ll be back to training in time for the Championships.”

“Lisa,” Marcus said and he paused.

She’d never seen him like this. Usually, he couldn’t wait to tell you what was on his mind.

“Just tell me, Marcus,” she said.

“I’m not going to be your coach anymore.”

“Excuse me?” she asked a bit astonished.

“You’re going to be out for more than a couple of weeks, Lisa. You could be out for months, not including your time in rehab for the injury. After that, it’s going to take just as long to get you back to where you were before the fall. Championships are in a month. You won’t be ready.”

“So you’re giving up on me?!” she cried.

“Natalia needs a coach. She has a good chance of winning, and with your ankle, Lisa, you won't be able to compete for Championships."

Lisa was a nationally ranked figure skater and a shoe-in for going to the Olympics, therefore Marcus was a renowned coach. He’d helped her get to the level she was at now. For him to quit on her meant her reputation would go down in shambles. She highly doubted she’d be able to find a coach in time, now.

She was also scared that she was going to lose him as a person which is why, without thinking, she leaned forward and put her lips on his. He was warm and seemed to enjoy it at first, but then he pushed her away.

“No, Lisa,” he said as he stood up and walked over to the door. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.”

She stared at the door for what seemed like forever, until the doctor and her dad came back in to apply the bandage to her ankle. She quietly listened to the doctor as he explained she was going to be off of her leg for quite some time and then after that, she was going to have to go to rehab for it, just to make sure it was healing correctly. So far, Marcus had been dead on with his diagnosis of her ankle.

“Will she skate again?” her dad asked and he looked at her, but she kept her eyes on her ankle.

“Sure she will,” the doctor said and finished putting the plastic cast on her ankle. “It’s going to take some time, but as long as she commits herself to the rehab and getting it better, she’ll be back up in no time.”

So why did “no time” feel like it was going to be forever?