Jump Then Fall Chapt 2
The next morning she heard a loud knocking on her door, getting out of bed she opened it only to see her brother Taylor standing in the doorway. "Nice hair" he chuckled, pulling one of her curls, watching it spring back into place. "Did you want something?" she asked with a scowl "Yeah, Mom said to get dressed. You missed breakfast, we had Dad's famous french toast. None left though" he smiled "Nobody woke me up and get dressed for what?" she asked, just wanting to go back to bed. "Shopping trip to Utica Square. Don't worry, we'll be back in time for Gym. By the way, how's your butt? Avie told me Dad really laid into you."
"Pretty sure I'm a hot mess back there but hey, I guess I deserved it. I have to be on my best behavior though or he'll come back and take my gym equipment. I think I've had my ass whipped too many times to count" Leah said, walking to her dresser and removing a purple tank top, black glitter shorts, and purple chunky flip flops with rainbow ties. "Hey, watch your language young lady! and do you own any other color?" Tay asked as she stepped out of her bathroom. "I've heard you say MUCH worse and yes but, purple is obviously my favorite." She said gently pushing past him, trying not to show how much pain she was in.
"Good morning" Diana said as Leah walked into her mother's room. "Mornin Mama. Listen, I'm awful sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to sass you, I just really need to get these skills right and Daddy grounded me for a month. So if I'm not supposed to leave the house and my allowence is being withheld, shouldn't I have to stay home instead of going on this shopping trip with ya'll?" Leah finished, fighting back tears. "You make an excellent point but, you're still too young to stay by yourself. You'll be with us, so we can keep an eye on you. I accecpt your apology, now let's go" Diana responded rubbing Leah's back. "I love you Mama" she muttered. "I love you too sweetie" Diana said, kissing Leah's cheek.
The car ride there was unusually quiet "I came up with two ideas for my thirteenth birthday party, though I can't choose between Parisian or Neon, I like both." Leah announced, hoping for a response. When she was met with silence, she took a long sip from her water bottle and closed her eyes. She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks. "My heart hurts and I'm not sure why" she thought to herself. "This sadness has been with me for three months already. Please make it stop" she prayed silently.
"Leah, would you please stop kicking my seat!" Walker said, obviously annoyed. "Sorry Daddy" Leah said, unaware she was jerking her legs. She felt someone take her hand and give it a squeeze "You okay?" she heard her older brother Isaac whisper. Leah opened her eyes and looked at him, she felt more tears racing down her cheeks. "I'm not sure" she choked out, closing her eyes again. Her whole body ached "I'm really scared now" she thought. Walker brought her out of her thoughts "LEIGHANNA! STOP KICKING THE FUCKING CHAIR" he shouted, swatting at her legs "It's a subconcious habit Daddy, I'm sorry" Leigh whimpered, tucking her legs beneath her.
When they arrived Leah could feel Walker's eyes on her as she waited for everyone else to get out of the car "Stick by me and your Mom and DON'T wander off. Understood?" he warned. "Yes sir" she whispered, attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. "Leah, what's wrong?" Isaac asked, walking next to her "I don't know, I've been feelin this way for three months. If I don't get a skill right at practice, I'm crying. If someone yells at is firm or reprimands me in any way, I'm crying. If I become too overwhelmed and frustrated, I'm crying. I have this huge black thundercloud above me and I'm scared that it won't go away." She bawled, no longer able to hold it together.
"Leah, take a deep breath." Isaac said, pulling her to an empty bench "It's gonna be okay sweetie. Have you thought about maybe, talking to Mom, your gym coach, or your friends?" he asked, rubbing her back. How was she supposed to tell Ike that she was terrified of her parents, her coach didn't care and she didn't trust her friends as far as she could throw them. "I can't Ikey, I don't wanna burden them" she lied, taking the tissue he handed her. "Well, if you don't feel comfortable talking to them maybe you can ask Mom to take you to a therapist. Ya know, it could be just teenage stress or it could be something worse. It's better to find out so you can fix it. You also have any one of us, I may not always be around but, I'm here for you" She wiped her eyes and tried to swallow another lump as their mother appeared from around the corner.
"There you guys are! Ike, we thought you got mobbed by fans" Diana said walking closer to them. "Nope, I've been here with Leah. She wanted to look at some vintage items for her room" Ike answered, motioning to the store behind them. Leah kept her head down and nodded. She felt her eyes well up again "Did you find anything you liked?" Zac asked, looking at her, concern on his face. She shook her head and slipped her bag back onto her shoulder and got up, tossing her tissue in the trash. "Not here, not now, I can't do this again" she thought, choking back tears. "What's wrong with you?" Mac asked standing in front of her "She's not feeling well, buddy" Ike answered, taking her hand and leading her back to their group.
"Alright gang, let's get some grub" Walker announced, leading them to a small diner "Ikey, can we cuddle later, I'd be much obliged to you?" Leah whispered trailing behind them. "Sure kiddo, It's been a while since I've had that myself." He chuckled, kissing the top of her head.
She stayed quiet all through lunch and the car ride home, she took a nap before gym but even that didn't help. As she got ready for gym she pulled her candy stash out from a loose floorboard under her bed and stuffed it into her grip bag. She walked down the stairs and nearly collided with Walker "Sorry Daddy" she said, her voice sounding small. "It's okay" he said, handing her the notebook she dropped. "Are you alright? You're not your usual self." he said taking her arm. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." she lied, walking away.
"Tay, can you take me to gym please?"she asked, filling up her water bottle. "Sure, let me get my keys." He got the keys and walked her to the car, "Are you sure you're okay? Usually you're excited to go to gym and are babbling about your upcoming meets." He asked giving her an odd look. She nodded and continued playing with the tassel on her bag. "So, when is your level 10 test?" Tay asked "Next weekend. You don't have to come" she said sadly. They drove in slience the rest of the way, when she spotted the building she tried her hardest not to jump out of the car. "Maybe gym will help me" she thought as she adjusted her bag. "Hey sis, have fun." Tay said as she got out of the car "I'll try" she responded bolting inside.
Gym seemed to go by in a flash. She recived her new South County Gym Team leotard and instructions on when and where the meet was going to be at. She was happy, but it seemed short lived. "Leah, can I speak to you for a minute?" Head Coach Evanson asked, taking her aside. "Yes'm?" she asked with downcast eyes. "Leah, you're an exceptional gymnast but, I feel you are pushing yourself too hard. I don't want you to hurt yourself before the meet so, what I want you to do is, take some time off and cool down. I'll see you at the meet next weekend okay?" Leah stood there gaping "Ar are you serious?" she asked. "Coah Evanson, I need to beat my compitition, therefore I have to be top notch. Did my parents pay you to say that?" She said, trying to reason with him. "Ha Ha Ha. Sweetie, you are the best this gym has to offer but, you're overdoing it. One bad landing and you can break both your ankles. You need to relax, try some conditioning at home okay?" She nodded and went to change.
"Hey Leah, what was that about?" her not so best friend, Lucy asked. "He's giving me a time before the meet next week because he thinks I'm overdoing it." Leah said, slightly annoyed. "You are a fucking showoff. I bet he wants to have sex with you" Nadia, another girl from their team added. Leah scoffed "That's illegal, and wrong, and I'm pretty sure he's gay" she ended, zipping up her bag and walking out of the locker room.
When she got home she went up to Isaac's room, dropped her bag and got into bed with him. "Cuddle?" she asked "cuddle" he said, holding her tightly. After fourty five minutes, she gathered her things and went to her room. She changed into her jammies and laid down feeling the sadness creep into her body again. "What could it be?" she wondered as she turned off her bedside lamp. As she tried to sleep she could see, in her mind's eye, that same thundercloud, getting bigger and threatening to destroy everything in its path.