The Teammate

20 - Memories Turned Nightmares

July 2023

The house felt different, colder as Arabella stood at the top of the stairs. There was a glow coming from the living room, the familiar one that she saw every year on the same morning for as long as she could remember. It was the same tree, the same decorations, the same stockings. Only it wasn't the same at all.

First, the sky had started to lighten outside the massive front bay windows, instead of the dark sky that was always outside when she ran down the stairs as a little girl. There were also the voices that drifted up from the living room. Her brother and her father were already awake. She had heard them get up and start to descend the stairs, but she hadn't been able to pull herself from the covers.

The house felt colder than usual, it was because her mother had died only a few days prior.

Levi and Johannes were sitting on the couch, cups in their hands. The tree was decorated the same way that they had done it in previous years, after a few bottles of whiskey. The ornaments were either barely hanging on, or so far in the tree, no one could see what they were. It was one of the last things they had done together as a family. Her mother had sat on the couch, content to watch her kids and her husband work, but had always been in charge of making sure everyone's glasses were full. The smile on her face rivaled none that Arabella had seen in he entire life. It was always of pure happiness.

The mood was more somber as they opened presents, especially when they got to the ones tagged 'from mom'. They each took turns, savoring the moment they opened the last present their mother would ever give to them.

Inside the box, Arabella's mother had left for her, was a necklace with a small charm at the end. It wasn't anything overly expensive, in fact, she was sure she had seen the same necklace in many gift shops and souvenir kiosks at the different mountains she had been to during her career. Etched into the small surface of the charm was the number 1, which confused her until she pulled the card out and read what her mother had written to her.

"What is it?" Johannes asked, genuinely curious. Arabella had a hand to her mouth, fighting back tears as she tried to read out what her mother had written her.

"She got it at my first competition, ever." Her voice shook, even her hands did as she held out the necklace to her father.

"I always knew you'd make it. I knew you would stand on the top of the podium and show the world who Arabella Van Dijk really is." Levi read peering over her shoulder as Arabella's sobs got the best of her. Johannes smiled, his own eyes filling with tears.

"I remember that." He said which made Levi and Arabella both turn to him. "Not the necklace, but at your first competition, we were both so nervous." He shook his head slightly, leaning back on the couch he held the necklace in his hands. "She told me that if there were anything she would bet all her money on it was you standing on the podium representing the Netherlands. Dominating the world." A sob broke out of Arabella's mouth, splitting the air around them.

"I..." She started but nothing, but broken sobs and mumbles came out.

"She's still your biggest fan, and she always will." Arabella nodded, clutching the piece of paper to her chest. "We believe in you, Arabella." Johannes breathed. "And I will be there cheering enough for the both of us. I promise."

Something felt different when Arabella's eyes fluttered open, and for the first time since her father's funeral, she felt it wasn't just because she was now an orphan. There was a throbbing pain behind her eyes, a side effect of the wedding the night before. The first thing her eyes focused on was the cloudy sky outside the rain-splattered patio doors. Inside, there wasn't much light, and the only sounds were the blowing wind outside the window and the television was on. It wasn't until she brought her hand up to rub her eyes, trying to calm the throbbing that she realized she wasn't lying on a pillow or a blanket.