Midnight Rain

18

POV Ava

Seeing Chiara like this was heartbreaking. I didn't know how to help her initially, but thought it might help if she had someone to focus on. I'm well aware of panic attacks, sadly, but I've never experienced someone else having one. My mind was constantly with Chiara, worrying about her and hoping she would later join me on my hike. But before that, I'll have to talk to my assistant coach. Snapping at Chiara like that was not only totally unacceptable but also completely inappropriate. She didn't do anything wrong. Let's see how that will work out.
But for now, I'll have to focus on my work and try to unite my team and find their spirit.

Some hours later, the team exercises were all done, and the only thing left for everyone as a team was the BBQ, just like we had yesterday.
When everyone left, I told my assistant coach to stand behind so that we could reflect on the day. I was not looking forward to this conversation, but it was more than long overdue. He took a seat in front of me and wanted to start talking, but I interrupted him.
"Before you start, I wanted to talk to you about what happened this morning," I started.
He looked confused, and I was unsure if he knew what I was talking about.
"The thing with Chiara? During the morning Meeting?" I explained further.
"Oh, that. That wasn't anything. She was not behaving, so she needed to be put in place. It has to be clear to her that she's not better than anyone else on the team and has to pay attention just like the others."
Surprised by his statement, I shook my head a little.
"You can't be serious. Putting her in place? That's not how you treat your athletes."
"It is. They need to respect their coaches; how else should they?" he replied, and I could tell he was not joking.
"There are many ways that people can earn respect from one another. Especially between a Coach and their athlete, it's important that this respect is not made out of yelling or snapping at them," I explained calmly.
But he didn't seem to have the same opinion on that.
"Snapping? I didn't snap at her. She didn't pay attention." he was getting louder.
"Yes, she didn't, but she was obviously just daydreaming, nothing too bad. Your reaction was more than inappropriate, and I won't accept a behavior like that. That's not how I'm working with my athletes."
I could see in his eyes that he was not on the same page with me.
"Why are you protecting her? She is not better than anyone else on this team. Why pity her?" he snapped.
"Well, first of all, lower your voice. I won't accept you snapping at my athletes or me. Second, this is not about her. It's about you and your unacceptable behavior this morning. That's a no-go for me. So I would welcome you to change that. Or do we have a problem here? And by the way, she indeed is better than everyone on this team." I stood up, left the room calmly, and went to my room. He can't be serious. How did I miss reading a person that much? I thought he was the right pick for my assistant coach job, but I was wrong.

When I opened the door, Chiara was lying on our bed, the plate of food untouched on my nightstand. Carefully, I entered the room not to wake her up if she was sleeping. But as soon as I closed the door, she turned to face me, and I could see her red eyes. My heart was getting heavy seeing her like that.
"Hey, you." I sat on the bed, took her hand in mine, and carefully came closer to kiss her forehead.
"I know you might not feel like it, but I think it will be good if you get out of here to get some fresh air." Without saying anything, she let go of my hand, stood up, changed into her sportswear, and went to the door.
"You coming or what?" She sounded cold. Her voice was emotionless.

We walked for about half an hour without one word being said. When we stopped at the top of a hill, Chiara sat down and took in the beautiful view. I sat beside her, looked at her, and wrapped my arm around her. She immediately moved closer and let her head rest on my chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" I asked when she looked up to me.
"Being there. That's not self-evident," she replied honestly. We looked into each other's eyes for some more seconds before Chiara inched closer and gave me a brief kiss. Her lips felt warm, and electricity rushed through my lips. She suddenly let go, stood up, and started walking away and leaving me behind.

"Chiara, wait," I rushed after her.
"Just leave me alone, Ava. Seriously." Her voice was again cold and emotionless. I didn't understand why, but I won't bother her today. She's been through enough already. We walked in silence on our way back to the hotel.
"Do you want a coffee as well?" I asked her when we reached the little coffee near the hotel.
"I'm good," she replied without looking at me and continued to the lobby. Looking after her, I decided to let her be. I'll see her in our room anyway, and I'll also bring her a coffee anyway.

When I opened the door, I could hear the shower running, so I set down my coffee and knocked on the bathroom door. She hummed to let me know I could come in. Without saying a word, I placed her coffee beside the sink, turned around, and left.
Sitting on my bed, I scrolled on my phone while drinking coffee. After a while, the bathroom door opened, and a very nacked Chiara walked out with her coffee. I couldn't help but stare at her while feeling my body heating up.
"See something you like?" She asked with a grin on her face. Not able to reply, I just continued to stare at her while she came closer. Without warning, she sat in my lap, reached for my chin, and closed my mouth.
"Cute," she laughed, removed herself from my lap, and got dressed.
"You're such a tease," I said, annoyed, and paid my attention back to my phone.
"Do I have to attend the BBQ later?" She asked with a slight worry in her voice.
"Only if you want to."
"Besides my stupid teammates, I would like to not see that stupid assistant coach for a while."
"You don't have to. Also, I talked to him and clarified that his behavior is unacceptable, and if he doesn't change that ASAP, it will have consequences," let alone the thought of it was making me angry.
"What did he say to his excuse?" Her question made me nervous. Should I tell her the truth or just half of it? It could trigger her if she knew what he was thinking about how a coach should treat their athletes or that he believes she's no better than anyone else on this team."
"Ava?!" Chiara was snapping her fingers in front of me to get me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry," I laughed and stood up and took her hands into mine. "It's not important what he said. It's unacceptable, and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior on my team. Especially not towards you," I admit.
"Towards me, huh? Why's that?" Chiara came closer with a little smile on my face.
"Well, you're my most talented Athlete. It would be a shame if someone would piss you off..." I teased her.
"Sure, such a shame," she teased back. Closing the gap between us. The kiss was getting more and more heated, and my hands found their way underneath her...

My phone started to ring, and I let out an annoyed groan. Looking at the screen, I saw my assistant trainer calling me and decided to ignore it. But when I saw the time, I realized I was running late, and everyone was probably already at dinner.
"I'm sorry! I've to go. I lost track of time. If you wanna join us, feel free, but as I said," I took her hands into mine, "you can stay here. And be for yourself." I gave her a quick kiss and left the room.

When I arrived at the BBQ, everyone was already waiting. I explained that I was hiking and lost track of time. My assistant coach gave me a strange look from the side, but I didn't question it.

The evening went by quickly, and I was on my way to our room when I remembered that Chiara probably hadn't eaten all day. So I decided to get her something to have a little Picknick on our bed.

But when I arrived at our room, Chiara was nowhere to be found. Her suitcase was gone.