Powering Through: A Sequel to Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 18: What Happens In Vegas

Kelsey settled back in the car, turning up the volume on her phone and concentrating on the music coming out of her earbuds, closing her eyes. It was a gloomy December day in Los Angeles, damp and chilly. She had another long day of filming ahead of her, another day of probably not seeing Jack when she needed him most.

They were deep in the meat of Marian's story now in Power Through, of her recovery, when she was battling her addiction and fighting to reclaim her life, to learn to walk again so she could learn to swim. It was a dark place to spend her days, and it was hard for Kelsey to maintain equilibrium in her everyday life. It got so Kelsey dreaded seeing the set, the walls of the soundstage, and putting on the equipment. She knew that this was common, and a sign that the filming was going really well, but it didn't help with her feeling of depression and loss.

It also didn't help that she'd barely seen Jack in the last few weeks. Since Thanksgiving, their schedules had been so hectic that they'd barely had a chance to say hello, it seemed. Jack himself was busy with his project, with swimming and his classes. Kelsey knew he was spending more time with the Skankiteers than with her, and she had to swallow her feelings every time she thought of them together, heads bowed over a book or computer screen.

Her phone was her lifeline; she lived for the text notifications from Jack. He sent her random texts throughout the day, sometimes nothing more than a cute picture. Sometimes she spent her lunch breaks just scrolling through her phone rereading his old texts.

Kelsey had never realized before how much the weather affected her, but now, especially with the time change, waking up to a cold and dreary day, spending all her daylight hours indoors, and returning home in the dark, was really taking a toll on her. And when they did somehow end up together at home at the same time, she reveled in the warmth of Jack, of his presence, of being with him.

Tonight was supposed to be such a night. Jack had a close meet tomorrow, so he had no evening practice, and Kelsey finished shooting at four, so Jack was going to make dinner, and they were going to spend the evening in, just eating and watching a movie and reconnecting. Kelsey's soul cried out for such an evening. She didn't even care that they'd have to be sleeping by ten so he could make the team bus in the morning, or that he'd be in Las Vegas all weekend.

She spent the morning in the leg braces and back brace, crying and falling, over and over, as Ryan hovered over her. She had to yell in his face, in varying degrees of intensity, with tears, without tears, hitting him, not hitting him, and so on. It was so draining to find that place inside herself every time, but that's what Robin was asking her to do, so Kelsey did it, over and over.

After a while, even Ryan was concerned.

"You need a break?" he asked, putting a hand on her elbow. "You look wiped out."

Kelsey shook her head from her place on the floor. "I just need to get this done," she muttered, teeth gritted.

"Ready!" she called.

This time she grasped Ryan's tie as she spoke to him, her voice barely audible as she spoke. Kelsey knew as she was doing it that she might have to loop this part later because her voice was so low. She could tell, though, from the look on Ryan's face, that she was delivering something really good, and she hoped he could recapture the intensity of his own expressions later when they shot his close ups for the reactions.

Late that afternoon she got a text from Jack that robbed her day of what little joy it had.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to cancel tonight. We just found out this afternoon that something we thought was due next Monday is due this Monday, and I'm going to be in Vegas at the meet this weekend, so we only have tonight to get it done. We're going to be in the student union getting it done, so don't wait up, I'll be late.
I'M SORRY, AND I LOVE YOU!🐬"