Depravity

Chapter 1

The days following the win were a whirlwind of simultaneous celebration and exhaustion. The feeling of the gold medal weighing down their necks ever so slightly had inevitably created a high. However, Tessa and Danny had been dragged to the media circus almost immediately following the medal ceremony. Everyone wanted to know about Canada's golden pair and their journey from heartbreak to success. Danny was 37. Were they going to retire? Was he going to retire? How would Tessa feel if he were? Would she be interested in another partner? How did Danny's wife feel about their partnership? Did they feel that they deserved gold over the French? Tessa knew that the litany of invasive questions were part of her job and came with the gold medal. However, that didn't stop her from occasionally wishing she could be left alone, dreaming and reflecting in a quiet room.

The media was even harder to manage for Danny than for Tessa, if that was imaginable. In addition to being the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history with Tessa, he also comprised one half of the Moir Brothers, Canada's double-gold medal winning figure skating and hockey playing brothers in 2010. At the free skate, the media had gotten footage of Danny jumping up into the stands and into Scott and Charlie's arms. That had seemed to be all anybody would talk about on social media. During interviews, reporters repeatedly asked Danny if he thought a so-called "hat trick" would be possible with the addition of Scott's gold in hockey. Not wanting to create pressure for his younger brother, Danny would always wish the Canadian men's hockey team luck and then divert the attention to his own gold medals.

The night after the free skate, when the media obligations had dwindled, the Virtue and Moir families gathered at a restaurant just outside of the village to celebrate. The dinner also served as a good-luck gathering for Scott, who was facing Germany in the semifinals the next day. Tessa hadn't seen Scott in about a year. Between her training and studying and his hockey career, they had never been able to find the time to grab coffee, or lunch, like they perpetually planned. Ironically, it was during the Olympic Games, the busiest times of their lives, that they were able to find the means to meet up.

In the year that had passed, Scott had gotten his long hair trimmed. The haircut framed his face and jawline nicely. She could appreciate it.

"Love the hair," she said, going in for a hug.

"Love the gold medal," Scott replied and kissed her on the cheek. "Congrats."

Tessa smiled, and then sat down at the table. "How have you been?"

"I'm hanging in there. I love being here, but it's been hard with everything I've had to do to be here, you know? I wish it had gone differently."

Tessa smiled encouragingly. Danny had told her about what had happened, and she had watched some interviews here and there. As much as she wanted to ask about it, she thought that Scott had rehashed it enough with the media to last a lifetime. And he had.

Earlier in the year, the NHL had announced that its players would not be eligible for the 2018 Olympics. Due to the risk of injury and more importantly, the potential loss of revenue, the organization had deemed that the regular NHL season would proceed as planned. Scott, who had represented Canada in the past 2 Olympic Games, had been devastated. He loved hockey, he loved playing hockey, and he loved playing hockey for his country. After months of agonizing deliberation, he had made the choice to terminate his contract with the Maple Leafs (which became an entire legal issue of its own) and pursue his Olympic career. The media had highly criticized him for it, and Tessa could only imagine the stress he was under. He had decided to forfeit his personal career for the chance to earn Canada a gold medal at the Olympics...and yet some Canadian fans still hated him.

"Well, I think what you did was admirable. You did what you thought was the best thing to do in the situation you were in," Tessa said.

"Thanks," replied Scott with the smallest smile. "So what are you guys gonna do now, Miss Most-Decorated-Figure-Skater-In-Olympic-History?"

"You've been paying attention," she laughed.

"Oh, always," he mused.

"We have Stars on Ice coming up. But after that? Probably a long break."

Scott nodded along. "Maybe we'll finally get that coffee?"

"Maybe," she said, emphasizing the last syllable. Before she could say anything more, the clink of a champagne glass echoed throughout the room. Her mother made a lovely toast to her and Danny, Alma to Scott, and the two families joined together in celebration long into the night.

Well, except for Scott. Being a responsible teammate, he headed off to his suite around midnight to prepare for the big game the next day.

//

They say that life is a cycle of highs and lows, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when a devastating thunderstorm crumbles the ground beneath a rainbow. However, the thunderstorm catches us off guard every time and traps us in the flood it creates. On one cursed Friday night, Canadians everywhere screamed at their television using words their grandmothers would disapprove of. Others screamed those same words in an ice arena in South Korea.

Scott saw the puck go into the net. It didn't happen in slow motion, like the movies made it seem. It bounced off of the German player's stick and launched into the net without hesitation, almost as if to say "hurray!" At first, the full weight of the loss didn't hit him. He had lost one goal. One point. What could be the harm? He repeated the words over and over again in his head until he had convinced himself that they were true.

It wasn't until he was outside of the locker rooms and surrounded by his family that Scott allowed himself to spiral. In one single millisecond, the puck had slipped out of his teammate's hands. In one smooth motion, it had slid into the goal. In one point, it had lost the game. In one loss, they had disappointed the entire nation. Scott had been thrown in, shackles tied to his feet, into the flood.

Scott needed to sit down. Tessa, being the observant person that she was, joined him at his side to give him what little comfort she could provide. She knew that he must be questioning every single thing in this moment.

"Hey, do you remember when I was 9, I turned down the National Ballet for you?" she asked delicately.

He looked up.

"I don't know if you remember, but you left me a year later to go play hockey for the junior...some mediocre junior league."

He scoffed.

"Well, look at me now," she said. "Scott, look at me."
"I'm the most decorated figure skater in Olympic history."

Scott forced a smile but was fighting to keep his tears at bay. Maybe that hadn't been the right thing to say. Had that just been salt in the wound?

"Just know that you have us," Tessa assured him, gently rubbing his back. "You have me."

He placed his hand on her knee as a sign of gratitude. She stayed by his side for as long as he needed her and pretended not to see the tears falling on to the tile floor.