𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗜𝗧? ✰ w. bjerken

•8•

PERREY'S POV

I can't breathe. I think my heart just stopped.

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry. There's no cure that's been discovered yet. The best thing you can do to get better is to keep off that leg for a while. We're going to run another couple x-rays to see if any other bones are affected. The reason your leg to fractured was because of the repeated landings you had taken throughout the day and over time. If you reinjure your leg, or another part of your body, it would be catastrophic."

"S-o I'll have to q-q-quit?" I'm close to tears now.

He nods slowly. "Not necessarily, but you probably will have to. Unless you're fine with not doing any tumbling or jumping for a while. You'll probably have to get surgery to get some bone grafted in the place where tissue grew, if it doesn't naturally heal."

I can't say anything. I'm too stunned.

"Thank you, Doctor," Mom says politely.

They go on, talking about future appointments and all, but I barely hear them. All I know is that my gymnastics career just ended.

WHITNEY'S POV

"Hi, Whitney," Blakely mumbles down sleepily from her top bunk. "How was your meet?"

"Great. How are you?" I throw down my gym bag, and it makes a loud sound. "Sorry."

Blakely mumbles incoherently back, and then falls silent, and I know she fell back asleep. Looking at the clock, it's understandable. It's 12:43, and I just got back from my meet.

I don't think I'm very tired. I'm exhilarated, especially from talking with Delaney all the way home, and seeing all the supportive comments on my Instagram about my meet.

"Hey, Whit?"

I turn around and see Dad there, poking his head through our bedroom door.

"Yeah?"

He motions with his hand, and I follow him out of the room.

"Congrats on a great meet." Pulling me into a hug, he smiles, but I can tell his smile doesn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks. What's wrong? What's the update on mom?"

Dad look tired. Understandably so, but he looks more than just physically tired. Leaning on the wall, he says, "I'm glad you got to go to your meet...but I'm not sure how many more meets you'll be able to attend from now on until Mom gets better. She's got Stage 3 breast cancer."

I blink and then say slowly, "W-what does that mean?"

"The cancer isn't so far gone that we can't stop it now, but it's starting to spread. Mom's booking a flight to Minnesota so she can get a more in-depth analysis at the Mayo Clinic."

"When would her flight be?"

"Probably later this week. She'll need someone to go with her. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come because of the other kids, so you might need to go."

My post-meet fried brain tries to take all of this in. "Why can't Sterling go? And what about gym practice?"

Rubbing his eyes in stress and anxiety, Dad sighs. "I don't know. Probably both of you will end up going. But we can't pay for flights and hotels for all of us. And if you want, you can try to take a class with a gym up there. I'm sure they'd be ok with it."

Seeing my expression, a mixture of confusion, annoyance, sadness, and fright, Dad pats my shoulder. "Get some rest. We'll talk about it more in the morning."

My mind still in turmoil, I nod slowly and turn back to my room. Lying in bed, staring at the top bunk, I really wonder what will be in store for us in the future.