Inked In Love

Twenty

Twenty

As I watched him, I realized I could never get tired of seeing my dad in action. He commanded the room effortlessly, his voice filled with confidence, drawing everyone's attention whenever he spoke.

We were seated before the board, with staff and an audience that included Ryan, Tina, Michelle, and Theo. My team wanted to come for support, but they had their meet tomorrow, and I needed them to focus on that.

"I don't need to provide evidence to show that Elle has only made progress since she started. She's not to blame for the incident," my dad said after addressing all the technical details.

"We never blamed her. We just took necessary action to limit the damage," came the response. Whatever you do, Elle, don't roll your eyes.

Limit the damage? What does that even mean?

"We admit removing Elle from the team was not the right decision." My dad raised his hand, stopping them.

Dad, seriously? They're about to let me back in.

"Before you continue," he said, "I'd like to share something with everyone." He walked to the screen and plugged in a memory stick.

A video started playing, beginning with footage of me coaching at practice. I was shouting encouragement at Scott as he swam. Then came clips I wasn't even aware of.

The next scene showed Scott in my office, lounging in my chair, the nerve of that kid. "Coach Elle is always behind me when I say something dumb or goof off. She lectures me every session." He started.

I gaped at the screen. Is he trying to get me in even more trouble.

"But I kind of like it. She sees potential in me, and I respect that. Coach Elle and Tina are a great team, and we love having them."

"Kiss ass," Tina whispered to me with a grin.

Then Jenny and Melissa appeared on the screen.

"Coach Elle is like an older sister. She pushes us to dream big but keeps us in check. She's why we're doing so well. Even when she was banned from coaching, she still found ways to help us train because she cares about us."

I could feel my father's gaze on me. Thanks, Jenny. I'll probably pay for that later.

Melissa's voice followed. "I'm not the best swimmer, but Coach makes it fun. She's built a team where we actually enjoy being together."

Modest as always, I thought, smiling. She's good but has much to learn.

The video cut to Bryony sitting in my office chair. Whoever edited this video was amazing. He added a long pause as Bryony adjusted in the chair.

"The trip Coach took us on was amazing. We got advice from a U.S. Olympic coach and saw a professional team in action. What happened to me wasn't her fault, and I'm completely fine."

The video ended with us all laughing. Whoever made it knew their craft, I kind of wanted to keep it.

After what felt like an eternity of deliberation, the board reached a decision: I was reinstated, with full access to the team. They admitted their mishandling of the situation.

I stood, hugging my dad. "Thanks for helping me out," I said. "You've got way more important cases, so I owe you one."

"Where are you going, Elle? We need to celebrate!" Ryan called, running after me.

I spun on my heel. "After tomorrow. I need to get to training."

Tina was already by my side. Tomorrow's meet was crucial, and if Ryan thought I'd spend the night celebrating instead of preparing, he was out of his mind.

As we walked into the pool area, Bryony spotted me and shouted, "YOU WON!" She climbed out of the pool and hugged me, dripping wet, but I didn't mind.

The rest of the team noticed and grinned at me. I clapped my hands. "Alright, we've got our biggest competition tomorrow. Let's do an hour of training, then we'll hit the sauna."

I nodded to Tina, who went to switch the saunas on. For the next hour, I focused on each swimmer individually. Leila, the only one not competing, trained on the sidelines—she wasn't ready yet.

After the session, we all moved to the sauna. Everyone was quiet, relaxing after the intense practice.

"I know you're curious about how things went today," I said. Scott cracked open one eye.

"It went really well. I'm officially back. I want to thank you for that video, it was sweet."

Bryony grinned. "Did you like the quality, Coach?"

"Spit it out, Blondie," Scott teased, coughing dramatically. Bryony glared at him, but he winked.

"My brother made the video," Melissa said for her.

"Your boyfriend?" I asked Bryony, who nodded.

"Josh makes videos on Instagram, and he's been looking for work."

I thought for a moment. He was clearly talented, and I had been wanting to work on the team's social media presence. "Is he free tomorrow?"

Both Bryony and Melissa stared at me, wide-eyed. "Yeah, I think so," Bryony mumbled.

"Great. Tell him to come to the competition and shoot some footage. Then we'll talk more." Bryony jumped up and hugged me. "Thank you, Coach!"

As she left, I leaned back, closing my eyes. The rest of the team slowly trickled out, leaving just me and Tina.

"C'mon, let's go get that drink," I said, pulling her up.

After we showered and locked up, I grabbed a bottle of water. As we headed out, I wasn't paying much attention until I bumped into Tina, who had stopped abruptly.

"You okay?" I asked, looking around her. I froze.

Michelle was crying—in public. And Theo, ever the nice guy, was hugging her. I didn't know Michelle well, but I could guess what might be happening. Still, I couldn't let myself get distracted by her drama. I had a meet to focus on.

"Go find out what's going on. I'm heading home," I said, walking away.

On the drive home, the scene played over in my mind, but I forced myself to push it aside. I had bigger things to think about.

Later, while cooking pasta and scrolling through photos, I landed on one of me, 19 years old, standing proudly on a podium after my first big win. I let myself drift into the memory.

The moment my hand touched the end of the pool, I shot a glance at the scoreboard, unsure if I'd won. When my name flashed on the screen, the cheers around me were deafening.

I won.

My coach smiled proudly, and I threw my arms around Ruby, who finished second. "You were amazing!" we shouted in unison, laughing.

Billy, unable to contain himself, lifted me off the ground. "My girl's a gold medalist! What the actual fuck" he screamed, laughing. Molly, his girlfriend, hugged me too, never jealous of how close we were.

Later, after all the interviews and pictures, we raised our glasses. "To success!" Ruby toasted, clinking her glass with mine.

Winning isn't everything, but when you've worked that hard, it's an incredible feeling. If any of my swimmers win tomorrow, I'll be over the moon. Watching their hard work pay off is all I could ever ask for.