Searching for Gold (closed)

[heartofcourage]

“Exciting news from the world of swimming today as the coach of Jennifer Cordova has announced that the two time Olympic gold mentalist has begun her return to competition. As you might remember, Cordova was the winner of three medals at the last Olympic games. She was most known for her blistering speed in the 400 IM and still holds the World Record in the 100 M free. She has not been involved in a competition since a car accident two months after the games, which claimed the life of her fiancée, Eric Talbert, the anchor of the bronze medal winning men’s relay team…”

The screen snapped off as Jen angrily threw the remote across the weight room, her jaw set in a tense line as she slid off the stationary bike and limped towards the locker room. She hated the way that these people talked about her like they knew her. She hated it even more when they spoke with pity in their tone over what had happened.

To the outside world, what they saw was the golden girl. She had the winning smile, the Olympic pedigree, the killer good looks, and the talent to back it all up. She was the daughter of Enrique Cordova and his wife, Irene. Both were Olympic medalists in their own right, each in track and field. She’d never cared for running and had avoided it like the plague, which made her the black sheep and her brother the golden boy in their own family as he competed for the American team in the decathlon. He was good, but had never placed. It made Jen work all the harder to prove to her parents that she wasn’t a complete waste.

Changing into her suit, she noticed that she was over an hour late. That was surely to make her coach made. A spoiled smile crossed her face at the thought. Good, she hoped that the bitch would quit. She didn’t need her advice and she certainly didn’t need the stuck up woman speaking to the press for her.

She moved across the silent locker room, looking at herself in the mirror for a moment as she shoved her thick blonde hair into a cap, her goggles resting upon her forehead. What she saw was a girl that was very much the same as she’d been three years ago. The surgeons had done a fantastic job putting her back together. She had scars, most certainly, the most evident on her right knee which had sustained the most damage, but her face where it mattered the most was untouched.

She’d never thought herself vain before the accident, but waking from a coma in a cold hospital room with a now crooked smile and a face paralyzed had been the worst experience of her life. The windshield had done its damage, a dentist had repaired the missing teeth with caps and bridges, the only lasting effect the still crooked tilt of her lips when she tried to smile. That’s why she never smiled anymore.

Her once beautiful green eyes were blood shot, an unfortunate effect of the alcohol that she used to dull her pain. She felt lifeless, she looked lifeless, but she was trying her hardest to live again. If only other people wouldn’t interfere.

Her knee ached as she walked to the pool, her feet gripping the deck as her coach spotted her with a glare of pure hatred. When she had expressed interest in perhaps getting back in the pool, her father had gone out and hired a former Olympian, Mary Smith, to get her back on her feet. Her father didn’t do much halfway. If Jen were swimming again, she sure as hell would be competing on the international stage, no matter if she still had the talent and the speed to win.

Jen squat beside the pool, splashing water onto her suit in preparation of entering the pool. Her knee screamed in protest at the movement, but she gritted her teeth and simply dealt with the pain. On the best of days it was an aching throb and on her worst she would be forced to use her cane. She hated that cane, a reminder of all the pain she’d gone through to simply walk again.

“You’re an hour late, Jen.”

She rolled her eyes as the high pitched voice of her coach came over her shoulder. Standing up and stretching her shoulders, she turned to look at the woman with a completely disinterested glare.

“I know. I planned it that way just to piss you off.” She said with her crooked grin as she watched Mary’s face flush red.

“I’m getting sick of your mouth, Jen. If you don’t want to be here, then leave.” Hands on her hips, her coach tried to look intimidating, but Jen never saw her as anything but a weak and timid woman.

“As long as my father’s paying you good money then I think you’ll put up with my mouth.” She leaned in close, getting in her face as her coach took a step back.

“Jesus, Jen, are you drunk?” Mary’s face was shocked, her color going pale as she made the accusation upon smelling the liquor on her breath.

“No, I’m not. At least not yet. I still have a long way to go to get there.” She shrugged her shoulders at her comment, knowing that all eyes in the area were on the two of them as their conversation became heated.

“I’m sending you home, Jennifer. There’s no way you’re getting in the pool in your condition.”

Jen saw Mary try to reach for her arm and she swatted it away, her glare becoming angrier at the thought that this woman would even try to touch her. “You touch me and I’ll break your fucking nose. I really wish that you would leave me the hell alone, Mary, because in the grand scheme of things, I don’t need you. I don’t care that my father’s wasting his money on your time. I know what I need to do and I’m perfectly happy doing it on my own.”

Jen watched as Mary’s face turned a bright crimson color and she smiled in triumph as the woman turned in a huff and stormed off to grab her things.

“Fine then, you little bitch! Train yourself! I don’t know why I ever wanted to waste my time on a has been like you!”

The insult was shouted across the pool just before her former coach slammed out the doors. Other swimmers were staring at her with wide eyes, and she knew that they probably shared Mary’s sentiments. She wasn’t kind to anyone these days. It was the way it had to be.

Jen turned from her spot and made her way to her lane, climbing upon the starting block and stretching her muscles yet again. When she pulled her goggles into place, she took a deep breath, stretched into form, and then dove beneath the water, losing herself in the monotony of each stroke she took.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler Phillips had been involved with swimming in one way or another for 22 of the 30 years that he was alive. At the age of 6 his parents had put him in a swim program at the local pool. From the first time he stepped into the pool it was evident that there was something special about Tyler. When the instructors told the kids that they were going to be tested so that the instructors knew how much work they did, Tyler swam the entire length of the pool. The instructors asked Tyler why he was in the beginner program. Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "I guess because I have never been in a pool before." They were amazed, and had Tyler moved to the Intermediate group. Even there he excelled.

By the end of the program the instructors were urging Tyler's parents to put him on the swim team. Tyler's parents hesitated. They were struggling financially and did not have expendable income. The swim coach, who had seen Tyler in the summer program, told his parents that they would be able to work something out, but Tyler needed to be on a team, because he was exceptional for his age. Just pay whatever you can afford. They agreed, and it began.

Tyler was the star of his age group. Not just on his team, but throughout the area. For a while Tyler loved it. He was getting medals and ribbons and trophies. It all started to change when Tyler was 11. Then he moved from age-group swimming to the National Team. That meant that he had to practice three mornings a week before school in addition to the 3 hour practices every day after school. No longer was he the star. Now it became like work. In his first meet as a member of the National Team, he climbed onto the blocks for the start of the 200 Fly and saw a swimmer next to him that was 21 years old. Tyler held his own, but it wasn't all trophies and ribbons like before.

That was until he got to high school. He was a 4 state champion in the 100 Fly, 100 Back, and 400 IM. He had multiple scholarship offers, and he qualified for the Olympic Trials. In his first heat in the Olympic Trials he twitched on the blocks and was DQd from the 100 Fly. He wasn't the same through the Trials, and ended up not making the team. It was a huge upset. He didn't handle it well. His college career was so-so, but what he did was focus on training issues. When he graduated from college, his coach offered him the opportunity to be a Graduate Assistant. Being a GA would offer him the opportunity to get his Master's Degree while staying involved in swimming. He accepted.

After 2 years as a GA, Tyler decided he wanted to move on. He found a US Swimming team that needed a coach and he took the job. It didn't pay great, but it involved him in youth swimming. He worked the kids hard, and himself harder. He was up to date on all of the latest trends in training. He pushed the kids to be the best they could possibly be. Pushed himself to the point that he burnt himself out. At the age of 28, after 22 straight years of involvement in swimming Tyler walked away. He decided to use his education and go to work. He went to work in an investment firm, and was an instant success. It was not because he was a natural at it, but he worked himself tirelessly. He worked long hours... calling clients, soliciting clients, doing research. That success brought a great deal of money over the last couple of years, but it did not make him happy.

The lack of happiness is what brought him here. He was sitting at a local pool; reminiscing. He missed the involvement in swimming. While sitting there he noticed a heated discussion between a swimmer and her coach. The swimmer looked familiar. Then it struck him who it was. It was Jennifer Cordova, the Olympic champion. The conversation got heated and ended with the coach storming off and then yelling insults back across the pool. Tyler watched Jennifer Cordova jump in the pool and begin to swim. Her effort was lackluster, and her pace was pedestrian. Why bother, he thought.

Tyler watched the workout, if you could even call it that. He watched Cordova get out of the pool and head toward the locker room. He walked over and stopped her before she could get into the locker room. "Interesting exchange between you and your coach," he said. He saw the contempt in her face. "I know you don't know me, and I know you don't care about my opinion, but that workout you just went through was a waste of your time. I am not sure why you are back in the pool, but if you want to get back to your level, you need to get your shit together." When she started to say something to him, Tyler cut her off. "Save your smart mouth comments for your parents, your boyfriend, and whoever your daddy hires as your next coach. If you want to get back to where you were, give me a call." With that, Tyler handed her his business card, turned and walked away.

 

[heartofcourage]

The feel of water passing over her skin had always been soothing. The aching burn of muscles pushed to the limit always meant that she was doing something right. Today, Jen just didn’t feel it. She swam at a leisurely pace, her form horrible, her breathing off. After ten laps, she stopped and pulled herself from the pool, drying off her skin with a towel as she tried to clear the fog from her mind. Her knee was aching, telling her that it would be angry by evening.

“Fantastic.” She muttered to herself as she turned to go to the locker room. She was already focused on the foul mood that was descending on her when someone blocked her path into the room.

Jen looked at this guy who had appeared in front of her, a scowl on her face as he mentioned the exchange between her and Mary. “Yeah, well, I say good riddance.” She said with a shrug, going to move past him again when he grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” She asked as he commented on her lackluster showing in the pool that day.

“Listen, you have no right…” She was cut off by his next stinging retort, left stunned when he handed her a business card and walked away.

Jen watched as the man exited the pool, a shocked look still on her face before she glanced down at the card she held between wet fingers. Tyler Phillips. That name seemed vaguely familiar to her. He was someone who had trained with the National Team, she knew that for certain, but by the time she was making her rise to glory, he was already done with competition.

She gave a slight snort, the card crumpled in her hand as she went into the locker room and she threw it into her gym bag before she hit the showers. Changed into her street clothes, she felt better, but still off in a fog. What the hell was she doing? She was trying to recapture lightning in a bottle and to regain the form that she’d had three years ago in just a few short months. She didn’t really know that she had it in her anymore.

The short drive to her home did nothing to lighten her mood. Stepping into the dark interior of her house, she threw her gym bag on the floor and poured herself a stiff drink, sitting in her living room and staring at her Olympic medals above the mantel. Did she really want all that stress? Did she want all the aches and pains, the frustration? She took a long draw from her drink and sighed, rubbing absently at her knee as it throbbed.

“Fuck.” She said under her breath as she stood and made her way to her bag, fishing out the crumpled business card and looking at the number one more time. Another long draw from the drink gave her the courage to pick up her phone and dial the number, listening to the ringing with a stomach in knots.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler left the pool. He did not turn to see what Jennifer Cordova did. He didn't care if she threw the card in the trash. He would probably be better off if she did. He did not need to be dealing with her drama, but he had given it a shot. He walked out and got in his car, and drove back to work.

While driving back to work Tyler wondered what the hell he had been thinking. Getting back into coaching meant taking on some age-group swimmers.. not an Olympic champion trying to make a comeback. Especially one returning from serious injuries and dealing with a drinking problem. Yes, he could smell the liquor on her breath.... even after her leisurely swim. She was an extreme challenge.

When Tyler got back to work he collected his messages and returned calls to his clients, and a few prospective clients. He put swimming out of his mind and immersed himself in work. If nothing else, Tyler was hard-working and totally committed to whatever it was he was doing. Work was no exception.

He was just finishing some research on an investment possibility for a client when his phone rang. He looked at the caller id on his phone. It was not a number that he recognized. He answered anyway... you never know when a potential client may give you a call. "Hello."

 

[heartofcourage]

Jen paused for a moment on the other end of the line when she heard his deep voice answer. The snappy retort that had been on her tongue died the very instant he answered and she let the silence hang for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts. She turned back towards her living room, looking one more at the medals that hung above the mantel, mocking her with their shiny promises.

“So,” she finally said, her husky toned voice made even rougher with the liquor she’d been drinking. “What makes you think that you have what it takes to train me? As far as I know, you choked the first chance you took the blocks at the trials, Tyler Phillips. The great disappointment to the National Team.”

She didn’t care if her words hurt, she wanted it that way. She didn’t want anyone close to her and she was starting to resent this man that thought he had all the answers. Coaches had come and gone in her life, especially as her talent grew. There were few that could keep up with her grueling pace, few that even wanted to try. The one that had followed her to the Olympics had dropped her like a rock after the accident, never wanting to even consider giving her a second chance.

She was tainted goods now, a lame horse that should have been shot a long time ago. Perhaps Mary Smith had been her last great hope, but she needed someone stronger than the simpering woman had been. She needed someone that saw her for what she was now and could pull her back from the brink.

A psychiatrist had once told Jen’s family that this was all a cry for help. The alcohol, the wild mood swings, the temper, it was all a call for attention. It wasn’t that at all. It was a way to numb the pain of losing the two things in her life that really mattered…her talent and Eric. She shook her head of the thoughts of the accident as she finished the last of the alcohol in her glass and went to pour another, the phone cradled between her ear and shoulder.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler heard Jennifer Cordova on the other end, and it was instantly obvious that she was drinking... heck she was probably drunk. He listened to her as she threw her barbs at him. There was nothing she could say about his Olympic Trials failures that he hadn't already said to himself; however, he had moved on from that a long time ago.

"You know what? You are probably right. There is nothing that I can do to help you. After all you are a superstar. You are an Olympic champion several times over. You are better than everyone else." His instincts were right. This wasn't someone he needed to be involved with, nor did he want to be. He should never have approached her in the first place.

"Yes I did mess up, but guess what superstar? I dealt with it and moved on. I know you had some tough times after the last Olympics, but, obviously, you are not dealing with it very well.... unless you consider drowning in a bottle of alcohol a way of dealing with it. You don't need me. In fact, I don't need you. You are just a big headache. Daddy will buy you a new coach. Another one that you can curse and scream at and threaten them and tell them how wonderful you are because you have Olympic gold medals. When you fire that one, or he or she quite, daddy will find you someone else... maybe, but your reputation lately isn't the best. It is going to get harder for daddy to find someone to work with." With everything he said Jennifer tried to get a word in. Tyler wouldn't let her. He wasn't going to allow her to control the conversation.... he was.

"So, just throw away that business card and good luck with your next coach. Also, good luck with your drinking problem. You should probably take care of that before you get back in the pool.... wouldn't want an Olympic champion to drown during training. That would be really embarrassing." With that, he disconnected the call. He collected his things, and headed out of the office for the 10 minute drive home.

 

[heartofcourage]

Every time Jen tried to get a word in edgewise, she was cut off. So use to dominating the conversation, she was stunned and growing a bit angry at his incredibly accurate observations on her life. There would be other coaches, there would be other falls outs, there would be another hole ripped in her heart if she let this last chance pass her by.

Then he mentioned the drinking and she clenched her jaw tightly, the new drink sitting there before her on the kitchen bar as if he knew what she was already doing. Then he disconnected the call and the empty dial tone filled her head. She stared at the phone for a moment before throwing it across the room as her anger turned her vision red.

“God dammit!” She screamed as she took the glass and threw it, taking everything that she could find in her path and chunking it to the ground. Each bottle that she threw eased the fury, each sound of shattering glass making the red haze ease. She was so worked up that she didn’t even think as she stormed into the kitchen, slipping on the slick liquid that was spread across the floor and falling onto her injured leg heavily.

She yelped at the pain, panting as she tried to regain her head. There wasn’t a single thing that he said that wasn’t painfully true. The anger she felt was mostly at herself. Sitting there amongst the broken glass and alcohol, Jen knew that she’d probably finally hit rock bottom.

It took a few minutes to finally get back to her feet, her knee pounding painfully as she limped to the phone and picked it up once more. She dialed the same number, listening to it ring only to be picked up by an answering machine this time.

“4 am. The Aquatic Center. Let me see what you got.” She said before hanging up.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler drove home after disconnecting the call to the spoiled brat of a swimmer. He put on some classical music. Whenever he was stressed the classical music seemed to help him relax. It was something he learned from his mother. He was far from an afficienado on classical music, but it helped him to deal with things.

He parked his car and carried his briefcase into his condo. It wasn't much. After all, it was just him. He didn't need much. He had turned the second bedroom into a home office so that he could do some work there. There wasn't much furniture there... just the basics.... sofa, chair, and tv in the living room..... table and chairs in the dining room... desk and chair in the office.... bed, dresser, nightstand and tv in the bedroom.

He went into the kitchen and dug some leftovers out of the fridge and popped them in the microwave. While waiting for his dinner to heat, his phone rang. He picked it up off the counter and saw that it was the number that Jennifer Cordova had called from. He put the phone back down. A minute later the phone chimed that he had a voicemail. He was in no hurry to listen to it, so, he took his dinner out of the microwave and sat at the dining room table to eat.

After finishing eating, and washing the dish, he picked up his phone and listened to the voicemail. It was Cordova with an order. "That little bitch just doesn't get it, does she?" he thought. He put the phone down and went in to the living room and put the television on. There was nothing on, but it provided background noise. He thought about swimming, and coaching again. Tyler thought about coaching Jennifer Cordova. He thought about the possibilities of coaching an Olympic champion. Then he thought that he had everything to lose and nothing to gain from such an endeavor. If she won, it was expected... after all, she was the defending Olympic champion in three events. If she did not win, he would get the blame. Whatever he did was not right. After sitting there for several hours running through all of the scenarios in his mind, he turned the television off and went into bed.

His alarm went off at 3:00 am. He took his time and arrived at the pool at 4:15. When he walked in, Jennifer was standing there with her hands on her hips, and a look that said "you are late." Tyler walked over to her and said, "I will determine when your training sessions begin and when they end. You have no say in it. You will do exactly what I tell you... nothing more.. nothing less. You will not whine. You will not complain. You will not bitch.... and most importantly, you have had your last drink. If I even think you are thinking of taking a drink we are done. If these conditions are unacceptable to you, you little prima donna, say so now, and I am out." Tyler stood there awaiting her response.

 

[heartofcourage]

3:00 am came way too early for Jen’s liking. Her head was pounding from the inevitable hang over and she felt like shit. Looking in the mirror that morning, she decided that she looked like shit too with sallow skin and blood shot eyes. She took a quick shower, her hair still damp as she grabbed a light breakfast and actually got to the facility ten minutes early.

No one was there that early and it was her preferred time to work out and swim. That way no one could watch her and critique what had turned into rather sloppy form. She made her way into the locker room, changing into her suit and pulling on a pair of sweats over her long tanned legs. Stuffing her hair into a cap, she grabbed her goggles and made her way back out to the pool deck, noticing that it was 4 and Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

Would he stand her up, she wondered as she stood there, her hands on her hips. Surely not. No, he was intrigued. He would be there. As fifteen minutes passed by, Jen was pissed. Sure, she had been late countless times with countless coaches, but no one was ever late with her. She was about to leave when the door opened and she spun around to see Tyler.

She was about to let loose on him with the most vile tirade she could possibly muster when he walked up to her and shut her up with a simple comment. Jen looked at him with wide eyes, her cheeks flushing red with anger as he thought to push her around. No, he wouldn’t push her around, she was the Olympian and he was a nobody. Still, it wasn’t like she had a whole lot of options…

She clenched her jaw in a tight line, her blue eyes smoldering when he mentioned drinking. HE wouldn’t put up with it. He was the first person that had ever said those words to her. Everyone else coddled her, suffocated her with kind caring words. This man didn’t give a shit, but she found herself responding stronger to him than she ever had anyone else.

When he finished talking, she took a few moments to gather her thoughts, trying to make her voice sound less bitchy than normal. “Well, Coach,” she said the word, dripping with sarcasm. “Let’s see what you got.”

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler listened to her sarcastic remark and decided this was the first opportunity for him to lay down the law. If he let her get away with anything, he would never be able to get it back. His parents had always preached it, and he lived by the motto, You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

"Stop right there. This has nothing to do with me. It is all about you Ms. Superstar. Get that through your thick, stuck-up little pea brain. You want to be a smart ass? You can do that with one of daddy's coaches... not with me. I don't need your shit."

Tyler waited for a second to let that sink in. Then he continued, "You are going to get down on the pool deck and you are going to do 100 push ups. When you are finished with that you are going to do 100 crunches. When you are finished with that you are going to lunge walk 10 laps around the pool. I don't care if you do this in 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 5 days. You are going to do it, or, we are finished."

He watched the shocked look on her face. He knew she was trying to come up with something creative to say, but it didn't come to her right away. "I am the coach. You will do everything I say, the way I tell you to. You will not talk back. You will not make your little bitchy comments. In fact, when I tell you to do something, you will say "yes, Sir" or you will say nothing at all. Now, start with the push-ups, crunches, and lunge walks, or start preparing for your next coach."

 

[heartofcourage]

This man was infuriating! Jen had never been so mad in her life at the way that he talked to her. She wanted to punch him in his perfect, handsome face and let him deal with the pain. Put something within her wanted to show him that she could easily do what he asked. She wasn’t completely pathetic, she thought as she narrowed her eyes at him before she dropped to the ground and went into the pushups.

“Yes, sir.” She said, her voice still holding on to the acidic tone she had gained since the accident, but much more filled with a fire to prove him wrong.

The burn of her muscles turned into a pleasant ache as she worked them in a way that they hadn’t been worked in years. She could feel sweat beading on her brow, her arms trembling as she pushed up the final few times. She lowered herself to the deck, panting for air.

Damn, was she really that out of shape? No, no she wasn’t. She rolled over onto her back and began on the crunches, her muscles protesting at the use. She could feel Tyler watching her, critiquing her. God, she wanted to hurt him for thinking that he could pass any judgment on her!

She was out of breath completely by the time she finished the last of the crunches, her abs protesting so much that this didn’t know if she had the strength to lift herself off the deck. She slowly sat up, bracing herself on her arms as she struggled to catch her breath, staring up at Tyler for a long moment as she thought about what was to come.

“I can’t do the lunges.’ She said, no venom or malice in her voice. She was afraid her knee couldn’t take it. He didn’t need to know that, of course.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler watched Jennifer do the push ups. Wow, she has a long way to go. She is truly starting over and in need of a serious conditioning program. It took her a while, but she finally completed the push ups. He was impressed with her determination, but it was probably just to rub it in his face.

He watched her roll over on the deck and begin to do the crunches. The pain was very evident from the look on her face. Every last one of the crunches hurt her. It was obvious that she had not been asked to work out in quite some time.

Most of it was probably because the coaches that her father had hired were more interested in getting paid than they were in doing what was necessary to make Jen the swimmer that she once had been.

Tyler watched Jennifer grimace as she tried to push herself off the pool deck after completing the crunches. He was once again impressed by her willingness to work through the pain. No matter what the motivation was, she had heart. it was just a matter of finding the right motivation.

That all came crashing down when she said that she could not do the lunge walks. Well, he decided that he had given her too much credit to soon. Tyler got up off the bench and started walking toward the exit of the pool.

 

[heartofcourage]

He was standing up, leaving at her admission. She was stunned that he was walking out on her after she’d done what he asked. He had to understand why she couldn’t do the lunges. Jen started to feel a bit panicked.

“Wait!” She called after him, her breath still coming in pants as she tried to get herself under control. “It’s not about not wanting to do them. I just can’t.”

He kept walking and Jen let out a growl of frustration. She didn’t want to be embarrassed by her knee. There were times where it gave out from beneath her and would send her sprawling onto the ground. Surely he knew about her accident. Hell, even complete strangers knew about it.

“Dammit, you’re not even giving me a chance!” She called after him, wondering why it mattered so much to her that he stayed. She’d watched others coaches leave. Why not him? Why did he have to stay behind?

“Tyler, wait! I mean, look at it!” She shoved her sweats down to her ankles, standing before him in her suit as she pointed angrily to her knee and the ugly scars that were still so apparent on her tanned skin. “Do you know how much it fucking hurts? Do you know how much I wish I could do what you’re asking? Why are you being an asshole and turning your back when I’m simply telling you what my limits are?”

For the first time in a long time, Jennifer Cordova felt like crying. Never had anyone ever made her feel worthless like this before, but that’s exactly what she felt. Worthless and a touch of fear. Fear that her body would never be like it once was.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler stopped and turned and faced Jennifer. He listened to her yell at him. He looked down at the scars on her knee. He did not show any signs of sympathy. He walked back to her and stood in front of her.

"Why did you wait until after you did the push-ups and crunches to tell me that you couldn't do the lunge walks? If I am going to work with you, you must tell me everything.... UP FRONT. Not after the fact. I can not plan a workout regimen if I do not have all of the information. Be up front."

Tyler extended his hand to help Jennifer up off the pool deck. "If you think that I followed every story about your accident, you are sadly mistaken. I did not know the extent of your injuries. I will take your knee into consideration in the future."

After helping Jennifer up, Tyler contemplated how he was going to compensate for a swimmer who apparently only had one good leg. This was not going to be easy. "Something tells me that you did not work as hard as you should have on your rehab. We are going to have to do something about that. Although, it may be too late. Only time will tell."

He watched her for a reaction. Then he said to her, "I have a training table diet that you are going to follow, and there is absolutely no alcohol on it. Since I am not being paid by daddy, I will find a Physical Therapist that he can spend that money on. I will choose the PT... not him, not you. The PT will tell me how we can best address your conditioning within the limitations of your injury and how much improvement we can expect to see in your knee. Have a great day. Get plenty of sleep tonight, and be here tomorrow morning, on the deck in sweats at 3:45. Any questions?"

Without waiting for a question, Tyler walked over to where he had been sitting, picked up the copy of the diet, turned and handed it to Jennifer. Then he spun around and walked out of the pool.

 

[heartofcourage]

Jen looked up at Tyler as he loomed over her, a displease look on his face as he ranted about her not telling him about her knee up front. She wanted to yell back at him but she bit her tongue when he scolded her about not being honest. Well, she hadn’t been entirely up front with him. That much was true, but she assumed he knew.

She took his hand and let him lift her from the deck, her muscles quivering in such a way that told her she’d be sore tomorrow. She could deal with being sore. What she didn’t want to deal with right now was this man not letting her get a word in edgewise.

He had absolutely no sympathy and that pissed her off.

Wait, no, she didn’t want his sympathy!

Well, okay, maybe a little bit…

“I did work hard at rehab, it just didn’t heal right.” She was cut off from further explanation when he continued on about a diet. He had actually been surprisingly right in the fact that she didn’t try at rehab. She hadn’t tried at all. She didn’t want to and now she paid a pretty hefty price for it. Still, she had enough pride in her to admit when she’d been wrong and not cry about the outcome.

Her mind was swimming with the fact that he was going to put her through PT again. Then she was stunned that he’d already had a diet set out for her, outlining the do’s and don’t’s during training. Most of it was par for the course, but the biggest battle would be the alcohol. God, she wanted a drink then and there, but there was something about Tyler that made her loath to even touch it. Somehow she knew that smug bastard would know if she took a drink. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of rubbing it in her face, either.

She was silent as he turned and left the pool, leaving her to think about what she’d just gotten herself into. She had to admit that he had balls. No other coach had ever quite made it to that level of commitment with her, at least not since the Games. Jen felt a slight smile curve her lips at the thought before she wiped it away when she remember that she was suppose to hate Tyler.

“3:45.” She said to herself with a deep sigh. She would be there come hell or high water.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler arrived at the pool at 3:15. With him was his best friend, Kristen, who was a Physical Therapist. They had become friends after meeting at the gym. They were workout partners for a while. That was before Tyler fully immersed himself in his work.

He helped Kristen set up her table on the pool deck. Then he went about preparing Jennifer's workout for the day. He was going to work her hard. He just needed the okay from Kristen when it came to running jumping and squatting.

This was typical Tyler. He didn't do anything halfway. It was all out or not at all. Nothing was done without total commitment, and he was going to accept nothing less from Jennifer.

Once he was ready, he sat down and chatted with Kristen for a while. They had dated a few times when they first became workout partners, but he soon realized it was not going to work out. He was too committed to his work to do anything else.

Tyler looked up as the door opened to the pool deck from the women's locker room. Then he looked at his watch. It was 3:46. Bad move princess. He got up off the bench and said, "you will do an extra 100 push ups and an extra 100 crunches for being late. That means 250 of each. Get to it." Tyler went back over and sat with Kristen.mm

 

[heartofcourage]

Jen had perhaps the worst evening of her life. Of course, she had taken the phone call she’d been dreading from her father when he found out that Mary had quit and the reason why. He spend 30 minutes yelling at her in a mixture of Spanish and English until Jen had mentioned that she’d found a new coach. Then he wanted to know who that person was and what their qualifications were. She refused to answer, simply telling him that she was going back to PT and he’d be paying for it.

When her father was silent, she’d hung up the phone, praying that she didn’t try to call back. She simply didn’t want to talk to him. She’d tried her hardest to stick to the diet plan that Tyler had given her but the pull of alcohol was there with a vengence. She made sure to clear out her home of anything that might tempt her, smashing the bottle in the trash so she couldn’t dig it back out.

Then the long night had begun. The tremors in her hands were from with drawl. The sickness in her stomach from denying herself of what she wanted. She’d spent most of the night bent over her toilet, praying to die as her abs clenched in soreness. At 2 am she’d finally fallen asleep, waking shortly after 3:15 with a curse on her lips.

She rushed around the house, her eyes gritty and sore from a late night, struggling to remember what she needed. She threw her bag in the passenger seat of her car and peeled out of her drive, speeding through the streets to make it to the pool in time. She stumbled into the lock room at 3:43, struggling out of her clothes and into her sweats before she hurried out the pool deck a minute late.

She was disheveled, breathing heavily already and then Tyler was there, in her face. She wanted to break his nose, but she looked between him and the woman that he had with him, trying to decide which was worse: the pounding in her head or the fact that someone else was witnessing her humiliation.

“Tyler, I can explain.” She said before she cut herself off. It wouldn’t do any good, she thought as she saw the look in his eyes. “Yes, sir.” She said through gritted teeth as she dropped to the deck and started on her push ups.

By the time she finished, she almost didn’t thinks she could roll over and begin the crunches. Her muscles felt like jelly and her stomach hurt just as much. But she did was she was asked, albeit slowly, and she got to work on the crunches without complaint. Her abs were screaming at her, the pain from yesterday and the night before coming back in full force as she pushed herself.

 

[NewGame8]

While Jennifer got to work on her push ups, Tyler sat and discussed what Kristen was going to do to evaluate Jennifer. They watched Jennifer do the push-ups. She struggled but did not give up. Kristen commented on Jennifer's knee and how she was not able to straighten it to do the push ups. They were both impressed with her conviction to finish.

Tyler watched as Jennifer struggled to roll over to do her crunches. Once again Tyler and Kristen watched Jennifer work through the exercise. Kristen was focused on Jennifer's knee. She mentioned to Tyler that it was going to take some work to get it to where it needed to be.

When Jennifer was finished, Tyler walked over and offered her his hand to help her up from the pool deck. "This is the last time that lateness will be tolerated. The only reason I tolerated it this time was because I did not set the expectations. In the future, the day's workout will be cancelled."

Tyler watched the confused look on Jennifer's face. "If you are early... you are on time. If you are on time... you are late... If you are late.... the workout is cancelled."

Tyler let it sink in for a second. "Ok, here is what we will do today. This is Kristen. She is a Physical Therapist. She is going to evaluate you today, and then she will begin working with you.... doing what she can to help your knee. You will do exactly what she tells you to do."

He watched her reaction and then went and sat down on the bench. He pointed at Kristen's table. Get on it and let Kristen get started. ten we will begin today's workout.

 

[heartofcourage]

Jen lay on the deck, panting as she struggled to regain her breath. When Tyler’s hand came into view, she wanted to slap it away and tell him to get lost, but she didn’t, instead taking it without a word. When she was back on her feet, she listened to his lecture with her hands on her hips, the breath still coming to her in quick pants as her heart raced. She was completely baffled by his set of rules. It was possible to come all the way here, be a moment late, and be left with nothing to show for it?

Of course he wouldn’t give her any slack. She couldn’t play her little games with him and he wasn’t a shrinking violent she could scream at until the left. It was his way or nothing. Jen would have to accept that.

“Yes, sir.” She said in a tight voice, her jaw clenched as he outlined what they would do that day.

“I’ve been to PT before and it didn’t do much.” She said, looking between Tyler and Kristen, hesitant to let someone work on her again. She didn’t want a shred of hope in her life. Hope made her weak when it was ripped away without a moment’s notice. She thought about Eric for a single brief, sad moment before she cleared his memory away and focused on what was at hand.

“Yes, sir.” She said as she went to the table and got on it, her knee already beginning to throb. She didn’t need to look at it to know that it was swollen and tender. Well, at least Tyler’s perfect little friend would have her work cut out for her.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler watched Kristen examine Jennifer's knee. The grimaces on her face told Tyler that Jennifer was in a lot of pain. "this time you are going to actually do the PT and not just simply go through the motions."

Tyler continued to watch Kristen. She was very professional in her approach. She made comments to Jennifer as she went along... telling her it was going to take a lot of work, but that it could be done.

It would have to be broken down, and Jennifer would have to do as instructed, but it could be done. It would never be like it was before the accident, but it would enable her to get back into competition.

Kristen and Tyler had a brief discussion before Tyler walked over and talked to Jennifer. "You heard what Kristen said. Are you willing to do as she said?" Tyler had a feeling he knew what the answer was, and before he allowed Jennifer to answer he said, "Doing what she says means really doing it. Not going through the motions, but committing yourself totally."

 

[heartofcourage]

PT had always been a painful experience. When she was competing for a junior’s club, Jen had torn ligaments in her shoulder, causing her to have to go to PT to get it back into shape. All she could ever thing when she thought of it was pain, prodding, and encouraging words that she didn’t want to hear. She was a pragmatic person, perhaps a little more cynical then she needed to be, but she was there to fix the problem as fast as possible.

Testing the range of motion that she still had almost caused Jen to scream obscenities at the woman that was examining her. She knew her range of motion was shit. She knew that it caused pain to flex it the way she was. That’s why she didn’t do it. Still, with Tyler standing right there watching, she thought it better than to berate the woman that he’d brought with him.

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.” She said through clenched teeth as the woman told her it was going to take a lot of work. “I want to know how long it’ll take to get it back.”

She sat up, listening to the woman say that it wouldn’t ever be like it was, but she could get her back into competition. Screw competition, Jen thought as Tyler and the woman walked away to have a short discussion. This wasn’t really about competition. She’d mentioned swimming again absently to her father one evening over dinner through boredom. She hated sitting in her home every day, staring at the same four walls, dreaming of what was.

Tyler came back, snapping her out of her thoughts. She opened her mouth to answer his question and was cut off again. She sighed in frustration, hunching her shoulders to glare up at him.

“Would you get let get a word in?” She asked him, trying her best not to sound snippy and spoiled. “I’ll do what she says but if I don’t start seeing results then we stop. I can learn to compensate in other areas to make up for a bum leg.”

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler listened to Jennifer and then turned to Kristen. "I am really sorry to have wasted your time Jen. I thought that she was committed to making a comeback, but it is quite obvious that I was wrong."

He then turned to Jennifer. "Get off of Kristen's table so she can get out of here. You have wasted enough of her time." When Jennifer got off the table Tyler folded it up and sat it against the wall.

"You are not committed to swimming. You are going to do it if it suits you and your agenda, and your agenda does not include getting back to being the swimmer that you once were. You are looking for taking the easy way out."

Tyler walked over and picked up Kristen's table and began to carry it toward the door. He was extremely pissed off. He was dealing with someone who had been a world class athlete and now she was weak... .she wasn't a fighter, and that frustrated the hell out of him.

He turned back around to Jennifer and said, "You can tell daddy he doesn't need to spend that money on a Physical Therapist. He should spend it on a heart transplant for you." Tyler turned and walked the table to Kristen's car.

 

[heartofcourage]

Jen stood there in the middle of the pool deck as she watched Tyler and Kristen walk away, stunned. He was walking out? They all did, but this one really stung. Perhaps it was his parting words that shook her to the core, but she found herself following after them a few moments later.

He was packing the table into the woman’s car and Jen stared for a moment, trying to get her panic under control. Stepping into the pre-dawn morning, she made her way towards them.

“You can’t leave.” She said, stopping herself as even she cringed at the tone in her voice. It was forceful and desperate. She took a deep breath, calming herself as she tried again.

“Tyler, I do want to come back. I do want to swim again.” She was frustrated when neither one would look at her. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I swear. I’m just…frustrated.” She admitted, never having told anyone else that before in her life. “Come on, I mean, you have to know what that feels like.”

If they both walked away, she was done. She knew that and she practically held her breath to learn their verdict.

 

[NewGame8]

Tyler continued to load the the table into Kristen's car without saying anything or acknowledging Jennifer. He closed the door and turned to Jennifer and just stared at her..... saying nothing.

He listened as Jennifer continued, and said that she was frustrated. He was getting through to her. She had to open up. She had to admit to her shortcomings. She had to accept the fact that things would not come as easy to her as they had in the past.

Tyler walked over to Jennifer and put his arm around her shoulder. He turned her and they walked back inside. "You just took the first step toward getting back. You admitted a weakness, and that is a good thing."

He turned Jennifer to face him. "This does not mean that I am going to be easy on you, because I am not. I am only going to get tougher. If you are willing to commit to going back to the games to defend your championships I will stay with you the whole way."

He waited for a second for that to sink in. "However, if you slack off I am going to hammer you on it. I am going to make your life hell. I am going to make you want to quit. I am going to find out if you will quit before you get to the games."

 

[heartofcourage]

She was surprised when she felt his arm around her shoulders, guiding her back into the pool. She looked at him like he was perhaps the strangest person in the world for wanting to touch her. Jen also had to admit that it felt surprisingly good to be touched by someone. It had been a long time since she’d let that happen.

She didn’t say anything as he talked about admitting weakness. She hated herself for telling him that she was frustrated, but if it made him happy she could live with her decision to confess to him. When he turned her to face him, she listened to his words with conviction and nodded.

“I’m not going quit. I don’t think I could live with myself if I did.” She confessed to him, letting him know what she felt deep inside.

She found herself looking at Tyler for the first time with respect. Never before had a coach taken this level of interest in her or been willing to work just as hard as she would to get to the ultimate goal. She found herself giving him a crooked smile and shaking her head.

“What next, Coach?” She asked him, accepting his terms.