- Chapter 12 -

                                    

                                          
"Bails!" I jumped hearing the voice of my best friend. "You're back?" She questioned as I turned around from my locker. 
                          
"I'm back, Linds." I hugged her, both of us dressed in a navy blue leotards, and grey spandex, the colors of our gym. We both laughed as we talked our usual conversation and walked into the gym, Erika cleaning up the floor from her private lesson. 
                          
"Bailey Andrews, look who's back." Erika hugged me as we walked toward the open floor to begin our dynamic stretches. 
                          
"I'm back, but still not cleared for everything." Erika nodded and watched as we started our running across the floor. I honestly hate these stretches, but it felt so good to be back in the gym that I would do these for the next 4 hours if I had to choose between these and being out for 2 months. 
                          
"So, how's that baseball player you told me about?" Lindsay and I sat in our middle splits, facing each other so we could talk and stretch at the same time. 
                          
"He's good and definitely what I needed." I smiled thinking of the man who had dropped me off today. "He helped me get back here so I'm never giving him up."
                          
"Mhmm, sounds like a good one, where can I find one?" I let out a laugh as we switched stretches, both of us starting with our back stretches. 
                          
"I don't know, maybe I can find one of Ender's teammates." I winked, looking up and seeing Erika staring us down as we joked around. 
                          
"That'll work." Lindsay laughed as we finished with out stretches and began our usual routine, her starting on beam and me on bars. 
                          
       
                          
"Bailey, you gotta trust yourself." I groaned as I struggled to get back most of the skills in my floor routine. I'm not gonna say that it wasn't my fault, because it was. I was scared, mostly that my hamstring was going to go out again and my dreams of going back would be killed. 
                          
"How? How can I trust myself when every time I get healthy something else goes bad?" I stood up from the floor, frustrated with myself. "What am I doing wrong!"
                          
"Hey! Bailey, you're not doing anything wrong. You will get back to your normal self soon, it ain't gonna come easy." Erika held onto my shoulders as I took a few deep breaths to steady myself. "I've told you this before and I will always tell you this. You have what it takes to make it there, you just have to have it in your heart that you can make it there." I nodded, Erika sending me to grab a drink to regain my composure and get back in the right headspace. 
                          
"Babe? What's up?" Ender picked up his phone, sounding worried on the other end. "Are you alright?" I took a deep breath, his voice steadying myself. 
                          
"I'm fine, physically anyway." I leaned back into my locker. 
                          
"What's wrong, Bailey?" He sounded concerned now. 
                          
"I can't-- I'm not the same person I was when I got hurt. None of my skills are the same and I don't know if they'll ever be the same. I don't know what to do." I had walked into a smaller room, so that no one would hear the emotional breakdown that I was sure to have. 
                          
"Bailey, you're not going to be the same gymnast you were before. Before you weren't worried about getting hurt on a skill, you weren't worried that one small skill would hurt, but now, now you have to think about what could go wrong, but you also can't." I listened as Ender explained what he was talking about, how wise words making everything somewhat better. "Listen, I've dealt with injuries, you know that, and every time I go back I have to remember that I'm stronger then my body tells me I am. I can handle more than my brain thinks I can handle." I smiled as everything started coming together. 
                          
"Babe, thank you." I could practically feel him smiling on the other end. 
                          
"I'm always here for you, now go kick some butt, baby girl." I smiled and we said our goodbyes, my mind being at peace now as I walked out toward the floor, Erika standing there waiting for me. 
                          
"You alright, Bailey?" I simply nodded my reply as I took my place in the corner, waiting before I began my tumbling pass. Keeping in mind what Ender had told me about being stronger than my brain thinks I am. 
                          
Twisting and tucking, my legs stayed glued together as I came down with my feet glued together. I smiled as I collected myself and saluted before walking back toward the other corner.
                          
The rest of my passes went the same way, clearly Ender's wise words keeping me grounded. I smiled as Lindsay and I packed up for the day, Erika not wanting to push me too hard on my first day back, and letting me go earlier than my usual 6 hour practice time. 
                          
       
                          
"Baby!" I jumped into the arms of Ender as I walked through the door of his house. I had practically been living here for the past week, but since Dans is on a roadtrip I had told him that Ender and I could watch Bentley over here. 
                          
"Well, someone's happy." He held me against his chest, his breathing tickling the side of my head. "I'm guessing practice went well?" I jumped down from his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. 
                          
"Practice went amazing, thank you for that." I pulled him to me and pressed my lips to his, his arms snaking around my waist and holding me tight. 
                          
"Anything for my girl." He let me go as Bentley came running into the room, jumping up to me for some attention. 
                          
"Hey, B!" I ran my hands over her head, the young puppy excited about the attention she was getting. "How was your workout?" I leaned back on the counter, Bentley going to eat the food that was in her bowl. 
                          
"It was good, I had a small amount of pain at the start, but it quickly got better. I feel like I'll be back on the field within the next month or so." I smiled, excited that he was so close to getting back with the team, even though that meant I would have less time with him. 
                          
"Good!" I jumped to him once again, excited with the events that happened today. "Looks like the two of us are good for one another." I smiled as he returned the smile. 
                          
"Baby, you are exactly what I need in my life, I've known that for years."