Merry Christmas everyone!!!  🎁❄️🎄🎅 ☃️  I'm going to Enchant Christmas tonight and I'm sooo excited :).  Anyone have any plans today?

This is a little shorter chapter but hoping it helps me get my groove my back to writing this book that I love so much.  Please be patient with updates.  Interact with this story, don't just say love this chapter or ask for updates.

"You know, I can't do this anymore," Madison whispers to Melanie who turns to look at her as if she already knew.

"I can't either," Melanie agreed.  "What do you want to do?"

"Tell Coach's Lindsay and Erin that I quit.  I need to focus on my health and my mental health.  Mark has screwed both of us over and I just need time for me."

"I was thinking the same thing," Melanie lets out a shaky breath.  "I just wasn't sure how to say it out loud."

Madison knew that what she went through was nothing compared to what Melanie went through with Mark.  She couldn't even call him a coach anymore because a coach wouldn't do that to any of his players.  He was disgusting and didn't deserve everything he got.  He was a highly decorated coach for the Olympics and people were blinded by him because he always came off as "Mr. Nice Guy" and always willing to help others.  It sent a literal shiver down Madison's spine as she thought about it and realized that she too was manipulated by him.  She thought he could get her far in her career and for a while he had but it was also because of her and her drive that made it happen.  

They were supposed to compete later that night and Madison felt literally sick to her stomach thinking about it.  How could she compete for a coach that she didn't believe in anymore?  Her stomach was churning and she rushed to the bathroom to empty out her stomach as she threw up in the toilet.  Her throat burned and she hated the aftertaste as she grabbed a paper towel and wiped her mouth after she spit out some water to get rid of the aftertaste.

As she looked at herself in the mirror she realized how much she had changed in her looks in a short amount of time.  Her hazel brown eyes that once held light in them were now dull and lacked any ounce of happiness in them.  She had also lost some weight (she guessed about eight pounds) and she didn't have any to lose to begin with.  She had always been a healthy person and a lot of that was contributed to her being an athlete and leading a very active lifestyle.  

There was still the bruise on her wrist where you could see his fingerprints marked from when he had grabbed her harshly.

She wasn't happy doing the sport she loved anymore.  Tears pooled in her eyes as she choked back some sobs and lowered herself to the ground as she cried.

She couldn't do this.

*

As she stood outside the door of Coach Lindsay and Coach Erin's offices, her hands shook as she took a deep breath.  Melanie squeezed her hand and gave a look of reassurance that they both needed.  Madison let out a shaky breath as she nodded her head and knocked on the door.

"Come in," they heard Coach Erin's soothing voice.

They walked in as Madison could feel her heart pounding out of her chest and the two coaches smiled at their stars.

"Madison and Melanie," Coach Lindsay smiled at the two.  "What can we help you with?"

They both sat down in the chairs in front of their desk as the two coaches shared glances as the girls sat there in silence.  It had been close to ten minutes since they had come in and while Lindsay and Erin weren't on a tight schedule, they were wondering when they were going to speak.  They could tell something was up.  These two were usually the most outgoing out of their team and always bubbly and happy.

"Take all the time you girls need to be able to tell us whatever is bothering you," Coach Lindsay tells them.  "Then when you're ready, just tell us."

She didn't want to rush them or make their feelings feel invalidated.  Or that they weren't being heard.  

"Were not competing tonight," Madison spoke up softly after about ten more minutes, but with determination in her voice to let them know she wasn't joking.

"Why not?" Coach Lindsay asked as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  "Is everything okay?"

"No," Madison's eyes welled up again with tears as she shook her head.  "Everything is not okay."

Coach Erin pulled up a chair in-between the girls as she held their hands and they told their story.  Melanie speaking of the physical abuse she endured from Coach Mark and Madison telling them of the intense diet that he had her on and their altercation the other day in his office.  It was just all too much for them.  And they weren't happy.  

"I always knew there was something off with that bastard," Coach Lindsay shook her head in anger as she stood from her chair.  "How could I not have known?!  It was right in front of us all along," she said with disgust in herself for being so blinded that she didn't recognize what was happening.  She had just been so focused on getting another gold medal for Team USA this years Olympic that she hadn't really taken time to stop and make sure their players were okay.  Mentally and physically.

She always knew that Coach Mark was going to drive them into an eating disorder one day.  

"It's not your fault," Madison reassures her assistant coach.  

Coach Erin was just listening to the girls as she reassured them that everything would be okay.

"Let's call a team meeting today," Erin announced to the three of them.  "Without Mark this time.  We need to find out if he has done this to anyone else and what we are gonna do about it.  We have to turn him in but the Olympic committee needs proof and a lot of it.  I know these guys.  They are not going to make it easy especially for a guy like Mark."

"Already on it," Lindsay said as she sent out a group text message to the team excluding Mark from it.

*

It had been thirty minutes since the team had met up and since then no one had spoken.  Well, that is until Lizzy speaks up.

"Okay is someone going to tell us what the fuck this meeting is about?  Because we have to compete tonight," she said with an attitude as she crossed her arms.

"She's right," Melanie tells Madison quietly.

"Don't feel pressured," Coach Erin reassures them comfortingly.  "Talk when you're ready."

Madison let out a deep breath she was holding for a few seconds.

"The reason why Melanie and I called this last minute meeting is to tell you guys were dropping out.  We're not competing anymore."

"I knew it!  That's it.  I'm leaving," Lizzy stands up again as her chair screeches before Sophia grabs her hand and pulls her back.

"Lizzy wait," Sophia tells her teammate and stops her from leaving.  "There has to be a reason."

"Mark has been practically forcing me into an eating disorder and laid his hands on me," Madison explained timidly and ashamed.

"And he's been physically abusing me for a year," Melanie said also feeling ashamed as she looked at her hands.

"I don't believe you," Lizzy shook her head in disbelief.  "These are serious allegations."

"LIZZY!" Sophia shouts at her teammate and her friend.  This was not the way to be supportive of someone close to them who has gone through abuse and eating disorders.  For the first time Sophia was disappointed in Lizzy.

"What?  Sophia, What?!" Lizzy flails her arms as the coaches let them work it out and their other teammates sit there awkwardly as they wanted to show their support for their teammates but at the same time didn't know what to do with Lizzy.  "If it really happened then why didn't they come out sooner?  How do we know they aren't lying?"

"You know," Sophia let out a humorless chuckle as she shook her head.  "I always knew you had this weird competition thing going on with them but I never you would stoop this low.  I know you don't like them, but when have you ever known them to be liars?"

"You want proof?" Melanie asks her teammate, her voice thick from crying and tears welling up in her eyes as she pulls her shirt off and turns around.  "Here's your proof, you bitch!"

On her back were bruises the size of golf balls.  There were about four of them from her recent abuse for not landing a move she was going to do in competition.  After that no one spoke and Melanie ran out of the building, Madison following after her.

"Not everything's always about winning, Lizzy!" Sophia shouts to her as the door closes.

While Madison let Sophia and Lizzy keep on arguing, she followed after Melanie to make sure she was okay.  

"Melanie?" She called out her name.

"Over here," she heard her voice and she followed her voice into an empty hallway as she sat on the ground.  

"Hey, you okay?" She asked sitting down next to her.

"Yeah.  I just can't believe her," she shook her head.

"Hey forget Lizzy.  Not everyone is going to believe us.  If they don't, forget them."

"Your right," Melanie agreed with her timidly.

"I didn't realize it was that bad for you," Madison whispered as she laid her head on Melanie's shoulder.

"I've had worse," she shrugs her shoulders.  "I just did a really good job of covering it up."

"You know if we take this court, they're probably going to ask why it took us so long, especially you."

"I know," Melanie let out a sigh.  "This is a mess, isn't it?  I never expected any of this to happen..."

"Me neither," Madison looked at the palms of her hands.

"You ready to not compete tonight?"

"Y-yeah," Madison shakily let out a breath.  "You?"

"Yeah.  But I'm not ready for the media attention were going to get."

Would they ever compete again?

--

I am so incredibly sorry for the very late update!!  But I hope you guys enjoyed!

What do you think is going to happen next?