Page 24 of From the Courtroom to the Court
It's a silly thing, a gesture that at first glance isn't of great importance, but Leah remains completely paralyzed. She has felt warmth on her lips, fluttering in her chest, and an exquisite vibration in her belly. It reminds her of those times when they won a big match, that pulsating excitement, the racing heart. She hasn't experienced it for a long time, and a tiny gesture from a woman has made her body feel that burning sensation she missed so much.
"Good match," Emily says politely while extending a hand to her opponents.
Emma narrows her eyes and Mia laughs with happiness.
"You played very well," the club employee answers. "The improvement shows."
Although Emma dislikes this girl—very much, she repeats to herself—she likes that she has this attitude with Emily. It's clear she's not doing it to suck up to her, but to encourage her to keep training.
"Did you see that backhand?" Emily asks, making such an abrupt movement with the racket that she nearly loses her balance. Mia stretches out an arm and steadies her.
"I saw it," the girl answers. "Try doing it with less force and you'll see how it comes out better."
"How about we get something to refresh ourselves?" Leah proposes and puts an arm around Mia's shoulders. She knows her and she's quite capable of staying to clean up the court instead of joining them; there's more staff for that.
Once seated with drinks ordered at the bar, the three women remain silent. Each one of them mentally thanks Emily for not stopping talking about the match, how good she felt, and the plays they all made. Emma still has her head muddled; there's a force, a magnet that makes her want to be near Mia, but her brain sabotages her by repeating that a Harris has to be with someone of her status. It's absurd because in her family that doesn't exist, those stupid differences between social classes, and despite that, she has mixed with people during part of her life who do give it importance, and it seems that a part of that thinking has tattooed itself to her hippocampus. Mia, however, is clear that she's attracted to the lawyer, a prissy woman with airs of superiority that she could perfectly keep in check. Nevertheless, she feels a slight annoyance thinking that Emma doesn't notice her because she considers her a simple ball girl. Leah tries to control the whirlwind in her head, although she doesn't feel any kind of anguish. She only has her heart so accelerated that she needs a few minutes to calm down; Emily is the cause of her revolution.
"We have to do this again," Emily says, "if you want to, of course."
"I'm in, we could..."
Mia can't continue the sentence because her phone starts ringing. It's a number she doesn't have registered in her contacts, so she gets up from the chair and moves a few meters away from the table after apologizing to her companions.
"But, is he okay?"
The voice of anguish reaches the table and the three women turn to look at her. Mia has gone pale and moves erratically. Leah doesn't hesitate, approaches her and, when she hangs up, they exchange a few words.
"Let's go, I'll drive you," the tennis player offers. "Girls, I'm sorry. Mia's brother has had an accident and we're going to the hospital."
Emma gets scared. Emily turns serious.
"Do you need anything?" the question comes from Emily's mouth.
"Don't worry," Leah says while picking up her phone from the table. "Thank you."
The two women leave hurriedly under the watchful gaze of the cousins who remain silent, knowing that there go two people who don't stop dancing in their thoughts.
Chapter 13
In moments like this, Leah is grateful to be an athlete, because Mia practically drags her running through the hospital until they reach the hallway where they've been told Aaron is being treated.
Elena Morris, Aaron's foster mother, rises from her chair in the waiting area and walks toward her as soon as she spots her.
"What happened?" Mia asks, nearly spitting her heart out of her mouth.
"He fell, but it's not serious, Mia, I'm sorry for scaring you. The blood made me very nervous," Elena explains, visibly agitated. "It looks like he cut his chin. They're giving him some stitches now, we can go in soon."
"Why don't you both sit down?" Leah suggests, pointing to some plastic chairs against the wall.
"How did it happen?" Mia asks when they take their seats.
Elena swallows hard and takes Mia's hand between hers. The woman appears so distressed that Leah, who stands by the door of the treatment room where Aaron is as if she's his guardian, gets the impression that the woman felt genuine panic about the incident.
"He fell down the stairs. They're old and some steps are loose. Tom fixes them when he can, but lately he hasn't been feeling well, and well, he's been putting it off," the woman brings her hand to her mouth and holds back a sob.
"Well, it's okay, it was an accident," Mia says.
"If I had known this was going to happen…" the woman laments, shaking her head.
