Page 22 of Courting Trouble
‘I can show you as many times as you like. But it’s not going to look like what happened to Rowe,’ Cassie told her.
‘You know what happened?’ Delilah asked.
Cassie nodded. ‘Of course. It’s infamous. What happened was she didn’t brace. She was trying to fight for a crucial point, and she wasn’t thinking about getting hurt, wasn’t braced for it. That’s why it happened. She wanted the point too much.’
Delilah nodded. ‘I see.’
‘But I’m gonna teach you the opposite. Because you’re not going to get hurt for real,’ Cassie told her. She crouched low, feet shoulder-width apart, flexing her knees. She leaned to one side, tucking her chin to her chest, and let herself tip onto the mat. Her shoulder hit first, then she rolled smoothly along her back, coming to a stop in one fluid motion. ‘Bracing is everything,’ she said, getting up, eyes on Delilah. ‘You roll, absorb, survive.’
Delilah swallowed. ‘Man, I don’t know if I can do that.’
Cassie shook her head. ‘You’renotgonna do what I just did. We’re gonna handle this like everything else. We start ugly and progress from there.’
As usual, it was oddly reassuring.Feel free to suck.
Delilah looked down at the mat and cleared her throat. She frowned, realising something she probably should have thought of before this second.
‘It’s OK to be scared. It’s against human nature to let yourself fall over. Takes time,’ Cassie told her.
Delilah shook her head. ‘That’s not what I was thinking. I’m just starting to realise all this might be a bit triggering for you,’ Delilah told her honestly.
Cassie smiled sadly. ‘This isn’t how it happened to me.’
‘How did it happen?’ Delilah asked before she could stop herself. She was sure Cassie would tell her to mind her business.
But instead, Cassie said quietly, ‘Every player takes a fair amount of wear and tear from repetitive movement. But you’re supposed to stop and let yourself heal. I didn’t do that. And then I took it to a point I couldn’t heal from.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I wanted to be the best, and I couldn’t wait.’
‘Didn’t you have a coach? Didn’t they stop you?’ Delilah asked.
Cassie got a strange look. ‘She should have, yeah.’ Her features hardened. ‘Right. Let’s start.’
Delilah would have liked to know more, but she was amazed Cassie went as deep as she had. She wouldn’t dare ask more.
Besides, it was time to fall like a clown.
Delilah crouched, heart hammering, and let herself tip to the side. Her shoulder hit the mat first, too flat, with a loud smack. She didn’t tuck her chin, so her head bumped awkwardly against the mat. Legs tangled beneath her, one foot catching on the edge of the mat, and she rolled with none of the grace Cassie had shown. She ended up sprawled on her back, arms and legs splayed at impossible angles, a strangled groan escaping her.
Delilah sat up, cheeks flushed, brushing strands of hair from her face. ‘That was… terrible.’
‘Perfect,’ Cassie said. ‘Exactly what I expected.’
‘You know how to stop this from being embarrassing,’ Delilah commended her.
‘I’ll be sure to put that on my CV,’ Cassie said dryly. But Delilah caught the curve of a smile beneath the sarcasm.
Several very awkward falls later, something clicked. Instead of falling over, Delilah found the roll. She landed with something almost like grace.
‘Not bad,’ Cassie said, tossing her a water bottle.
Delilah smiled, heart lighter. For the first time, she felt like she might survive this fall.
Twenty-Four
Cassie stood back, watching Delilah try again. Each fall, each awkward roll, made her elbow twinge. But it was twinging psychologically. She’d lied to Delilah about that. This was bringing something up.
