Chapter Eleven #3
Once Bill sat, Breelynn settled in, exuding a level of serenity Marcee would never be able to master.
“How are you, Cassidy?”
“Fine, I guess.” The young girl’s hands flitted from being folded in her lap to tapping at the armrests and back again.
Breelynn leaned forward. “I know we’ve already discussed this, or tried to, but after what happened at practice and other concerns, we want to make sure any pressure you may be under, or any concerns you have, aren’t becoming too heavy. Do you understand?”
Her parents exchanged a glance.
Cassidy’s face scrunched. “Like I said before, and last time, I’m fine.”
Marcee set the mug on the desk and jumped in.
She couldn’t expect Breelynn to carry the whole meeting when it was her idea.
“You’re a strong girl, Cope. I think we all know that, but I, and others, have noticed some concerning signs in the past few weeks.
No one is here to accuse you of doing anything wrong.
We want to help you and make sure you’re treating your body the way it should be treated. ”
Mrs. Cope’s trilling laugh sounded wildly out of place. “You must be joking. Cassidy is in fantastic shape. There isn’t an ounce of fat on her.”
Considering her suspicions, Mrs. Cope’s words made Marcee more uncomfortable than she already was. Her own mother hadn’t paid enough attention to her to bully her into having a certain body type. She couldn’t imagine how much harder she would’ve been on herself had her mom taken an interest.
“I can assure you, I’m not joking, Mrs. Cope.”
“It’s Helen,” she sniped, eyes narrowed. “We are separated.”
“Helen, please,” Bill muttered, casting a worried look at Cassidy. “That’s not relevant right now.”
“It’s the most relevant thing in my life,” she retorted.
Marcee shared a look with Breelynn, adding another possible stressor for Cope to the mental list she kept. The girl was probably grasping for anything she could control.
The quiet became thick and uncomfortable. Cope’s eyes narrowed and a flush spread across her neck and chest. “Well, this whole setup feels like an accusation of something.”
Marcee shook her head. “We want to help you and make sure you know that whatever you’re doing now can affect you for the rest of your life.
Whatever future you have planned won’t happen if you’re too weak to stand.
” She swallowed, flashing back to the times she fainted on the field, in the gym, in the shower.
“Or if your heart gives out on you from the strain of supporting a body deprived of nutrients.”
Breelynn nodded encouragingly. “Yes, exactly. Whatever you need from us, dear, we can help. We have resources.”
Helen threw a hand in the air. “This is absurd. Cassidy has never had a health problem a day in her life!”
“Like my mom said, I don’t have any problems. So what if I watch what I eat? What girl doesn’t?”
The same rationalities as seven years before. God, she sounded like Marcee at her age. She scraped her mind for something, anything, that would’ve gotten through to herself. “There’s a fine line between watching what you eat and starvation, Cope.”
Cassidy shot from the chair like a firecracker, eyes blazing.
“What I need from you is to mind your own damn business. Who do you think you are?” She shoved the chair away and it crashed against the floor.
“I’m nearly perfect. There’s nothing to be helped.
” She stormed to the door but stopped short of opening it fully.
Her parents stood, Helen clutching her purse as if she might use it as a weapon on the other adults. Bill was eyeing his daughter as if seeing her for the first time.
“Cassidy, we understand your frustration, but this is a serious matter. We’ve discussed this with the headmaster, and until you can provide us with a letter from your doctor assuring us of your physical health, you will not be allowed to participate in school sports.
” Breelynn may be as sweet as pie, but at that moment, her resolve was iron-clad.
“Unbelievable,” Helen said, grabbing Cassidy’s arm to pull her out of the office.
“First, you waste our time with this meeting, then you insist on further embarrassing our family by opening us up to gossip in our community. The receptionist at our doctor’s office goes to our church, for God’s sake!
Isn’t it enough she went to the hospital last week?
The school board is going to hear about this, mark my words! ”
Marcee was torn between the desire to shake them until they understood or sliding in between the crack in her chair and disappearing.
She couldn’t force Cope to get help, and the lack of control was making her spiral.
She should be reminding Cassidy she was her coach, but instead, all she could think was if she pushed her too far, Cope would be out of her reach forever and then she’d have no one.
Before she could respond, Cope yanked her arm out of her mother’s hand, eyes calculating. “I know exactly who filled your ears with this crap, Coach. Why don’t you, and her, stay on the sidelines?”
The door slammed so hard Breelynn’s college diploma fell to the floor, the glass surface of the frame cracking down the middle.
The counselor sighed and moved to pick it up, and Marcee downed the rest of her coffee, hands already shaking.
If she stayed on the sidelines, she would never forgive herself.