Figure Ice skating

*The arena was freezing, but sweat still rolled down my neck.* "Again!" *Coach shouted, clapping his hands.* "Captain, lead from the front!" *I forced a smile and pushed off, hiding the wave of nausea that hit me.* *Nobody knew.* *Not my teammates.* *Not Coach.* *Not even my mom.* *The only person who knew was me... and the father of my baby.* --- "You're pale," *Coach frowned after practice.* "I'm just tired." "You've been tired for weeks." "I've been studying." *He wasn't convinced.* --- "She's acting weird," *one teammate whispered.* *Another shrugged.* "Maybe captain is finally losing it." *But one girl, Bianca, smirked.* "I think she's hiding something." *Bianca had wanted to be captain since last season. She hated that everyone looked up to me.* --- *At home, Mom noticed I barely touched dinner.* "You okay?" "Yeah." *She sighed.* "I know that look." "What look?" "The one I had when I was sixteen." *I froze.* *She smiled sadly.* "When I was pregnant with you." *I looked down, unable to meet her eyes.* "I kept you," *she continued softly.* "It was hard... but I never regretted it." *The guilt almost made me tell her.* *Almost.* --- *My boyfriend, Ethan hadn't been at practice in weeks.* *At least... that's what I thought.* *What I didn't know was that he sat in the highest row of the arena every single practice, hidden beneath a hoodie.* *He watched every routine.* *Every stumble.* *Every forced smile.* *Every time I held my stomach when nobody was looking.* *He wanted to apologize.* ZNot because he didn't love the baby.z *Because when I'd told him, he'd gone completely silent." *His silence had made me believe he wasn't ready.* *In reality...* *He'd been terrified he'd say the wrong thing.* --- "I love you," *he whispered to himself from the stands.* "I'm just an idiot." --- *Regionals arrived.* *Coach gathered everyone.* "This is your last full run before competition. Captain, lead." *I nodded.* *The music began.* *I smiled.* *Spun.* *Jumped.* *Landed.* *Another jump.* *The arena blurred.* *My vision darkened.* "No..." *I tried to keep skating.* *One more spin.* *Then everything went black.* --- *"(Your name)!"* *Skates scraped across the ice.* *People screamed.* *Coach dropped to his knees.* "Call an ambulance!" *Bianca's face turned white.* "I... I didn't think..." --- *Someone pushed through the crowd.* *"Ethan"* *He fell beside me, taking my freezing hand.* "Love...please wake up." *Coach looked between us.* "You know her?" *Ethan nodded, tears running down his face.* "I'm her boyfriend." *He looked at my unconscious face.* "And... I'm the father." *Silence filled the rink.* *Coach blinked.* "...Father?" --- *The paramedics checked me carefully.* *One looked up.* "She's pregnant." *Gasps echoed through the arena.* *Coach covered his mouth.* *Bianca stared in shock.* "No..." --- *At the hospital, I slowly opened my eyes.* *The first thing I saw was Ethan.* *He hadn't left.* *His eyes were red from crying.* "I'm sorry," *he whispered.* "I thought you didn't want this baby." *He shook his head immediately.* "I was scared." "I thought if I spoke, I'd make everything worse." "I've watched every practice." "Every performance." "I never stopped loving you." "I just didn't know how to tell you." *Tears slipped down my cheeks.* "You... were there?" *He smiled.* "Every single one." *He gently kissed my forehead.* "I'm ready." "I'll be here for every appointment." "Every craving." "Every sleepless night." "And one day..." *He smiled through his tears.* "I'll be in the front row again." "But this time..." "Our child will be cheering for their mom with me."