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She obviously knows about everything that’s going on. We’ve hired the lawyer from her family business, and her brother and Nick are best friends. Zoey and I have known each other since we were kids, and there isn’t much we don’t know about each other’s lives.
“I don’t know,” I say, blinking back the tears. “He can’t get in to see his surgeon for two weeks, so I’m sure he’s out there jumping right now.”
“Maybe not,” Zoey suggests. “He’s pretty stubborn, and I don’t think he would want to risk getting hurt, especially with the baby coming and everything.”
We both fall silent for a few seconds, and I struggle to keep my fears to myself. I need to tell someone what happened even if Zoey can’t help. Just getting it out might be good. Plus, Zoey understands skiing and jumping. She’ll get how serious the fall was.
“So while I was there visiting, one of Nick’s teammates had a horrible fall,” I start, again my head filled with images of his body being tossed around like a ragdoll. “Zoey, I’ve never seen anything like it. You know we’ve been on the slopes since we were kids, but this was next level. Something went wrong.”
“What do you mean?” she asks, concern blanketing her words. Her brows are furrowed as she waits for me to answer, and I can see she’s processing it all. She’s wondering about Nick just like I’ve been.
“He lost the ground, Zoey. He had the jump. It was solid and his body was in line and then all of a sudden, he unfolded in the air.” I shrug, swallowing hard, again, my brain replaying it.
“Holy shit,” she whispers, and I knew she would understand all of this. “He lost the ground, huh? Head injury?” she now asks, and I point at her, my eyes wide at her admission.
“That was my thought exactly. There was no reason for it to happen unless he already had a head injury. The coach is so sketchy, obviously, we’re working with the Holden lawyer, but he had to have had a concussion prior to that jump.” It all comes out very quickly, but it feels good to have Zoey back me on this. She gets it, and now I don’t feel at all like I’m overreacting.
“Was he okay?” she now asks.
“Honestly, I don’t know. He was taken away in an ambulance, but the coach didn’t even want to call the medic. He kept yelling at the guy to get up.”
Now it’s Zoey’s eyes that are wide, fear washing over her. As skiers we know how important it is to get medical treatment when you have a fall. You don’t have to be knocked out to have a concussion and skiing with one is incredibly dangerous. It throws off your balance, making it almost impossible to ski safely, let alone jump.
“And Nick’s out there today?” she asks, her words quiet.
“He is, but I have no idea if he’s jumping. We talked about it, but what’s he supposed to do? It’s his job and the coach just doesn’t seem to give a shit if his athletes get hurt.”
I look down at my watch, checking the time and realizing it’s still early so there’s hope that he isn’t even up yet. He has weight training in the mornings from what I remember of his schedule. That’s the only thing that is keeping me from losing my shit and calling him, begging him to not jump.
“I think there’s something going on with the team doctor and the coach,” I admit. “It feels off. There must be some kind of payoff to keep these athletes jumping while injured.” I shake my head, feeling silly for thinking it, but it really does feel that way.
“You really think so?” Zoey says, but it’s not the kind of question that is asked because she thinks my comment is stupid.
“I do.”
“Then you need to do something about it,” she asserts. “If there is some kind of blackmail situation or the coach and doctor are putting the athletes at risk, people need to know. Think about it, Elissa. Nick is dealing with the threat of being sued for breaking his contract, then other people are too.”
“And they’re all in the same situation as Nick. They probably don’t have the money to buy out their contract. They feel like they don’t have any way out other than just doing what they’re told.” I say it, but it’s like I’m saying it out loud to process it all.
Zoey is right. I do need to do something, but what? I have no power over that coach or the doctor. I only know Nick’s situation and the coach thinks he’s just some quitter who wants to be home with his wife and baby.
“But there’s that guy who was injured,” Zoey adds. “He’s the one who could blow the top off the whole thing. I mean, we sound like amateur investigators, but I’m serious. If you think something is wrong, then it probably is.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do? Tell the US team committee that I have a ‘feeling’ something isn’t right?” I question, shrugging. “They don’t know me and even if I could file a complaint or whatever, I’m not an athlete.”
“Yeah, but Nick is. You need to talk to him and have him figure out who he can file the complaint with,” Zoey tells me. “And you know what else you could do?” she adds, her voice going up a few octaves.
“What?”
“You should reach out to that journalist that did the whole spread on Badger Creek when we did the renovations. Remember her? She interviewed you regarding updating the ski lodge. She’d love a story like this. She’s freelance too, so I’m sure she’s looking for something to put her on the map,” Zoey says, the excitement filling the room.
Zoey’s idea just might work. When I did the interview with her and she wrote the article, she did say that while she enjoys getting to travel around and do write-ups on travel destinations, she always wanted to write something with more substance.
“Ethan and I will pay her,” Zoey quickly chimes in.
“No way. I can’t ask you to do that,” I reply, shaking my head. Zoey might be one of my closest friends, but I’ve never gone to her for money and I’m not going to start now.
“You didn’t ask. I offered,” Zoey replies sharply. “She’s going to need some capital up front to begin her research. Why don’t you reach out to her and see if she’s interested.”
