Back to You(85)

She cleared her throat. “Um, sure. If you’re ready. I’ll keep my hands on your waist to help you balance. Once your straight leg goes up like we practiced, you’re going to push off with your bent leg to send yourself over. Try to keep your toes pointed and your legs straight.”
Erin got in position, and Lauren knelt parallel to her, keeping her hands on Erin’s waist to give her a little extra support. The first few were shaky, her legs falling forward or back or bending awkwardly. But the more they did it, the sturdier she became, until finally Lauren was barely touching her waist at all.
“You want to try one on your own?” Lauren asked, and Erin looked up, somewhat hesitant. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m right here. I won’t let you fall. Promise.”
With a tiny breath to steel her resolve, Erin nodded and turned, raising her arms above her head. Lauren stood by, ready to grab her at the slightest signal, but she didn’t need to. Erin went over smoothly, landing on the other side with her arms extended like a pro. She whipped her head toward Lauren, grinning from ear to ear before she turned and ran toward her father.
“I did it! Daddy, I did it! Did you see me? Did you see me?”
“I saw!” he said, scooping her up. “You were awesome!”
Lauren watched them with a smile until suddenly, without warning, s { display: block; text-indent: 5%; font-size: 0.88rem; margin-top: ing to ryhe was struck with a thought that caused a sharp pang in her chest.
Michael had been just one year older than Erin was right now when his father left. When his mother pretty much checked out on him.
So young.
She looked at Erin, her adoration for her father beaming from her eyes as she looked up at him. She was so vulnerable. So needy. And then she thought of Michael at that age, just as vulnerable, twice as needy, and completely forsaken.
And suddenly, she felt like crying.
Lauren wanted to cross the mats and hug him. Just wrap her arms around him and rock him side to side, even though it was years too late to give that little boy the comfort he deserved.
“Show me a fancy flip!” Erin called as she ran back toward Lauren, and with a quick intake of breath, she shook off the ache in her heart.
“A fancy flip?” she asked uneasily. “I haven’t done those in a long time.”
“You can still do it I bet,” Michael said as he followed Erin onto the mat. “Muscle memory.”
Lauren scrunched her nose at him, and he laughed. “Try something easy. I bet you anything you can still do it.”




She looked down at Erin, who was staring up at her expectantly, and she took a deep breath. “Okay. Something easy.”
Erin clapped her hands before taking a step back, pulling her father with her to give Lauren some room.
Lauren rolled her neck and took another deep breath before she brought her weight forward on her toes. With a little hop, she was off running, bringing her hands to the mat as her legs flipped up behind her, coming together in a perfect line above her head before she whipped them around together toward the mat. As she landed, she rebounded several inches off the floor before extending her hands.
She definitely had enough power to go over again.
“Wow!” Erin breathed. “What’s that called?”
“That’s called a round-off,” she said as she walked back toward them. “I think I’m gonna try one that’s a little fancier.”
Erin leaned into her father, her eyes pinned on Lauren in awe as she set herself up once more. She tightened her body, put her weight on her toes, and then she was off running again. This time, as her legs whipped around on the round-off, she threw her arms back over her head, executing a perfect back-handspring.
And because it felt so good, she immediately followed it with another before she hit her landing, arching her back slightly as she extended her arms overhead.
Erin’s gasp echoed off the walls of the gym. Her face was priceless, some combination of shock and complete worship as she watched Lauren walk back to them.
Michael was grinning at her. “See? What did I tell you? Muscle memory. That never fails to amaze me, by the way. Watching you do that.”
“What’s muscle memory?” Erin asked before Lauren could react to his comment.
He pursed his lips, thinking of a way to explain it. “Well, sometimes if something is really important to you, it gets stuck in your body,” he said, poking her ribs and making her laugh. “So even if your mind thinks that it’s gone, it’s still in there, kind of hiding inside of you, just waiting for you to remember. It never goes away.”
Lauren stared at him.
She knew he was talking about her flip, but his words a"> shoulderhit much deeper than that.