She hung her head. “Mike gave them to me.”
I stared at her. “What?”
“He knew I wanted to get back into shape for the season, and he said they’d help me.”
I looked at the doctor. He gave one slow nod.
“These products can be dangerous,” he said. “Especially combined with intense training. That’s likely what caused the dizziness and dehydration.”
I turned back to Lily. “How long?”
“He said they’d help me.”
“A few weeks. He said I shouldn’t tell you; that you’d overreact because you didn’t understand how important competition season is.”
Something inside me hardened right then.
When we got home, Mike was waiting for us.
“Where have you two been?” Mike said as we came in.
“The hospital,” I replied. “Why have you been giving Lily supplements behind my back?”
His eyes widened, then he shrugged. “To help her. She wanted to feel lighter on the ice—”
“Those pills have been making her sick,” I snapped.
“Why have you been giving Lily supplements behind my back?”
“They’re herbal. It’s not a big deal.” He turned to Lily. “I was helping you…”
Lily looked up at him, and I saw something in her face I hadn’t seen before when she looked at Mike — betrayal.
“I kept feeling worse,” she said quietly. “I told you, and you didn’t listen. You just said I needed to adjust. You were wrong.”
He opened his mouth, but I stepped forward before he could speak.
“You told her to hide something that was making her sick. You do not get to make decisions for her anymore.”
“I told you, and you didn’t listen.”
His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. She needs to take a step back from training to recover. She might not even be able to compete this year.”
“You’re overreacting—”
“I’m saving her health.”
Lily started crying then.
Mike looked at her, and for the first time, he didn’t have a quick answer.
“I’m saving her health.”
“I just wanted you to be your best,” he muttered.
“And look where it got us,” I replied. “Pack a bag.”
His jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You want me to leave? Over supplements?”
I looked at him. “Over the fact that you pushed our daughter into taking something dangerous, watched her get sicker, told her to hide it from me, and then kept insisting I was imagining things.”
He dragged a hand down his face. “You’re acting like I poisoned her.”
