by Lucia Franco
Dismount
by Lucia Franco
Book 5 in the Off Balance series
Copyright © 2020 by Lucia Franco
Edited by Nadine Winningham
Proofread by Amber Hodge
Cover Design by Romantic Book Affairs
Photography by Lindee Robinson
Cover Models Shelby Smith and Andrew Kruczynski
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contents
More novels by Lucia Franco
Introduction
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About Lucia
More novels by Lucia Franco
Standalone Titles
You'll Think of Me
Hold On to Me
Hush, Hush
Say Yes
Off Balance series
Balance
Execution
Release
Twist
Dismount
Dear Reader,
The Off Balance series is a continuation series. The novels must be read in order to follow the story.
This story is purely fictional and does not reflect on real-life events.
Each novel in this five-part series follows a heavy May-December romance between a gymnast and a coach. If you consider this subject and any related content disturbing, then the Off Balance series is not for you.
Gymnastics is a hands-on sport that involves hours of close contact with a coach. My goal was to focus on the beauty of the sport in detail, show the emotional aspect of the dedication an athlete makes, and show how two people are able to cross forbidden boundaries and evolve together.
This story will push you, question you, and take you outside of your comfort zone.
The Off Balance series is intended only for readers 18 years of age and older. Reader discretion is advised.
—Lucia
She's standing on a line between giving up and seeing how much more she can take.
—Anonymous
To every Off Balance reader who stayed with me through the good and the bad, who never gave up on this series and begged for more…
Thank you.
Dismount is for you.
Glossary
All-Around A category of gymnastics that includes all the events. The all-around champion of an event earns the highest total score from all events combined.
Amanar A Yurchenko-style vault, meaning the gymnast performs a round-off onto the board, a back handspring onto the vault with a two-and-a-half twisting layout backflip.
Cast A push off the bar with hips and lifts the body to straighten the shoulders and finish in handstand.
Deduction Points taken off a gymnast's score for errors. Most deductions are pre-determined, such as a 0.5 deduction for a fall from an apparatus or a 0.1 deduction for stepping out of bounds on the floor exercise.
Dismount The last skill in a gymnastics routine. For most events the method used to get off the event apparatus.
Elite International Elite, the highest level of gymnastics.
Execution The performance of a routine. Form, style, and technique used to complete the skills constitute the level of execution of an exercise. Bent knees, poor toe point and an arched or loose held body position are all examples of poor execution.
Giant Performed on bars, a swing in which the body is fully extended and moving through a 360-degree rotation around the bar.
Full-In A full-twisting double back tuck, with the twist happening in the first backflip. It can be done in a tucked, piked, or layout position and is used in both men's and women's gymnastics.
Free Hip Circle Performed on the uneven bars or high bar, the body circles around the bar without the body touching the bar. There are both front hip circles and back hip circles.
Handspring Springing off the hands by putting the weight on the arms and using a strong push from the shoulders. Can be done either forward or backward, and is usually a connecting movement. This skill can be performed on floor, vault, and beam.
Heel Drive A termed used by coaches to inform the gymnasts they want them to drive their heels harder up and over on the front side of a handspring vault or front handspring on floor. Stronger heel drives create more rotation and potential for block and power.
Hecht Mount A mount where the gymnast jumps off a spring board while keeping their arms straight, pushes off the low bar, and catches the high bar.
Hop Full A giant to handstand. Once toes are above the bar, a full 360-degree turn in a handstand on the high bar.
Inverted Cross Performed by men on the rings. It is an upside down cross.
Iron Cross A strength move performed by men on the rings. The gymnast holds the rings straight out on either side of their body while holding themselves up. Arms are perpendicular to the body.
Jaeger Performed on bars, a gymnast swings from a front giant and lets go of the bar, completes a front flip and catches the bar again. Jaeger can be done in the straddle, pike, and layout position, and is occasionally performed in a tucked position.
Kip The most commonly used mount for bars, the gymnast glides forward, pulls their feet to the bar, then pushes up to front support, resting their hips on the bar.
L-Grip One hand is in the reverse grip position. This is an awkward grip and difficult to use.
Layout A stretched body position.
Layout Timers A drill that simulates the feel of a skill, or the set for a skill without the risk of completing the skill.
Lines
Straight, perfect lines of the body.
Overshoot, also known as Bail A transition from the high bar facing the low bar. The gymnast swings up and over the low bar with a half-turn to catch the low bar ending in a handstand.
Pike The body bent forward at the waist with the legs kept straight; an L position.
Pirouette Used in both gymnastics and dance to refer to a turn around the body's longitudinal axis. It is used to refer to a handstand turning moves on bars.
Rips In gymnastics, a rip occurs when a gymnast works so hard on the bars or rings that they tear off a flap of skin from their hand. The injury is like a blister that breaks open.
Release Leaving the bar to perform a skill before re-grasping it.
Relevé This is a dance term that is often used in gymnastics. In a relevé, the gymnast is standing on toes and has straight legs.
Reverse Grip A swing around the bar back-first with arms rotated inwards and hands facing upwards.
Round-off A turning movement, with a push-off on one leg, while swinging the legs upward in a fast cartwheel motion into a 90-degree turn where legs come together before landing on both feet. The lead-off to a number of skills used to perform on vault, beam, and floor.
Salto Flip or somersault, with the feet coming up over the head and the body rotating around the axis of the waist.
Sequence Two or more skills performed together, creating a different skill or activity.
Shaposhnikva A clear hip circle on the low bar then flying backward to the high bar.
Stalder Starts in handstand with the gymnast moving backward and circling the bar with legs straddled on either side of their arms or inside their arms.
Stick To land and remain standing without requiring a step. A proper stick position is with legs bent, shoulders above hips, arms forward.
Straddle Back An uneven bar transition done from a swing backwards on the high bar over low bar, while catching the low bar in a handstand.
Switch Ring Performed on floor and the balance beam. The gymnast jumps with both feet, lifting their legs into a 180-degree split with the back leg coming up to touch their head.
Tap Swing Performed on bars, an aggressive tap toward the ceiling in a swinging motion. This gives the gymnast the necessary momentum to swing around the bar to perform a giant or to go into a release move.
Toe On Swing around the bar with body piked so much the feet are on the bar.
Tour Jeté A dance leap where the dancer leaps on one foot, makes a full turn in the air, and lands on the other foot.
Tsavdaridou Performed on beam, a round-off back handspring with full twist to swing down.
Tuck The knees and hips are bent and drawn into the chest. The body is folded at the waist.
Twist The gymnast rotates around the body's longitudinal axis, defined by the spine. Performed on all apparatuses.
Yurchenko Round-off entry onto the board, back handspring onto the vaulting table and Salto off the vault table. The gymnast may twist on the way off.
One
I faded in and out of consciousness, my thoughts befuddled and muggy.
I drew in a breath and smelled the pungent scent of chemicals, like a mixture of antiseptic and iron. I tried to move my fingers, but they only jerked. My skin pulsated from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. I felt like I was retaining gallons of water, my body was so swollen and stiff.
I tried to open my eyes, but they were heavy, laden with exhaustion. I took another breath, though it was tighter this time. My brows twitched. I wasn't sure where I was, but I knew I wasn't in my condo.
Alarm was a low vibration under my skin trying to rouse me, but, God, I was so tired. Warmth surrounded me like a cozy blanket, cocooning me in its embrace. Darkness called me back with open arms, and I moved freely toward it. Toward that sublime state where I felt no pain in my body and my heart didn't feel like it was breaking a thousand times over. I felt nothing as I was suspended over the clouds. I wasn't sad anymore.
I only felt one thing—freedom.
"Adrianna, can you hear me?"
A voice I didn't recognize called to me, followed by a beeping sound. My first real thought was that my kidneys had failed, but it was gone just as quick as it came. I was too lethargic to move, to care, to open my eyes.
"Adrianna."
I didn't respond. For a brief moment I wondered if I even could. I nestled deeper under the blanket of serenity, yielding to its pull. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep.
"Adrianna, do you know where you are?"
The question sounded like it came from an isolated location far, far away. I reached for it, but exhaled a heavy, drained breath instead.
"Adrianna."
I stirred. The voice was closer this time. My eyelids fluttered as I struggled to open them, curious of the commotion I sensed around me. What was going on? My breathing seemed to grow denser, and that annoying beeping sound was back. It intensified as I fought to wake.
"She may not be ready to wake up just yet," another voice I didn’t recognize said. "She suffered internal injuries and a concussion. She needs time to rest."
Someone was holding my hand. I tried to move my fingers to let them know I was okay, but nothing, no response. I waited and tried again. Willed them to move, twitch, anything. I wanted to convey that I was here. I was okay. But again, nothing.
I released a breath through dry lips. My eyelids felt so warm, like when I had a fever—a telltale sign I was sick. I swallowed thickly, my throat burned. Too tired to fight the pull of sleep, I was ready to drift off when a light shined in my eye. The brightness gave me an instant headache and I moaned in pain under my breath.
"Adrianna, follow my voice."
I wasn't sure I wanted to. I was completely immobilized but content. The exhaustion was too much and the warmth was winning. All I wanted was to go back to sleep and stay in this layer of protection and security without a worry in the world.
I released a tired breath and let myself be pulled under again.
Someone was crying. The whimpering was soft and quiet, as if they suffered in anguish and didn't want to be heard.
Something wasn't right.
I squeezed my eyes tight and tried to figure out where I was. I took in the sounds around me, the sterile smell, the hushed voices. But my mind was still too jumbled to sort it out.
My first thought was to not move—something that had been ingrained into my head since the first time I stepped inside a gymnastics facility. If I'd gotten injured, I could make it worse by moving, especially since I couldn't feel anything.
Slowly and carefully, I started with my feet when I heard that incessant beeping again. A groan vibrated in my throat. I managed to curl my toes, not too much because they were stiff. They moved, though, and then I tried to wiggle my fingers again. Finally, they moved too.
A soft sniffle caught my attention, pausing my movements. My forehead creased as I took in the sterile scent again, then it hit me. I was at the doctor’s office.
When did I go to the doctor? I didn't have an appointment scheduled.
Inhaling a deep breath, it lodged in my chest from pulling too hard. I noticed my breathing was different, like I'd been hit by a truck. I was breathing heavier and I expelled every ounce of air like it was my job. My nostrils flared. There was a cool draft of air around my nose. My arm was dead weight as I reached up and blindly felt around my face. A plastic tube was attached to my skin leading to my nose. I was on oxygen. I froze.
A tremor rocked through me. My dry eyes opened, and I squinted, trying to take in my surroundings. I briefly glanced down my body then lifted my gaze to look around the room. Everything was blurry, but I got the gist of it.
There were tubes attached to me that were connected to machines I didn't know how to read. I heard the whimpering again and turned to see a woman sitting with her head tilted toward the floor. She was alone and crying. My heart dropped, and that stupid beeping sound accelerated. Then it all came roaring back.
>
Kova.
The pregnancy.
Dad.
The fight.
Blood… So much blood.
I wasn't at the doctor's office, I was in the hospital.
The last thing I remembered was flying across the room. I'd landed on the coffee table and had taken everything with me when I fell to the floor. Then my world had turned black.
My brows creased. I vaguely remembered shattered glass. Had I been cut?
A memory of lying in a pool of blood flashed into my mind. A loud gasp parted my lips. Panic surged through me at a hundred miles a minute. Blood. Was the blood from getting scuffed up in the altercation between Dad and Kova?
Or was it from the baby?
I glanced around, disoriented. My head was a little hazy and my vision still blurry, but I finally recognized the woman sitting in the corner.
