Page 43 of Breakpoint
T he muted sound of the city filtered through the closed window of Jaz’s Queens' apartment.
She lay on the plush, deep green velvet cream mid-century modern sectional, ice on her knees and her shoulder, while staring blankly at sports highlights on the television.
The city air, thick with late summer humidity, did little to penetrate the stale quiet of the sparsely furnished room.
The sun was shining brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but she still felt the storms within.
Because even though she had only been here a few weeks, everything around this place reminded her of Dani.
The window they made love against while overlooking the city. The couch she was currently sitting on, she remembered them cuddled up together while watching match film. The kitchen they attempted to cook dinner in but after another cooking disaster, ordered takeout and ate in the bed.
Their breakup, a mere few days before the start of the US Open, had been swift and brutal. Since then, there had been no communication. No text or calls. Just silence. Being on bad terms with Dani made everything feel wrong. Jaz hadn’t tried to reach out but neither had Dani.
They were on opposite sides of the draw, so hadn’t really seen each other much at the tennis facilities.
When Dani was playing and on site all day, Jaz was practicing or getting treatment and vice versa.
But she couldn’t escape the chatter with the media asking questions or the highlights of Dani playing on the televisions in the locker rooms.
If she was being honest with herself, she not only missed her lover but more so her friend.
She had never been this out of sorts, not even after her breakup with Lena, and they were together for five years.
She’d never understood people who fell apart after a heartbreak, but she was getting it now.
Her mind and body were going through the motions, but her heart wasn’t in it.
Even though she wasn’t feeling it, she still made the semi-finals.
She wasn’t surprised she had made it this far.
Jaz at seventy-five percent, was still better than the majority of the women on tour.
She was taking her moniker to heart and being a machine on the court.
A focused machine. With no feelings and no heart.
The broken-heartedness, the gnawing emptiness, locked away.
Shoved into a dark corner of her mind. Reaching the semi-finals should have sparked elation, a surge of adrenaline, the familiar thrill of making it to the final four of a Grand Slam.
One step closer to number nineteen and sitting alone in the record books at number three on the all time list, ahead of Kappas and only behind two other greats.
Instead, a dull ache resided in her chest, mirroring the hollowness in her eyes .
The television on the wall replayed a highlight reel of her quarterfinal match.
Her blistering forehand winner, a gravity-defying leap for a volley, and the roar of the crowd erupting.
The Jaz on the screen was a force of nature.
The Jaz in the room felt…empty. She was two matches away from another Grand Slam title, yet she felt further away from happiness than she ever had before.
The only part of her that felt something was thinking about Dani’s success here in New York City.
Dani had been playing lights out in her section of the draw and also made it to the semi-finals without dropping a set.
She was beyond elated for her, more so than her own success at the US Open.
This was Dani’s best showing in a Grand Slam tournament.
She was playing some of the best tennis of her short career and everyone was taking notice.
She was the talk of New York City, the upstart from tennis royalty making a deep run at her home tournament.
If they both won their next match, they were on a crash course to meet in the finals. Jaz didn’t know if she could stand across that net and not only play against Dani but beat her. Not when every time she saw her on television, her heart ached.
She was brought out of her pity party when Brandon walked through the door. “Jazzy!” he screamed.
She swore that guy never learned how to use an inside voice. But more than that, she was always amazed how a guy that big, at over six foot four inches and two hundred pounds of muscle, could move so fast.
“Knock much?” she shot barked at him.
“Whatever, lil sister, I’ve been entering your space unannounced since before you could talk.
” He smiled and his white teeth showing through the scruffiness he called a beard he was attempting to grow.
His mocha skin and eyes matched hers and sometimes she felt she was looking back at her twin in male form.
“What if I was doing something private?”
He laughed at her as he plopped down on the couch beside her. “Like what? We used to share a room.”
“Because our family couldn’t afford anything else in the hood.
” Which was true. She grew up in a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment.
Her parents had one room, and she and Brandon shared the other room with bunk beds.
As a kid, she loved sharing a room with her brother.
Their teenage years were a bit more challenging as they hit puberty.
There were definitely some fights, but in the end, he was still her best friend.
They had come a long way from those times. “You have your own rental here, Brandon. Why aren’t you there?”
“Testy much, Jazzy,” Brandon chided as he leaned back and made himself comfortable. “I was just dropping by to see how you were holding up with everything going on today.”
Jaz removed the bags of ice from her knees and properly sat up, her aching back fighting every additional movement. She went to put her feet on the floor but remembered the massive blister on her right foot that needed to be constantly drained and elevated.
“What are you talking about?” She strained through the pain as she put her feet on the coffee table.
“Your girl has been all over the television and blowing up social media.”
Jaz was still confused and wondered why he was checking in now.
“No shit. She’s been doing amazing in this tournament.
I’m sure everyone wants a piece of her.” Jaz tired to do a media blackout during big tournaments.
So besides what was the required press commitments, she tried to keep all other requests and social media at bay and stay focused.
There was no doubt with Dani’s getting to the final four of the US Open, the media outlets were clamoring for her story and to create a narrative. Jaz couldn't escape that.
Brandon shook his head. “That’s true, but this is a different level and all about the interview she did with Jess Thomas this morning. It’s gone viral.”
“Huh?” Jaz had no clue what the fuck he was talking about.
“I’ll pull it up.” He picked up the remote and navigated to the streaming services on the television, opening the YouTube app.
In the trending topics section was the thumbnail of Dani with Jess Thomas.
He clicked on the app and after watching a ridiculous amount of ads, wondering why these folks didn't have YouTube Premium, and the interview started.
There was Dani, looking as beautiful as ever, sitting across from Jess Thomas. The soft glow of the studio lights highlighted Dani’s usually vibrant, bouncy curls.
Jaz had always admired Jess Thomas. She was the consummate professional whenever she had to interact with her and never fed into the crazy narratives that were often put out there about Jaz.
She was also gorgeous, with her long dark hair and piercing green eyes.
Those eyes were currently directed right at Dani.
Seeing them both on her screen, she realized what a striking pair they were.
Dani was dressed in the light blue t-shirt and joggers, matching the color scheme of her tennis dress that she was wearing throughout the tournament.
She smiled brightly at Jess and looked as calm, like she didn’t have a care in the world.
The very opposite of Jaz whenever she had to do an interview with the media.
Jess asked her a couple of questions about her last few matches and the run to the semi-finals.
Jess nodded in all the right places to Dani’s responses.
She then leaned to ask the question that every reporter had this year since she became Jaz’s doubles partner.
“Not just this tournament, but you’ve really had a good year.
Wimbledon doubles champ, Olympic gold and a win in Montreal.
It seems like your game really took off when you started working with Jaz Mason.
What has that experience been like and what have you learned from her? ”
Dani held her breath before she answered.
And Jaz saw it wasn’t with the smile and lightness that she used to answer those questions previously.
She twitched her lip, and Jaz could see the grind on her back teeth before she spoke.
“I’ve learned so much working with Jaz. But the biggest thing she’s imparted to me is the mental part of tennis.
That it’s okay to be great, but more importantly, give myself permission to be great.
She’s made me tap into my confidence, where every time I step on the court to be locked in and believe ‘I’m the baddest mother-bleeper on the planet and no one can beat me.
’ I think that has been the biggest change in me because of Jaz. ”
Jess laughed. “Well, that does sound like Jaz Mason. One last question before we go. Do you feel any pressure to live up to the Kappas name? Brittany Kappas is a legend in the women’s game and your dad is also a multiple Grand Slam winner.”
Jaz knew that was a question that Dani despised. She hated being compared to her parents and their legacy .