Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Pinewood was beating them. Payson couldn't wrap her head around it. It was her and Emily left for the day. If Emily scored average on her vault, and Payson landed her vault perfectly, they would still lose. She wasn't the only person who noticed this, because Darby came up to her and proposed that if Emily didn't score well on her vault, Payson would do the new vault they started.
Payson, A voice in her head reprimanded her. It's too much to gamble. What if you land wrong? What if you hurt yourself again? You'll be out of contention for the Olympics for good this time.
For a second she thought she was hallucinating, because the voice in her head sounded an awful lot like Sasha's.
She looked around, noting Emily approach the apparatus.
So? She questioned herself. So what if I fall. I made it back last time, I can make another comeback. And what is there to lose anymore, really? The Rock is a joke, this coach is a joke, these rules are a joke. If I can't come back, would it be so bad?
But what if you get injured? the familiar voice said. You could get paralyzed, or even worse die. Is that what you want? You came so far to get here, you've overcome so much. And we did it together.
She snapped back to reality at a collective groan from the crowd, and saw Emily falter on her landing. The score was posted, and it was almost a whole point lower than it needed to be.
She walked over to the runway, but was intercepted by Darby before beginning.
"Payson we can't lose. Not to Pinewood." Darby said, desperation clinging on to every syllable. "We need a Hail Mary pass. Your vault is our last chance. We can still win, if you can land the handspring front full we worked on."
"I haven't done it without the practice tramp," Payson pointed out, astonished. At the desperate look on Darby's face, she resolved to do whatever she could that they wouldn't lose. "But I can try."
She barely noticed her mom walk over to Darby and start lecturing her. She was in her zone, and she knew that she could pull the move off. She just had to accumulate enough power on the springboard.
Screw doing it together.
She saluted the judges and was running. Starting at a steady pace, and milliseconds later sprinting with all her might. She put her feet on the springboard and pushed with all the strength she could muster. She was flying through the air, but was rotating too slow. Before she had time to correct her mistake, she was flat on her back.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The steady beeping of a machine is what Payson woke up to ten hours later. According to the clock next to her bed it was four in the morning. She was wearing a hospital gown, and in a bed of clean, white sheets. She looked to her left and there was a window, overlooking what she assumed to be either Denver or Boulder, depending on how serious her condition was. To her right sat Kim, head leaned back, snoring lightly, and a magazine open on her lap. She was sleeping, what seemed to be peacefully, and Payson hated to disturb that, but she wanted to know what was going on.
"Mom," Payson whispered. Kim didn't respond.
"Mom," She repeated, a little louder. Kim jumped out of her seat, startled at being awoken so abruptly. Her face immediately relaxed at seeing Payson awake.
"Pay," She said. "How are you feeling?"
Payson hadn't really thought about how she felt before being asked the question. Now that she did think about it, when she moved she felt a twinge in her lower back. It wasn't anything close to the pain she felt after breaking her back at Nationals however.
"What did the doctors say?" Payson immediately inquired.
"We're at Denver Health. They said you have a second-degree sprain in your lower back. You're not allowed to be in bed for more than two days, so we'll get you out of here this afternoon. No excersize for two weeks, so I guess it's me and you at home kid," her mother replied.
"Okay. So I can train in two weeks?"
"Yes. You still have to go through physical therapy, but as long as you're feeling up to it, you can train," Kim answered.
"Mom," Payson stated, confidence oozing from her voice. "I want to go to Romania."
Kim looked at Payson like she had grown another head. She couldn't believe her daughter would think to propose such a ludacris idea, let alone this abruptly.
"Before you start, money isn't an issue, I have it. I've heard so much about it there and everything about the country seems so interesting. I'm out for two weeks anyway, so I won't be missed at The Rock. You know if I'm around all the time at the house I'll start to annoy you. It's such a great opportunity, and the timing couldn't be better. I need to go."
Payson couldn't see a problem in her plan, and therefore became impatient when her mother told her no.
"Mom, why are you saying no, there is nothing wrong with me getting exposed to different cultures," Payson said angrily.
"Payson," her mother said softly. "It's not a mystery as to why you want to go to Romania."
"You're wrong. I don't even know where Sasha is, why would I waste my money guessing where he would be, when he might not even be there. And I'm doing just fine without him," Payson said stubbornly.
"Yeah, you're doing just fine. Thats why you're here in a hospital bed," Her mother pointed out.
"Then why don't you call him?" Payson pleaded.
"Pay," she looked at her with big, sad eyes. "He doesn't want to come back."
Payson's face betrayed none of the emotion she felt.
"I'm going back to bed."
Payson was irritated at her mother. She rolled on her side and looked out the window. It was dark, and the clouds were covering every star in the sky. Just before she closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the moon. Drifting off to a peaceful sleep, she wondered if anything in her life would ever fall into place.
A/N: What do you think?