Payson looked over at her alarm clock. It was 3 in the morning and she still hadn't fallen asleep. This was the second night in a row and she was frankly getting tired of it. "I guess I should get up, seeing as getting some sleep is a lost cause." Knowing that her mom and little sister wouldn't be getting up for another hour, she quietly climbed out of bed, tiptoed over to her dresser, and pulled out a pair of sweats and a hoodie. When she was finished getting dressed, she left a note on the kitchen counter for her mom, grabbed a banana and a bottle of orange juice and left for the gym.
Twenty minutes later, she was showered, stretched, and ready to practice her floor routine for Worlds. She was one of the few people who knew how to break into the gym before anyone was officially allowed in for practice. Sasha had allowed her to come into the gym before everyone else… Payson slowly told herself to stop thinking about Sasha and just practice. The music that she had chosen for her routine wasthe song Secrets by One Republic. She had heard one of their songs on the radio while she was driving home from practice one day and from then on, she had become addicted to the swelling cellos and the emotion-filled voice of Ryan Tedder; in her mind, it was her own personal life preserver. As she took her position in the middle of the mat and the cello solo started, she began to move in a haunting, graceful way.
As she danced across the floor, all she could think about was Sasha. His sparkling, all-too knowing blue eyes, his crooked smile, and his way of carrying himself in a way that showed that he cared about his gymnasts but he was holding back a few secrets of his own. As she neared the middle part of the song, she could feel the tears building up and without even being aware of it, she started shedding quiet, minute tears.
As she folded herself into the ending position of her floor routine, she quickly wiped her tears away and stood up to go shower and change into a new leotard before everyone else arrive. As she stood up shakily, she unwillingly connected her eyes with the eyes of the person who had broken a promise that she was sure that was intended to be kept.