She was speechless for a moment and completely lost her train of thought. Then she remembered what she had to do. All she wanted to do was ignore Sasha until she could forget his face. He had broken her so badly, probably more than her injury had ever. He had picked up the pieces that were her life and had gently and preciously put her back together, and when he saw that she was finally healed, he just… broke her. She would never forgive him, no matter how much he asked her or begged or made another promise.
"Payson. Can you let me explain?" Sasha asked in an almost frightening yet saddening whisper. He sounded like he hadn't slept in weeks. He looked like he was suffering from a broken heart. Payson quickly walked by Sasha without looking back. The truth was tears were spilling down her face and if she turned around, she would be forced to show him how weak she had been made by his presence in the gym for the last year and a half.
She pushed the locker room door and closed it as fast as it would go. As she practically ran to her locker, she quickly grabbed her shower caddy, a loofah, and a towel, and made her way to an empty stall. She turned the shower dial on to the hottest it would go, and stepped inside. As soon as the scalding water hit her body, the tears were replaced with gut-wrenching sobs. I was fine until he came here! Who am I kidding, I wasn't fine! I've been a mess for weeks; even Lauren has noticed. Payson quickly made up her mind that even though he was here for the time being, she would ignore him and act as if he were a ghost. Minutes later, the hot water soon turned to cold and as Payson took a deep breath, she stepped out of the shower.
10 minutes later, she made her way to the benches that were a couple of feet away from the mat. She slowly stretched out her muscles and almost as if it were an involuntary reaction, she looked up at Sasha's office and saw him quickly glance away from her exhausted and red eyes. 15 minutes… 15 minutes until Emily arrives… Payson thought. As soon as she turned to go back to the locker room to grab her iPad so she could read her Pride and Prejudice e-book, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her back.
I'd really appreciate your reviews. I'm a new writer and I'm completely rooting for Sasha and Payson. Please give me any feedback!
