Discaimer: I don't own MIOBI, and in real life Mr. Allers is the director of the Lion King, which I was watching while I wrote this.
Kelly Parker's house was huge. It was at least as big as the Cruz home, but with less refinement of taste. Ronnie's decorative style was shallow and fake, but at least it looked nice. Sheila's decorations were downright gaudy. There was a giant fountain in the middle of the circle drive with a greek-god type statue of a naked man, and shrubs shaped like chessmen lined the yard. How could anyone possibly think this looked good?
"Wow, Kelly. Your mom has great taste," Payson said, looking out the window of Kelly's BMW Roadster. "Do you think she'd come decorate my house if I asked?"
Kelly glared at her from the driver's seat. "Ha, ha. You can joke all you want, but I've had to live with this for years. Do you have any idea how embarrassing this stuff is?"
"Yeah, I think I do," she answered, sweeping her gaze across the tacky yard one more time. Then, unbuckling her seatbelt, Payson opened the passenger door and stepped out. "Come on, we should get this over with. Putting it off isn't going to make it suck any less."
"Yeah, I know," Kelly said with a heavy sigh. Together they walked to join Steve Tanner by his Hummer.
"If it makes you feel any better," Payson whispered in Kelly's ear, "That Hummer is pretty damn gaudy, too."
Kelly giggled. "I know this is horrible, but that actually does make me feel better."
"Okay, girls," Steve said, pulling his briefcase from behind his seat, "We're doing this just like we discussed last night. You two go upstairs and pack some of Kelly's stuff, just what you need to get through the next week or so. We'll have movers come get the rest later. Don't talk to your mother, no matter what she says to you, and leave as soon as you're done. I'll probably be here for a few hours."
Kelly rolled her eyes. "Is that your lawyer way of saying 'Go play with your friends and let the grownups talk'?"
"Well, it's good to know you've kept your sense of humor," Steve said, smiling down at her. Personally, Payson thought that Kelly had kept a protective sense of sarcasm, but if Steve wanted to make a merit out of it, she wasn't going to contradict him.
Kelly's hands shook a little as she unlocked the front door, but otherwise she showed no sign of nerves. She was a good faker. Almost as soon as they entered the house, though, Sheila Baboyan's voice could be heard floating down the hallway. Well, floating wasn't the right word; it was more like barreling. She was louder and shriller than any human had a right to be.
"Where the hell have you been, you ungrateful little wretch! You have responsibilities in this house, responsibilities to me. I had to cancel your interview with Channel 9 News this morning, do you have any idea how hard that was to explain?" The screaming came to an abrupt halt when Sheila entered the foyer and saw the unexpected trio by the door.
Steve nudged them toward the stairs, and Payson wrapped her arm around Kelly's shoulder as they walked away from Sheila. Behind them, Steve could be heard saying, "I think the bruise on Kelly's face would be harder to explain than a cancellation."
Kelly led them up a set of stairs and down a long hallway. They passed several rooms full of ornate furniture, heavily embroidered drapes, and ugly antiques, making Payson certain that whoever decorated the house should be institutionalized. When they reached Kelly's bedroom, Payson actually breathed a sigh of relief to be in a normal environment again.
Kelly's room was tasteful and down to earth, which didn't surprise Payson. What did surprise her were the bookshelves. Square shelves climbed the walls like a pyramid, meeting in the corner near the ceiling. There were the expected rows of trophies and medals hanging from hooks and corners, but then there were also scores of books. There was a little bit of everything; Harry Potter, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Plato. Modern, classic, biographies, philosophy, theology. This didn't fit with Payson's conception of Kelly at all.
"So I take it you like to read?"
Kelly blew off the question with a shrug of her shoulders. "My dad used to read to me when I was little. It stuck."
Payson swept her eyes across the shelves again and said, "You know, I was worried about where we would put all of your trophies, but where are we going to put all of your books?"
For a couple of minutes she was too busy examining the contents of the room to notice that Kelly had stopped dead. When she finally became aware of the silence, Payson turned around to find Kelly staring at her. "What, do I have something on my face?"
"Where are we going to put all of my trophies? And my books? You mean you're actually planning on bringing all this stuff to your house?" Her voice was shrill with shock and emotion, and her eyes were watery. She had never looked so vulnerable.
Payson made sure to capture Kelly's gaze and hold it as she said, "Kelly, it's your house too now. Your stuff belongs there just as much as mine does."
There was a quick dance of emotions across Kelly's face as she obviously fought to control herself. Finally, she shook her hair back from her face and said, "Well, it's going to take some creative genius to get all of our trophies in one room together. We might need to knock down a wall or something."
Payson let the bluff and bravado act slide, knowing how difficult the whole situation was for her. They needed to get Kelly's things and go before the shit really hit the fan. There was no telling just what Steve Tanner was saying to Sheila, and the girls shouldn't be around if things went badly.
Kelly's mind was bent in the same direction, because she said, "We can probably just take the suitcases from the trip. I didn't…I didn't really have time to unpack last night. The maid probably put them in the closet until I could get to them."
Payson poked around in Kelly's stuff while she went to the closet to get her bags. "If you have a maid, why didn't she just unpack them for you?"
"It creeps me out for strangers to go through my things, and we have a new maid almost every month. Mom's never been great at keeping employees." Kelly's voice had a slight echo as she called from her closet, which said a lot about how big it must be. When she came out, she was pulling two suitcases and her gym bag was slung over her shoulder. "I think we can just take these and go. We should probably get out before either my mom or Mr. Tanner commit murder."
"Yeah, you're right," agreed Payson. "Is there anything else you want to take now? Other than your clothes and gym stuff, I mean."
Kelly looked around her and started picking up a few things and adding them to her gym bag. She took a framed picture of what appeared to be a young Kelly and her dad, a stuffed tiger, and an extremely worn out copy of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Then she squared her shoulders and said, "Okay, let's go."
When he heard Sheila Baboyan screaming abuse at Kelly, Steve lost his temper. His voice was deadly calm, but his eyes were on fire with anger. "I think the bruise on Kelly's face would be harder to explain than a cancellation."
Sheila watched the girls climb the stairs with suspicion, and then turned to glare at Steve. "I'll thank you not to interfere, Mr. Tanner. What happens between me and my daughter is none of your business."
"Actually, Miss Baboyan, it is my business. I am representing Kelly in her case against you. We have quite a bit to discuss, so why don't we take this somewhere more private?" A couple of servants were peeking their heads around door, which Steve knew would be enough motivation to get Sheila out of the foyer and give the girls a clear way out of the house.
She was incensed, but she was too aware of the eavesdroppers to argue, so she stormed away to an office at the back of the house. As soon as the door was closed she turned on him. "You're representing Kelly? I don't know what scheme you've talked her into, but I can assure you it won't work. My lawyers will see to that."
It took all of Steve will power not to lay into the sociopath standing in front of him. She was all self-righteous indignation, managing to completely ignore the fact that she had abused her own child. It had been years since Steve had been this pissed off at anyone. "You may very well be right, Miss Baboyan. We can take this to the courts and have a long drawn out legal battle which you may win. I doubt it, because I am very good at my job, but it is a possibility. But tell me this; how well do you think your reputation will recover after you have publicly been accused of child abuse? Do you think any of your clients will be comfortable retaining you as their agent after we have brought forward evidence that you embezzled from Kelly Parker Enterprise? It doesn't matter if you win the case, Miss Baboyan. The damage will already be done."
Swiping the phone from her desk she said, "I'm calling my lawyer right now. You will not get away with this!"
Casually, he settled into a chair near her monstrosity of a desk. Looking closely, he could see cherubs carved into the legs. "If you wouldn't mind, get somebody out here right away. I don't want to lose any time getting this settled."
For the next few minutes she spoke into her phone with furious whispers. Steve picked up an ugly knick-knack from her desk and examined it with feigned curiosity. The act of indifference would shake Sheila's confidence and put her off guard; if he was aggressive, she would be as well, but people never knew how to respond to an indolent lawyer. When she hung up the phone, he began drawing papers out of his briefcase with cool confidence.
"I have here a contract, that you will sign, which details your future dealings with Kelly." He began flipping through pages and flashing them in front of Sheila's face, but never long enough for her to read them. "As an overview: You will forfeit all custodial rights and legal guardianship will be granted to Kim and Mark Keeler." New page. "You will be removed as the trustee of Kelly's assets and replaced by Kim and Mark Keeler." New page. "As a temporary measure, I will manage all matters concerning Kelly's public persona, including endorsements, sponsorships, and appearances. You will surrender all documents pertaining to these concerns." New page. "You will resign as President and CEO of Kelly Parked Enterprise. I will assume control of the company until a permanent replacement can be found." He flipped the document closed. "Any attempt to slander Kelly's image or subvert her success will be considered a breach of contract and further legal action will be taken against you. Do you have any questions?"
"Just one," she sneered, "Why in god's name would I ever sign a contract like that? This isn't how negotiation works, Mr. Tanner. If you want something from me, you have to give me something in return."
"Oh, but we are, Miss Baboyan," Steve said, relaxing back into his chair. "The first of which is no jail time. Child abuse is a Class 1 misdemeanor; that's a minimum of 6 months, a maximum of 18. And embezzlement, well, that's 3 years. By the by, you are a really bad embezzler. Did you even try to hide it? I found the discrepancies in a matter of hours by looking through the company's public records; it must be incredibly obvious in your private books."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sheila bristled. "I would never steal from my precious angel. You are making that up."
"Oh, I wish I was." He pulled out several more papers and began laying them out across her desk. "Here are your last four quarterly reports filed with the SEC. The discrepancies have been clearly marked. If needed, we can subpoena your full financial records and have a forensic accountant examine them. And while we're looking at evidence against you, why don't you take a gander at these pictures."
He had printed copies of the pictures from the night before, and had managed to dig up some photographs of Kelly in Rio where the marks on her arm were visible. The deathblow was a still depicting Sheila dragging Kelly out of the pre-Worlds party. Pointing to the last picture, he said, "This one is a still from a video in which you are forcing Kelly to leave my house. Believe me, it wasn't easy to find; I had to scour every second of the various footage from the party, but that video, coupled with these pictures and Kelly's testimony, should ensure a guilty verdict."
"Kelly would never testify against me," she insisted, but there was doubt in her voice. Her confidence was shaken by the evidence presented against her.
"She will." There was a timbre in his voice which conveyed the certainty of his statement. As he had told Kelly last night, this could not be a bluff.
About this time, voices could be heard in the hallway. The door opened and a tall man in an Armani suit stepped into the office. Steve had met him before; he was one of the best lawyers in Denver, but Steve was better. Things were going exactly as planned.
"Mr. Allers, I'm so glad you could make it," he said, standing to shake the man's hand. "I've brought some papers for Miss Baboyan to sign, and I would like for you to take a look at them."
Sheila immediately began to rant about the disrespectful way in which Steve had treated her and enjoined Mr. Allers to settle the matter immediately. To his credit, he completely ignored her other than to say, "If you will please be quite, Sheila, I'll take a look at the papers and see what I can do."
He read through the contract in silence, his countenance growing paler and more grave with each new page. When he finished, he examined each piece of evidence that Steve had laid out on Sheila's desk. Finally, looking up at his client, he said, "I would advise you to sign the contract, Sheila."
For a long moment she sat frozen, unable to respond. When she did speak she could only manage a strangled, "What?"
Mr. Allers, faced with the obvious guilt of his client, maintained his calm admirably. "They are being incredibly generous. They're allowing you to keep the house, your car, everything that you have bought with Kelly's earnings. They aren't seeking recompense for the money you stole from KPE"—his disapproval of her actions rang clear in his voice—"or pressing any charges. This is a better settlement than you could ever hope to get from a judge."
"Are you saying," Sheila began, standing up from her chair and leaning against her desk with a menacing posture, "That you are not capable of performing your duties and protecting my best interest?"
"What I am saying, Sheila, is that signing Mr. Tanner's contract is in your best interest. We cannot take this to court." Standing, he picked up one of the pictures of Kelly's bruised face and held it up in front of her face. "Look at this! Juries hate child abusers; they will be prejudiced against you from the start. This one picture will ensure a guilty verdict on every charge. Sign the damn contract."
It took another hour for the meeting to conclude, the majority of which Mr. Allers spent convincing Sheila to sign the papers. When she finally did, Steve and Mr. Allers made plans to finalize the agreement. They had to get signatures from the Keelers, meet with a judge, file the paperwork for Kelly's guardianship, and execute the transfer of all of Kelly's business matters into Steve's control. Even expediting everything, the whole process would take at least a week and Steve had the extra responsibility of finding someone to represent Kelly and run KPE.
As the two men were leaving the office, Steve paused at the door and turned back. "I don't pretend to be a good man, Miss Baboyan, so I know that I'm in no position to judge others, but you disgust me. Children are the most precious thing on this earth; it takes a special kind of perversion to want to harm them. Kelly is a very special, very talented little girl, and you don't deserve her."
Kelly brought up the subject before Payson had a chance. They were pulling out of the Parkers' driveway when she asked, "I can't train at Denver Elite anymore, can I?"
Payson stared in the side mirror, watching the house fade into the distance. "No, it's too much of a risk. You can't be that close to your mom every day. You'll like it at the Rock, though. It's a good environment."
"I guess I should head to the gym now, tell Marty I'm leaving," she said, flicking on her turning signal.
"Sasha probably called him already, but we still need to go. We need to clean out your locker, and you should talk to Marty in person."
"Wait," said Kelly, turning toward the passenger seat to look at Payson, "How does Sasha even know? I haven't talked to him yet."
"Keep your eyes on the road," she said, trying to buy herself a few extra seconds to come up with a response. She was normally very careful about mentioning Sasha, especially anything that might imply that their relationship was more that it seemed to the public, but she hadn't been thinking clearly. Well, if Kelly was going to live with her, she was going to notice something, so there was no point in lying. "I called him last night after you went to sleep."
"It was, like, after midnight when we went to bed. You called your coach in the middle of the night?" Kelly sounded doubtful, like Payson might be making it up.
"Yeeeah," said Payson, dragging out the word for several seconds. "Listen, if you're going to live with me, you're going to figure this out eventually—"
"Oh my God, the rumors are true!"
"No! Geez, Kelly, how stupid do you think I am? Having an affair with Sasha would pretty much ruin both our careers." That kiss had been a stupid, impulsive move that had nearly destroyed both their lives.
Kelly gave Payson an incredulous look. "You know," she said, "most people don't need a reason not to have an affair with their coach, it's just a given. What I'm getting out of this is that if it wouldn't ruin your careers, you would be having an affair."
"It's not like that. We're just really close. Maybe closer than we should be, but there is nothing romantic about our relationship. He's my best friend." She hoped she sounded as convincing as she wanted to. She was trying to convince herself as well; she understood now that what she felt for him was affection for a friend and coach, but that didn't stop the physical attraction. She couldn't seem to control her body's reaction to his presence.
They were at the gym now, so Kelly pulled into a parking spot before turning to face Payson. "You're keeping me from being homeless, so I'm not really in a position to criticize, but I hope you realize that this isn't normal. It's not normal to be best friends with someone who is twice your age, and it's not normal for you to call him in the middle of the night. Honestly, it's not normal for you to be calling him at all. The only time I've ever called Marty was to tell him that I got a flat and would be late to practice. You're playing a really dangerous game."
"This isn't a game, Kelly, it's my life. It's his life," she said, trying to make Kelly understand. "We didn't plan for this to happen, but it did, and I'm asking you as a friend not to tell anybody. You're right, it's not normal, and people won't understand. That's why we keep it secret."
Kelly shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine. Like I said, I'm in no position to criticize. I'll keep your secret, but it still creeps me out."
"Thanks," she said, reaching over to squeeze Kelly's hand. "Now come on, let's go talk to Marty."
Suddenly Kelly froze. There was a look of terror in her eyes and her hand clench against Payson's. "I can't go in there. I didn't think this through; I can't go in looking like this. Everybody will see."
Payson understood her reluctance. After she broke her back, a big part of why she didn't want to go to the gym was because she didn't want the other gymnasts to see her in the back brace. She and Kelly both prided themselves on being strong, and anything that showed weakness was unacceptable. What happened to Kelly didn't make her weak, but she would feel like it did.
"Okay," she said, disentangling her hand from Kelly's deathgrip, "I'll go get your stuff out of your locker and send Marty out here. Is that better?"
When Kelly agreed and gave her the locker combination, Payson left the car and made her way into the Denver Elite. She couldn't help but remember the last time she had walked through those doors, a mixture of pissed off and vulnerable, unable to carry on without Marty's guidance. She had grown so much since then. When Sasha left she was hurt and angry, but she stayed strong enough to lead the gym. It was only at night when she let her guard down and allowed herself to miss him.
Everyone stopped to look at her when she walked into the gym, just like they did the last time. Maybe they expected her to yell again. Marty followed the direction of his gymnasts' gaze and met her eyes, silently indicating that she should go to his office. When she got there, she stood waiting for Marty in silence.
"Sasha told me what happened," he said, stepping through the door and closing it behind him.
"I figured he would."
"Is Kelly okay?" he asked, slumping into his chair. He looked sad and… old. He had aged a decade in the six months since he left the Rock.
Payson heaved a frustrated sign and ran her fingers through her hair, a bad habit she had picked up from Sasha. "She's doing as well as can be expected. She didn't want to come in; she…she didn't want people to see."
"Damn it all," he said, running his hand across his face. It was something he always did when he was stressed. "I could kill that woman for what she did... What?"
Payson didn't realize that her feelings were showing so clearly on her face, but Marty had noticed something. She didn't want to share her thoughts, but she had trained with him long enough to know that he wouldn't let it drop. "Okay, I'm not saying that this is anywhere near as bad as what Sheila did, but... you did pretty much destroy Kaylie's family. There are more than a few people who want to kill you, too."
"Wow, you don't pull any punches, do you? What the hell is Sasha teaching you up there in Boulder?"
Payson raised one eyebrow in response. "Confidence."
Marty actually smiled, despite the slap in the face she had just given him. "Apparently. But I'd like to think I had a little something to do with that, too."
"Yeah, you did, by leaving and giving us a chance to get Sasha." She winced as soon as the words left her mouth. She shouldn't be saying these things, and on any normal day she wouldn't, but her emotions were running high. She was having a hard time keeping he words in check. "I'm sorry, Marty. I didn't mean that."
"Yeah, you did," he said, running his hand across his face again. The action was starting to get on Payson's nerves; she was way too on edge if something so small was getting to her. "I know I screwed up, Payson. I deserve everything you're throwing at me."
"No you don't," she said, shaking her head, "I'm just being bitchy. You were a good coach, and honestly I think Emily would have done better with you, but Sasha is just a better match for me. And for Lauren, too, I think."
"What about Kaylie?" he asked.
He already knew the answer, but she gave it to him anyway. "Kaylie's problem was never about her coach, it was about her. It was, is, about believing in herself."
"And Kelly? What does she need?"
"She needs a mom. And the only place she's going to get that right now is at my house." Not for the first time, Payson was grateful to have her mom. Kim Keeler had all the love in the world for her daughters and plenty left over to share with Kelly. Kelly needed a mom and Kim would be one for her. "Listen, you should go talk to her; she out in the parking lot. I'll go clean out her locker and give you guys some privacy."
She was walking out of his office with Marty just a few steps behind when he reached out to stop her and asked, "When did you grow up so much?"
"The day I broke my back," she said. It was an absolute lie. Losing her dream hadn't made her grow up, and neither had getting it back. She had grown more mature as she worked with Sasha to become an artistic gymnast, but she could pinpoint the exact moment when she became an adult. She grew up when she read Sasha's goodbye letter, and there was no turning back.
She collected Kelly's stuff quickly and left. As she walked back through the gym, everybody was staring at her. For all she could tell, they hadn't moved since she came in. It creeped her out just a little bit, so she hurried out the door. When she stepped into the glaring sunlight, she was blinded for a moment. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light she saw that Kelly and Marty were still talking. Kelly had left the car and was leaning against the door while Marty had his hand on her shoulder. Payson decided to give them a their privacy for a little longer; Kelly had really liked and respected Marty as a coach, and saying goodbye to him couldn't be easy.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the Rock, needing Sasha to calm the swirl of emotions she'd been drowning in all day. She was thankful that he answered, because having to ask her mom or Summer to pull him off the floor would have been awkward. They would have to make excuses, which she hated, and he wouldn't be able to speak as feely, which she hated even more.
His response to hearing her voice was immediate. "There's not anything wrong, is there?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Well, relatively speaking. I wouldn't call anything in this situation right."
His pause was heavy with doubt. "Okay…nothing's wrong, and that's why you're calling me in the middle of training instead of at lunch like you normally do. I'm completely buying that."
She narrowed her eyes as if he could see her; he probably knew what her expression was anyway. "Can we put the sarcasm on hold, please? Kelly is talking to Marty and I wanted to give them a few minutes alone. If I was leaving wouldn't you want to say goodbye in private?"
"If you were leaving, I would come with you."
With that one sentence, all of her tension was gone and the world felt right again. Payson chuckled low in her throat. "How do you do that? How do you always know exactly what I need to hear when I don't even know?"
"I don't do it on purpose," he said. She could almost hear his smile. "I just tell the truth."
"That's the best part." As the word fell from her lips, she watched Marty hug Kelly and turn back toward the gym. "Hey, I've got to go. Kelly's ready to leave."
They said goodbye and hung up, with Payson feeling much more at ease than she had just minutes before. Marty clapped her on the shoulder as he walked by, saying, "I'm proud of you, Payson."
Smiling up at him, she said, "I'm proud of you, too."
Neither needed any explanation for the words. For the first time in months, Marty and Payson were on exactly the same page. They had both grown, both changed, since Marty left the Rock, and both were better people for it.
They were silent for most of the ride back, but it was a comfortable silence. Payson was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice where they were going until Kelly pulled into the Rock parking lot.
"What are we doing here?" she asked curiously. She had assumed that Kelly wouldn't want to start training until at least the next day. She need time to get over the shock of the last couple of days.
"I'm dropping you off," Kelly answered. "I know you've got clothes inside, you're too much like me not to. So go work out."
Payson expected to see vulnerability or dejection on Kelly's face, but there was nothing but determination. "I don't need to train today, Kelly. I can take a day off."
"I know you want to be in the gym, Keeler…Payson." Payson smiled at Kelly's correction. "I want to be in the gym, but I need sleep more right now. So you go work out and smooch with Sasha while I go home and take a nap without having to snuggle with you, okay?"
Payson ignored the "smooch with Sasha" part of Kelly's speech and focused in on the "home" part. Kelly probably didn't even realize she said it, but calling the Keeler house home was a good sign. Smiling, Payson reached across the gear shift and hugged Kelly around the shoulders. "I'm so glad you're staying, KP."
Kelly pushed her off and commanded, "Get out of my car right now, Keeler, before I have to kill you. I don't do the mushy love stuff, at least not normally."
As soon as Kelly left the parking lot, with Payson's keys in tow, Payson went straight to the office to hug her mom and then Sasha. They were both surprised to see her and immediately asked where Kelly was.
"She went home."
Kim sent her a questioning look. "Home?"
"Yeah," said Payson, her arms still looped loosely around Sasha's waist and a huge smile on her face. "She went home."
A/N: I'm sincerely sorry for the delay in posting this. I had planned to finish and post this chapter last Thursday, but my back problem flared up suddenly. I spent the whole weekend doped up on painkillers and waiting for a doctor's appointment to get a cortisone shot. Yeah, I know…Payson fan…cortisone shot in the back…I know that I'm leaving myself wide open for ridicule.
So Sheila stole from KPE. Did you expect it? We'll find out about the things that Sheila did as the rest of the Rock finds out. This (to steal a phrase from Joss Whedon) is Kelly's story as told by the Rock rebels, with lots of their stuff thrown in as well. Hit the nice little review button and let me know what you think :) I know you're out there, so come out of hiding and review. Sometimes I give out spoilers as rewards :)
There are pictures of Kelly's bookshelves and stuffed tiger linked on my profile.
P.S. Thanks to Fantasylover101 for catching my weird little typing glitch. It's fixed now.