ch.9

It had been a really long day. Starting with the fact that Sasha was a sadist. He demonstrated his displeasure with being awoken at four in the morning by making her train with Lauren in the annex all day. He called it team building, she thought of it as more along the lines of torture. At the end of the day she may or may not have accidentaly on purpose caused Lauren to fall into the pit, and she may or may not have walked out and left her to climb out on her own. Whatever she totally deserved it.

What did Sasha think, that one day in the cold annex and she and Lauren would be holding hands and singing Kumbaya. If so, he was not as smart as people had led her to believe, in fact she wasn't even sure if he was sane. No sane person would leave hjer and Lauren unattended for almost ten hours. It was the accent. Anything said with a posh English accent instantly sounded clever to most Americans. What she found intensely funny and by intensely funny she meant not funny at all and completly unfair, was the fact that he was all smiles for Payson. When she walked through the gym to get to her car she saw them standing by the bars heads close together smiling while they pretended to look at his clipboard.

She thought back to the rumors that had run rampant prior to the Worlds trials and as she stood in line waiting for the perky barrista behind the counter to take her order. If she didn't know that Payson had been involved with someone else just after that she might think they were true, not to mention Sasha had been reinstated and all of the parents at the Rock including Payson's mother treated him with nothing but respect. If there had been even an iota of truth he would have been run out of town. Still there was something off there. Perhaps Payson was still harboring a small unrequited crush, that could be funny.

She ordered a tall caramel macchiato, it was a guilty pleasure, and her mouth had been watering ever since that morning. Plus after her day with Lauren she felt she deserved to treat herself. She began to dig around in her purse for the money after hearing her total. Things had changed drastically for Kelly, especially in the money department. It was one of the main reasons that she had come to the Rock in the first place. A few weeks after turning eighteen she had decided to move out of her mother's house and get her own place. She had found a really nice two bedroom town home in the city and she called a real estae agent to make an offer only to find out that she didn't have enough money in her account. She had a little over twenty thousand dollars in an account that should have held close to one million dollars. Further investigations showed that her mother had been robbing her blind since she she turned fourteen and secured her first sponsership.

Two days later she took all the money and put it in a brand new account in her name only, packed everything her car could hold, and headed south for Texas. Marty had been very understanding when she explained why she was leaving. She would miss him but some things were more important, namely her freedom. Then she got a text from Carter Anderson telling her that he was also leaving and headed for Boulder in a weeks time. She didn't really believe in fate but his text got her to thinking, before she could change her mind she turned around and set a course for Boulder.

That had been a week ago, and here she was making her way in Boulder alone. She'd found a little studio apartment and she would be moving in on Saturday, until then Aunt Wanda's Bed and Breakfast would have to suffice. It was a drain on her limited resources but she had high hopes for renewed interest in her after she won the American Cup. Right now though she needed to come up with the seven dollars and fifteen cents that the no longer smiling girl behind the counter was waiting on.

''I'll take the same thing and you can put the lady's on my tab.'' A smooth voice to her right said while handing a bill across the register.

"Sure thing Austin."

"I had it.'' Kelly said, moving to the side to wait for her drink.

''I know.''

They stood there in silence waiting for their order. They hadn't spoken since they spent that night on the roof of the hotel in Rio. Spilling all of their secrets courtesy of a shared bottle of Brandy. They had fallen asleep sharing the same lounge chair and when she woke up the next morning she was asleep, cozy under his jacket. Now the silence felt uncomfortable and she couldn't think of anything to say to change that. The girl walked over and handed her a hot cup with the glorious smell of caramel wafting up from it. She made her way to a small table in the back facing the a window and she shouldn't have been suprised when Austin joined her.

''So how are you enjoying our Rock hospitality.''

She considered not answering but she didn't have anything against Austin, so ignoring him would serve no purpose.''It could use some work actually.''

''Tell me about it when I got here I had to fight for gym space; beams and uneven bars were involved. It is a time i would rather forget.'' He laughed.

''You mean the world didn't just bow down and do your bidding because you were the Olympic champion.''

''I think you will find no one at the Rock bows down to anyone.''

''I am fully is part of the charm.'' She scoffed, sipping from her cup. Silence enveloped them again. It seemed as though with just the aid of coffee that their conversation didn't flow nearly as freely.

''Well, welcome to my coffee shop." He said at last.

''Your coffee shop?"

"Yeah I come here all the time." He leaned in closer as if sharing a secret, "They have the best doughnnuts in Boulder. MaryAnn the owners wife makes them herself."

"I'll keep that in mind when the day comes that I can actually have a doughnut. Speaking of not having food, how's Kaylie?"

"Wow," Austin breathed out and leaned back in his chair, "you really are mean."

"It's a gift...and a curse.''

"Like Dr. Jekyll and ."

She pursed her lips and stared at him.

''Ok I can see I have overstayed my welcome.'' Austin said standing up from the table. "Enjoy your coffee. See you tomorrow.''

Dammit she had done it again. Alienating people. Speaking without thinking. Allowing her snark to protect her in an uncomfortable situation. She caught his arm before he could leave. " I wasn't trying to be mean sometimes things just come out that way. I really want to know how Kaylie is doing."

He eyed her warily for a second, he must have seen something that made her reconsider because he sat back down slowly. "Well, she is doing better. She is back home now, says she is taking a break from everything gymnastics related for a while. It's helping her to heal.''

"So she isn't coming back...ever?" That didn't sound right to Kelly. They wouldn't be able to what they did if they quit whenever things got tough. Greatness was always just on the otherside of the tough times. At least she hoped it was, for her sake.

"Not if she thinks it will derail her recovery." Austin said looking down at his drink.

"So you are just one half of the golden couple now?"

Austin took a deep breath and rocked back on two legs in his chair."Actually, taking a break from everything gymnastics related included me too.''

Kelly opened her mouth to say something when another voice cut across hers.

"You ungrateful little bitch."

They both looked up to see the woman standing behind Austin.

Shit! Kelly thought. When she left Denver she purposely didn't tell anyone except Marty where she was going. She knew she would see her mother again but she had hoped that that day would come later and not sooner. Apparently on this day luck had deserted her. She pulled herself up taller in her chair. She would need her wits about her to make it through this confrontation. Sparing a glance at Austin she wished she didn't have an audience for this, but it couldn't be avoided now.

"Hello, Sheila."

"What do you think you are doing, huh? Sitting in a coffee shop with your little friend eating doughnuts." Her voice was laced with disdain. She threw a circle of fried dough onto the ground and stomped on it, in disgust. ''Two days and you are already destroying everything we have worked for, why do you think you can make it without me?"

"I think it's you who can't make it without me."

''And why is that?"

"You know why." she said her tone quiet but steeped in venom.

"Is that what you think that I owe you something. I made you little girl! Without me you are just another slightly talented brat flipping around in a leotard. Did you really think you were the best, did you think those people wanted you?" She laughed it was a hollow sound meant to belittle and demean. "What did you think that they loved you, or even liked you for that matter, did you think they chose you?" She let her incredulity show through on her face. "Honey they only gave you the time of day because I was there!" She slammed her hand onto the table, her voice wasgetting louder and louder asshe continued. "They only loved you because I told them too! I don't owe you anything and YOU OWE ME EVERYTHING!" She lowered her voice then her chest heaving from her outburst. It didn't matter they already had the attention of every patron in the place. "I have sacraficed my life for you. I made you! And if I have to I will destroy you." The last part was said in a quiet voice, just above a whisper but that just made the threat feel infinitly more ominous.

Kelly sat in her chair unable to form a coherent thought much less say anything. She looked down and realized she was shaking all over. She told herself that Shelia's words were meaningless, crafted only to hurt and manipulate her. Her brain knew that but her heart, her heart didn't get the message, and right now at this moment it was breaking, not even breaking it was shattered. She thought the stealing hurt, but she realized now that it had just made her angry. This... This hurt.

"I think you should leave now before you make an even bigger fool of yourself." A quiet voice hissed.

Kelly looked up, it hadn't been she who had spoken. She watched as Austin stood up he was almost a foot taller than Shelia and the look on his face caused her mother to pause and narrow her eyes even more.

She didn't move her eyes from his but her words were for Kelly. "This isn't over." She turned and left. As Kelly heard tires screeching on concrete she felt the first drop of moisture hit her arm. It seemed like that one drop unleased the flood. She stood up and stumbled from the table to the front door. She was fumbling with the keys and lock on her car door when a hand closed over hers and steadied her trembling fingers. Turning she buried her face in his chest. He silently held her while she cried. She pulled away after a few minutes and wiped her face on the sleeve of her jacket.

"I'm fine."

"You're a mess and rightly so."

"It's nothing I just need a minute."

"Do you have a boyfriend or a brother maybe even a cousin in Boulder?"

The question brought her up short and she looked up at him quizically, "...no to all of the above."

"Then here," he opened his wallet and took out a reciept jotting something on the back quickly."In case you ever need any guy shaped help." She glanced at the paper it was his telephone number."Don't hesitate to call. I mean it."

"Yeah, thanks." She said absently clutching the piece of paper in her hand.

"Well now I really do think it is time for me to go." He turned and headed to his bike. She opened her car door."Kelly," he called, "Don't doubt yourself, I'm not on her payroll and I still think you are one of the best." He winked, climbed aboard, put on his helmet, and drove off.

A noble knight riding off on his valiant steed, but he wasn't her knight. When Kaylie finally came to her senses, he would be her knight again and that is the way that things were supposed to be. As evidenced by the events of a few minutes ago she had so much more to worry about than misplaced feelings of gratitude. She was trying to be better and that meant that Austin Tucker was off limits. Placing the slip of paper in the alcove under her radio she started up her engine and headed back to the bed and breakfast. Tomorrow was another day and it would just have to be better.