Chapter 4

Emily's POV

We were all standing in the viewing area looking at Damon's plane board and roll out onto the runway. My phone buzzed and I fished it out of my pocket with my right hand and used my left hand to wipe away stray tears on my cheeks.

I'll always be there for you, no matter what. I love you, Kmetko.

It was from Damon. I know he still loves me even though he admits he loves Kaylie. I turn to look at Kaylie and I saw she was leaning into Austin lovingly with his hand wrapped around her petite frame. They looked so happy. Damon didn't get in between them so maybe I should give Damon a chance.

I know Cassie will be safe with her father. I know she will. But I will be home with her soon. I need to be there for Cassie. I can't continue living my gymnastics dream; I understood that now. Gymnastics isn't a part of me anymore. My Olympic dream went down the drain when I got pregnant with Cassie. So I guess my dream, my life, right now is Cassie. I have to care for her.

What am I doing here? Shouldn't I be on that plane with Damon, raising our baby together? I guess I'm going to have to say goodbye to them one final time.

"Hey, Kaylie," I finally said. I turned to look at her and saw her turn her body towards me, Austin shifting behind her.

"Hey."

"I was wondering, can we have a girls' night tonight? You know, you, Payson, Lauren and me? Like old times?" I asked her.

"Yeah, sure," she replied and moved towards me and embraced me in a hug. I needed this. I needed someone to believe in me no matter what. Even after everything I put Kaylie through, she still accepted me as a friend.

"I'm sorry about our previous conversation," I whispered.

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

Kaylie's POV

When Damon's plane was finally out of sight, we all turned and walked out of the airport.

"Can you guys send us girls to my house?" I asked the guys.

"Yeah, no problem, babe," Austin replied. We all got in our respective cars and drove towards Boulder. After about an hour and a half we finally reached my house and I quickly punched in the security code. Austin drove me up the familiar driveway and Max's car was trailing behind. I unbuckled my seat belt and turned towards Austin.

"So, call me later?" I smiled at him.

"If you want me to. I mean, you guys are having a girls' night so maybe I shouldn't interrupt that," he smirked.

"No, I want you to call me," I leaned in towards him and gave him a sweet kiss. He moved his hands to caress my cheeks and I wrapped my hands around the nape of his neck. A tap came against the window and I broke off the cheek and turned towards the door. I blushed when I saw Payson, Lauren and Emily peeking in to our make-out session.

"Bye, Austin," I finally told him and opened the door. Before I could step out, he caught my hand and pulled me back into his embrace. He gave me a peck and pulled me into a hug.

"Have fun tonight, but not too much. I'll call you to wish you goodnight. Love you, babe," he said into my hair.

"Okay, love you, too," I giggled. I finally got out of the car and closed the door behind me. I waved at him and he pulled out of the driveway with Max and Nicky in tow.

I led them towards the front door and took my keys out from inside my purse. I unlocked the door and stepped in.

"You know what, Kay? You take too long to say "See you later" to your boyfriend," Lauren complained. The other two just giggled. I, once again, blushed.

We all settled into the couch after changing into more comfortable clothes.

"So, Payson, tell me all about you and Max," Emily inquired.

I saw Payson's eyes sparkle, it happens every single time Max was mentioned. I nudged Payson.

"Well, we're going great, I guess. But there was one time I seriously thought he cheated on me," she explained.

"Yeah, I remember that. You were, like, freaking out and everything. You even broke up with him for, like, twelve hours?" Lauren laughed.

"What? Payson," Emily began while resting her hand on Payson's knees. "You know Max would never do that to you. Ever."

"Yeah, I know. I later found out that the blonde that he was having dinner with was just an old friend. No biggie," Emily nodded. "But I guess now, we're going good."

"What about you, Lauren? How's Nicky?"

"Oh my god. It is awesome!" Lauren shrieked, which in turn, made us all laugh. "It was kinda awkward in the beginning, you know, when he did the whole "She's my girlfriend" thing at Austin's party, but-"

"Wait, he did what?" Emily interrupted.

"Well, Austin had a party, and when we first walked in, three guys hit on us. I guess the guys got jealous and they told everyone that we had boyfriends. They actually went on-stage to do that. That was kinda embarrassing, especially for Kaylie," Payson explained.

"Why Kaylie?" Emily questioned, obviously getting interested.

"So there was this guy named Chris and I seriously believed he was like interested in Kaylie. After Austin told him that Kaylie was his girlfriend, Chris kept saying that there was no way that Mr. Kobalt had a girlfriend," Lauren took a breath. "But then after the whole stage thing, we went to dance and Chris hit on Kaylie at the bar and on the dance floor. He asked her to dance with him and it was a slow song. He kissed her hand then her cheeks, but Austin thought it was her lips and he went all jealous-boyfriend on him. He punched him in the middle of the dance floor and everyone stopped and stared. And typical Kaylie, she ran."

"Well, yeah. What was I supposed to do? Stand there watching the fight go down?" I inquired teasingly. They just all nodded and laughed. "So after Austin introduced me as his girlfriend, he introduced Payson as Max's girlfriend. Then it was Lauren's turn and, of course, at that time Lauren didn't have a boyfriend. So then somehow Nicky stepped up and said that she was his girlfriend."

"Yeah, and then the guys confronted Nicky about it like the next day in practice and he admitted to liking Lauren. Then he told Lauren and Lauren didn't say anything back," Payson shot a teasing glare at Lauren and continued, "So he said he was going to leave Boulder and Gymnastics and go live with Chris – remember the guy that hit on Kaylie? – in Beverly Hills. Yeah, his dad is like some big-time producer or something and lives in Beverly Hills."

"Guys, can I tell my own love story?" Lauren teased and we nodded. "So the next day, he was going to the airport and I made Kaylie and Payson drive me to the airport and once we got there, I ran inside and when I spotted Nicky, I literally jumped on him like a cat," with that, we all burst out laughing. "And so from then on, we've been together," Lauren smiled.

"That's so cute!" Emily squealed and smiled at Lauren. They all turned to look at me and I knew they wanted me to tell the story of how Austin and I got together. "What?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, you know what, Kaylie. Don't act innocent. How did you and Austin really get together?" Lauren told me. It was true, I never really told them how we got together.

"Well," I chuckled. "You guys have surely read it in the magazines after Worlds."

"Yeah, but I'm serious, how?"

"Okay, fine. So one day, before my fall at Worlds Trials, Austin came to my house and told my parents that I was battling an eating disorder. Of course, they didn't believe him. I asked him why he thought he could just come over and talk to my parents about it. And he told me that when he figured me out, he may find himself falling for me," I smiled at the memory.

"Aw," they all chorused.

"Then remember when you guys came to Denver for the exhibition?" they all nodded. "Well, Austin visited one day and asked him if he was really falling for me and he said yes. Then I asked him what would happen if I told him I was falling for him, too. I was hoping he would, like, kiss me or something, you know? But instead he shot me down and I got pissed. I guess from then on, it was a battle between the both of us, trying to hide our feelings."

"Kay, that's just so…so…adorable!" Emily said and we all giggled.

"And then we officially became an item at Worlds," I finished.

"You know, Kaylie, you and Austin are absolutely charming," Emily exclaimed.

What? Charming? Nobody's ever said we were charming before. In actual fact, nobody ever called us anything, except "Gymnastics' Power Couple".

"How are we charming?" I inquired with a confused look on my face.

"Oh come on, obviously you don't see yourself and him. Have you ever looked in the mirror when you two stand next to each other?" I shook my head. "That's why, you guys, just…I don't know…match. Seriously, every time he looks at you its as if his eyes are solely focused on you, as if you are literally the only thing in his world," Lauren explained.

"Really?"

"Really, Kay. I bet he'd even quit gymnastics if anything happened to you," Payson clarified.

"Don't say that, Pay. Ever. You're going to jinx it," I smiled.

"You don't believe us?"

Do I believe them? I'm not entirely sure. "Maybe, not really? I don't know?"

"Oh my god. Okay, do you have a copy of last month's Us Weekly?" Lauren asked.

What? She wants to read a magazine while we're having girls' night? She's ridiculous.

"Yeah, why?"

"Go get it," Lauren commanded. I got off the couch and went towards the magazine rack next to the TV set. I looked through the stack of magazines and found the Us Weekly Lauren asked for. I took it out and sat back down on the catch and chucked the magazine at her. She caught it in her hands. She was furiously looking through the magazine – I thought she was going to rip the pages – and finally found the page she was looking for. She smiled and handed back the magazine to me.

I took a look at it and read the title: "Rock Rebels and Olympians take Manhattan". I looked at the first page labeled "Lauren & Nicky: the Silver couple"; the page was filled with photos of Lauren and Nicky in New York. I looked on the next page and saw photos of Max and Payson; it was labeled "Payson & Max: a perfect match". Lastly, I turned the page and saw the label: "Kaylie & Austin: Gymnastics' very own Golden and Power couple". I looked at the array of photos. Most of the photos, Austin had his arm draped around my shoulders or at my waist and a few had him looking at me while I smiled at the camera. Now I knew what the three were talking about. I smiled.

"Now you see," Payson sighed.

"Yeah. Wow, I didn't even know." Who knew I had this effect on Austin.

"You guys are absolutely in love. And I don't mean the occasional "I love you", but you are actually in love. You'd do anything for each other," Emily replied.

"I don't know about Austin, but I am definitely in love with him," I finally realized.

"Kaylie, not to ruin the moment or anything, but your phone's buzzing," Lauren giggled. I looked away from the mesmerizing photos and took out my phone from my pocket. Austin's name flashed across the screen of my Blackberry.

"Excuse me, guys, I gotta take this," I breathed.

"Who is it? Wait, let me guess, lover boy," Lauren chuckled. I smiled brightly and got of the couch and sat on the kitchen counter. I took a deep breath and pressed the Answer button.

"Hey, gorgeous," Austin said.

"Hey, how's boys' night out?"

"How'd you know about that?" he sounded surprised.

"Just…instincts."

"Amazing how you understand me," he chuckled. "So how's girls' night?"

"Um…it's great actually," should I tell him about what they told me about both of us being in love?

"What'd you guys talk about?"

"Nothing you need to know. And plus, it's a secret," I giggled.

"Fine, but I will find out somehow. I won't keep you away from them any longer, so goodnight."

"Why are you saying goodnight? It's only 8," I asked, confused.

"Babe, you guys must be deep in conversation, because it's 11pm right now," he laughed softly. I could imagine him smirking but it could not be 11. We just got back like an hour ago. I looked at the kitchen clock and there it was, mocking me. It was indeed 11.

"Oh," I breathed. "So in that case, goodnight, Austin Tucker."

"I love you, Kaylie Cruz," he seemed to have stressed 'love'.

"I love you, too," I told him and we both seemed to have hung up at the same time. I held my phone in my hands and smiled while walking back into the living room where Payson, Lauren and Emily were waiting for me.

"We heard everything," Lauren sniggered. It snapped me out of my bubble.

"What? How?" I frantically said.

"I'm joking, jeez! Calm down!" Lauren laughed and patted the seat next to her, motioning me to come sit down. "But we did here the "I love you, too" part," Lauren winked. I could feel heat rise towards my cheeks.

"Anyways, enough about Austin and I," I told them and they sighed in defeat. "What about you, Emily? What are you going to do now?"

We all turned to look at her and I could see the look on her face. It was as if she was trying to figure things out.

Emily's POV

"Anyways, enough about Austin and I," Kaylie said. "What about you, Emily? What are you going to do now?"

That question definitely threw me off guard. I wasn't expecting it. But then again, Kaylie likes to do these sorts of things, ask questions that no one is prepared to answer. What am I going to do? Now that Damon and Cassie are back in Vegas and there's nothing holding me in Boulder anymore, what am I going to do? I can't do gymnastics anymore and I need to take care of Cassie. Cassie Kmetko-Young needs both of her parents. She needs Damon and I. I need Damon and her. So I guess I have my answer: I have to go be with Damon and Cassie.

"I think I'm…uh…going to go back to Vegas. I need to be there for Cassie. Cassie needs me, and I need her. And I also need Damon," I finally uttered. I looked at them and they all smiled at me encouragingly. "Lauren, do you mind booking me a ticket for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, no problem," Lauren took out her phone and dialed Southwest's hotline. In five minutes, she has booked me a ticket and I was ready to go in the morning. I didn't bring much stuff with me to Boulder so I didn't really need to go pack them.

We all went up into Kaylie's room and climbed onto the bed. It was almost midnight and we all quickly fell asleep.

I woke up in the morning to the smell of bacons, eggs and freshly brewed coffee. I looked around me and found that I was the only one still in the bed. I guess they were all already downstairs, making breakfast. I quickly combed through my short hair and sauntered down into the kitchen.

"Morning, Em!" they all said in unison. "We made you breakfast, come sit!" I sat down in the chair in front of the kitchen counter.

"You didn't have to do this, guys," I sighed.

"What are you talking about? Of course we did! You're leaving and who knows when we'll be able to see you again?" Payson explained. That makes sense. Instead of arguing, I sat there while they raced around the kitchen taking out necessary things to make the going-away breakfast for me. They were finally done and in front of me, I had a ham-and-cheese omelet, a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, a glass of coffee, some bacon and toasted bread with melted butter on top. They all looked mouth watering.

"Thanks, guys. This looks amazing!" I told them and took my first bite. They taste as good as they looked. I finished the breakfast in five minutes – a record and they all laughed at me.

"We should go get changed and get ready to go to the airport. Your flight leaves in three hours," Lauren chimed in. We all agreed and ran back upstairs. Kaylie took a shower while the rest of us got changed. We all agreed to wear the same thing: white-cropped denim shorts and a 'The Rock' t-shirt. We piled into Kaylie's car and drove off to Denver. We arrived half an hour before my plane took off. They waited while I checked in.

"Bye, guys. I'm going to miss you so much!" I told them.

"We're going to miss you, too, Em," Kaylie told me and went in for a hug. She let go.

"Yeah, come visit us whenever, okay?" It was now Lauren's turn to give me a hug. She wasn't such a bitch when you actually get to know her.

"And bring baby Kmetko-Young, too," Payson said and hugged me. We all had a final group hug and I turned around before they could see the hot tears streaming down my face. I walked towards the gate and got in the plane without turning back.

Author's note: okay so we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! sorry for the late upload! we apologize. i was busy finishing packing and my best friend didn't have the file cause it's on my laptop :( sorryy! anyways, REVIEW! xx