Chapter 10

The next day after their office confrontation, Sasha tried to talk to Payson yet again, but Sasha had almost forgotten the unwavering focus and sheer will buried deep within Payson Keeler. He learned long ago that if she wanted something, she would turn on her tunnel vision until it came into in being. Unfortunately for him, this time those champion mental instincts were being used against him. She avoided him like the plague.

During Wednesday's practice, Payson's game of Dodge Sasha continued. When he was at bars, she was at beam. When he was at beam, she was coaching floor.

By Thursday the gymnasts noticed this new dynamic with curiosity, but no one dared mentioned to either coach. That was just ab work and wind sprints waiting to happen.

Payson couldn't believe she'd made it to Friday. The week had been going by like molasses. At this point her life felt like an emotional mine field that she had to navigate carefully through; the complications were mind-boggling. Unfortunately for this single mother, her troubles were only just beginning.

"Mrs. Keeler?"

Payson rolled her eyes when heard the greeting on the other end of her office phone. "It's Ms. Keeler, actually. Yes?"

"This is Mrs. Reeves, Ally's Principle."

Her mind started to flood with horrible scenarios. "Oh my - is Ally OK? Is she hurt?"

"No," the woman assured her. "She's fine. I can't say the same thing for her classmates, however..."

"Wait - What?"

Payson listened, horrified, as Mrs. Reeves proceeded to explain Ally's unacceptable behavior in class that day, Apparently she had vandalized several school projects and even pinched a young boy in her class until he cried. She wasn't sure if this was her child - it certainly didn't sound like the chipper, sweet little brunette that she raised. Mrs. Reeves laid everything down with brutal clarity, requesting that she leave work early and pick up her daughter from school immediately.

Without delay, Payson got in her car and drove over to the elementary school. Paving her entry with rapid apologies, Payson went to the office and got her daughter. Ally was sitting sadly in a large chair with her arms crossed. Soon Payson had her in the car. Her usually talkative daughter was silent as the grave now, staring out the window in the backseat. When they arrived home Payson finally put the pressure on.

"Alright, young lady. Enough sulking. Spit it out - why did you misbehave today?"

Ally retreated to the living room couch and sat down in the deadlock position she'd had in the office. Payson sighed in defeat and took a seat next to her, trying to be gentle.

"Sweetie, this isn't you. You know that you have to keep your hands to yourself and respect others."

"I know..." Ally grumbled.

"Your principle said you ruined other students' projects. Is that true?"

Ally nodded.

"Why? What's this all about?"

Ally looked up at her mother with those big, blue eyes she inherited from her. "I - I did my project wrong."

Payson furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

Ally went over to her backpack, got out a large sheet of construction paper, and handed it to her mother. On it were several colorful figures, some buildings, and a bright yellow sun.

"Ally, this is beautiful." Payson said. "What makes you think that you did it wrong?"

Ally frowned. The expression didn't suit her. "We're studying families in school and Ms. Kim told us to draw ours. Oliver Manning told me that my picture was wrong."

"Why's that?"

"There's no dad in it."

Payson's heart broke as she saw her daughter's eyes well up with tears. Ally's nose turned pink and scrunched up just like Payson's used to when she was little. She pulled her daughter on her lap and kissed her forehead, trying to think of the right words to say to her.

"Ally..." she struggled. "Every family is different. It just means that you're special. Not every family has a pet. Some families have more than one kid..."

"But all of the other pictures had dads in them!" Ally said, sniffling.

She wiped away her daughter's tears and pointed to her picture. "But see, honey. You have grandma and grandpa here - see? And look, there's me and you and..."

Payson paused and looked at the picture more closely. Her daughter wasn't an artistic prodigy, but she was better than most. She was good enough to capture the basic characteristics of the people she was drawing; she'd drawn her grandmother with long brown hair and drew Payson with short blond hair. Ally had even included a recognizable portrayal of her Aunt Becca. What confused Payson, however, was the sixth figure in the picture standing next to her and Ally.

"Ally, who is that?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Oh." Ally said, as she wiped her nose with her sleeve. "That's Sasha. See - I used my yellow marker for his hair."

"Oh my..." Payson gulped, trying to wrap her mind around what this meant. "Why did you draw Sasha?"

"Isn't he sort of in our family now?" Ally asked, perking up and resting her head against her mother's shoulder. "He lives with us and plays with me all the time."

"He lives in our building." Payson corrected.

"OK." Ally said, not understanding what her drawing now meant to her mother.

"Um..." Payson shook off the millions of questions racing through her head and tried her best to focus on the problem at hand. "So, do you understand why what you did was wrong?"

Ally nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, mommy."

Poor Ally wasn't allowed to play in the gym for a week as punishment. Also, Payson looked up Oliver's home phone number in the school directory and told her daughter she had to apologize. Ally handled it like a trooper.

That day Payson wondered whether she had truly done the right thing by raising Ally alone. She remembered the tense moments during her pregnancy when her parents had pressured her to come clean with Austin and ask him to be with her. Despite their urging, Payson never folded. Instead, she feigned strength, insisting that she could handle it on her own. In reality, it was more about pride than anything else. After all, is there any girl out there who wants to beg someone to love her? Payson couldn't stomach the thought back then, but now a small seed of regret was growing as she watched her daughter stutter on the phone. Maybe if she had swallowed her pride seven years ago, then Ally wouldn't be tearing up pictures of other families and pinching bullies at school.

The drama of the afternoon was quickly followed by evening plans. Mrs. Keeler had left a voicemail on their machine inviting Payson and Ally to a family dinner that night. Ally was thrilled. No doubt she thought the dinner with divert the negative attention she'd gotten that afternoon. Payson, however, wasn't exactly in the mood.

It didn't help that when she arrived at her family home later that night with Ally, a certain someone was also parallel parking and getting out of his car.

"Sasha!" Ally immediately raced over to him and jumped in his arms. He caught her she threw her arms around him.

At least one of you is happy to see me… Sasha Belov thought to himself, noting the neutral reaction from Payson.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. "This is our family didn't you tell me you were invited?"

"Oh – are we speaking now?" he asked with mock surprise, still clutching Ally. "I thought you'd become a mute, so I didn't bother checking with you."

She rolled her eyes.

Ally, who was blissfully unaware of the tension between the two adults, continued to hang off Sasha happily. "Sasha," she said. "You haven't visited us in a long time!"

"I'm sorry Ally." He said sincerely. "But I'm here now and we're going to have dinner together!"

"Yay!"

When Payson rang the doorbell her father answered and escorted them in. Their dinning room was lovely. Her mother had obviously spent the greater part of the afternoon preparing for their arrival. Payson was surprised to see the table was set for six – two on each side with her parents on either end. Ally grabbed Sasha's hand enthusiastically and led him to the chair next to her.

"Sweetie," Kim Keeler said to her granddaughter. "Why don't you sit next to your mom?"

"But I want Sasha to sit next to me!"

"Yeah, it's fine Kim." Sasha assured her.

"That seat is saved for a special guest, Ally."

Ally sighed in defeat and retreated over to her mother.

"Who else is coming, mom?" Payson asked curiously as she sat down. She was surprised enough to see Sasha at her family's dinner table. She had no idea who else could be coming or why. The next second her questions were answered.

"Hello."

The sound of the silky, feminine voice caused all the heads to turn towards the door. Payson dropped the fork she was holding and Sasha instinctively (and nervously) leapt to his feet.

Summer Van Horne was standing before them now, wearing a beautiful pink dress and her long blonde hair up. Her smiled was pristine – simply pristine. She graciously handed Mrs. Keeler a bottle of wine for dinner and took the one empty seat next to Sasha.

Was she dreaming? Was this really happening? Payson wasn't quite sure. She watched the scene unfold like a movie. Sasha hugged her and muttered an awkward hello. Summer kissed his cheek and smiled at everyone at the table.

"You must be Ally." She said sweetly to the one person she had not met yet.

Ally eyed this new woman with suspicion. To her, this was simply the person who stole her seat beside Sasha. "Hi." She finally said in a small voice.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Kim said, finally taking her place at the table. "We're going to have such a lovely dinner. Isn't this nice - old friends getting reacquainted? Summer, I'm so glad that you were passing through the area again. Sasha, isn't it fate?"

Payson knew her mother well – well enough to know exactly what she was doing.

"Mom" Payson blurted out suddenly. "Let me help you bring plates in. Where are they? The kitchen? Let's go."

"Sure, honey…"

As soon as they were alone and safely behind the kitchen door, Payson turned to her mother with sheer disbelief.

"Mom, please don't tell me this is what I think it is!"

Mrs. Keeler looked very guilty, but very pleased with herself. "What if it is?"

"Sasha is a grown man and he doesn't need you to set him up!" Payson argued. "And you don't need to invite Ally and I to watch!"

"But he and Summer were so good together and I just thought maybe…with a little encouragement…." She explained. "Also, inviting you and Ally gives the whole thing less pressure."

"Gee, I've always wanted to be a decoy…" said Payson. "It's not going to work between them, mom! They broke up."

"You never know! Sasha might still be interested in her."

Payson felt ill. "How do you know he is? He might be seeing someone else!" She immediately regretted her last declaration, but there was no taking it back.

"Wait – do you know something?" Mrs. Keeler asked with interest. "You talk to him more than I do. You'd tell me if he was dating someone else, right?"

Payson wasn't in the mood to dive into any ambiguous, complicated details with her mother. "I'm just...I'm just not sure this is good idea."

Kim Keeler paused and looked at her very agitated daughter.

"Pay, why are you so against this?"

Payson laughed nervously. "W-Why would I be against this? It's not like this impacts my life…"

"OK," Mrs. Keeler said slowly. "So, why are we in the kitchen again?"

Payson bit her lip and crossed her arms. That was a very good question.

"I'm helping you!" she remembered. "Let's bring these plates in, shall we?"

She quickly grabbed some dishes and went back into the dinning room to face the music of this awkward situation.

It occurred to Payson throughout dinner that Summer Van Horne was everything that she wasn't – she was put together, feminine, gracious, soft, and tactful. Payson's more natural look and blunt demeanor looked odd next to this woman. Sure, she'd learned how to strut down a runway, extend her legs, and dance ballet, but there was a piece of her that felt small and insecure next to women like Summer. It also didn't help that Payson was a young, unwed mother – a heathen by comparison.

"You've been awfully quiet, Payson." Summer commented in the middle of the meal.

Payson was shaken out of her thoughts. "Oh – sorry. I guess I'm tired."

"I bet Sasha keeps you long hours at the gym, uh?"

"You have no idea…"

Sasha's chicken must've gotten caught in his throat because he went into a mild coughing spasm. Summer tapped his back. Payson shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"And Sasha is always at our house! Well, not this week…" Ally said. "But he likes my mom's cooking and he likes to play cards with me."

"Oh…" Summer said slowly, but kindly. "Poor Payson. That doesn't leave much time for a social life, does it?"

Payson paused mid chew and stared at Summer. At present she was trying to justify disliking the nicest person in the room. "Um…I guess not."

"Sasha," Summer said with a sort of light-hearted disapproval. "You can't monopolize Payson. She'd not one of your gymnasts anymore. She's a young woman."

"I know." He answered, eyeing Payson.

"Enough about Payson!" Mrs. Keeler interjected with strategy. "Summer, how are you? Are you seeing anyone?"

Payson rolled her eyes at her mother's less-than-subtle approach. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a very bored Ally trying to balance a spoon on her nose. She considered doing it herself.

"Not really." Summer answered. "Nothing serious."

"Hmmm…" Mrs. Keeler gave Sasha a meaningful look. Mr. Keeler continued to eat his dinner silently. Obviously he wasn't eager to participate in the matchmaking like his wife.

The rest of the evening passed by at a painfully slow pace. Then again, that could've just been Payson's bias. By the time it ended Payson felt like she had aged three years at least. Ally was slumped over in her seat, half asleep. Mrs. Keeler insisted that Sasha take Summer out for a cup of coffee afterwards while she and Payson washed the dishes - she wouldn't hear of anything else. Payson watched them leave with a stoic expression.

What a week…

Sasha Belov arrived at the gym early on Saturday, ready for a much needed training session with his girls. Usually he slept in a bit on Saturday morning to recover from the week, but for some reason his natural alarm clock prevented him from doing so that day. Maybe it was the early night he'd had last night. He hadn't lasted one hour past dinner with Summer on their coffee date. It was like the couple had a three-hour expiration date; when the time was up, the conversation just turned sour. He didn't blame Mrs. Keeler for what she did. In fact, it was more amusing than anything else. Payson looked almost flustered during dinner last night - then again he could've been imagining it.

Just as he parked his car and got out he saw a familiar figure run by on the nearby sidewalk with a bouncing blond ponytail. Payson saw him too, waved, but didn't stop. This time Sasha decided to take matters into his own hands. He jogged after her. Payson gave him a surprised sideways glance when he caught up and began running beside her.

"S-Sasha," she said breathing hard. Clearly, she had been running for a while. "What are you doing up so early."

"Couldn't sleep." he said. "You?"

"I'm running." she pointed out the obvious.

"Right. This is nice."

After a few blocks Payson wondered what he was still doing next to her. "Sasha, weren't you about to go into the Rock?"

"That can wait." Frankly, he just wanted an excuse to be near her. Technically Payson had been running away from him all week. At least now he had a legitimate excuse to follow her.

Suddenly Payson made a face and slowed her pace to a limp.

"What's wrong?" Sasha asked, going into coach mode.

"Hamstring's tight."

Without asking her permission, Sasha grabbed her and carried her over to a nearby grassy patch and laid her down.

"I'm fine." she protested.

"Sure..."

"All I need to do is stretch it out." Payson tried to bend over it, but groaned in pain.

"Well, that's not going to work." Sasha said, sitting in front of her know. "Come on, lay down."

"Uh..." Payson wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"Just do it, Keeler."

She shut up and sat back on her elbows, letting Sasha push her leg back slowly towards her head. She grimaced, but felt her hamstring slowly stretch out. It was a good kind of pain. Sasha was leaning his body against her leg, using his weight to loosen her muscle. That position in combination with their close faces and Payson's hard breathing was, well, interesting. After a few seconds of this, Payson decided that conversation might cut the tension.

"How was your date with Summer last night?"

"If you call a pleasant family dinner followed by an awkward conversation over coffee a date...then yes, it went fine."

"Oh."

Sasha smiled and pushed a little harder. Payson groaned as her leg went back further.

"You're cute when you're jealous." he commented.

She raised her eyebrow. "Who said I was jealous?"

Sasha pushed her leg back one more time and let go. "Payson, can we stop playing this game?" he asked abruptly. "I just can't keep up."

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"Yes you do."

Payson bit her lip. Sasha was right. Denial was making it all worse. If one week could do this to them, she didn't even want to know what her mental state would've been like after a month of the silent treatment.

"Is it really the professionalism of it all?" Sasha prodded. "Do you really care that much about what the parents and National Committee think?"

Payson shook her head. Sasha could tell by the look her eye that she was being honest this time. "It's not that..." she admitted with difficulty.

"Then what?"

Payson gazed into his eyes and felt her defenses crumble.

"I'm…scared."

Sasha raised his eyebrows and sat back in surprise. He hadn't expected that answer. Frankly, he didn't understand it.

"This," she motioned between them when she saw his expression. "This is a big deal for me, Sasha. The men in my life tend to leave me, if I remember correctly."

"I came back."

Payson gave him that. Still, her past experiences – her father's general (but justified) absence, Marty abandoning her, her first love's abrupt move, and then Austin – mounted within her and formed a wall a long time ago. She hadn't attempted to climb it since then.

"Remember the China invitational?" she asked suddenly, trying to make him understand.

"Yes..." Sasha said. "But what does that have to do with -?"

"Just listen." Payson said, touching his arm. "I had just recovered and my back was healed, but I couldn't get that feeling of brokenness out of my head. Every time I even looked at the bars I felt myself crumple on the ground. Doing that routine was big step for me, even thought I loved gymnastics."

"I know, that's why -"

"A leap of faith like that isn't easy, Sasha and the fact of the matter is...that injury wasn't the only thing that's broken me in my life."

She twisted her hands around on her lap nervously. Sasha took them in his, finally understanding what all of her dodging and denial had been about. He hadn't stopped to realize what exactly he'd been asking of Payson Keeler - a girl who had no doubt been emotionally broken time and time again.

"I'm not ready for this yet, Sasha." she said, squeezing his hand. "but when I am, all you'll have to do is ask me and I'll take the leap for you – just like I did at the invitational."

She kissed him on the cheek and got up, offering her hand to help him up. He took it with a sheepish smile. They started walking back to the Rock together, arm in arm. Sasha felt pretty lucky that morning. Payson's truthful answer was enough to put a spring in his step.

"Payson, are you sure you don't want me to do the other leg?" he asked after a few minutes.

She smirked. "Oh you'd like that wouldn't you?"

The week hadn't turned out so badly after all, Payson thought when she returned home that day. She and Sasha had reached an understanding, Nina and Jessica were progressing well, and Ally was already getting over Friday's incident.

She opened he door to her apartment, mentally noting all the things she had to clean as she walked through the living room and into the kitchen. She started boiling water for some tea and took chicken out of the freezer to defrost for dinner. She was so preoccupied with the routine of her evening that it took her almost twenty minutes to notice that the red light on her phone was blinking.

She pressed the correct sequence of buttons and and listened on speaker phone as she started chopping up carrots.

"Payson...it's Austin." the voice said. "Call me as soon as you can. Something is about to happen and you need to be ready..."