Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“That shit last night could have been worse, and losing it a minute ago didn’t do a damn thing to help either.” Brady releases me. “I mean, come on, man. You want Alister fucking Howl to take your seat?”
My lip curls, and Brady nods.
“Exactly.” He swallows, and I know guilt when I see it, but he pushes past his hesitation, because that’s what friends do, and adds, “Payton is strong. Stronger than me, that’s for damn sure, and not only that, but she’s surrounded by people who care about her. Anything she needs, she can ask any one of them, and they’ll be there. Shit, we all will, no questions asked, but…” He pauses. “But she has a future to figure out, and you’re already heading toward yours.”
My throat clogs, my mouth running dry. I can’t swallow past it.
What he’s saying, it’s all true. Payton does have an endless support system, and she doesn’t have a clue where life will take her from here. She’s just trying to make it one day at a time.
My time already started, my future just over the hill, waiting for me to climb to the top and grab hold.
He’s saying I should let her live her life and figure out what she wants along the way.
It would be fair.
It’s in part what I’ve been doing, albeit reluctantly.
But what Brady doesn’t know, and if he did he would never say what he just said, is that my future did start.
It started last year when I first met the blond-haired, blue-eyed girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. I knew the minute she showed up in Oceanside that I wanted to know her. There was an instant need to protect her, and at first, I thought it was because she was Parker’s sister, therefore she was family, and family looks out for each other.
However, little by little, things shifted. I was a controlling asshole when it came to protecting my sister, but I was a feral fucker when it came to Payton.
I didn’t just want to make sure she was okay, I needed to, and just like that, the mountain I’ve been climbing widened its peak. It stretched, creating more space, so I could be standing there at the top with my hands outstretched, waiting to take hers once she reached it.
And we were on our way, moving at a steady incline, side by side.
But now?
Now she feels farther away than before. It’s as if halfway up, her path split, taking her in the opposite direction.
I would give anything to lead her back.
The reality of the situation is this.
I had a dream, but that dream has changed.
It’s not about me and what I want anymore.
Or maybe it is.
I don’t want a ticket to the top anymore.
I want three.
Payton
I hug the girls, smiling as Cameron, Ari, and Paige all take turns peppering Deaton with kisses and promises of seeming him again soon. Cameron jogs around the car, and I look to Paige when she speaks.
“Lunch when I come back to check on the studio in a few days?” she asks, closing the car door and leaning against the open window.
“Can’t wait.”
She smiles, dropping back in the seat and glancing down at her phone.
Ari steps up next, hugging me. “Love you, girlie. Remember, you can call me if you want to talk.”
I swallow, forcing a smile as she pulls away. “Let us know you made it back safe?”
She eyes me a moment, then nods, a smile breaking across her lips. “Okay. Off we go.”
I give one last wave, turning away as they say bye to Kenra. I head straight to my room, plopping on the bed and settling Deaton down beside me.
“Can we sleep for a week now, mister?” I tickle him, laughing when he drops his face into the pillow and wiggles his little body.
The light knock against the frame has me looking up to find Cameron standing there.
“Hey.” A small frown pulls at my brows.
“Hey.” Slowly, she steps into the room, but it’s when she glances over her shoulder briefly that a knot forms in my stomach. “Look, you know we love you guys, but we love Mason, too.”
Anxiety builds, my throat growing tight at the implication. “Cam…” I start to lie, but she shakes her head.
“What the hell happened, Payton? He was on top of the world when we went back for our spring semester, and then summer hit, and suddenly he was different, so…what happened? And don’t say you don’t know or it’s not about you. It is. I saw it back in November before Deaton was even born, and I see it now. Something happened between you two when he came home with his injury, didn’t it?”
Tears build in my eyes, and hers blow wide open.
“I knew it!” She frowns. “He’s in love with you, isn’t he?”