AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t have the heart to wake Cayden. It was the first time since knowing him that he truly looked at peace.
My sore muscles protested as I scampered around his bedroom, attempting to find my clothes. My underwear sat in a ruined heap on the floor, so with no other choice, I decided to go home and change. I snuck out of his house with every intention of returning after a hot shower and some coffee.
The water feels wonderful against my heightened flesh, sparking memories of what I just did. I suppress a whimper. I don’t know what happens now. Cayden may have told me the truth, but I know there is still so much more to explore.
With that thought in mind, I decide to dry off and wake Cayden with a kiss. I may have loved Snow White, but I don’t need Prince Charming to save me anymore. I saved myself. Processing over everything Cayden shared, it’s still hard to believe all that happened. But I don’t doubt Cayden’s retelling of events.
It pains me to know our relationship was so strained, and I can’t help but wonder what exactly led to us hurting one another in the ways that we did. Cayden said the night of my accident, I came here, revealing I was pregnant. The thought is still too painful to fully comprehend. But why did I lie when I clearly knew the baby was his?
He said we fought and words were spoken? But what was so bad that I left here, resulting in me almost ending two lives? How I wish things were different. I rub over my stomach, a sadness overtaking me. However, I’m quick to dispel those thoughts. I need to get to the bottom of it before I can grieve.
As I walk into my bedroom, the hair at the back of my neck stands on end. I spin around, certain someone is standing behind me, but I don’t find anyone. Tightening the towel around me, I disregard my frayed nerves as just my edginess from the past few weeks taking a toll.
Not wanting to be presumptuous but armed with the notion to better be safe than sorry, I hunt through my underwear drawer for the pair of black lace boy shorts I bought during my need for retail therapy. They are brand new, so I know they’re not in the wash, but I can’t seem to find them. Tossing aside the other pairs is to no avail because they’re nowhere to be found.
Weird.
Dropping the towel, I step into a red pair instead.
As I’m fastening the matching bra, a creak sounds softly behind me. If not for my heightened state of awareness, I would have missed it, but I’ve come to learn the creaks of this house like the back of my hand. It came from the loose floorboard in my living room.
A shiver passes through me.
“Hello?” I call out, thinking that maybe Cayden has come to find me. But my voice echoes back.
Flight or fight instinct takes over.
I rip a summer dress down from the hanger and throw it over my head. I don’t bother with makeup as I slip into a pair of flip-flops and race out of the room. However, a hallway has never looked more daunting as I peer down it, wondering how many steps there are to the front door.
I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not alone.
Adrenaline rushes through me as I stand rigid, eyes focused down the corridor. It’s peeking at dusk, so the shadows are settling over the horizon, wreaking havoc on my imagination. Blindly reaching for the light switch, I turn it on, hoping it’ll settle my nerves.
The blood whooshes through my ears, and everything falls silent as I’m suddenly hit with a memory that I know took place in front of these very walls. Blood, so much blood. A fight. Someone hitting their head. I cradle my forehead, a scream ripping from my throat, but then the unmissable feeling drags me under once more.
I’m sinking to the bottom of the lake. Watching the world getting smaller and smaller. I’m running out of breath. Clawing my way to the surface, I smell the ocean. The glow from the star on my ceiling flickers brightly. I see the red ribbon…
“Everything is always better after a thunderstorm…”
What the hell is going on?
Gasping for air, I stagger down the hallway, using the walls as my guide to lead me through the house and out the front door. I don’t bother locking it because the fresh air calms me somewhat, but when a malicious snarl vibrates around me, I almost trip over my feet as I run for dear life.
I tear down the road, only focused on the sanctuary of Cayden’s front door.
My heart is in my throat when I dash up his front steps and bang wildly on the woodgrain. Whoever is at my back, chasing me, they’re getting closer…and closer.
I bang harder, screaming, pleading with Cayden to let me in.
The moment the door opens, I throw myself into the safety of Cayden’s arms, hysterical. “Peyton? Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Shh, it’s okay.” He rubs my back while I sob a guttural cry. “Talk to me. What happened?”
He closes the door with one hand, ensuring the other is still wrapped tightly around me, and I take what feels like my first breath in minutes. “That’s it, just breathe. It’ll be all right. No one is going to hurt you.”
His comfort is endearing, but alarm bells sound loudly at his choice of words. I’ve pulled myself from far worse situations such as this, so I steady my ragged breathing and refuse to give light to the demons. “Why di-did you s-say that?” I ask, still nestled in his arms. He stills, which just makes this looming premonition worse.
Untangling myself, I don’t bother wiping away my tears because I have a feeling many more are yet to follow. “Cayden?”
He appears freshly showered, and when I see his truck keys secured tightly in his hand, I wonder where he was off to before I blew in here like a storm. “What happened?” he questions, refusing to answer me.
But I won’t back down that easily. “No, answer me. Why did you automatically think someone was going to hurt me?” My voice is still choppy, but I push past it, needing to get to the bottom of this.
When he sighs and runs his fingers through his damp hair, the wind gets knocked from my sails. “Peyton, I need to tell you something…”
Swallowing down my queasiness, I nod, indicating he has the floor. But his cheeks bellow as he blows out a deep breath. Whatever he’s about to reveal, he’s held on to for a very long time. It has the potential to change both our lives forever.
“Cayden…what did you…” I close my eyes for the briefest of moments, hoping to keep out the truth, but it’s no use. “What did I do?” He hisses, and any doubts I ever had have just been put to bed for good. “Ten years are unaccounted for. Why?”
I may not remember my past, but this moment in time, I’ll never be able to forget. “The reason is…” His sentence remains unfinished when Lacey enters the foyer, clutching a folder to her chest. From the browning of the paper, it’s been in storage for a while.
She doesn’t look her usual bubbly self. Quite frankly, she appears as if she’s seen a ghost. She glances back and forth between Cayden and me, blanketed by sheer confusion. “Maybe you could explain why Peyton’s mom bribed you with twenty thousand dollars to stay away from her.”
I blink once, unbelieving of what I’ve just heard. “What?” Cayden’s gig is up. He reaches out to console me, but I immediately recoil, jarring out my palm. “No, don’t you fucking touch me!” I don’t understand what’s going on. “Is that tr-true? Did my m-mother bribe you?” There must be some mistake.
