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This is why Paige came back to North Haven.
I PACE BACK AND forth in the driveway, looking like a downright psychopath, but I'm conflicted on whether or not this was a good idea. Is it weird? Will he even want to see me? I mean, I never told my parents about my relationship with Paige, if that's even what you want to call it, but that doesn't mean she didn't. What if he knows and wants to rip my head off for fooling around with his daughter?
Fuck.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
"Jace?"
My head whips toward the front door, where Mrs. McAllister is standing.
"What are you doing out here? Is everything okay?"
I nod and rub the back of my neck to relieve some tension. "I was, uh, thinking about coming to see Mr. McAllister." It sounds stupid the second it comes out of my mouth. "Now that I think about it though, he needs his rest. It's fine. Just forget you saw me."
The corners of her mouth raise, and she holds the door open wider. "He's actually wide awake. Come in. I'm sure he'd love to see you again."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother."
Shit, I don't even know why I'm here, to be honest. All I do know is that I have enough regrets. I don't want not seeing Paige's dad before he dies to be another.
"Don't be silly." She waves me in. "You couldn't be a bother if you tried."
With one last glance for Paige's car, I reassure myself that the coast is clear and head inside.
The mansion is just as huge as I remember it being, and that's saying a lot coming from the kid who has spent his whole life around big houses. Though none of them were ever this big. The two staircases on either side of the foyer never made sense to me. I mean, why do you need two staircases that end up at the same place?
I follow Mrs. McAllister up the stairs and into the master bedroom, immediately trying to rid myself of the memory of the last time I was in here, with her daughter.
Not the fucking time, Jace.
As soon as my eyes land on Mr. McAllister, the air is sucked straight from my lungs. He doesn't look anything like the man I spent so much time with over the years. The Peyton I knew was a broad-shouldered, muscular man. He always told me that being powerful also meant looking powerful. Apparently, when he was an up-and-coming business man, he was leaving a meeting late one night and got mugged. From that point on, he made it a point to be strong enough to make someone think twice about it.
The guy laying in front of me, though—he looks just as sick as he must feel. His usual olive skin has turned ghostly pale, and his eyes look too big for his face. However, the minute he sees me, he lights up.
"If it isn't little Jacey London," he greets me and struggles to sit up in bed. "How've you been, boy?"
My brows raise, and I smirk. "Better than you by the looks of it."
A bark of laughter bubbles out of him before I can rethink my words. "Man, it's good to see you. Come have a seat." While I go to sit down, he turns his attention to his wife. "Sadie, go get us a couple beers, would you?"
She chuckles. "You can't have beer on your meds, love, but I'll get you some iced tea."
He mocks offense and looks over at me. "She never lets me have any of the good stuff."
As the two of us talk, bullshitting about irrelevant things like sports and his college fraternity days, I realize how much I've missed being around him. He was like a second father to me when I was younger, but once I started getting older, I was always too busy to spend time with him. Now, I'm really wishing I had kep
t coming around.
AFTER A LITTLE WHILE, we move down to the living room to watch some replays of my old football games. It's a bittersweet feeling, seeing how young and carefree I was. I'd give everything in the world to go back to that. When my biggest worry was if I scored a touchdown, or if my parents were going to be home for Christmas.
The door opens behind us and a familiar voice echoes through the house. "I'm home."
My heart feels like it stops as dread takes over, but Peyton reacts the same way he always has with her. His smile widens and he looks toward the sound.
"There's my girl."
"You're out of bed," she says happily, but when I turn around, the grin drops right off her face.
