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Xander
Peyton lookedat home curled up on my small couch, tucking into her lo mein. I’d thought it would be awkward, bringing her here, letting her see where I lived. In fact, the second I opened the door and let her inside, I thought it was a huge fucking mistake. But in true Peyton fashion, she’d taken one look around my small apartment, declared her love for it, kicked off her shoes and gotten comfy on my couch.
I stood in my small kitchenette watching her. I’d never met anyone like her. Before the accident, I would have said she was just like every other seventeen-year-old kid, but Peyton had layers. Layers she didn’t show the world. And I knew if I peeled them back, one by one, I’d find a girl beyond her years, but with a vulnerability she didn’t often let people see.
She’d had it tough; I’d gleaned that much from Jase and Ashleigh. Peyton had filled in some of the gaps, but I still didn’t know her whole story. And for the first time in my life, I wanted to.
I wanted to know her.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to. It was wrong, on so many levels. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Peyton pulled me in, she made me smile. She made me laugh, and that hadn’t happened in a really long time.
“I know you’re watching me.” She glanced over at me and smiled. “Come, eat. I’ll never manage all of this.”
I’d ordered from my favorite takeout and watched Peyton eat her body weight in lo mein and sesame chicken.
“It’s good, huh?” I said, joining her on the couch.
“So good.” She licked her lips and I imagined kissing her, again.
I couldn’t think about anything else, and she knew it. It lingered in the air around us. Taunting me. Tempting me. But if we crossed that line there would be no going back, and it wasn’t only my life I stood to ruin.
“Open,” she ordered, shuffling closer to me. With impressive skill, Peyton scooped up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks and lifted it to my mouth.
Her eyes lit up, watching as I savored the aromatic flavors. “I don’t think anyone’s ever fed me sesame chicken before,” I said.
“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Her cheeks pinked as she helped herself to some more noodles. “So a little birdie told me you’re coming to the Ford’s house for Christmas dinner?”
“I said I’d drop by.”
“Don’t sound too excited.”
“I’m not a fan of the holidays.” I shrugged.
Peyton put the nearly empty container on the table and tucked her legs back under her body. “Why does that not surprise me.”
“When I was younger my brother and Hailee always tried to make a big deal, but I preferred when it was just the three of us.”
“What was it like growing up with them?”
“I idolized Cameron back then. All I ever wanted was to live with him and Hailee. I remember him being away at college and I hated it. I was in second grade and it just felt… wrong being apart from him. It wasn’t a good time for me.”
“And now?”
“Now what?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“We grew up.” I let out a long breath. “I grew up, and I don’t know… things changed.”
“I always liked the holidays. It was the one time of year my mom usually managed to pull herself together.” Her hands twisted in her lap and I could sense her discomfort.
“You don’t have to tell me…”
“No, I want to. It’s just… it’s not easy remembering how bad things were.”
“It was always just you and your mom?”
Peyton nodded. “I don’t ever remember my dad being around. She told me he lived across the river in Halston. He never bothered to show up and I never bothered to look him up. We lived out on the trailer park until I was eleven, then we moved to the other side of town. I was so excited to finally live in a real house. But I quickly realized we’d only traded one nightmare for another.
