“So I take it you’re not up for another round of Payden’s apartment?” I asked after I had been there for a few hours, cheering her up.

“I would be, but I’m going to the hospital. I can’t leave his side until he’s awake,” she said, and I knew she was scared, regardless of what the doctor told her.

“Completely understandable,” I nodded, “I’m sure he’ll end up being fine,” I tried to reassure her, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good.

“I hope so. So why are you going back to your apartment? If you’re looking for Jimmy, I don’t think that’s a really good idea,” she said in a motherly tone.

“Brian asked me to move in, so I’m going to go get some stuff, and then I need to go get money from my parents,” I told her, standing up.

“Wait,” she stood up after me, “You’re actually going to give Jimmy the money he wants?”

“I can’t just not, Saleigh. He didn’t only threaten to kill me, he threatened to kill all of you, as well. I can’t let that happen. I’m just going to tell them I need a new car,” I said, and started exiting her room.

“Well, can’t you wait for Brian to take you to your apartment,” she asked, following me. It was obvious that she didn’t want me to go alone, “you’ll be helpless. He could blind sight you. He could kill you,” she said, standing in front of me.

“I don’t want to tell Brian about any of this just yet, okay,” I told her, then stepped around her, making my way to her front door.

“Payden…I-I can’t do this anymore. I’ve already gotten hurt, so I want out. I suggest you leave it alone, too,” she said.

“I’m too far in, I can’t just leave it alone,” I said, and left her house, unsure of when I’d be going back. So I was going to be in this all alone. I can’t say I blamed her for not wanting to figure this out, that blow to her head probably scared the fuck out of her. It would scare the fuck out of me, too, but my friends’ lives were on the line. I walked back to the apartment I now shared with Brian to grab his car keys, and took his SUV to my old apartment. There were some things I did need to grab. I needed more clothes, personal items, and other stuff. Honestly, there wasn’t much stuff that I needed. I guess it really was just an excuse to go back, to see if Jimmy would be there, so I could try to talk to him. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up, I couldn’t.

I got out my apartment key right after I parked Brian’s vehicle, and ran up the stairs to unlock the huge bulky door. It was quiet and dark inside. The blinds were down and curtains pulled. There was dust on almost every surface in the house from lack of being cleaned. I didn’t even want to know about any bugs that were probably lurking around. I slowly walked back to the bedroom, grabbing a huge suitcase from the closet, folding the rest of my clothes and putting them neatly in the bag, along with all of my under garments and socks. I grabbed a few folded up boxes as well, with some duct tape. I opened the boxes, taping them so they were in their right form, and threw all of my shoes in one of the boxes, and folded the flaps on top. I grabbed the box, and walked down to the SUV, placing it in the back, and did the same with my suitcase, thinking of what else I might possibly need. I decided to get all of my art supplies and put them in a smaller box, so maybe if all of this passed, there would be something I could do. After gathering everything I needed, and putting all of it in boxes, and transferring it to the car, I tidied up a bit.

Maybe next time I came, I’d be able to see if somebody had been here if anything were moved. I did one last check on the apartment, and locked it up. I got on the freeway after that, taking the longer route to my parents’ house. All I could really hope for is that they would be home so I wouldn’t have to come back to the horrible place. I parked in the driveway of their not needed mansion, and turned off the vehicle. I didn’t knock before I entered the building.

“Mom, Dad,” I called out. The door was unlocked, and the house was lit up, telling me somebody was here at least.

“Darling?” I could hear my mom faintly, then the clatter of her heels as she ran to the foyer where I was, “Oh, darling, it’s so good to see you,” she put on a fake smile as she emerged from the hallway underneath a set of stairs.

“Yeah, good to see you, too,” I said, not planning on being here very long.

“Oh, I know that tone, you need something,” she said, one hand playfully on your hip, “What is it,” she asked.

“No need to make me sound like a beggar,” I said, already annoyed with being here.

“Sorry, darling, you know I didn’t mean it like that. Come sit down in the den, talk with your mother, and I’ll call your father in here,” she said, ushering me to the den I’ve only been in 2 times my whole life, “Edison, dear, will you go get Sebastian,” she asked the butler who was on standby. He nodded, and walked off, and my mother turned her attention back to me, “Come along, dear,” she said, and I followed her into the large room. We sat down on a long red couch, and she smiled.

“So,” I said awkwardly.

“So, where have you been, lately. We haven’t seen you in ages, literally. You never come to visit,” she said, forging a pout onto her face.

“I’ve been staying with Saleigh. I don’t like to live alone, and you know that,” I told her.

“There’s always here. This is your home, after all,” like hell it was.

“You and father aren’t ever home, so there’s no point in that, either,” I told her, my voice dry without the venom that wanted so badly to seep into my words.

“We haven’t been there for much of your childhood, I know. And we’re sorr-“

“Payden, hi,” my dad came in, fixing the tie around his neck, “what a pleasant surprise.”

“Hi, dad,” I said, bluntly.

“We haven’t heard from you in a while. A call or two would be nice,” he said, as he sat down my mother. Dear god, why couldn’t you have given me two better people to have spawned me?

“Sorry,” I said, shortly, wanting to get on to the point.

“So what is it you needed,” my mother asked me.

“So as you know, I got in that horrible car accident that totaled my car, blah, blah, blah, and I need money for a new one,” I said.

“Well, sure,” my dad said, “Would a hundred grand cover it?” I was starting to think that maybe having two rich parents wasn’t the worst possible thing in the world.

“I-I think that would be enough,” I said, adopting a daddy’s-little-girl tone. Now to get the check and rush out of here.

“Alright, let me go get my checkbook,” he said, getting himself up, and walking out to his office, where his checkbook and other valuable things were.

“Thanks,” I said as he walked out.

“You know you can always come here if you need something, Payden, dear,” My mother said as she turned to me.

“I know…that’s kind of why I’m here. I’m tired of using Brian’s car,” I said, and she nodded.

“I was wondering why you were in his car. If you’re staying with Saleigh, why not use her car?” she asked, and I shrugged.

“She has a stick shift, I don’t know how to drive stick,” I reminded her, and she nodded.

“I could always teach you,” she offered, and I shook my heard quickly.

“Don’t you think it’s a little bit too late for that, mom?” I asked, faking a laugh after the sentence.

“You’re right,” She pursed her lips, and my dad came in with check in hand.

“Here you go,” he handed it to me, “so would you like to stay for dinner?” he asked, seeming hopeful.

“Dad, Mom, as much as I would honestly [i]love[/i] to stay for dinner, I do have dinner plans. I just thought I’d stop by and ask now since I was already on the freeway,” I lied to them. They were so gullible, it wasn’t even funny, so I’ve never had any trouble lying to them.

“Oh, alright,” my mom said, “Then you’d probably want to leave soon. It was nice seeing you,” she said, though she called me just about as much as I called them, which was not at all.

“You as well,” I lied, standing up.

“Love you, darling,” my dad brought me into a hug.

“Love you, too,” I said, just wanting to roll my eyes. My mom didn’t hug me before I walked out of the room, and then out of the house. I hopped into the SUV and backed out of the driveway, and finally left the neighborhood, hopefully for as long as I was able too. Now, after getting another car, I’d have to find a way to get in touch with Jimmy so I could give him the money and ask him to back off. I drove back to Brian’s house, making sure to grab my check on the way out of the car, and locked it behind me, running back into the apartment. I stuffed the check in my pocket, and put all of the keys back on the key-hook.

“Glad your back,” I heard Brian in the kitchen, so I walked into the archway, finding him eating the leftover pizza from last night, “what did Saleigh need?”

“Zacky was in a car accident, has some head damage, a few cuts and burns, a few broken ribs, and is in a coma,” I told him, and his face distorted into utter horror.

“Do they know if he’s going to be okay,” he asked, immediately putting the pizza down.

“She said that the doctor assured her that he would be okay and should wake up soon,” I assured him, and the horror drained out of his face, “and Saleigh’s pregnant,” I added on quickly after that.

“WHAT,” he asked, and looked like he wanted to cheer, “that devil dog, Zacky is,” Brian smiled widely.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving him off.

“Oh, come here, you,” Brian said, wrapping his arms around me, “did I ever tell you how much I love you,” he said.

“Yes,” I said into his chest, not really being able to breathe.

“Did I really,” he asked, letting me go, staring at me in confusion.

“You just told me how much you hate me by how you were trying to suffocate me just now,” I said, trying to get more air back into my lungs.

“Oh, I’m sorry, love,” he said, frowning.

“It’s okay, just remember, I have these things called lungs, and it just so happens that they need air or I die,” I said, my hand on my chest, and I heard him chuckle.

“I can’t contain myself when I’m around you,” he smiled weakly, and I leaned into his chest.

“My parents gave me money for a car, so we need to go to the dealer tomorrow,” I told him, and he brought his hand up to rub soft circles on my back.

“Alright,” he said gently, “what about your apartment?”

“Oh, I went there today. I’ve got a few boxes, and my suitcase,” I told him, and he smiled against my forehead before he kissed it.

“Great, now you don’t have to leave me.”

©Shannon.

Notes

Awuh, Brian's so cute when he's shweet <3

xoxo, Shannon.