The Wild Ride

Brian and Michelle were at home enjoying a quiet evening in front of the tv when their doorbell rang. “Who the hell is that?” Brian asked, looking down at his wife who simply shrugged. When it rang again, Brian got up to see who was on the other side. When he opened the door, he wasn’t expecting Zack to be standing there with tears rolling down his cheeks, “Brian, I fucked up.” He said sadly. “What the hell, Zack? Are you drunk?” Brian asked, backing up a little so his friend could come inside. “Maybe a little bit, but I fucked up man. I really seriously fucked up.” His best friend replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Zack, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at dinner with Peyton?” Michelle asked confused. “She left me.” Zack replied quietly, looking down at the floor. Brian’s head whipped around in Zack’s direction as he glared at his friend, “What did you do, Zack?” He asked through clenched teeth. Michelle walked closer to her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Babe.” She said softly. Brian nodded and wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist before speaking again, “What happened man?” “We were getting ready to go out and Bridget texted me. I swear to god I haven’t talked to her since that night we saw her at my bachelor party, Bri.” Zack explained, “Peyton told me that if I went out tonight she and Linc wouldn’t be there when I got home. Then she said she refused to be Gena. She took Linc and went up to the lake house for the weekend, she said I needed to figure out what I wanted. I wasn’t there for her. She needed me and I wasn’t there. I can’t live without her.” He sobbed, placing his hands over his face. Michelle looked up at her husband sadly before walking over to Zack and putting her arms around him. “Then you have to tell her that, Zack. She loves you more than anything else on the planet. You and Lincoln are her life. She’s been a wreck since she lost the baby and all she’s wanted is her husband. You’ve got to get her back and make things right.” She said softly, rubbing his back. “Chell is right. She needs you, Zee. You need to go after her.” Brian said. “And what do I say? Sorry I’m a selfish dick?” Zack slurred. “Well, you need to work on what to say, but for now you’re going upstairs to sleep this off. Let’s go, ZV.” Brian said, grabbing Zack’s arm and leading him toward one of the guest bedrooms in his home. “Get some sleep, and when you wake up in the morning you’re going to pull yourself together and go get your wife back.” Brian said before turning off the light and shutting the door, leaving Zack to sleep off the bottle of Jack Daniels he drank.

By Saturday afternoon, Peyton was miserable. She missed Zack so much she couldn’t stand it. She was sitting in the sand with Lincoln, watching him fill up a bucket when she heard a voice behind her, “I didn’t think you were the type of person who ran from their problems.” Peyton sighed heavily and turned toward Brian, who was standing on the sand with his arms across his chest. “How’d you know I was here?” She asked quietly. “Your husband is asleep in my guest room, after he drank probably an entire bottle of Jack and cried in my foyer.” Brian replied sarcastically before sitting down beside his sister. “Want to tell me what’s going on with you?” Peyton felt her eyes fill with tears and laid her head on Brian’s shoulder, “I can’t be the woman who waits for her husband to come home from a bar every night, Brian. I can’t do that to myself.” “Zack is hurting too, Peyton.” “You don’t think I know that?” Peyton snapped, looking in her brother’s eyes. “You don’t think I notice the way he looks at me with so much sadness in his eyes that it physically hurts me? Or how he touches me like he’s afraid I’m going to break? He can’t even talk to me anymore, Bri. And I’m just supposed to be okay with that? I’m supposed to just be okay with crying myself to sleep every night, wishing my husband was there to hold me?” She said, voice breaking. “I know I haven’t been the greatest wife in the last month. But I didn’t turn to alcohol to forget about my problems. We’re falling apart, and I feel so helpless.” “Peyton, you need to talk to Zack. Turn your fucking phone back on and get your ass back to Huntington. He’s a fucking mess, Pey. He needs you.” Brian said before giving his nephew a kiss on top of his head and standing up. “Where are you going?” She asked softly. “I’m going home, which is where you should go too.” Brian said angrily before walking away, leaving Peyton sitting in the sand with a million things running through her mind.

Peyton had just gotten Lincoln down for a late nap when a thunderstorm rolled in, and she was packing up the rest of their belongings to head back home when there was a knock on the door. Brian had been gone for a few hours, so she knew it wasn’t him. When she got downstairs she was surprised to see her husband on the other side of the door, standing in the pouring rain looking as broken as she had ever seen him. “I want you, Peyton.” He said over the rain and thunder. “I want you and Lincoln and Franklin and our big ass house and Saturday morning cartoons. I want to sit on the porch and watch our son play in the yard. I want to grow old with you, to hold your hand when I’m eighty fucking years old and can’t see my own dick. I want to slow dance with you and only you in the kitchen when our kids go to bed and you’ve had a little too much wine. I want you, Peyton. You are the one thing in my life that I’ve done right, and I never want to let you go.” Without another word, Peyton launched herself at her husband, pulling his face toward hers and kissing him hungrily. Both of them were soaked from the rain, but neither one cared as he walked her backward into the house and closed the door behind them, pulling off whatever articles of clothing they could grasp. Without breaking their kiss, Zack grabbed the back of Peyton’s knees and lifted her up, carrying her upstairs to the bedroom.

A while later, as they were lying in the bed catching their breath, a tear slipped down Peyton’s cheek and landed on Zack’s chest. “Peyton, don’t cry.” Zack said softly, kissing the top of her head. “I’m so sorry, Zack. I’ve been horrible lately and I’m so sorry.” His wife said sadly. “I never once considered how you were feeling because I was drowning in my own grief.” “Hey, listen to me. It’s okay. We are going to be okay, baby. I promise I will never shut you out again. And whenever you’re ready, we can try again. If you don’t want to, then that’s fine too.” Zack said, leaning up so he could look his wife in the eyes. “As long as I have you and Lincoln I have everything I need.” Peyton smiled at her husband before leaning up to kiss his lips softly. “I love you, Zee. I’m sorry I’ve been such a crazy person lately.” “Don’t sweat it, babe. I fell in love with your crazy ass years ago.” He joked, earning himself a smack on his chest. “How about we have a redo on that date night? Tonight we’ll order pizza and hang out with our favorite two year old, then tomorrow we take Linc over to visit auntie Chell and uncle Brian and you wear that amazing black dress you have and I take you somewhere special?” Zack offered, running a hand down his wife’s back. Peyton smiled and propped herself up on her elbows, “You’ve got yourself a date, mister Baker.” Peyton and Zack laid together for a little while longer, until their son woke from his nap. After the initial excitement of seeing his father wore off, Lincoln spent the evening playing with his toys while his parents sat in the floor with him, enjoying eachother’s company before they all went to sleep in the same bed, Lincoln snuggled up to his mother’s chest with Zack behind Peyton, his arm draped over his wife and son. Before drifting off to sleep, Peyton sighed contentedly, finally feeling like everything was going to be okay, eventually.

Notes