Page 121 of The Destruction You Desire
"All of us?" he asks, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looks between his two brothers.
"Yeah. That okay with you, lil' man?" Lee asks.
"Yesss," he squeals.
"Okay, why don't you show us how good you are on those things then. Luc and Lee will help you into the car.”
He stares up at them both like they're the most incredible people he's ever seen in his life. It melts my heart.
I watch them for a few seconds before heading over to Aunt Fee. "You said the appointment went well but—"
"He didn't want me to tell you. Wanted to surprise you. He's gotta take it slow, just a couple hours a day, but he's so excited to be back on his feet."
"I can see."
"How is everything? Those two look… stressed."
"Yeah." I look back as they help Kayden. "This is a lot to process."
"They seem to have gotten revenge by the state of their fists."
"Yeah," I breathe. "Even if I wanted to tell you, Aunt Fee. I don't have any answers right now."
"I trust you, Peyton. And I trust both of them to protect you as well. But if you need anything, any of you, you talk to me, okay?"
"We will. We're heading to Rosewood for the weekend to talk to Maddie. Libby knows I'm not going to be around so—"
"I'll make sure she's fine. Go and enjoy your weekend, as much as you can, given the circumstances," she quickly adds.
"Thank you. I'd better go before they all starve to death," I joke when Leon joins Kayden in the back of the car while Luca heads for us.
"Luca," Aunt Fee says. "Thank you for looking after our girl here."
"Anytime. You ready?" he asks me.
"Sure. See you in a few hours."
"Enjoy yourselves."
Luca drives us to a diner that I've never been to before, but the second our food is delivered, I understand why he chose this place because the portions are huge.
All three of them clear their plates while I barely make a dent in mine.
"You three definitely are related," I deadpan, looking at their plates.
Kayden beams as he continues to look at both Luc and Lee like they can't possibly be real.
They chat away about football and all kinds of boy things, and I sit there with a smile on my face the whole time just seeing Kayden so happy.
He really needed this.
"You gonna come and see us play next season, bro?" Lee asks.
"Yes," he squeals before looking at me. "Can we, PeyPey?"
"Of course, baby boy," I say with a smile before shooting a concerned glance at Luca. I can see that he's still torn about what he wants to do now. Reaching over, I squeeze his thigh in support. I meant what I said, no matter what decision he comes to, I'll be right beside him.
Disappointment covers Kayden's face when we make a move to leave.
