Page 129 of The Destruction You Desire
"You think Brett did that to him?"
"Maybe not personally, but he'll have had a hand in it, no doubt."
"Jesus."
"Trust me, Peyton. We're all better off without him in our lives. All I can hope for is that whatever they've done, it doesn't come back to bite them later."
I nod.
"Get dressed," she says, hopping up as if that conversation didn't just happen. "I need to go to the store and the boys will be gone for a while. Keep me company?"
"Of course."
I finish my coffee and take it over to the sink before heading for the stairs, but I stop when Maddie says my name.
I look back over my shoulder at her, still sitting at the table.
"I'm so glad you're back. My boy has been miserable without you."
"Me too. I didn't realize just how much until I was with him again."
She smiles at me and I slip away, my heart feeling so full it might burst.
* * *
"Isn't the store in the other direction?" I ask when Maddie takes a turn I wasn't expecting. I know I haven’t lived here for six years but surely the store hasn’t moved.
"I just need to make a pit stop."
"Okay," I say, sitting back and getting comfortable.
She talks to me about the town and the things that have changed since I've been gone as well as admitting that she's been spending time with Chelsea's biological birth father.
We chat away like the years haven't passed and that we're not surrounded by more drama than most people experience in their lifetimes before she pulls up into a parking lot for the beach.
"Here?"
"Yeah." She kills the engine and turns to look at me. "I'm sorry, Peyton. This is a total setup."
"O-okaaay," I say skeptically.
Surely, she's not about to kill me and hide my body at the beach… right?
"You remember your place?" she asks, dragging me from my crazy thoughts.
"Of course." I can't help but smile as I think about mine and Luca's spot at the end of the beach where we used to hang out when we needed to get away from people. I thought it was a secret, but it seems that might have been wishful thinking.
"He's waiting for you. Out you go."
My chin drops but I don't say anything. The excitement that explodes in my belly takes over all my thoughts.
I'm out of the car before I even know I've moved and running toward the gap in the hedgerow.
"Have fun," Maddie calls after me, but I'm already gone and running down the track that leads to our place.
Our solace.
My steps falter the second I spot what he's done.
