Page 23 of The Destruction You Desire
"Libby's pregnancy was awful," I confess. "You know what she was like. She was wild, always doing the opposite of what anyone said. Add some hormones into that mix and it was just horrendous. She wanted to be back in Rosewood. She was naïve enough to think that Brett would want to see her, would want to know about the baby. I have no idea if she ever managed to slip out of Mom's grip and get back to see him. As far as I'm aware, they had no contact since the moment we left, but this is Libby we're talking about."
Some kind of snort comes from the back of his throat telling me that he remembers all too well.
"Anyway, she had a little boy."
He gasps as if hearing that really makes it true.
"Kayden." He scrubs his hand down his face, his eyes closed for the longest time. "He's the most perfect thing, Lee. He was the best baby. Which was a good thing really seeing as Libby bailed a few months after he was born."
"She what?" he barks.
I shrug. "She was a mess. Her mental health was bad, really bad. She was already drinking and smoking weed then one day I found her with a line of coke. Two weeks after that, she was gone. No note, no goodbye, no anything. She just disappeared leaving me and Mom with Kayden."
"Jesus, Peyton."
"Where is she now?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I don't even know if she's aware Mom died," I admit with a heavy heart. "I tried to find her. I did everything I could but… nothing. I don't even know if she's still alive. I can only assume she is."
"I'm so fucking sorry, Peyton."
"It is what it is. Too late to change any of it now.
"Mom brought Kayden up as if he was hers and between us, we just managed. When I was at school she'd look after him and when I was home, she would work. We figured it out."
"Why did she run? My dad's worth… a lot. I don't even know. She could have taken him for a fortune."
"She could. But if she did that, if she put it through the courts then it would drag it all back up for Libby, it would put all of us in the spotlight. Her priority was us and making sure Kayden was okay."
"I get that. But what if—"
"He did it to other girls? I know, Lee. I've battled with this for years. Mom and I argued over it regularly. I understand her need to protect me, Libby, Kayden, you three even, your Mom. But I never totally understood how she could walk away knowing that it could happen again."
"I didn't think it was possible for me to hate him anymore," Leon mutters quietly.
"I'm sorry."
"I can't believe Luc didn't trust you."
"He didn't want to. I understand that. He didn't want to believe that your dad could do that. It was easier for him to call me a liar and to think it was all fake."
"Does he know it's true yet?"
Leon's immediate acceptance of my words, his trust in me, doesn't go unnoticed. It's exactly what I wished Luca did all those years ago.
"He invited himself to my birthday party yesterday and came face to face with Kayden."
"Fuuuck."
"Yeah. It was a disaster."
Silence settles between us, but while it's full of tension and anger, it's not uncomfortable.
"You want to meet him?" I ask eventually.
He turns to me, sheer panic written all over his face.
"You can say no. I just thought you might want to…" I trail off.
