Page 7 of One Last Time

Tate and Julia appear in the doorway. Tate glances between Caston and I, the guilt in his eyes tells me everything I need to know, he fucked up, and he knows it. “I’ve got to go,” he tells us and no doubt he’s going to find Kayley before Julia opens her mouth.

“Same,” Caston says, shooting daggers at Julia. “You good here?”

I nod, “Yep, going to finish my coffee and then make a call.”

Tate and Caston leave, and I’m not surprised that Julia hasn’t. I ignore her and finish my coffee, and check my phone, still no response, I’m really starting to get worried.

“So…” she begins as she steps closer to me, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “You’re the quiet one.”

“What do you want, Julia?” I don’t have the time nor the patience to fucking deal with her today.

She moves closer to me, and I take a step back, my ass hitting the counter. “You; you’re the unattainable one.”

“Ain’t ever gonna happen,” I tell her as I put my coffee mug down on the counter. “Best learn that real quick.”

She laughs, “Oh, Silas, you and that little hick aren’t going to last forever.” Her fingers run up my chest toward my shoulders. Her body close against mine, and I grit my teeth, it’s been a fucking long time since I’ve had anyone this close to me of the opposite sex. “You know as well as I do, your girl isn’t here, she’s never going to know.” Her fingers tangle into my hair, and her lips are at my neck.

My hands go to her hips, my grip tight, and I don’t care. “Even if Payton and I don’t last, I will never go anywhere fucking near you,” I whisper to her, my voice full of venom. She tenses beneath my touch. “You step foot back into this house, we’re going to have problems,” I tell her as I push her away from me.

She stamps her foot like a petulant fucking child. “You’ll regret this.”

I chuckle, “No, I won’t. Why the hell would I want someone else’s leftovers?”

She glares at me before spinning on her heel and storming out of the house. Hopefully that’s the last time I have to see her ass here.

It’s been ten hours, and I’ve not had a reply from Payton, I’m seriously starting to worry. Every time I call her phone, it goes directly to her voicemail. I’m lying on my bed, everyone else has gone out, I thought this would have been the perfect time to call her. The guys aren’t due back for hours.

My cell rings, and I see my sister's name on the screen. “Hey, so, how did it go?” she asks as soon as I answer the phone. I frown, what is she talking about? “I don’t want to hear about the hot sex you guys had, but were you surprised?”

“Eloise, what the hell are you talking about?”

She’s quiet for a moment, and dread fills my stomach, “Payton was coming to see you today. Her aunt had kept it a surprise, and Payton wanted to surprise you.”

“She’s not here.” Why the fuck didn’t she come? “She hasn’t responded to any of my texts or calls.”

“I don’t understand…” she says softly. “She was so excited to come.”

I don’t either. Fuck. Nine months apart is killing me.

“Did something happen?” she asks, and dread fills my stomach. “Let me text her and see.” I wait anxiously as she sends a message. It seems like hours, when it’s actually only minutes. “Her aunt responded. She said that she’s fine, but she’s really upset, she’s spent most of the day in bed crying.”

Shit, I should have realized, it's her first birthday without her parents. I should have gone to Portland for the weekend, should have been there with her. “Damn it,” I mutter, kicking myself for not thinking about how hard today would have been for her.

“Si, just let her sleep tonight, call her tomorrow and talk.”

I sigh, she’s right. I should, but if she’s hurting, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I want to do something about it. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I tell her and end the call.

Why didn’t Payton answer me when I called? I could have helped her through this. I feel her slipping through my fingers, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. I just hope that when it’s time, she’ll remember all that we promised.

Two days later, when I call her, I discover that she’s changed her cell number.

CHAPTER 4

Payton

FOUR MONTHS LATER

“I’m going to miss you,” Dahlia says, her eyes brimming with tears.