Peyton's Path: Fighting Fate Book 2

by SM Olivier

  I only had twenty minutes before I was supposed to be at the studio. I had no time to wake up Crew, so I shrugged. The guys had an older truck that they told me I could use at any time, but that was before Claire went missing. I’d have to just drive myself, maybe find a group of girls to walk into the school with.

  I poured my coffee before going out to the garage and opening the roll-up door. After starting the truck, I decided to run back inside and leave a note for Crew, just in case he noticed the truck was missing.

  Grabbing a banana and a spoonful of peanut butter, I headed out the door. Once I got in the truck, I rolled down the windows and cranked up the music, hoping to bring myself out of the funk I was in.

  I didn’t want to lose Kyler yet. It might have been selfish, but I wanted all of them. I couldn’t imagine not having that flirtatious, hardworking, passionate man in my life. We hadn’t known each other for long, but I couldn’t imagine life without Kyler.

  The sun was breaking out of the clouds as I drove to town. Over the rolling hills and through the trees, I admired its beauty. Crew was right. I needed to enjoy the moments I had. I was lucky enough to be cherished by them all. If my time with Kyler was up, I would have to be thankful for the time I’d had with him. I would have to let him go, and if we were meant to be, we would find our way back to each other.

  I didn’t want to, and I wasn’t ready, but I needed to learn how to control my reactions to the things I was unable to change.

  ●

  “From the top, ladies,” Anya called with a frown.

  We were having one of our final dress rehearsals before our show in two days. I loved the military style costume that Anya and Star had picked out for us. The top was an army-green jacket that fit us like a second skin and displayed our midriffs. The skirts fell mid-thigh and were sheer, flowing around our legs in a camouflage pattern. Underneath, we wore army-green dance shorts with gold trim.

  We all took our spots, half of us taking one side of the room, while the rest of the girls took the opposite side. Star pushed play on the sound system, and Why by Rascal Flatts started to play from the speakers.

  The song was about losing someone to suicide. They never saw the warning signs of their loved one’s war with themselves. The stages of grief were evident in the song as the singer wonders if they could have said or done something to prevent the loss of their friend, reminiscing the times they had. The song struck a chord within me.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, centering myself. I glided onto the stage and started my solo.

  I was beyond honored and happy to have the lead for this song. Star lost her brother-in-law to a PTSD related suicide last year. Apparently, he was injured overseas and was medically discharged. He suffered when he lost a few of his brothers-in-arms, had lost a hand and had struggled to reacclimate to civilian life.

  He became depressed, and the drugs they prescribed him weren’t helping. One day he took too much. Star’s sister had been devastated. She was still reeling from the loss of the man she loved and was now raising two kids on her own. Star decided to choreograph a song to bring awareness to suicide and PTSD.

  The song and the dance hit way too close to home to me in so many ways. I didn’t think Kyler had ever sought treatment, but I knew he suffered from PTSD. There were too many nights he’d woken up screaming, sweating, and shaking. I knew he was no stranger to seeing things and doing things that would forever scar him mentally.

  My recent battle with fighting the darkness within made it all the more poignant for me as well. Maybe that was why I threw my heart and soul into this song.

  I could sit here and write a list of why my life was better than so many other people’s lives out there. I could dance. I was adored by some really great people. I had the mental capacity to do well in school. I had food. I had a roof over my head—well, kind of. I had a privileged life in so many ways. I should have been happy all the time.

  That was the funny thing about depression, though. It could have a way of sneaking up on you. The dark thoughts could consume your mind, or sometimes you just got tired of the emotional rollercoaster you were always on.

  I pushed my body, mindful of keeping my turns tight and that I hit all my cues. I was aware of the girls as they joined me. Out of my peripheral, I could see Bailey a half step behind on the music but chose not to let her affect my own movements.

  “One…two…three…FOUR! Bailey!” Star clapped in frustration. “Look at your team! You’re a half step behind everyone else.”

  “I’m−” Bailey snapped her mouth shut, knowing with Anya in the room she wouldn’t be able to mouth off. “Yes, ma’am,” she gritted between her teeth.

  We finished the number, and Anya crossed her arms over her chest. “Get changed, girls. Take a thirty-minute break. Bailey, stay here. We’re going to fix this before you leave today.”

  I walked over to my water bottle and grabbed it. I was somewhat stoked to have an extra thirty minutes to get ready for school. I would have to grab my phone and see if the guys had texted me any lunch requests.

  My breakfast of banana and peanut butter had already worn off. I had forgotten my snacks, and our morning break was only long enough to refill our water bottles.

  Anya and Star were more demanding and downright militant today. I knew they were worried about the competition in two days. Even I hadn’t been spared their wrath today when I added an additional step to one of the turns.

  I stopped short when I saw Kyler standing out in the lobby. He looked amazing− as always− wearing a pair of light-washed jeans, a white T-shirt, a backward ballcap, and a pair of well-worn work boots. His strong jaw was covered in stubble, and he was wearing dark sunglasses over his stormy grey eyes. He pushed his sunglasses up, and I could see he looked furious, and I had no clue why.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him without preamble.

  “Why did you drive yourself here?”

  I rarely saw Kyler angry, and it surprised me to realize the anger was directed at me. My surprise was soon turned to my own ire.

  “Hmm, let’s see.” I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t going to wake Crew up, and when I went to see if you were ready for work, you weren’t there.”

  “I spent the night over Lochlann’s house because I drank a little too much. You should have woken Crew up,” he said irritably.

  “Whatever,” I scoffed, heading towards the locker rooms.

  I needed to walk away before I allowed Jezebel to emerge.

  He grabbed my arm before I could get far. “Why are you angry at me?”

  “I’m not angry,” I refuted.

  “You are.” He seemed genuinely mystified. “I have a reason to be upset, but you don’t.”

  I noticed that some of the girls seemed entirely too interested in our conversation.

  “I have every reason to be upset at you,” I hissed quietly. “You were exchanging numbers with Ms. Houser right in front of me.”

  He started to laugh at me. He actually laughed!

  “You’re jealous,” he finally said, incredulously.

  I tried to hide the hurt on my face. He was laughing at my feelings.

  “Nope,” I said defensively as I popped my ‘p.’ I took a few angry steps forward before I turned back around, then strode back over to him. “If you want out of our…arrangement. Just say so. I shouldn’t have to witness you exchanging numbers with some hottie. I don’t need you laughing at my feelings, either.”

  I tried to hide the tears that burned the back of my eyes. I quickly turned around to get dressed, taking deep calming breaths as I walked back to the locker room and slipped into my school clothes. I put on a pair of skinny jeans and a white fitted tee with a V-neck. Then I slid on my white converses.

  “Are you okay?” Renee asked as she came into the room.

  I laughed self-mockingly. I felt…fragile. “As okay as I can be.”

  “Wanna talk?” she asked as she began to get undressed.

&
nbsp; I contemplated whether I should talk to her. I really wanted to talk to Madison, or even Lucas. I trusted Renee, and although I thought she was mature for her age, I doubted she’d had many boyfriends to give me relationship advice.

  “Thanks, maybe later.” I tried to force a grin. “Life is just… crazy hectic right now, and I need a pause button.”

  She nodded. “If you need to talk, I’m a good listener. I might be younger than you, but sometimes it helps just to talk to someone.”

  I smiled once more. “Thanks, Renee. I’ll keep that in mind. Is your dad working this weekend? Did you want Zane and I to pick you up?”

  It was her turn to frown. “Do you mind?”

  I shook my head. “Not at all,” I reassured her. “Just send me your addy.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled.

  I could tell she was hesitant to get dressed in front of me, so I turned to leave, after hanging up my costume and locking up my locker.

  “I’ll be waiting for you out there. I don’t think one of the guys will be here for a little while yet, though,” I told her before I grabbed my backpack.

  I stuttered to a stop when I saw Kyler still waiting out in the lobby.

  He pulled me in close. “I’m sorry, Kitten,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have laughed at your feelings, and I should have let you know last night that I was going out. I won’t lie to you. I think Ivy has an interest in me, but the only reason we were exchanging numbers was for business. She’s looking for a house, and one of the rehabs I’m doing should be done in a couple of weeks. I admit I suck at communicating sometimes, and I really didn’t think how it would look. My phone died, but I should have found a way to text you last night to see how you were doing. How are you doing?”

  I wanted to stay angry at him, but quite frankly, I really was tired. I knew in my gut, he wasn’t lying to me, and the exchange was innocuous. Sometimes you just had to pick your battles, and I didn’t think this battle was worth fighting.

  I embraced him back. “I’m tired,” I admitted quietly. “I’m scared. I just want to spend two days in bed, eat junk food, and watch mindless television. I want to be somewhere the outside world can’t touch me.”

  “How about…” he said, placing his lips on my temple. “You make no plans next weekend. I already checked, and you don’t have any competitions next week. I’m going to take you away for the weekend. Just you and me.”

  I looked up at him and was caught by his intense stare. “I would really like that,” I admitted to him as I melted into his embrace.

  “You know,” he murmured suggestively against my ear. “I think this was our first fight, and you know what should be done after a fight?”

  I grinned against his chest. “No, but I imagine you can tell me.” I was pretty sure I knew where this line of thought was going.

  “Well, if we didn’t have so many people watching us right now,” he informed me huskily. “I would find the nearest room to slip into, take those jeans off of you, and finish what we started the other night. Then I’d wrap those long legs around my waist and thrust into you over and over again until you were coming all over my cock.”

  “Mmm,” I moaned into his chest, imagining his words.

  I was now highly aroused and slightly irritable that he would bring me to this point with no chance to ease it.

  “Well,” I drawled out, deciding that he should get a taste of his own medicine. “If we didn’t have people watching… I would have to take that cock out first and take you into my mouth until you hit the back of my throat. I would suck and lick you until you came on my tongue. Then when you did, I’d swallow. Every. Last. Delicious. Drop.”

  It was his turn to groan into my neck. “Damn, Kitten,” he muttered as I felt the evidence of his arousal on my stomach. “Now I’m going to have to take a cold shower and take care of myself.”

  I smiled into his chest once more. “I wish I could take care of it for you, but I have to get to school, and one of the guys should be here shortly for me and Renee.”

  “Come on,” he grunted. “I’m taking you guys to school.”

  “Don’t you have work?” I asked in surprise.

  “I do, but my guys know what needs to be done. I already texted the boys and told them not to come since I was already here.” He grabbed my face with his hands. “Next time I screw up promise me that you’ll talk to me. I don’t want out of our arrangement. I want you, and only you.”

  I smiled at him once more, leaning into his hand. “I will talk to you. I’m sorry, I got jealous. I should have trusted you. I know you would never do anything to hurt me.”

  He smiled. “Thank you for trusting me.” He went to lean in, his eyes on my lips but stopped as Renee came up to us.

  I nearly groaned. I really wanted to literally kiss and make up with him.

  ●

  School was amazingly stress-free without the presence of Leah. Especially in cheer class. I was surprised to find I held no malice towards Ms. Houser. She was a genuinely lovely teacher, and she knew what she was talking about when it came to cheering. She had us working on a new half-time routine as well as a few cheers.

  She really worked us during class, and by the time it was over, I was looking forward to my night with Paxton. I really didn’t want to go to dance, but it was too close to competition day, and I knew Anya and Star weren’t going to let us rest.

  Dance, however, wasn’t as stress-free that afternoon. I was physically tired, and it showed, as Anya, and Star continued to demand more and more from us. I knew I deserved their harsh critiques, but it was still hard to swallow at times.

  On top of that, Bailey seemed to be especially vindictive towards me. She kept laughing at me if I missed a move or if I was corrected. It looked like I had traded one Delaney in for the other.

  By the time Paxton came to pick me up, I was more than ready to leave. He was waiting for me, and I gladly stepped into his embrace.

  “You look tired, Pey,” Paxton crooned compassionately.

  “I am tired,” I groaned into his chest as he rubbed my back soothingly.

  “Wanna skip the hike and just go chill at Crew and Ky’s?” he asked sympathetically.

  “No,” I said immediately even though the idea of just relaxing sounded terrific. “I feel like I haven’t spent any time with you recently. Everything’s been so crazy and hectic lately.”

  I knew I answered him correctly when he gave me a broad smile and took my hand. “Let’s go then. I packed our dinner, so let’s get going.”

  “Okay,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go.”

  I nearly groaned when I saw Bailey planted by the exit. How could someone so beautiful be so… ugly?

  “Do you know she was hanging all over Zane the other day and Kyler Fairchild this morning?” Bailey said snidely as she took a few steps toward us. “And she just got rid of Crew Fairchild’s baby.”

  “What’s it to you, Bailey?” Paxton said with a snort. “Run along and stop trying to screw up people’s lives. I know you’re really great at it. You might as well get your facts straight while you’re at it, too.”

  “My mom lost her job because of you.” Bailey stepped forward with a sneer.

  I felt a momentary pang of sympathy until I remembered Diane Delaney brought in on herself. I didn’t force her to gossip about my personal life or rally others to verbally attack me. She didn’t care about my reputation or the blowback spreading those type of rumors would cause me. I was tired of people like them constantly pushing me around when I did absolutely, positively nothing to them but exist.

  I took a step forward, too, so that we were nose to nose. “Your mom lost her job because she spread the same lies you’re trying to. She had no right to tell Leah’s mom or those other PTA moms that I was admitted to the hospital and then lie about my condition. She brought it on herself. Maybe you should stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself. It’s starting to show in class. You’re getting sloppy, Bailey.” I k
new it was mean and maybe unwarranted, but there was only so much I could take before I began to push back. “If we don’t place first this week, it’s going to be on you.”

  “She had no problem placing first and taking the lead before you,” Wendy added snidely, showing up out of nowhere.

  “Before, maybe, but not now.” I snorted. “Yesterday doesn’t matter if today looks like crap. Come on, Pax, we’re losing daylight.”

  “Sounds great to me.” Paxton smiled.

  “You really are a whore, just like your mother,” Bailey growled.

  “Knock it off, Bailey!” Kayley seethed, coming from the direction of the locker rooms. “Dad already warned you.”

  “What are you going to do, run back and tell him?” Bailey hissed, rounding on her sister.

  “She doesn’t need to.” A tall man with blond hair stepped up behind his oldest daughter.

  It looked like he had just come from upstairs. From the look on Bailey’s face, she was surprised by his presence as well. I really wished I had a camera to capture her expression of fear and astonishment.

  He clearly was a Delaney. Of that, there was no doubt. He resembled the other men in his family; tall, lean, and reasonably good looking. I was already told he was David’s cousin. My grandfather’s nephew.

  He paused and looked at me with his head tilted. “Your resemblance to Ava is truly remarkable,” he said in a kind voice.

  I tried to smile at him, but I was still angry at Bailey’s accusations and assumptions. “So, I’ve been told.”

  “Well—” he cleared his throat, “I’m Pete.” He held out his hand. I reluctantly shook it. “I would like to apologize on behalf of my ex-wife. Not all of us Delaneys are atrocious, and I assure you, Bailey will be paying for her behavior. Bailey, phone.” He held out his hand.

  I was momentarily speechless by the sincerity in his voice and the kindness in his eyes.

  “You can’t take my phone,” Bailey whined. “Mom bought it for me.”

  “With my money, and you’re under my plan, so hand it over now,” Pete insisted with steel in his eyes.

  “This is why I live with her and not you! I’m not a child!” she cried out.