“It will only happen if Korbin follows through with it,” mumbled Hansen. “She hasn’t even talked to him since she left.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” I dropped my slice of pizza back onto my plate and chewed, wiping my fingers on half a paper towel. “And I will do it. Her friend gave me the address to what I’m hoping is her apartment. If she won’t answer the phone or even text me, I’m going to Denver to find her. Tonight.”
“To win her back?” asked Paisley, and I nodded.
“To win her back and never lose her again.”
Chapter24
Peyton
I stood alone in the middle of the grocery store aisle after work, my eyes scanning the boxes of food on the shelves, but I wasn’t really seeing them. I felt hungry, but at the same time I felt like if I ate, I would just end up spewing my dinner all over the floor.
I’d felt sick to my stomach with emotion since moving away from Eagle River, and I still felt just as crappy now. Coming home had been nice, despite how difficult it had been to say goodbye to my mother again. I’d promised her I’d visit more, maybe even on the weekends if I could swing it, and I intended to hold onto that promise come hell or high water. My relationship with Korbin aside, I swore I would never again be the daughter that stayed away for petty reasons. My mother had had a close call. She could have died. And to be honest, it was the wakeup call I knew I needed.
With a small sigh, I reached for a box of hamburger helper, hand wavering, uncertain. God, I wasn’t even sure if I had the energy to cook, but I had to at least try. I had barely eaten anything since I’d been home, replacing it instead with boozy drinks and endless nights, and I knew my mom would rip me a new one if she knew I wasn’t taking care of myself.
In my pocket, my phone buzzed. Again. I dropped my hand from the shelf and reached into my pocket to check it. It was Korbin. Again. It always was.
For a brief moment my thumb hovered over the screen, just above the answer button, but the moment came and went far too quickly. I silenced the call, and before putting the phone back into my pocket, I powered the whole thing down, realizing that I could only handle so much betrayal before I would just crack. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face him. Still. I was done.
I grabbed the box of hamburger helper from the shelf and dropped it into the handbasket, then went to the register to check out. My head felt fuzzy, like I was in a permanent daze that might or might not ever go away. My body was numb and tingly, just as it had been since I’d left Eagle River.
It was chilly outside as I walked back to the car, dropping the grocery bag in the backseat before heading for home. My real home. Rem had told me earlier in the day that he’d be spending the night with his new boyfriend. I didn’t mind though, not really. I needed the time to myself, the space away from others. A part of me had never felt lonelier, but I knew I needed it. I had to be brave on my own. Brave and independent, even if I wasn’t feeling it.
A light rain had started to fall by the time I pulled up to our apartment complex. I climbed the stairs to the second floor, fumbling with the house keys that were jammed deep in my pocket. The biting cold nipped at my fingers as I shoved my shoulder against the door to unstick it, wincing as the wooden frame bruised my shoulder. The door gave way before the key was all the way in, and I stumbled and almost fell, realizing that I hadn’t even locked the damn thing before I left.
With a mumbled cuss word I entered the apartment and locked the latch securely into place, straightening up to look around. I hadn’t realized how lonely this place really was until I’d been back. After sleeping for over a month in my childhood bedroom and then seeing Korbin’s place, my apartment suddenly felt like a young person’s cliché. Empty. Messy. Not really cozy, either.
With a sigh, I took the grocery bag to the kitchen and dropped the contents on the counter, realizing as my feet dragged across the tile that I didn’t have the energy to cook this stupid hamburger helper. Instead, I went to the fridge for a chilled bottle of wine, grabbing a coffee mug from the cupboard because Rem and I didn’t have nice glasses. Pouring myself a drink, I went to the living room and curled up on the couch. I reached for the remote to flick through streaming channels to find something decent to watch. I felt tired though, like I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages.
A few minutes later I rose from the couch to go to the kitchen to find a snack, and that’s when I noticed the muddy mess by the front door, staining the carpet. I cussed aloud and reached for my shoes near the closet, tipping them upside down to check the soles. There was no mud. My shoes were clean. With a frown, I squinted at the mess, trying to remember at what point I could have made a mess like this and didn’t notice it. Rem hadn’t been around in a while, so it couldn’t have been him. Besides, Remington was a clean freak. He’d sacrifice himself to highest bidder before ever tracking mud across our floor.
“What the fuck.” I said aloud, turning to gaze into the rest of the apartment. Forgetting about the mud for a moment, I did a slow walk-through, eyes strained for any other strange, misplaced things I might not have noticed before. But there was nothing. Nothing but a silly bit of mud stuck to the carpet, which could have been put there by me without me even realizing it.
“Pull yourself together, Peyton,” I scolded myself aloud, feeling a headache begin to throb at the center of my skull. I was in the midst of considering how early it was appropriate to go to bed when there was a knock on the door. I started, almost spilling my wine down the front of my shirt. For a moment I was frozen in fear, but it passed quickly and I rolled my eyes. It was probably Rem, who had lost his house key—again. But it wasn’t Rem.
“Hi, Jake,” I said, surprised to see him standing in the doorway. He was grinning, but it wasn’t his usual grin—this one was weird. Fake. Like he was in another world, or something.
“Hi, Peyton,” he said unsteadily, and I realized he was drunk. That was weird. Despite owning a club—successfully, I might add—I’d never seen Jake drunk. “Can I come in?”
“Um, yeah, of course.” What else could I say? He obviously wasn’t in a healthy state of mind. “What are you doing here?” I asked, stepping aside so he could come in. “Don’t you usually work at the club week nights?”
“Not tonight,” he muttered, stopping at the kitchen to steady himself on the counter. He looked around, eyes bleary and blood-shot. “Is your gay roommate here?”
“Remington is not here,” I said. “Why, are you looking for him?”
“No,” he said, turning towards me. “I just wanted to make sure we were alone.” He reached out and pulled me to him, catching me off guard, and a bit of wine splashed over the glass and onto the floor. I started to move away to clean it, but Jake kept ahold of me. With his hands on my arms, I could smell the bitter booze on his breath.
“Do you want to lay down?” I asked, finally wriggling out of his embrace. I grabbed a rag from the sink and wiped the floor before straightening up and setting my glass of wine aside. Jake was watching me work, his eyes burning into me, that chilling smile I didn’t recognize playing on his lips.
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll lay down with you.”
I chuckled humorlessly and pretended to be flattered. “I still have to make dinner though. How about you lie down and I can make us something to eat?”
Jake scoffed at this, shaking his head. “That’s no fun, baby. I came here to fuck.”
“Jesus, Jake.” Shaking my head in disgust, I stepped around him and headed for the living room, hyper-aware that he was hot on my heels. I pointed to the couch, pleading with my eyes. “Sit here and watch some TV. I’ll make us dinner. It will help with the hangover.”
