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Chapter Ten: The Rest Is Up To You
•••••
Brooke let herself in to Peyton's house the next afternoon. Peyton hadn't gone to school that day. Even though Brooke had expected it, she still felt uneasy about Peyton's absence. She took the stairs up the room she knew better than her own.
Peyton was laying on her bed with her eyes closed. But Brooke knew she wasn't asleep. Peyton had never been able to sleep on her back and Brooke knew it.
"Hey, best friend." She said putting on her best happy mood. "I know you're awake. You can't fool me." Peyton opened her eyes and found Brooke standing in her doorway. She walked over and sat down on the bed beside Peyton. Peyton forced herself to sit up. She pulled back, away from Brooke a bit. Brooke noticed.
"Hi." Peyton said as she folded her arms across her stomach then forced a smile that she was sure Brooke would see through. Brooke did.
"What happened yesterday?" Brooke asked. Peyton stared at her for a moment, wondering how Brooke didn't know what had happened.
"I got sick."
"No." Brooke said as she shook her head slightly. "When Haley came by to check on you." Peyton shifted nervously. She tore her eyes from Brooke and looked at the wall in front of her. "She was really upset." Peyton's eyes were back on Brooke again. Brooke could tell that Haley being upset didn't sit well with her. She decided to ask something that she had been wondering for a while. "You like her, don't you?"
"Of course. Why do you think I hang out with her?"
"No, no, no. That's not what I mean. I mean do you like her, like her?" Brooke stressed the last few words of that sentence. Peyton became even more uncomfortable at that question. "You do, don't you?"
"Brooke-"
"Peyton, it's a yes or no answer." Peyton's eyes fell to the floor as she weighed the possible outcomes. She knew Brooke already knew. But saying it out loud, confirming it, might somehow change everything. She was scared. "It's okay if you do, you know." Peyton nodded.
"I do." She said, then added quickly, "but you can't tell her."
"I won't." Brooke said. "But I think you should. Only after you get done telling me what the hell happened yesterday that made you cry?" Peyton looked away again. "If something's bothering you, it's best to talk about it." She added, reciting the line Peyton had given her countless times.
"I'm not talking about it, Brooke, so just drop it." Peyton said, a little too loudly for Brooke's ears.
"I think you should. If not to me, at least to Haley. She's really worried about you, Peyt."
"She shouldn't be. I'm fine. Now would you just drop it?" Brooke held her hands up in defeat. She would let it go for now, but she wasn't going to forget it until she was sure the blonde was okay.
"Fine."
•••••
"Knock, knock."
She didn't turn towards him. She thought that if she were to just ignore him maybe he would get the picture and just leave. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she knew it would take more than ignoring him for him to understand.
"Don't touch me."
"What's the matter, Peyton? Run out all ready?" She shuddered knowing that he knew. "That's what I thought. I came back to supply you with some more." She quickly turned around in her chair to look at him. He smiled innocently.
"Rick, I don't want any more of this. I'm done. I'm not gonna be your little whore anymore."
"I just came to give you this, Peyton. No strings attached." He said as he sat a vial down on her desk behind her. "That's all." He said and exited her room. She stared at the empty doorway for a few minutes, confused by his sudden change of behavior.
She turned back around and saw the vial of cocaine sitting on her desk. It was bigger than the one before, twice the size. She grabbed it and threw it in the trashcan under her desk. She wasn't going back down that road again. She refused to.
•••••
Peyton opened the door to Karen's cafe five minutes after closing time. It was dark outside; the streets were practically empty. The bell above her rang. She heard shuffling from the back of the cafe.
"We're closed." A voice yelled from the back. It was Haley. Peyton walked a few steps into the room and looked around, attempting to calm her nerves with some distraction. The place was dimly lit. The chairs were up on the tables. It looked as though Haley had closed up a little before the actual closing time.
"I said we're closed." Haley said just before popping around the corner. She faltered when she saw the blonde, standing nervously in the center of the cafe, clutching her jacket tightly around her frame. Haley walked up behind the counter and gave Peyton a smile. Peyton gave her a much smaller one in return. "What's up?"
"Um... nothing. Really."
"Do you want something to eat?" The blonde shook her head no. "Drink?" Again, no. Haley waited patiently, knowing why Peyton was there. She knew Peyton would start when she was ready. She was willing to wait.
"I'm sorry... about yesterday." Peyton's gaze darted around the room, occasionally stopping on Haley. "I don't really know what happened. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did. Especially after the way you took care of me." She paused. "I don't really have anything else to say other than I'm sorry." She turned to leave.
"Peyton." Peyton stopped with her back to Haley. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm just worried about you."
"You shouldn't be." Peyton turned to face her, to prove that what she was saying was true. "Whatever happened to me yesterday, it made me... a little off. I just-I had some funky dream that got everything screwy for a little while." Haley nodded. They stood in silence for a moment.
"Are you feeling better today?" Peyton nodded. "Good." Peyton nodded again. "So what was it then, just some twenty-four hour bug or something?" Peyton shrugged.
"Must have been."
The bell behind Peyton rang; another soul entered the room. Peyton noticed Haley's expression change from concern to happiness. Peyton turned to see who had come in behind her. It was some guy she was sure she had never met. But he looked familiar.
"Hey, John."
"Hey." Haley walked around the counter and over to the other two. "Peyton this is John. John, Peyton." Peyton gave him a nod.
"We've met." He said. Peyton and Haley both looked at him surprised. Haley then looked to Peyton, who was obviously dumbfounded. "The other night at that club?" Peyton shook her head no, obviously not remembering what he was talking about. "We slept together."
Haley stared at John for a moment, not sure she had heard him correctly. But when she had looked at Peyton and observed her guilty expression, she knew it was true. Peyton had slept with the guy she was dancing with at the club and she didn't even remember him. Haley could feel a sharp pain in her chest. She wondered if this was what a heart breaking felt like.
"Should I go?" John said, his voice barely making itself heard through all of the thoughts Haley was thinking. Haley looked at him.
"No. I was just leaving." Peyton said. Haley turned to look at her again. Peyton smiled at her sadly and attempted to walk around the two of them. John stepped into her path. They were inches apart.
"I had a good time the other night. If you wanna do it again sometime, call me." He reached down and pulled her hand up. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and wrote down his number in the palm of her hand. He turned her wrist over and kissed her on the back of her hand. Peyton looked at him with hatred in her eyes. She quickly pulled her hand away from him and left the cafe. Haley watched after her, wishing that she could get Peyton to talk to her about what was going on. And wishing she could have Peyton to herself. Peyton walked across the street and disappeared out of the window frame.
"So this is why you won't go out with me." She heard John say. She looked at him, very confused by what he meant. "You're in love with Peyton."
"What?" She coughed out.
"I can see it in your eyes. You love her."
"That's ridiculous."
"You and I both know that it's not." Haley looked back where she had last seen the blonde. She wished that Peyton would come back and talk to her. But she knew that wouldn't happen. She knew that Peyton didn't talk. She thought for sure that would be the girl's downfall.