Revelations and Meetings
Peyton stared long and hard at the road in front of her. By now, she had stopped crying, yet her cheeks were still stained from her. Her shirt was wet from the tears that had dropped onto it from her chin. Knuckles white, she clutched the steering wheel hard in her anger. Looking out f the corner of her eyes, she found Josh glancing at her again for the 30th time since they had left Scott stranded.
Peyton didn't understand why she was crying over Scott. Scott, of all people. He had just betrayed her, and she didn't give a damn about him anymore. So then, why were her cheeks stained from the tears she had cried over him? Finally, Peyton had come to a harsh conclusion. No matter whether he hurt her or not, she still loved him like a brother. He was he only friend growing up, and then just crushing her like that. . . As much as she'd hate to admit it, it hurt her dearly. More than she could understand.
Feeling another breakdown coming on, Peyton pulled over on the side of the street. The car slowly rolled to a stop. Biting her lip, Peyton bowed her head, trying to make sure Josh couldn't see her cry again. She bit her lip harder, almost drawing blood, but it didn't stop the sob that escaped from her throat. Peyton closed her eyes, feeling the wet tears run down her face and drip onto her jeans. Opening her eyes, she watched eye tear that dripped onto her jeans, counting how many she was wasting on Scott.
Suddenly, Peyton felt something brush slightly against her curly, blond locks of hair. Flinching, Peyton automatically knew it was Josh's hand. Every muscle in her body tensed, waiting for the vision she knew was coming. However, no pain came to her. Seeing none of Josh's past, her mind raced with questions. Why didn't I see his wife dying? Or anything?
Peyton lifted her head, looking out on the road. Cars rushed by, animals came to life, the wind rustled some trees. Yet, to Peyton, it seemed like life had stopped. It was like she was living in the present, but from someone else's point of view. She felt a little wave a pity and compassion swell over her, along with something she couldn't identify.
Questions racing in her mind, Peyton looked over at Josh. Catching her look over at him, Josh returned the gaze.
"What's wrong?" Josh asked, seemingly concerned.
Realizing how concerned Josh looked, Peyton looked back at the road, suddenly lost for words. Finally finding her voice, Peyton asked, "Are we getting closer to your brother's house?" She tried to hide the amazement in her voice, hoping Josh didn't catch it.
If Josh caught the amazement, he didn't let it on, "Yeah, he lives kind of close to the my parents. We'll visit him first, check and see if he's doing okay, then we'll go see my parents. They can probably let use borrow a room."
After following Josh's directions for about 30 miles, they had finally arrived at Simon's house. Josh got out first, then ran around to Peyton's door. Quickly opening the door before Peyton could, Josh helped her out. Giving him a thankful nod, they walked up to his front door.
The house was a ranch-style house. One floor above the ground, one floor below the ground. Outside was red brick. The shutters were painted a peanut butter shade, the color of the roof, too. It had a porch, and a walkway leading up to the porch. The front door was wooden and painted a light blue. In the driveway a '79 gray Corsica.
"Looks. . . Chummy," Peyton commented, ringing the doorbell. Josh shot her a look, smiling a little.
Inside a dog's barking could be heard. A tall man opened the door, "Simon!" Josh exclaimed, grasping his brother's hand, happy to see him still alive.
Simon was about 6'4''. Unlike his brother, Simon had sandy blond hair that was cut short. He had about the same face structure. Like this brother, Simon was well built. He looked about 27-years-old. He was wearing a regular blue tee and some well worn jeans.
"Josh!" Simon said, obviously surprised, "I wasn't expecting company."
"Well, I just popped by to check on you. You know, in the neighbor hood," Josh replied, stepping back.
"You live 500 miles away, how could you be in the neighbor hood?"
"That's a good question." Josh coughed nervously, looking at Peyton for help. However, she just stood there, one hand on her hip, the other hanging. She was too busy looking at the house. Not finding any help, Josh turned back to Simon. "It's a long story," Josh said finally, defeated.
Done talking to Josh, Simon turned to Peyton. He eyed her wearily. Shooting Josh a look, Simon asked, "Who is she?"
That seemed to snap Peyton out of her faze. She looked from Josh to Simon, "I'm sorry, what?"
Simon glared at Josh. Josh knew why he was glaring at him. Simon had always liked his wife, Abby, and they always got along great. Now, seeing Josh with another girl, anger had swelled up in Simon. Especially since Peyton seemed out of it.
Nervously, Josh reached to twirl his wedding band around his finger. However, his fingers only met skin, not gold. Josh's mouth fell open. Looking down, Josh saw his finger gone.
Peyton watched Josh carefully. When she saw his disappointment in not having his wedding band, Peyton decided they would have to deal with that later. She cleared her throat and introduced herself.
"I'm Peyton Murray. I'm a friend of Josh's," Peyton said kindly, smiling sweetly at Simon.
"Well. . . Nice to meet you, Peyton. I'm Josh's brother, Simon." Simon outstretched his hand to shake with Peyton's. She froze, begging Josh with her eyes to help her.
Seeing what was about to happen, Josh interrupted, "Oh, uh, Peyton's having cramps in her, uh, hands. It would hurt to shake your hand."
"I'm really sorry," Peyton said apologetically, "You have an extremely lovely house."
Simon seemed please, "Well, come in. We have some catching up to do," He walked into his house, beckoning to Peyton and Josh to come inside. Peyton stepped inside, and Josh quickly followed, taking a look outside to make sure no ghosts from hell were trying to kill them before closing the doors.
Once inside, Peyton and Josh followed Simon to the living room. Claws scratching against hard wood floors could be heard and a large black lab came running into the living room.
"Juby!" Josh said happily, leaning down and patting the dog on it's head. Peyton looked confused.
"Juby? What's a Juby?"
"Juby is the dog." Josh motioned towards the lab. The lab happily trotted over to Peyton and jumped up on her. She smiled and rubbed the spot between Juby's two floppy ears. Wait, how come she's not getting a flash of Juby's past? Josh asked himself, trying not to let his confusion show on his face.
"That's a strange name."
"It's the name of a cape in Africa, on the northwestern Sahara," Simon said, smiling.
"Of course it is!"
Simon beckoned to them to sit down on the couch. It was a comfortable-looking cream colored couch. Josh automatically went over and sat on it. Eyeing it wearily, Peyton walked over to it, brushing her hand across it. She found nothing bad about it. Smiling, Peyton plopped down and comfortably seated herself on it. Juby ran over and jumped onto Peyton's lap. She smiled, and pet the dog. Simon stared at her, as did Josh, however Peyton didn't catch it. Clearing his throat, Simon looked to Josh.
"Uh, Josh, could I talk to you in private?" Simon asked, getting up.
"Yeah, sure," Josh replied, getting up.
Upon seeing them leave, Peyton snuggled down into the couch more, murmuring to herself about how much she loved the couch.
They stopped in the kitchen. There was white tile on the floor and the walls were peach. In the middle of the room there was an island. There was also the essentials: a fridge, a microwave, a stove/oven, a toaster, and counters.
Josh hopped onto the island, sitting cross-legged as he looked over every inch of the room, "Nice place you have here."
"Cut the crap! Who the hell is she? And why is she so strange? Is she homeless, Josh?" Simon asked, leaning up against the counter, facing Josh.
"No, she's not homeless. And she's not that strange, just a little different from you and me. Her name is Peyton Murray," Josh replied coolly, annunciating Peyton's name carefully.
"What are you doing with her? And where's your ring?"
Suddenly ashamed, Josh looked down at his hands. Neither hand had a ring on it. How come I didn't realize the ring wasn't on anymore? Where did I lose it?
"Are you forgetting about Abby? Are you in love with Peyton or something?"
The surprise from the questions showed on Josh's face. How dare Simon even think that he could forget about Abby? Abby was his wife. Josh loved her.
Getting mad, Josh replied as coolly as he could, "I course I couldn't forget about Abby! I don't love Peyton, she's just a friend!"
"Fine, whatever!" Simon said, walking out back into the living room. Josh followed, remembering that he was here to save Simon. Fists clenching, Josh suppressed his anger as much as he could.
When Simon and Josh got into the living, they found Peyton asleep on the couch. Her arms were under her head and her legs were slightly bent. Juby was curled up next to her, asleep. Josh smiled to himself. I guess I should have offered to drive.
Turning around, Simon faced Josh, "Here, you take care of her, then meet me in the kitchen and we'll talk.
Josh nodded and Simon headed off again. He slowly approached the couch. Grabbing a blue throw from the side of the couch, he spread it out over Peyton and Juby. Josh looked around and spotted a pillow. He took it over to Peyton, then stopped, wondering. Maybe she can't feel when she's asleep, or maybe she can only see things in her dreams when she's asleep. Taking a chance, Josh slowly lifted up Peyton head and slipped the pillow under it, then gently put Peyton's head down again.
Smiling, Josh brushed the hair out of Peyton's face and gently brushed her cheek. Josh checked to see if Simon was watching. Not seeing him, Josh bent down and gently kissed Peyton on the cheek.
After talking for quite some time, Josh was convinced that this was the real Simon that he had come here to save. Hearing footsteps, both brothers turned towards the door. There stood Peyton, hair a little messed up. Behind her, Juby trotted into the kitchen. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"I love that couch," She mumbled, walking over and hopping up onto the island. Josh and Simon both smiled.
"Well, Peyton, if we want to make it to my parents and get a room there, we had better get going," Josh said, checking his watch. Both brothers jumped off the counter. Peyton looked from one to the other.
"But. . . But I just woke up. And it wasn't easy getting up here."
Both brother laughed and headed towards the door. Grumpily, Peyton hopped down and followed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Josh said at the doorway, turning towards Simon.
"Ok, I'll wait for you," Simon replied smiling.
Feeling she should say something nice, Peyton commented, "You have a very lovely couch, I mean, house." Josh and Simon laughed. Peyton and Josh walked out to the SUV. Juby started following them. After seeing Juby following them, Peyton stopped and pet the dog.
"Sorry, buddy, but you have to stay here."
"He can stay with you guys for the night, no harm will come from it," Simon said, smiling.
"Thanks!" Peyton replied as she waited for Simon to get everything Juby needed.
After getting everything to take care of Juby, Peyton started heading towards the drivers door before Josh stopped her, "I think I better drive." Frowning, Peyton obliged and got into the passengers seat. Juby jumped into Peyton's lap and settled down, his head resting on his paws.
"How come he can do that?"
Startled, Peyton looked over at Josh, "Excuse me?"
"How come Juby is able to touch you and you're not getting a flashback of his past or anything?" Josh asked.
"Well, dog's don't have such complex emotions as humans. They're loyal, cheerful, happy. . . Nothing too horrible. Ergo, I can have a dog or pet a dog or whatever."
"That kind of makes sense," Josh replied, turning right.
Soon enough, they were at Josh's parents house. It wasn't much different from Simon's house, except the shutters were painted a light blue along with the front door.
Juby jumped out of the car and Peyton grabbed his stuff. Again, Peyton and Josh walked up side by side to the front door. Josh reached forward and rang the doorbell. They could hear it ring from inside the house, and on impulse Juby let out a low bark. The door opened and there stood a man and a woman.
The man had dark hair and hazel eyes. A few wrinkles were on his face. The woman had blond hair, which was starting to turn a silver color at the roots, and blue eyes. She also had some wrinkles on her face.
"Josh!" The woman stepped forward and hugged Josh, then stood back and took a look at him. "Simon called and told us you were coming." The man and Josh clasped hands, then Josh introduced Peyton.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Peyton Murray," Josh said.
"Hello, Peyton. I am Karen Mackey and this is my husband, James Mackey," The woman said kindly, motioning with her hands to the man next to her.
"Very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Mackey." Peyton smiled sweetly.
"I insist that you call us James and Karen. Using 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' sounds too old," James replied sternly with a wink. Peyton laughed and nodded.
"Well, come on in. We have dinner ready."
Josh, Peyton, and Juby followed them inside to a kitchen. The kitchen had a table in the middle and counters on two sides of the wall, meeting in a corner. It had the normal appliances that a kitchen has. The table was set with everything needed to eat.
Josh and Peyton both took seats and Karen bustled around the kitchen, serving everyone. Juby laid down under the table at Peyton's feet. James took a seat at the head of the table. Eventually, they all started eating. Conversation came up when the silence started getting very loud.
"So, Peyton. . . You're dating Josh?" Karen approached the subject.
Upon hearing this, Peyton choked on the meat she was eating. Josh sputtered, accidentally spitting out the milk in his mouth. Peyton shot a look over at Josh, her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Josh put his hand up to his mouth, covering it. He got up and started cleaning up the milk, knowing Peyton was still glaring at him.
Regaining her voice, Peyton growled, "Excuse me? Your son said told you WHAT?!"
Josh looked at Peyton helplessly. Peyton's face had a slight red tint to it. She was shaking a little from the rage that was boiling up inside of her. Pushing down the anger, she looked at Karen and James apologetically with a fake smile plastered on her face.
"May I please borrow dear Josh one moment?" Peyton asked kindly through clenched teeth.
"Of course you can," James replied with a wink.
Peyton turned back to Josh. The smile was now off her face. She got up and walked briskly out of the kitchen, grabbing Josh's wrist tightly and pulling him with her as she went. They got to the front door and Peyton pushed Josh out of the house, then followed him. She closed the door behind her. Josh turned around to tell her something, when he was cut off by a sharp smack in the face. Peyton had slapped him with all her strength, and was thoroughly pleased to see a red hand print from where she had hit him.
"You lying, insensitive pain in the ass!" Peyton almost shouted, but instead, afraid that his parents might hear, lowered her voice to an urgent whisper.
"I'm very sensitive to physical pain as you just demonstrated!" Josh replied angrily in a whisper, clutching the cheek Peyton had slapped, looking surprised.
"What the hell were you thinking when you told them that!?"
Josh was still holding the cheek that was hurt, but the surprise on his face was now gone. Finding his voice, Josh replied, "I never told them that!"
"Then who did? Juby?"
"I don't know who it was, but thank we should thank them!"
Peyton lifted her hand as if to slap Josh again, but then thought better of it. "What do you mean, 'thank them?'"
"Do you really think that my parents would let us stay at their house believing that we were just friends? Two people in their twenties traveling around together, but only friends?"
Peyton's mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't find any words. She'd never thought of it that way. "Fine!" was all she managed. She made to go back into the house, but Josh stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
"Wait, how come you're not getting any visions or whatever when we touch?"
Once again, Peyton was lost for words. "I. . . I'm not sure. I guess I've gotten used to you or something." Josh smiled and Peyton replied, "Hey, don't get too comfortable, it might not last long. I have no idea."
Peyton and Josh went back into the kitchen and sat back down. James and Karen shot them quizzical looks. The rest of the dinner was in an uncomfortable silence. As the dishes were being cleared away, Josh talked with his parents about what his and Peyton's plans were.
"Well, you can stay here for tonight. You're welcome to do anything to make yourselves comfortable, we're going to bed. We made you two a place in the living room on the couch," Karen said, patting Josh's hand as she and James left them alone.
"Movie?" Josh asked, walking into the living room as Peyton and Juby followed behind him. The living room was quite spacey. The couch was folded out into a bed and had sheets and pillowed on it. The t.v. was opposite the couch on a shelf. A lamp was in the corner of the room.
"I'm going to go change in the car," Peyton said as she headed towards the front door.
"Be careful!" Josh called to her as she walked out the door. In response Peyton waved a hand over her head.
Deciding he should change too, Josh went into his old room where he kept some stuff that he had never really moved out. There was a twin bed, a dresser, and some things Josh still had in his room to show it was his. His eyes roamed across the walls of the room, reliving every memory as he made his way towards his dresser. He pulled open a drawer. Taking out some flannel pants and a shirt, Josh went into the bathroom and changed into them.
After he was done, Josh went into the living room. He sat on the couch, looking over the room. Hearing footsteps, Josh turned and saw Peyton. She was wearing blue comfort pants, a white racer back that had blue strips on the side, and a blue comfort jacket that matched the color of the pants.
"You wear that to bed?" Josh questioned, looking at her.
"Yes," Peyton replied calmly.
Peyton went over to the shelf the t.v. was on and looked at the movie choices. Picking out a DVD, she popped it into the DVD player. She laid down on the couch/bed on her stomach, facing the t.v. She grabbed a pillow and propped it underneath chin. Hearing a laugh behind her, Peyton turned around and looked at Josh, an eyebrow raised.
"Something funny?" She asked, eyebrow raising even more.
"You sure don't waste time getting comfortable," Josh replied calmly, laying down on his stomach next to her. Peyton eyed him warily. "What?" He asked.
"Rules," Peyton replied simply, then continued, "No cuddling, no sweet talk, no hands-around-the-waist thing, no touching."
"Over protective much? Besides, I would never think of it."
"Good."
They both turned back to the t.v. The movie was starting.
"Pirates of the Caribbean?" Josh asked, looking at Peyton questioningly.
"What's wrong with that?" Peyton replied, eyeing him, "Too scary for you?"
"Not nearly scary enough! After this, we watch a movie that's my pick!"
"Fine, but until then, no talking."
"Another rule?" Peyton looked at Josh angrily and Josh turned back to the movie, not wanting to get smacked again.
They continued watching the movie. At Johnny Depp's entrance in the movie, Peyton started clapping quietly. Josh shot her a quizzical look.
"Why are you clapping?"
"That is the best entrance I have ever seen! Don't you think?" Peyton replied, eyes intently set on the t.v. screen.
"Oh please! I'm making some popcorn," Josh said, getting up and heading into the kitchen. Peyton shrugged and continued watching the movie. About two hours later the movie ended. Peyton was about to get up when Josh got up. He pulled the movie out of the DVD player and went through the selection. After 10 minutes, Peyton got impatient.
"Pick a movie already!" Josh shot her a look, then popped another movie into the DVD player.
"And this would be?"
"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," Josh replied coolly, taking a handful of popcorn and shoving into his mouth as he settled down to watch the movie.
A couple of hours later, Peyton let out a small yelp into a pillow as a metal hook pulled a girl by the ankle under her bed. Josh smiled, watching her reaction with an amused look in his eyes as he munched on popcorn.
"Wait, so, how did the guy not die? I mean, Freddie Prince Jr. shot him enough to kill him three times!"
Josh swallowed the popcorn in his mouth and replied, "That's the beauty of a horror movie. . . Murderers don't die that easily."
Peyton pouted, "Well. . . They should! It's just not right that they should be dead, but they're still living and they go around killing people!"
Josh looked at her surprised as a thought crossed his mind.
"What?" Peyton asked, eyeing him warily.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's nothing," Josh replied, turning off the t.v and closing his eyes while resting his head on the pillow.
"Whatever," came the reply. Josh heard slight rustling as Peyton laid down next to him.
"Good night, Josh," Peyton yawned.
"Good night, Peyton," Josh replied, closing his eyes.
Peyton stared long and hard at the road in front of her. By now, she had stopped crying, yet her cheeks were still stained from her. Her shirt was wet from the tears that had dropped onto it from her chin. Knuckles white, she clutched the steering wheel hard in her anger. Looking out f the corner of her eyes, she found Josh glancing at her again for the 30th time since they had left Scott stranded.
Peyton didn't understand why she was crying over Scott. Scott, of all people. He had just betrayed her, and she didn't give a damn about him anymore. So then, why were her cheeks stained from the tears she had cried over him? Finally, Peyton had come to a harsh conclusion. No matter whether he hurt her or not, she still loved him like a brother. He was he only friend growing up, and then just crushing her like that. . . As much as she'd hate to admit it, it hurt her dearly. More than she could understand.
Feeling another breakdown coming on, Peyton pulled over on the side of the street. The car slowly rolled to a stop. Biting her lip, Peyton bowed her head, trying to make sure Josh couldn't see her cry again. She bit her lip harder, almost drawing blood, but it didn't stop the sob that escaped from her throat. Peyton closed her eyes, feeling the wet tears run down her face and drip onto her jeans. Opening her eyes, she watched eye tear that dripped onto her jeans, counting how many she was wasting on Scott.
Suddenly, Peyton felt something brush slightly against her curly, blond locks of hair. Flinching, Peyton automatically knew it was Josh's hand. Every muscle in her body tensed, waiting for the vision she knew was coming. However, no pain came to her. Seeing none of Josh's past, her mind raced with questions. Why didn't I see his wife dying? Or anything?
Peyton lifted her head, looking out on the road. Cars rushed by, animals came to life, the wind rustled some trees. Yet, to Peyton, it seemed like life had stopped. It was like she was living in the present, but from someone else's point of view. She felt a little wave a pity and compassion swell over her, along with something she couldn't identify.
Questions racing in her mind, Peyton looked over at Josh. Catching her look over at him, Josh returned the gaze.
"What's wrong?" Josh asked, seemingly concerned.
Realizing how concerned Josh looked, Peyton looked back at the road, suddenly lost for words. Finally finding her voice, Peyton asked, "Are we getting closer to your brother's house?" She tried to hide the amazement in her voice, hoping Josh didn't catch it.
If Josh caught the amazement, he didn't let it on, "Yeah, he lives kind of close to the my parents. We'll visit him first, check and see if he's doing okay, then we'll go see my parents. They can probably let use borrow a room."
After following Josh's directions for about 30 miles, they had finally arrived at Simon's house. Josh got out first, then ran around to Peyton's door. Quickly opening the door before Peyton could, Josh helped her out. Giving him a thankful nod, they walked up to his front door.
The house was a ranch-style house. One floor above the ground, one floor below the ground. Outside was red brick. The shutters were painted a peanut butter shade, the color of the roof, too. It had a porch, and a walkway leading up to the porch. The front door was wooden and painted a light blue. In the driveway a '79 gray Corsica.
"Looks. . . Chummy," Peyton commented, ringing the doorbell. Josh shot her a look, smiling a little.
Inside a dog's barking could be heard. A tall man opened the door, "Simon!" Josh exclaimed, grasping his brother's hand, happy to see him still alive.
Simon was about 6'4''. Unlike his brother, Simon had sandy blond hair that was cut short. He had about the same face structure. Like this brother, Simon was well built. He looked about 27-years-old. He was wearing a regular blue tee and some well worn jeans.
"Josh!" Simon said, obviously surprised, "I wasn't expecting company."
"Well, I just popped by to check on you. You know, in the neighbor hood," Josh replied, stepping back.
"You live 500 miles away, how could you be in the neighbor hood?"
"That's a good question." Josh coughed nervously, looking at Peyton for help. However, she just stood there, one hand on her hip, the other hanging. She was too busy looking at the house. Not finding any help, Josh turned back to Simon. "It's a long story," Josh said finally, defeated.
Done talking to Josh, Simon turned to Peyton. He eyed her wearily. Shooting Josh a look, Simon asked, "Who is she?"
That seemed to snap Peyton out of her faze. She looked from Josh to Simon, "I'm sorry, what?"
Simon glared at Josh. Josh knew why he was glaring at him. Simon had always liked his wife, Abby, and they always got along great. Now, seeing Josh with another girl, anger had swelled up in Simon. Especially since Peyton seemed out of it.
Nervously, Josh reached to twirl his wedding band around his finger. However, his fingers only met skin, not gold. Josh's mouth fell open. Looking down, Josh saw his finger gone.
Peyton watched Josh carefully. When she saw his disappointment in not having his wedding band, Peyton decided they would have to deal with that later. She cleared her throat and introduced herself.
"I'm Peyton Murray. I'm a friend of Josh's," Peyton said kindly, smiling sweetly at Simon.
"Well. . . Nice to meet you, Peyton. I'm Josh's brother, Simon." Simon outstretched his hand to shake with Peyton's. She froze, begging Josh with her eyes to help her.
Seeing what was about to happen, Josh interrupted, "Oh, uh, Peyton's having cramps in her, uh, hands. It would hurt to shake your hand."
"I'm really sorry," Peyton said apologetically, "You have an extremely lovely house."
Simon seemed please, "Well, come in. We have some catching up to do," He walked into his house, beckoning to Peyton and Josh to come inside. Peyton stepped inside, and Josh quickly followed, taking a look outside to make sure no ghosts from hell were trying to kill them before closing the doors.
Once inside, Peyton and Josh followed Simon to the living room. Claws scratching against hard wood floors could be heard and a large black lab came running into the living room.
"Juby!" Josh said happily, leaning down and patting the dog on it's head. Peyton looked confused.
"Juby? What's a Juby?"
"Juby is the dog." Josh motioned towards the lab. The lab happily trotted over to Peyton and jumped up on her. She smiled and rubbed the spot between Juby's two floppy ears. Wait, how come she's not getting a flash of Juby's past? Josh asked himself, trying not to let his confusion show on his face.
"That's a strange name."
"It's the name of a cape in Africa, on the northwestern Sahara," Simon said, smiling.
"Of course it is!"
Simon beckoned to them to sit down on the couch. It was a comfortable-looking cream colored couch. Josh automatically went over and sat on it. Eyeing it wearily, Peyton walked over to it, brushing her hand across it. She found nothing bad about it. Smiling, Peyton plopped down and comfortably seated herself on it. Juby ran over and jumped onto Peyton's lap. She smiled, and pet the dog. Simon stared at her, as did Josh, however Peyton didn't catch it. Clearing his throat, Simon looked to Josh.
"Uh, Josh, could I talk to you in private?" Simon asked, getting up.
"Yeah, sure," Josh replied, getting up.
Upon seeing them leave, Peyton snuggled down into the couch more, murmuring to herself about how much she loved the couch.
They stopped in the kitchen. There was white tile on the floor and the walls were peach. In the middle of the room there was an island. There was also the essentials: a fridge, a microwave, a stove/oven, a toaster, and counters.
Josh hopped onto the island, sitting cross-legged as he looked over every inch of the room, "Nice place you have here."
"Cut the crap! Who the hell is she? And why is she so strange? Is she homeless, Josh?" Simon asked, leaning up against the counter, facing Josh.
"No, she's not homeless. And she's not that strange, just a little different from you and me. Her name is Peyton Murray," Josh replied coolly, annunciating Peyton's name carefully.
"What are you doing with her? And where's your ring?"
Suddenly ashamed, Josh looked down at his hands. Neither hand had a ring on it. How come I didn't realize the ring wasn't on anymore? Where did I lose it?
"Are you forgetting about Abby? Are you in love with Peyton or something?"
The surprise from the questions showed on Josh's face. How dare Simon even think that he could forget about Abby? Abby was his wife. Josh loved her.
Getting mad, Josh replied as coolly as he could, "I course I couldn't forget about Abby! I don't love Peyton, she's just a friend!"
"Fine, whatever!" Simon said, walking out back into the living room. Josh followed, remembering that he was here to save Simon. Fists clenching, Josh suppressed his anger as much as he could.
When Simon and Josh got into the living, they found Peyton asleep on the couch. Her arms were under her head and her legs were slightly bent. Juby was curled up next to her, asleep. Josh smiled to himself. I guess I should have offered to drive.
Turning around, Simon faced Josh, "Here, you take care of her, then meet me in the kitchen and we'll talk.
Josh nodded and Simon headed off again. He slowly approached the couch. Grabbing a blue throw from the side of the couch, he spread it out over Peyton and Juby. Josh looked around and spotted a pillow. He took it over to Peyton, then stopped, wondering. Maybe she can't feel when she's asleep, or maybe she can only see things in her dreams when she's asleep. Taking a chance, Josh slowly lifted up Peyton head and slipped the pillow under it, then gently put Peyton's head down again.
Smiling, Josh brushed the hair out of Peyton's face and gently brushed her cheek. Josh checked to see if Simon was watching. Not seeing him, Josh bent down and gently kissed Peyton on the cheek.
After talking for quite some time, Josh was convinced that this was the real Simon that he had come here to save. Hearing footsteps, both brothers turned towards the door. There stood Peyton, hair a little messed up. Behind her, Juby trotted into the kitchen. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"I love that couch," She mumbled, walking over and hopping up onto the island. Josh and Simon both smiled.
"Well, Peyton, if we want to make it to my parents and get a room there, we had better get going," Josh said, checking his watch. Both brothers jumped off the counter. Peyton looked from one to the other.
"But. . . But I just woke up. And it wasn't easy getting up here."
Both brother laughed and headed towards the door. Grumpily, Peyton hopped down and followed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Josh said at the doorway, turning towards Simon.
"Ok, I'll wait for you," Simon replied smiling.
Feeling she should say something nice, Peyton commented, "You have a very lovely couch, I mean, house." Josh and Simon laughed. Peyton and Josh walked out to the SUV. Juby started following them. After seeing Juby following them, Peyton stopped and pet the dog.
"Sorry, buddy, but you have to stay here."
"He can stay with you guys for the night, no harm will come from it," Simon said, smiling.
"Thanks!" Peyton replied as she waited for Simon to get everything Juby needed.
After getting everything to take care of Juby, Peyton started heading towards the drivers door before Josh stopped her, "I think I better drive." Frowning, Peyton obliged and got into the passengers seat. Juby jumped into Peyton's lap and settled down, his head resting on his paws.
"How come he can do that?"
Startled, Peyton looked over at Josh, "Excuse me?"
"How come Juby is able to touch you and you're not getting a flashback of his past or anything?" Josh asked.
"Well, dog's don't have such complex emotions as humans. They're loyal, cheerful, happy. . . Nothing too horrible. Ergo, I can have a dog or pet a dog or whatever."
"That kind of makes sense," Josh replied, turning right.
Soon enough, they were at Josh's parents house. It wasn't much different from Simon's house, except the shutters were painted a light blue along with the front door.
Juby jumped out of the car and Peyton grabbed his stuff. Again, Peyton and Josh walked up side by side to the front door. Josh reached forward and rang the doorbell. They could hear it ring from inside the house, and on impulse Juby let out a low bark. The door opened and there stood a man and a woman.
The man had dark hair and hazel eyes. A few wrinkles were on his face. The woman had blond hair, which was starting to turn a silver color at the roots, and blue eyes. She also had some wrinkles on her face.
"Josh!" The woman stepped forward and hugged Josh, then stood back and took a look at him. "Simon called and told us you were coming." The man and Josh clasped hands, then Josh introduced Peyton.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Peyton Murray," Josh said.
"Hello, Peyton. I am Karen Mackey and this is my husband, James Mackey," The woman said kindly, motioning with her hands to the man next to her.
"Very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Mackey." Peyton smiled sweetly.
"I insist that you call us James and Karen. Using 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' sounds too old," James replied sternly with a wink. Peyton laughed and nodded.
"Well, come on in. We have dinner ready."
Josh, Peyton, and Juby followed them inside to a kitchen. The kitchen had a table in the middle and counters on two sides of the wall, meeting in a corner. It had the normal appliances that a kitchen has. The table was set with everything needed to eat.
Josh and Peyton both took seats and Karen bustled around the kitchen, serving everyone. Juby laid down under the table at Peyton's feet. James took a seat at the head of the table. Eventually, they all started eating. Conversation came up when the silence started getting very loud.
"So, Peyton. . . You're dating Josh?" Karen approached the subject.
Upon hearing this, Peyton choked on the meat she was eating. Josh sputtered, accidentally spitting out the milk in his mouth. Peyton shot a look over at Josh, her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Josh put his hand up to his mouth, covering it. He got up and started cleaning up the milk, knowing Peyton was still glaring at him.
Regaining her voice, Peyton growled, "Excuse me? Your son said told you WHAT?!"
Josh looked at Peyton helplessly. Peyton's face had a slight red tint to it. She was shaking a little from the rage that was boiling up inside of her. Pushing down the anger, she looked at Karen and James apologetically with a fake smile plastered on her face.
"May I please borrow dear Josh one moment?" Peyton asked kindly through clenched teeth.
"Of course you can," James replied with a wink.
Peyton turned back to Josh. The smile was now off her face. She got up and walked briskly out of the kitchen, grabbing Josh's wrist tightly and pulling him with her as she went. They got to the front door and Peyton pushed Josh out of the house, then followed him. She closed the door behind her. Josh turned around to tell her something, when he was cut off by a sharp smack in the face. Peyton had slapped him with all her strength, and was thoroughly pleased to see a red hand print from where she had hit him.
"You lying, insensitive pain in the ass!" Peyton almost shouted, but instead, afraid that his parents might hear, lowered her voice to an urgent whisper.
"I'm very sensitive to physical pain as you just demonstrated!" Josh replied angrily in a whisper, clutching the cheek Peyton had slapped, looking surprised.
"What the hell were you thinking when you told them that!?"
Josh was still holding the cheek that was hurt, but the surprise on his face was now gone. Finding his voice, Josh replied, "I never told them that!"
"Then who did? Juby?"
"I don't know who it was, but thank we should thank them!"
Peyton lifted her hand as if to slap Josh again, but then thought better of it. "What do you mean, 'thank them?'"
"Do you really think that my parents would let us stay at their house believing that we were just friends? Two people in their twenties traveling around together, but only friends?"
Peyton's mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't find any words. She'd never thought of it that way. "Fine!" was all she managed. She made to go back into the house, but Josh stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
"Wait, how come you're not getting any visions or whatever when we touch?"
Once again, Peyton was lost for words. "I. . . I'm not sure. I guess I've gotten used to you or something." Josh smiled and Peyton replied, "Hey, don't get too comfortable, it might not last long. I have no idea."
Peyton and Josh went back into the kitchen and sat back down. James and Karen shot them quizzical looks. The rest of the dinner was in an uncomfortable silence. As the dishes were being cleared away, Josh talked with his parents about what his and Peyton's plans were.
"Well, you can stay here for tonight. You're welcome to do anything to make yourselves comfortable, we're going to bed. We made you two a place in the living room on the couch," Karen said, patting Josh's hand as she and James left them alone.
"Movie?" Josh asked, walking into the living room as Peyton and Juby followed behind him. The living room was quite spacey. The couch was folded out into a bed and had sheets and pillowed on it. The t.v. was opposite the couch on a shelf. A lamp was in the corner of the room.
"I'm going to go change in the car," Peyton said as she headed towards the front door.
"Be careful!" Josh called to her as she walked out the door. In response Peyton waved a hand over her head.
Deciding he should change too, Josh went into his old room where he kept some stuff that he had never really moved out. There was a twin bed, a dresser, and some things Josh still had in his room to show it was his. His eyes roamed across the walls of the room, reliving every memory as he made his way towards his dresser. He pulled open a drawer. Taking out some flannel pants and a shirt, Josh went into the bathroom and changed into them.
After he was done, Josh went into the living room. He sat on the couch, looking over the room. Hearing footsteps, Josh turned and saw Peyton. She was wearing blue comfort pants, a white racer back that had blue strips on the side, and a blue comfort jacket that matched the color of the pants.
"You wear that to bed?" Josh questioned, looking at her.
"Yes," Peyton replied calmly.
Peyton went over to the shelf the t.v. was on and looked at the movie choices. Picking out a DVD, she popped it into the DVD player. She laid down on the couch/bed on her stomach, facing the t.v. She grabbed a pillow and propped it underneath chin. Hearing a laugh behind her, Peyton turned around and looked at Josh, an eyebrow raised.
"Something funny?" She asked, eyebrow raising even more.
"You sure don't waste time getting comfortable," Josh replied calmly, laying down on his stomach next to her. Peyton eyed him warily. "What?" He asked.
"Rules," Peyton replied simply, then continued, "No cuddling, no sweet talk, no hands-around-the-waist thing, no touching."
"Over protective much? Besides, I would never think of it."
"Good."
They both turned back to the t.v. The movie was starting.
"Pirates of the Caribbean?" Josh asked, looking at Peyton questioningly.
"What's wrong with that?" Peyton replied, eyeing him, "Too scary for you?"
"Not nearly scary enough! After this, we watch a movie that's my pick!"
"Fine, but until then, no talking."
"Another rule?" Peyton looked at Josh angrily and Josh turned back to the movie, not wanting to get smacked again.
They continued watching the movie. At Johnny Depp's entrance in the movie, Peyton started clapping quietly. Josh shot her a quizzical look.
"Why are you clapping?"
"That is the best entrance I have ever seen! Don't you think?" Peyton replied, eyes intently set on the t.v. screen.
"Oh please! I'm making some popcorn," Josh said, getting up and heading into the kitchen. Peyton shrugged and continued watching the movie. About two hours later the movie ended. Peyton was about to get up when Josh got up. He pulled the movie out of the DVD player and went through the selection. After 10 minutes, Peyton got impatient.
"Pick a movie already!" Josh shot her a look, then popped another movie into the DVD player.
"And this would be?"
"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," Josh replied coolly, taking a handful of popcorn and shoving into his mouth as he settled down to watch the movie.
A couple of hours later, Peyton let out a small yelp into a pillow as a metal hook pulled a girl by the ankle under her bed. Josh smiled, watching her reaction with an amused look in his eyes as he munched on popcorn.
"Wait, so, how did the guy not die? I mean, Freddie Prince Jr. shot him enough to kill him three times!"
Josh swallowed the popcorn in his mouth and replied, "That's the beauty of a horror movie. . . Murderers don't die that easily."
Peyton pouted, "Well. . . They should! It's just not right that they should be dead, but they're still living and they go around killing people!"
Josh looked at her surprised as a thought crossed his mind.
"What?" Peyton asked, eyeing him warily.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's nothing," Josh replied, turning off the t.v and closing his eyes while resting his head on the pillow.
"Whatever," came the reply. Josh heard slight rustling as Peyton laid down next to him.
"Good night, Josh," Peyton yawned.
"Good night, Peyton," Josh replied, closing his eyes.