Page 109 of The Destruction You Desire

"I'm fine."

"He hit you, Peyton. He tried to… that will never be okay."

"I know, but it's over. You rescued me."

"I'm so fucking sorry, baby."

"Stop trying to take on blame that isn't yours. This is all on him, all of it."

He nods. "Whatever they do with him, I really hope it hurts."

"Me too," I confess. I've never wished anyone harm before in my life, but I'll make an exception for Brett. "What do we do now?"

"Wait for Lee to come back, find out what they've done, I guess. We need to go and talk to Mom. I want to meet Kayden. And I want to properly get to know you again."

His hand finds my neck and he kisses me gently.

"I need to go and see Libby. She's going to be waiting for me."

"Baby, I really don't think—"

I pin him with a look that I know he's not going to be able to ignore.

"Okay. But it's going to be a short visit," he insists.

"That's fine.”

“We can swing by Fee's and grab some stuff."

"Can we now?"

"I know you live there. I know it's where Kayden is and probably where you want to be, but I'm not letting you go tonight, possibly not for a while. I just need you to know that."

"Okay, I think I can cope with that."

* * *

"Peyton, is that you?" Aunt Fee calls as I run for the stairs, still wearing Luca's shirt and a pair of his sweats that barely stay up on me.

"Yeah, give me a minute."

She doesn't and a second later, I hear her footsteps follow me up the stairs.

"Is everything—holy shit, Peyton," she says when she gets a look at my face.

"I'm okay. Everything is… f-fine."

Her brow lifts as she stares at me, clearly knowing that everything is not fine.

"I had a run-in with Brett Dunn."

"And he did that to you?" she seethes, the anger that emanates from her rivals that of Luca's.

"Luca saved me. Brett is… Brett is being dealt with."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know but I trust those who are doing it to ensure he gets what he deserves."