Page 99 of The Destruction You Desire

"Okay, your call. Just remember that we're here if you need us."

"I know, and I really appreciate it."

We make our way out, thanking the lady who's still sitting behind the desk and toward Letty's car.

"Thank you for this."

"You know, you should totally make use of looking like that and maybe set up a date or something tonight," Letty suggests as a slightly tipsy Ella falls into the passenger seat claiming to need a nap.

"You think I should call him?"

"It's totally up to you, but a normal night out might be exactly what you need."

The thought of sitting opposite Luca in a restaurant and acting like civilized adults does have butterflies beginning to take flight in my belly.

Could we do it though? Could we push all the shit aside for a few hours and just try to be us. Find the two people who aren’t drowning in all the drama that surrounds their lives.

"I'll think about it," I say, honestly.

"Come on then. I know one guy who's going to appreciate the shit out of this." She gestures to her face. "And his last class of the day is about to finish." She winks before joining Ella in the car.

I leave them with a heavy heart and the promise of hanging out again soon when Letty pulls up outside Aunt Fee's house.

I quickly run inside to grab a few things and message Aunt Fee to let her know that I'm on my way via work to grab a few things out of my locker, seeing as I'm no longer an employee it seems.

I grab my keys and jump in my car for the first time in almost two weeks. I sit behind the wheel and remember that the last place I parked it was at college. I have a vague memory of Luca telling me that he'd get some of the guys to sort it out and I'm more than grateful that he pulled through.

He really did think of everything those first few days after that phone call from Dr. Willis.

Guilt floods me. Maybe I have been too harsh on him.

I battle with myself all the way to The Locker Room.

It’s late afternoon when I pull up into the parking lot. Aunt Fee has already left Libby to get Kayden from kindergarten, so I need to get this over with as quickly as possible so I can get to her.

I know she's perfectly fine having a little alone time, it's probably good for her but it still makes me feel bad.

I'm going to need to get used to it though because I can't miss any more classes. I have got to go back next week and attempt to catch up on what I've missed.

The beat of the music is low, quieter than it usually is on a regular evening.

"Peyton," a familiar voice calls from behind me as I walk across the almost empty space. "It's so good to see you."

Turning around, I find Bry making his way over to me with a huge smile on his face. He pulls me in for a hug and holds me tight for a few seconds.

"How's your sister doing?"

"Yeah, I think she's going to be okay if she's willing to accept the help."

"That's good news." He leads me over to the bar. "So, I hear my favorite employee is no more."

"So I hear."

"Did Luc tell you?" he asks, leaning in and whispering.

"Tell me what? That I no longer have a job."

"Well that, yeah. But he walked in on Helena blowing Julian under his desk."