Page 75 of The Vengeance You Crave

Her eyes hold mine, giving me all the answers I need. She knows everything.

"I just wish…" I trail off, not really having the words to finish that sentence. I wish for so many things. That Libby stayed out of trouble, that Luca believed me, that Mom exposed the truth instead of running away. But mostly, I just wish I could have my best friend back. I haven’t found anything even close to the connection the two of us shared, and I miss it.

A sob rips from my throat.

"Oh, sweetie."

"I miss him, Aunt Fee. I miss him, I miss her. I just…" I blow out a calming breath. "Everything is such a mess. All I want is a decent life for Kayden but—"

"You can't ruin your life trying to make that happen, P. Kayden does have a good life. Despite everything, he's happy. He likes it here and he's making incredible progress."

"I know but he could have so much more, you know."

She nods sadly. "I do. But like I told you before, that's not just down to you. I can only tell you what I think."

"And that is?" I ask, already knowing that I'm going to regret it.

She holds my eyes, her own sparkling with unshed tears. "There's too much loss in this world. You of all people know that Peyton. Life is short. Everyone deserves all the family they can get."

I nod, the lump in my throat too big to speak around.

Lifting my bottle to my lips, I force down large gulps before looking back at her.

"And if they don't accept him?"

"But what if they do?"

I slide down in the chair, allowing my head to hang back.

"I'm scared, Aunt Fee," I confess, staring at the ceiling.

"I know. I am too. But you don't need to expose him straight away. If they refuse to accept it, then nothing has changed for him."

I know she's right, but the thought of them—of him—telling me again that he doesn't believe me, that he wants nothing to do with Kayden. It shreds me.

"I want him to be worthy of knowing Kayden."

"I know you do. I only want the best for that little boy too, you know that. But maybe knowing about Kayden will allow him to prove his worth. It might be the push Luca needs to finally pull his head out of his ass with this."

Dropping my head into my hands, I consider standing in front of Luca once again and confessing everything. But just like every time I've thought about it over the years, I'm immediately fifteen again listening to him telling me that I'm a liar and that he couldn't believe we were ever friends.

"I need to go and shower," I tell Aunt Fee, standing with my bottle and heading for the door.

"Just think about it, yeah?"

Like I think about anything else."I will," I agree before dragging my weary body up the stairs for what I already know is going to be a fitful night's sleep once again.

20

Peyton

Much to my surprise, when I open my eyes the next morning, I actually feel like I've slept, which is a relief.

I dress and throw my hair up into a messy bun, seeing as I fell asleep with it still wet last night and head downstairs.

Aunt Fee is in the exact same place I left her last night, the only difference is that her breakfast is in front of her, not her laptop.

"Good morning," I sing, putting as much joy into my voice as possible.