Page 19

Clay - Four Days Later

“This box is ready to go!” Peyton yelled from one of the upstairs bedrooms.

I climbed the stairs to find her taping one of the last boxes shut. I walked over, grabbed the box from the bed, and carried it downstairs, where I placed it in the hallway. I’d flown out after we lost the last game, sending the Boston Enforcers to the playoffs.

I didn’t think it really surprised many of us. We’d been struggling as a team, for the better part of the end of the year. Phil had retired at the beginning of this season. Then Levi and Colton joined the team, mid-season, throwing our entire game play strategies off. I think we’d all been surprised that we’d made it to the second round of playoffs, but when we got the news that Aurora had gone into labor the day before our last game, I think we all knew we were going to lose.

Instead of staying back in Vancouver, I immediately booked a flight to come out here to help Peyton pack up the rest of the things and get ready for the movers. I’d been here two days, we’d accomplished a lot, but we still didn’t have any word on how Aurora was.

I went back up the stairs, grabbing two more boxes Peyton had packed, and was about to head down the stairs when I heard a knock at the front door.

“I’ll be back for these,” I said, heading down the stairs.

I was about to pull the door open when it burst open, and Lorelai walked in. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore the pink jogging suit she loved.

“Hey, more help is here!” she said, smiling, only I noticed it didn’t reach her eyes.

“We weren’t expecting you,” I said, shutting the front door, but when I felt resistance, I stopped.

Knox came in behind her, an irritated look on his face. He walked past Lorelai and headed straight for the kitchen. Then he turned and looked in my direction.

“You weren’t expecting us because we weren’t going to come, but Lorelai forced me,” he mumbled, looking at the boxes that were piled in the hallway.

“Peyton!” Lorelai called from the base of the stairs.

Peyton came around the corner and glanced down at us, a look of shock quickly replaced with a smile as she saw Lorelai.

“What are you doing… here?”

“Well, we thought you could use some help. So, we flew in first thing this morning. “What can I do?” she said, shedding her jacket and placing her hands on her hips.

“Well, if you want to come up and help me here, I am just about done with the last bedroom, and then we can get started in the kitchen. This may go faster than I thought,” Peyton said, sounding excited to almost be finished.

“Outstanding,” Lorelai said as she climbed the stairs two by two. “Don’t you two kill one another. Hear me, Knox?”

Knox muttered something under his breath as he looked in my direction, shaking his head. I chuckled and took off to grab the two boxes I’d left at the top of the stairs and made my way back down and into the kitchen.

“The moving pod should be here any minute. We can get some boxes loaded and out of the way as soon as it arrives, which will make it easier to move around,” I said, pulling two beers from the fridge, handing one to Knox. “Let’s go out back, shall we?” I said, opening the back door. “I can use a quick break.”

“How big of a bin is coming?” Knox questioned, taking a swig of beer, closing the door behind him.

“Well, I ordered it based on how many rooms this place had, so they assured me everything should fit into one.”

“When will it be on its way to Vancouver?”

“The day we head back to Vancouver, Saturday morning. It’s scheduled to be picked up at eight in the morning. We fly at three. What about you guys?”

“Same. It was the only flight Lorelai could get, apparently.”

I could feel the tension between us. The same tension I’d felt that night at dinner, on the ice, even during our last game. It was different, though, from that day in the locker room when he’d hit me. Yet I was still tired of the tension. I knew he was angry, but this had to blow over, and it needed to blow over now.

“Any news on Aurora and Dylan?”

Knox shook his head. “Nope, Lorelai messaged before we got on the plane this morning. Still nothing.”

I nodded, taking another swig of my beer. Tension continued to build, and we stood in the backyard like we were strangers instead of friends.

“Look, can we just clear the air? I can’t take this anymore, this barely speaking to one another.”

Knox sat there, arms resting on his knees, hands wrapped around the bottle he was drinking from, looking down at the ground.

“I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. You guys are all I have,” I said.

“Look, I’ve had time to think things through, and I will admit, I flew off the handle a little and didn’t keep a rational, levelheaded mind. Peyton hasn’t made sound choices lately, you know that. The guys that she’s dated have always used her, some doing an awful lot of damage I’m sure, even though she hasn’t seen it. I was afraid when I found out that she was pregnant that you too would eventually just walk, that maybe you had been using her.”

“I get that, and I can certainly see where you are coming from. Most guys would bail.”

“Damn straight they would. I’ve known you a long time, and I’ve known your track record…”

“Yeah, and don’t forget, I know yours, but I’ve never gotten a girl pregnant, at least not that I know of, anyway.”

“Nor have I,” Knox added. “I guess I just jumped to conclusions that you’d do what probably all the guys she’s dated would do. It was wrong. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“You are right. You shouldn’t have assumed shit. I’ll admit, I won’t lie, I was scared, and after she told me. I contemplated just disappearing, but when it came down to it, I also knew how I felt about your sister. It was something like the Dylan-Aurora situation. So, while I was scared and I wanted to run, a huge part of me knew I couldn’t. I’ll always do right by her, I promise you that.”

“I know Lorelai has beat that into me. She said she was tired of my irrational attitude. She also told me I wasn’t being fair to either of you.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sounds like Lorelai, but she is right. I’m surprised she hasn’t cut you off.”

“Buddy, you seriously have not got the faintest idea.”

“Uh-oh, what happened?”

“Well, the night of the dinner when I lost my shit, once everyone left and I returned, in the privacy of our bedroom, she gave me my ring back.” He said, avoiding my eyes.

“What?” I gasped. “No.”

“Yep, she basically told me there was no way she was marrying someone as pig-headed as me. So, I spent the night alone for the first time since she’d moved in, and let me tell you, it’s been the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had. She’s been sleeping in the guest bedroom ever since.”

“Is that why she’s a little off?”

“Yep, I’ve tried to talk to her to get her to reconsider, but she’s as much as told me that once we get this move for Mom and Peyton out of the way, she’ll be looking for her own place again. I firmly believe that if Mom hadn’t been staying with us, she’d have moved out already.”

Knox looked so defeated, I truly felt bad for him, but I also knew Lorelai wouldn’t take his shit either.

“So, is that why suddenly you’re willing to talk?” I questioned.

Knox shrugged. “That and other things. Phil gave me shit. He told me I needed to remember who Lorelai really was, his sister, and that I really had no room to talk. Then, my mother gave me a piece of her mind too the following morning and then told me I was acting worse than my father ever would have been. That struck a fucking chord with me because, as you know, he was terrible, so when I heard that, I sort of gave things a second thought.”

“So, you pulled your head out of your ass?”

“You could say that. I also hated being told I was worse than my father. My entire life, I’ve worked hard to be better than him. I think that was why I cared so much about Peyton and her decisions. I need to remember that she is an adult.”

“She is, and I swear to you once again that I’ll always do everything in my control to do right by her.”

“I know you will. I never should have doubted it, man. Seriously, I should have known that, out of everyone, after what you’ve been through losing your entire family, that you’d do right no matter what, especially if you had feelings for her. Ultimately, what happens is between the two of you. It has nothing to do with me.”

Knox surprised me by standing up and giving me a quick bro hug, but he quickly pulled away right after because the back door opened.

“Well, no one is bleeding,” Lorelai said, stepping into the backyard, followed by Peyton.

“Thank god for that.” Peyton smiled.

Peyton glanced over at her brother and, without another moment being spared, Knox walked over and hugged her.

“Just wanted to say I am sorry for how I acted. I’m happy for you, and if you want to be with this loser, then by all means, go for it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I looked to the ground and smiled as Peyton hugged Knox and then placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I love you, kid, no matter what you might think. I’m sorry for the things I said to you.”

“I love you too,” Peyton said.

When he let her go, he walked over to where he’d been standing and picked up his beer, taking another drink.

I turned to Peyton and took hold of her hand. “I’ve had enough of a break. Let’s go get the rest of the boxes from upstairs. I think these two need to talk.”

Peyton only nodded and then slipped her hand into mine. I was certain she already had heard everything from Lorelai.