The Coffee Shop Ch05 Teaser
Caleb smirked, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “I suppose they’re worried I’ll make off with the silver,” he joked dryly, swallowing hard afterwards.
Peyton caught his shoulders in her hands, forcing him back down onto the couch. “That is not why they’re coming back. You said it yourself – my dad was worried about you even as a kid. Now that you need a place to stay and you’re older…my guess is that they want to make sure you’re still all in one piece,” Peyton said honestly, relaxing her grip on him a little. “Caleb, I can call them back and tell them to stay. If you want me to, say it.”
Caleb smiled then, his expression whimsical. “Your mother doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman you say ‘no’ to often.”
Peyton came up short with that one. “Perhaps you’re right,” she agreed reluctantly. “But, what she wants doesn’t matter right now. Caleb, this is all about you.”
Caleb cringed openly and shook his head, dropping her gaze briefly. “Not entirely,” he said quietly, adopting that irritatingly neutral tone again. His eyes darkened a little when they met hers. “This is about the both of us, since you sort of opened a home that wasn’t yours to me and let your parents think we’re together,” Caleb finished bitterly.
Wait, what?
Peyton shook her head quickly, trying to process what she just heard.
“Are…are you mad at me now?” she asked him finally, trying to understand what in the hell was going on.
Caleb set his jaw and swallowed, obviously taking his time in answering. When he finally did, his voice was gruff with anger. “This whole thing is a mess. It would’ve been easier if you had just left me there.”
Peyton felt the air in her lungs leave with a resounding whoosh. Ice filled her veins before fear and adrenaline took over.
“Leave you there…to die?” Peyton choked out. “C-Caleb, you…” Her mind scrambled for something to say, something that made sense, and something that wouldn’t completely hurt his feelings.
“Caleb, you called out for help,” Peyton coughed up finally. “If you had really wanted to die, you wouldn’t have tried to hang on to the side of cliff. You would’ve dove in headfirst.”
She gripped his shoulders tightly then, shaking him a little. “Don’t ever say something like that again. You understand?” she demanded, finally consumed with fury. “What happened in your past has already happened, Caleb. If you continue to live wishing every day was your last, you’ll be stuck in this…limbo you’re in. You’ll never be happy.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened. “I’m carrying my past with me every day, Peyton,” he murmured, his voice too even. Too cold. “You’ve seen the scars. I’ll never get past what my father did to me. What this community did to me. All I will ever be able to do is live with what happened. It’s not moving on, Peyton. It’s coming to terms with my shitty upbringing. Huge difference.”
Peyton relaxed her grip on him, suddenly remembering the bruises there. Caleb didn’t even wince when she pulled away, but Peyton did it for him.
Not for the first time, Peyton couldn’t help but wonder if she had gotten in over her head. Yes, it was in the human nature – and Peyton’s nature – to want to help; to give aid when it was needed. Yes, she was concerned about Caleb’s welfare to a certain level that was mildly embarrassing to admit.
But maybe it wasn’t just her help that Caleb needed. Maybe he needed someone more qualified to handle his situation. Someone professional.
Immediately she balked at the idea. Caleb wouldn’t give a shrink a time of day. If she even offered him that sort of help he might get insulted.
No, she thought resignedly. I agreed to this as Caleb so helpfully pointed out, so I have to see it through to whatever end.
Peyton squared her shoulders and met Caleb’s inquiring gaze, making her aware of her prolonged silence.
“Do you want my help, Caleb Vaughn?” she asked him point blank, not leaving his icy green eyes as they bore into hers. “Or would you rather I get you a plane ticket to a place of your choice so you can start over, where no one knows Jeremiah Vaughn or that you burnt down a school building?”
“Are you bullying me into staying here with you?” Caleb asked, cutting to the point.
“Staying here means facing your past,” Peyton relented. “It means going to the police. It means going back to school and getting your education.” She steeled herself for what she was going to say next. “It means facing your dad. I can give you a home and whatever else you’ll need to succeed, but the rest is up to you.”
Caleb shook his head and laughed depreciatively. “More charity?” he asked hoarsely. “More therapist bullshit? Am I social project to you Peyton?”
Peyton grounded her teeth together and tried to breathe. Throttling him wouldn’t do any good. Berating him was just as pointless. Everywhere she turned with Caleb she came up to a brick wall. It was frustrating to say the least.
“Then tell me what you want Caleb,” Peyton said finally in an even tone, lifting her eyes to meet his. “If you don’t want my help, then tell me what you need.”
“Want and need are two different things,” Caleb murmured.
Peyton threw her hands up in the air and walked into the kitchen, shaking her head in irritation. “I can’t help you if you can’t tell me what you’re thinking, Caleb!” she shot at him, her irritation slipping through. She poured out her lukewarm tea into the sink then leaned against the ledge, her eyes drifting to the Overlook. If Caleb kept spinning this conversation around and around in circles, she might just throw herself off the cliff.
“I want to not be a freak,” Caleb said suddenly. Peyton looked over her shoulder and found Caleb’s sweatshirt in her view. She looked up and studied the expressionless way Caleb stared down at her.
“I want to be able to take my shirt off at the beach and not have everyone stare at my scars. I want to go to a place where no one thinks I’m trailer trash. I want to be someone, Peyton. Not the kid who has to keep accepting charity from strangers because without it he can’t survive. I want to give for once.”
The ice in Caleb’s eyes broke. “I don’t want pity anymore, Peyton. I need respect and I can’t get that here. All I know is that I need to start over. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll go to the police, I’ll face my dad, I’ll finish school. But…” Caleb took a step forward. “But I need you to be there.”
He shook his head slightly when Peyton went to speak. “It won’t be easy,” he warned her, his voice thick with emotion. “I won’t want to get out of bed some mornings. Some days I’ll hate you just because I can. I’ll argue with you just to see you in a rage. I have a habit of sleeping with my shoes on. I check the windows to see if they pop open easily for quick escape, I lock the doors of the rooms I’m in behind me so you can’t follow… Do you understand me, Peyton? Do you understand what helping me really means?”
Peyton gently took his hand in both of hers. “It means we both have a lot of work to do, and we’ll have to trust one another in order to make things work,” she said carefully. “Can you trust me, Caleb?”
“Will you be there for me, Peyton?” Caleb countered, his voice raw with pain.
“For as long as you need me,” Peyton murmured honestly, her eyes not leaving his. Caleb nodded and swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“Then I can trust you,” Caleb replied as Peyton released his hand.
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Note: I'm going to do a bit more tweaking with the beginning of TCS 05, then I'll post it to Lit. I'll keep you posted!!
Xo, LilyArc
i'm really curious now for the whole chapter !!
ReplyDeleteWell done. Everything else I could think of simply didn't fit :)
ReplyDelete