Reject Me (Kin #5)(45)
Author: Jennifer Foor

She couldn’t begin to understand what was going on. “Ash, you don’t get it. Peyton and me are through. I told her I lied and cheated so that she’d never want to talk to me again.”

“You what? Is she okay?” I watched the mother in her coming out. She cared about Peyton, and I’d made her upset.

I sat down on the curb when it started to feel like I was spinning. My life was out of control. “I don’t know.”

Ashley kicked me in the shin. “Boy, I ought to kick your little ass. How could you do that to her?”

The better question was how could she marry such a loser. “Maybe if you’d kept a leash on your douche of a husband I wouldn’t have had to do anything.”

She paced around in the street. “I need to call her. She must be a mess. I wonder if she went to Wayne’s house.”

Hearing his name pissed me off. Peyton said they were just friends, but at this point any other man was a threat to me. She was beautiful and kind. It was only a matter of time before he saw that and took full advantage of her vulnerability. “Wayne? You think she’d run right to him?”

“After what you did to her there’s no tellin’ where she’s run off to. I can promise you this, if she’s hurt herself in anyway I’m holdin’ you and Shayne personally responsible. That girl’s been nothin’ but good to both of you.”

She’d been too good to me. She’s loved me and forgiven me when I didn’t deserve it.

I stood up and tried to calm her down. “Ash, I love her. I love her so much it’s killin’ me inside. I f**ked up again and again, and I have no idea how to make it right.”

She looked me right in the eyes. “Go home, sleep off the alcohol, and make things right in the mornin’. I will deal with my husband.”

“You goin’ to divorce him?” I hoped she was.

“Of course not. I might feel like kickin’ his ass, but you don’t give up on the people you love, especially not after all we’ve been through. If anyone can get through to him it’s me. I’m sorry this happened to you, but you’re the only person who can make it right. Go home, Jamey, before my neighbors call the cops again.”

I walked the rest of the way home in silence. Getting drunk and fighting with my brother had led me to talk to Ashley. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Now I just had to convince Peyton to forgive me for the hundredth time.

Chapter 25

Peyton

I woke up only when I felt the bed moving. Wayne had climbed out and headed for the bathroom. The clock read eight, so I pulled a pillow over my head and closed my eyes. My head was still pounding and I knew it was a result of all the crying I’d been doing. Honestly, I was tired of feeling this way. I wanted to be strong and independent. My time of dwelling on what I couldn’t have needed to end.

Wayne started a shower and closed the bathroom door. Since I knew he wouldn’t want me doing it, I pulled out my phone and peeked while I knew he was indisposed.

There was a missed call from Jamey. I don’t know why it got me excited, because he could have very well called to tell me to stop leaving him messages. I called the voicemail to see if my waiting message was from him.

“Pey, baby it’s me. I need to tell you a secret. You’re brother, Shayne, is a douche. He’s like a f**kin’ cock suckin’-.” The message cut off.

I looked down at my phone wondering why in the hell he’d call me to cut down my brother like that. It was obvious that they’d gotten into a fight, but after hurting me so terribly he’d think it was okay to belittle my family on a message? It made me so angry.

When I heard Wayne coming out of the bathroom I turned off my phone and put it back in my purse. He walked out in a towel with his chest bare. Wayne was an attractive man, his light hair and honest eyes always made me feel safe. “Good morning. Do you feel any better?”

I reached up and touched my swollen eyes. “My head is killin’ me from all this cryin’, and I probably shouldn’t tell you this but I got this message from Jamey on my phone last night where he called my brother a few choice names and then hung up. Now I’m more pissed off at myself for being stupid enough to sleep with him again in the first place.”

“You didn’t mention that you slept with Jamey.” I’d neglected to share every detail of what had transpired between us. There were just some things that I didn’t like talking to Wayne about. The last thing I needed was for him to think I was becoming a whore. I’d already been called that in high school, and vowed to never be that person again.

“It was a small detail that I left out. It’s not like I planned it.”

“You know what I think?”

I climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. “What?” I was fully prepared for a lecture. Sometimes Wayne was as bad as my own mother, except I could avoid seeing her much easier.

“I think your brother might have said something to Jamey yesterday. Think about it. He was set on doing whatever it took to get back together, and then after fighting with your brother he changed his mind, telling you it was all some kind of mistake. Unless your boyfriend has a mental illness like bi-polar disorder I’d say that someone was forcing his hand.”

What Wayne was saying made sense. It would explain why Jamey was all over the place, and also why he’d pushed me away so abruptly at the police station. “It’s possible. My brother had him locked up before for drinking. It caused a lot of problems.”

“That’s when we became friends. I remember you telling me about it. Do you think your brother is capable of doing something so severe to protect you?”

“I suppose. He hates Jamey so much. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Peyton, you need to get to the bottom of this. If your brother did this to you than you still have a chance to work things out. As your friend, who doesn’t want to see you suffering, I’d suggest you get this all figured out, sooner than later.”

I sank down on the mattress. “God, you’re right. What am I goin’ to do? How will I know?”

“I’d call that boyfriend of yours for starters. He’d probably come clean before your brother. I’ve got a feeling that if this is all true Shayne isn’t going to broadcast that he was the reason for your pain.”

I’d been angry at Shayne a million times in my life, but for him to mess around with my relationship was beyond wrong. I picked my phone back out of my purse and dialed someone who I could talk to about our brother.