Page 106 of Promise Me Not

“What the hell happened, Payton? He was on top of the world when we went back for our spring semester, and then summer hit, and suddenly he was different, so…what happened? Anddon’t say you don’t know or it’s not about you. It is. I saw it back in November before Deaton was even born, and I see it now. Something happened between you two when he came home with his injury, didn’t it?”

Tears build in my eyes, and hers blow wide open.

“I knew it!” She frowns. “He’s in love with you, isn’t he?”

“Cameron, please,” I beg in a whisper. “You can’t tell anyone. It’s…complicated.”

Air whooshes from her lips, almost as if in relief, and she rushes forward, dropping on the bed beside me. “He loves you, and you broke his heart.”

My muscles lock, and I wait for her to yell at me, so I’m shocked when her arms wrap tight around me and she tugs me into her chest.

“I never meant to hurt him,” I admit, pulling back and running a hand over Deaton’s curly hair. “There’s just”—I swallow—“so much at stake.”

When I look up at Cameron, there’s a sympathetic smile on her lips, but it’s the words she leaves me with that are sure to haunt me.

“I would argue that there’s so much to lose.” She pushes to her feet, squeezing my hand before letting it fall. “If you go too far down this road, you will.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Payton

Before,February

Warm lips pressto my collarbone, and a smile tugs at my lips. I stretch my neck, allowing him more access, and his mouth curves against my skin, his hair tickling along my ear and making me giggle.

I shift in the bed, spinning, and he takes me in his arms, holding me tightly.

“It’s time to wake up, Payton.”

“Just five more minutes.”

“That would only make you want five more,” he whispers. “Come on, time to get up.” He tugs at my hands, but I just twine my fingers with his, reveling in the warmth.

Finally, my eyes open, locking on to a perfect pair of brown ones. “Good morning, Deaton.”

His eyes slope at the sides, his voice low. “Good morning, Payton.”

“I miss you,” I whisper. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I know.” He nods, his voice fading. “But it’s time to get up now.”

“Wait.” I swallow, reaching out when he begins to blur. “Wait!”

I fly up in bed, blinking around the room when a soft cry reaches me.

I look to the side, smiling down at my son in his bassinet, his big blue eyes wide open, tiny fingers in his mouth.

Warmth spreads through me, and I swallow past the melancholy my dreams always seem to leave behind, yet still, every night, I look forward to them.

To seeing his face and hearing his voice.

“Someone’s awake early,” I murmur, leaning down and lifting him into my arms.

He stretches, his little butt pooching out and tiny arms lifting above his head in the most adorable way.

There’s a soft knock on the door, and my brother’s face appears.

“Hey.” He slips inside to rub his hands over Deaton’s curly hair. “I thought I heard someone.”

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