“Hey, don’t you want to try to get some sleep?” he asked.
“I don’t think I can.”
“I know. But you should try.” He plopped back down on the couch. “Hey, I was wondering… where was Ashley on her way to, when they grabbed her?”
“Actually, she was coming to see you. Her dad is going to come and pick her up tomorrow or the next day. She wanted to say good-bye.”
“Oh no! It’s my fault, then.”
“Don’t say that. It’s definitely not your fault. But I think she really likes you, and if you weren’t always such an idiot, you would have realized that by now.”
“Sam, seriously, I have never once met a girl that really likes me for me. They like me because of the way I look or because of the parties they’ll get invited to if they’re with me.”
“Well, maybe that’s because those are the only sides of yourself that you let people see. You’re actually very similar to Ashley. She hides her soft center behind her sexy clothes and her hard exterior. But I think that since her mom died, all she really wants is someone who will be there for her.”
“That’s a bunch of sentimental BS,” he said. “But thank you.”
I yawned. “Maybe you’re right—I should get some sleep.” At first, I just wanted to stop talking to Ryan, and I pretended to have fallen asleep. But at some point my exhaustion must have gotten the better of me, because I woke with a start when the doorbell rang.
Everyone was immediately on alert, and the two boys stood protectively in front of Kim and me. I took a deep breath. What felt like a day passed, though I’m certain it was only a few seconds.
“Go on… Open it up,” I said to Ryan.
“And if it’s them?”
“They’ll get us sooner or later, anyway. Just do it!”
With a quiet click, Ryan released the safety on his dad’s gun, and he quietly crept toward the door. Then he tore the door open in exactly the same way it’s always done on TV and expertly aimed the gun at the two tall men.
I let out a sharp shriek, as the world around me started to spin and my knees caved beneath me. Was Payton at my door, or was it just a dream?
Never had I thought seeing him again would shake me so much, but there I was, with tears in my eyes and words that just wouldn’t come out of my throat. All I could do was look at him. I wanted to let my inhibitions go. To touch him and feel his strong arms around me, which would make everything all right. But I did nothing of the kind. I didn’t move and didn’t utter one word.
So it was up to Kim to clarify what she had guessed by my reaction. “I guess that one of you must be Payton?”
Blair eyed his brother, who also seemed to have turned to stone. He nodded and pointed to Payton. “Good guess,” he said. “That’s Payton. And I’m his brother Blair.”
Payton’s whole body was trembling, and his sweet lips were pressed tightly together in a narrow line. He curled his hands into fists, pushed past Ryan and his gun, sank down to his knees next to me, and pulled me into his arms. A muffled sound of pain made its way to my ear, but I wasn’t willing to give up our embrace. It was too wonderful to feel Payton’s hands on my back and to inhale his familiar scent. I pressed myself tightly to him.
Only slowly did my brain start working again. A full mountain of questions swam to the surface of my foggy mind. And plenty of doubts. How had he found me? Was he working with the others? Was I safe? Or in the worst danger of my life?
Slowly, I raised my eyes. When I saw the immense pain in his face, I was terrified.
I couldn’t stop second-guessing everything. Was his expression because he was close to me, or because he’d come to finish me off? The poison of mistrust had mixed itself into my blood and I was fully incapable of freeing myself. I just plain didn’t know who I could trust anymore.
I stood up and pushed Payton away, crossing my arms over my chest to keep the warmth of his body with me for a moment longer.
“So what are you doing here?” It took every ounce of energy to keep the emotion out of my voice.
Payton looked surprised. “What? I had to see to it that you were safe.”
His voice touched my soul, but I struggled to build a barrier to protect myself. My heart was already in shreds, and I couldn’t allow him to hurt me again.
Payton took a tentative step toward me, but I shied away.
Ryan had been watching the whole scene quietly. He cleared his throat and motioned to the door with his weapon. “I guess you should go now. I don’t think you’re welcome here.”
The Scots ignored his remark. They hadn’t crossed the Atlantic to be given orders by an American high school boy.