“I do,” he says confidently. “It tells you that when the time is right, you’ll make the right choice. Maybe that’s the momentous decision you’ll have to make. But still, I think you’re making a mistake right now. I think you should be looking forward, not looking back.”
“I am looking forward. I have to get my life back.”
“I think you should go back to school.”
“If I do that, you can’t date Peyton.”
“This sucks,” he says, running his hands down the sides of his face. “So you’re really going to do it? You’re going to put him on the plane and say goodbye?”
“I have to, Damian.”
“So where are you going?”
“I’m going to stay here for a few more days, if that’s okay. I’ll spend some time online looking at farm properties that I can lease quickly. I had originally thought I’d go somewhere in the Midwest, but now I’m leaning toward Texas. Did you know that in Texas if someone comes on your property, like trespasses, you can legally shoot them? Well, at least I think so. I need to look and see if it’s an actual law or if it’s just Grandpa’s bullshitting, but I do know they are a very gun-friendly state.”
“So your plan is to learn how to shoot, then lure Vincent to Texas, where you will then shoot him for trespassing and it will be over?”
“Oh, I never thought of that. That’s a really good idea. And one that wouldn’t require the mob or jail time.”
“Do you have other ideas?”
“I have a whole lot of ideas. One of which is just walking into Vincent’s office and telling him I want to audition for his movie. See what happens.”
“Keatyn, fuck! You can’t do that!”
“I love you, Damian, you know that. But, in this, only I have a say about what I can or can’t do. When I saw Vincent in Vancouver, I wasn’t so much scared as I was pissed.”
“You weren’t scared?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Fine. I was scared. Really scared. But I was really mad too. And the mad is starting to take over.”
“You’re mad because you want to be with Aiden.”
“My life is unsettled because of Vincent. I’m mad because I can’t see my family. I’m mad because my mom is freaking out scared. She’s losing weight. Won’t ride anywhere with Tommy. Thinks Vincent is going to kill them both. My own family was afraid of me. They were afraid I brought Vincent to them.”
“But you would never do that.”
“But, yet, I almost did. He was headed there. He had men on the plane with him. Men who looked like Garrett.”
“Garrett scares me a little.”
“He’s been really nice to me. But tough, you know. And I love Cooper.”
“He’s the bodyguard?”
“Yeah, he’s a badass. And it’s really sad. His older sister was killed by a stalker—in fact it happened at Thanksgiving time.”
Damian looks like he just got the wind knocked out of him.
“I would seriously die if anything happened to you. You always have been and always will be my best friend.”
“I thought about faking my death. Even about killing myself.”
Damian’s eyes get huge and he grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “Tell me that is not part of your plan.”
“It’s not. I don’t think it’s just about me anymore. James said something about Vincent wanting both me and Mom. I’m positive there’s stuff going on that they aren’t telling me. So my being gone wouldn’t solve my family’s problems.”
Unless I take Vincent down with me, I think, but don’t dare say out loud.
“This is all just crazy.”
“Yeah, it is.”
He gives me a hug and says, “I’m gonna go shower before Peyton wakes up. There’s a lot I need to tell her. And you need to talk to Aiden. When are you going to tell him?”
“Right before you leave for the airport. I’ll tell him and just not go with.”
“You think he’s going to accept that?”
“That’s the other thing I need you to do, Damian. Make sure he gets on that plane and goes home.”
I move from the cabana to go sit in the sand. I close my eyes, sit still, and just breathe.
I need to say something to Peyton about not going back too.
But I can’t come up with anything.
The truth is, I don’t want her to go back to Eastbrooke without me. I don’t want to miss dancing during basketball season, or our competition, or the first big snowstorm, or winter formal, or French weekend . . .
“Hey,” Peyton says, sitting down beside me. “You’re up early.”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t believe it’s already time to leave. Have you seen Damian this morning?”
“Yeah, he went to shower a little bit ago.”
“He says he’s writing me a song.”
“He is. He was working on it last night on the beach after you went to sleep.”
“We slept together,” she whispers. “And he wasn’t there this morning.”
“That doesn’t mean what you think it does. Damian is creative and driven and when he’s inspired, he has to get it out of him.”
“So does he write every girl a song? Is that, like, his thing?” She sighs.
I think to when I asked Aiden if he brought every girl lunch, or clovers, or cake.