Wiping her face, Peyton walked towards the backyard. She opened the gate and kept walking until she was staring at the cherry blossom tree. She had so many memories of this one tree. Callum had once breathed, “Be with me, Peyton,” in her ear as they’d sat underneath it.
She shook her head to rid herself of the memories and took one more glimpse at the tree before she headed over to the shed. Peyton paused before she opened the door and was greeted with dust. The light illuminated at the flicker of the switch and she looked around until her eyes found the axe. She picked it up and felt its weight. Turning around, she gazed over at the house, realising that she was now alone in this world.
With each step Peyton took, leaving the shed behind, another tear ran down her face. She stood two steps away from the tree and held the axe tight in her hands, ready to chop it down. After she’d picked a spot where she’d let the axe blade enter the bark, she took a deep breath, held the axe so tight that her knuckles turned white, and drew it back before swinging the blade into the tree.
Cherry blossoms fell from the tree as she removed the blade and readied it for another swing.
“Peyton, stop!” Graham cried as he ran to her. When he reached her, he tried to take the axe from her.
“No! Stop it, Graham! Just stop.” Peyton fought back, but it was no use.
He removed the axe from her hands and threw it away from her.
Before Peyton could yell at him, Graham wrapped his arms around her and held her. Sobs escaped her as she realised what she’d been about to do. As a way to get rid of the memories of Callum, she had almost destroyed her mother’s favourite tree. The tree that had convinced her father to buy the house they’d lived in.
“Oh my God. I almost—”
“I know, Peyton. I know,” Graham said as he stroked the back of her head. “You’re not alone. I’m always here. You’re never alone.”
Peyton looked up to see the small smile that Graham offered. “Promise you won’t leave me.”
“I promise.”
Peyton opened the front door to find him there with a less-than-impressed expression on his face.
“He’s back?” Graham asked as he put his phone in his pocket.
“He’s back, Graham.” She took a step back and let him into the house.
Graham walked to the hallway table and put his ute keys on it before heading towards the living room. Peyton followed behind him after she shut the door.
She didn’t have to look to know that Graham was on her couch, scratching into the arm of the chair—something he did when he was frustrated. Peyton went to the fridge and grabbed a beer and can of Coke. After approaching the couch, she sat next to him, handing over the beer. Then she raised her legs and tucked them underneath her as she opened her can and took a sip.
“I was going to call you,” she said, staring at the red can.
“I’m sure you were, Peyton.” Graham let out a sigh before taking a long pull of his beer.
“Jay told you?”
“Yeah,” he replied as he placed the bottle on her coffee table.
“He told me to tell you. Why did he call you?” Peyton asked as she mirrored Graham and put her Coke down.
Graham lifted his feet and rested them on the glass table. “He’s worried about you.”
“He doesn’t have to be. Callum made his intentions clear. He just wants my forgiveness for not showing up to Mum and Dad’s funeral.”
Graham’s eyebrows shot up. When he turned his head to meet her eyes, his blue eyes had darkened. “Is that it? He’s not sorry that he left you or played with your feelings?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he actually cares. He just wants my forgiveness and that’s it. I could just say that I do forgive him and make him leave, but he’ll be back for his best friend’s wedding.”
Graham took his feet off the coffee table and placed them on the carpet. His eyebrows furrowed. “Wedding?”
Peyton sighed. “That last-minute booking Aunt Brenda made was Marissa Reynolds’ wedding and Callum’s the best man,” she revealed.
“Wow,” Graham breathed.
“Yeah, wow,” she agreed and rested her head against the back of the couch. “I never expected this, Graham. I never thought he’d come back. Why did he have to?” she asked softly, staring at the couch cushion that separated them.
“Come here,” Graham said as he took her hand and brought her closer.
Peyton smiled as she settled her head in his lap, Graham’s hand stroking her head. It was too much for her. She hadn’t anticipated Callum’s return. She had only just got her life together since his departure and her parents’ deaths.
“I don’t think that I’ll be strong enough to face him again. I have to just ignore his being back. I didn’t go to the hotel today because I was scared I might run into him in town,” she said, staring at their beverages on the table.
“You don’t have to be scared, Peyton. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was him.”