Chapter Thirty-Six - I Will Try My Best To Give Her A Good Day

Chapter Thirty-Six - I Will Try My Best To Give Her A Good Day
Gabe

It's after ten in the morning, and Peyton is still sleeping peacefully in my bed. I left her to rest because she needed it after her day yesterday. Now, I'm about to wake her up with bagels, cream cheese, and coffee. I texted Anthony to let him know Peyton is still asleep and that she might stay here with me for a few days. I need to get her some clothes, as I assume she doesn’t have any. While I would normally suggest she return to her place to pick up her belongings, she seems hesitant to go home anytime soon. If she wants, I can take her shopping for what she needs, or, if she prefers, she can give me a list, and I will pick up the items for her. 

I carry everything on a tray into my bedroom, place it on the bedside cabinet, and sit on the bed. I glance down, brush her hair from her face, and notice something that makes my blood boil. The bastard hurt her! That's why she's upset and hasn't shared everything. I see the bruises on her face—looks like he backhanded her. I swear, I will kill him! It was bad enough what he did to her at the wedding, and now this! He isn’t going to get away with it. I will hunt him down and beat the hell out of him. My entire body tenses.

“Peyton, wake up,” I say softly as I gently shake her. 

She groans and slowly opens her eyes. “Gabe.”

“You should have told me,” I whisper, gently touching the marks on her face. 

Peyton grows nervous. “Um, what are you talking about?” 

I shake my head. “Peyton, don’t lie to me. I know Max hurt you. Where is he? I want his address,” I hiss. 

“I am not telling you where he is.” 

I spring to my feet. “Peyton, where is he? Give me his address or his workplace.” 

She sits up, pulls her knees to her chest, and says, “No! Leave it. Max and I are finished. I won't tell you anything because you'll do something foolish and get into trouble. He's not worth it.” 

“Now!” I shout, throwing my hands up in the air. 

Peyton jumps and whimpers in response to my raised voice. Damn! The last thing she needs is more men shouting at her and frightening her. 

I settle back on the bed and take her hand. "Sorry for raising my voice. Where is he?” 

“I am not telling you. End of discussion! Leave it. I want nothing to do with him, and you need to stay away too. He is not worth the hassle.” 

I close my eyes, drawing in a breath and run my fingers through my hair. I need to keep myself calm because I don’t want to get angry around her. Peyton can’t expect me to do anything. 

“Peyton, he hurt you; he can’t get away with it.” I sigh. 

Shaking her head, she climbs out of bed. “I am done with this conversation. If you don’t drop it, I am leaving.” 

Peyton quickly heads to the bathroom. I groan and tug at my hair, frustrated. This isn't how I envisioned the morning, but seeing the bruising changed everything. Peyton probably didn't tell Anthony and Kaitlyn, or they would have mentioned it. She likely covered it with makeup last night since I would have noticed otherwise. I hate that he hurt her again and really hope she was serious about being done with him this time. 

I wait for her to come back. Peyton needs to discuss these issues instead of holding them inside, but if I push too hard, she might leave. I don’t want her to go. Being here with me, she is safe, and he can’t get to her. 

I hear Peyton coming back from the bathroom and crawl straight back into bed. 

“Are you hungry?” I ask. 

She nods. “A little.” 

I bring the tray over and place it in front of her before climbing into bed to sit beside her. I slice the bagels and spread cream cheese on them, then hand one to her. 

“Do you want me to go to your apartment and pick up some things for you? Do you still want to stay?” 

Peyton takes a bite of her bagel, finishing it off before she turns to me. “Are you still okay with me staying here? I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. No, I don’t want you to go to my apartment. I will buy what I need. It will only be things for me for a few days.” 

A part of me wishes there was more to it than just her needing a safe place, but I realize that's not the case. I won't push further. 

“Sure, I’m fine with it. I understand there’s nothing between us. I can prepare the spare room for you. Would you like to go shopping today?”

She snickers. “I need underwear. Going commando doesn’t seem like a good idea.” 

I laugh loudly, glad to see her laughing instead of feeling sad. “I can give you some boxers to wear until you find some.” 

“Thank you. I know you want to talk more about what happened. I know you probably want to kill Max, but for today, can we forget about it? I don’t want to waste time thinking about him. I want a good day and to pretend that everything is okay, even for a few hours. Can you do that for me?” 

I rest my hand on her knee and give it a gentle squeeze. “I promise, I can do that.” 

Perhaps if I give it to her today, she might be more willing to discuss it. 

Peyton kisses my cheek. “Thank you. Let’s eat and get ready to head out.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

She nods, and we turn our attention to breakfast before she leaves to get ready. I set out some boxers, socks, and a hoodie for her to wear, knowing Peyton won’t want my joggers or jeans since they’ll be too big. She’ll need to wear the same trousers from last night until she can get new ones. I’ll do my best today to make her day better than yesterday.