If You Make a Deal With a Shadow...

Chapter 35

"It's been on your heart, been on my mind. I'll take the blame, 'cause I know it's mine. You've been there from the start, right by my side. You think it's your fault we're at the finish line."

- Change by Trey Songz

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Aubrey walked down the stairs and padded into the dining room, following the smell of breakfast. Payton, Kasey, and even Junior were already at the table. She cocked an eyebrow up at her son and he gave her a full megawatt smile. She said good morning to everyone before going to the nearby bathroom to wash her hands. She walked out after drying her hands and noticed that Payton had been watching her every move. She ignored his stares and sat next to Junior.

Payton knew she caught him staring, but he didn't care. This morning he had woken up to an empty bed. She had slept on the couch that was in the corner of his room. That pissed him off so when he woke up he placed her back in the bed, kissed her forehead, and went for a morning run. He knew how mad she'd be once she woke up and realized he moved her, but that didn't matter to him at all.

Everything that he said and that she said last night haunted him through his dreams. Although, he did sleep much better with Aubrey in his embrace. He slept without any interruptions or nightmares with her next to him. Yea, it sounded cliché, but she was honestly perfect for him.

So why do I have to be such a fúck-up?

He growled to himself as he watched her sit down then looked over to see the servers bringing in her plate. She had an omelet like everyone else. She knew Payton was still staring at her, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her eye contact. Especially since the tension was so thick.

Kasey cleared his throat and everyone looked up at him. "Are you gonna' ask me or not?" he breathed, trying to stop the awkward silence.

He was obviously looking at and talking to Aubrey. "Ask you what?" she stopped her mouth mid-chew to bunch her eyebrows and stare at him.

He huffed. "Why haven't you asked about the day? I know you want to know and you can't just keep walking around like it doesn't matter to you. I know it's eating you inside. It's okay to talk about it—"

"No. Stop," her voice darkened as she put her fork down. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered harshly. "At all."

"You blame yourself," he said more to himself than her. His eyes grew wide when she put her head down and tears sparkled in her eyes.

"Kasey, stop it," Aubrey scolded and looked back up at him with tears threatening to fall.

He shook his head. "You're my little sister and we are going to talk about this," he told her.

She sighed after a brief pause. "One thing mother taught us was respect. To greet the janitor with the same respect we greet the CEO with. She was always on us about our respect for others, ourselves, and her and daddy. But that day..." her voice wavered. "I was so disrespectful that anyone would have thought that I was raised wrong. That's why I refuse to talk about it. I hate myself for it everyday, so don't you dare sit here and try to get me to talk about it because it ain't happening," she eyed him.

Junior looked up at his mom, growing worried. He could tell she was distraught. "Mommy..."

She looked down at him and gave him a soft smile. Nobody else moved or spoke. "If you're done with your food you can go watch TV, June Bug."

"O-Okay," he skeptically climbed down from his seat before quickly doing as he was told.

They all watched as Junior cleaned his mess and left the dining room. Both of the men set of eyes settled back on Aubrey. She smacked her teeth, rolling her eyes. Payton growled lowly and she stood up abruptly.