Faded

Chapter 4 : Paired

Peyton's POV
I look around holding Adam's hand. He told me that the girl slipped him a drink in New York and he had no control. He was taken advantage of.
"Peyton you're gorgeous," He whispers in my ear.
I could barely notice, I'm watching Julian.
He is staring around the room sharply. The first governor's hologram had told us one of us are wrongly paired.
Adam kisses me. I push him away.
"Babe, I thought we were over this whole New York incident."
"I am. Look at the hologram," I said.
"Holy......" I will spare you from hearing the word he said.
The hologram had just disappeared when people started to notice the word. I could see the word in colour, so it was weird. It was a yellow and orange colour, I think that it was called amber. I heard the whispering start a minute later. Adam went to investigate. When he came back, he said,
"Apparently, the stupid hologram said that two people weren't with their right matches. Whatever, babe,"
"It's not whatever, this is a big deal!"
I ran off to my family.  My mom was telling Vanessa Marx all about what happened with the hologram.
"Mom, can I talk to you?"
"Of course, sweetie. About what?"
"Has this ever happened before?"
"It's happened once before. The ending results weren't that good."
"What happened?"
"Well, a young woman and a young man, the same age as you were together for such a long time that they were certain that they would be paired together as Soulmates. Unfortunately, they were paired with different people. The hologram didn't disappear but it did tell us that two of the matches were completely wrong. By the time they figured out that they were wrongly paired, they already had two kids. It wasn't fair to either of them, but they had to stay with the one that was originally the Soulmate."
"Then what happened? Did they just live with their wrong Soulmates and nothing happened?"
"No, eventually she was carrying her third child but it was her rightful Soulmate's baby. They were both Exiled.  One for having more than one kid and two for cheating on their current Soulmate. Why do you ask?"
"Well, what happened to the child? And I am only asking because I don't want anyone in here to end up like that."
"The baby was put up for adoption and it was given to a kind and loving family. You remember the Grants?"
I nodded.
"Their daughter, Riley was the child. But, don't tell her. The government has said that no one can tell her or they will be Exiled."
I'm dumbfounded. I can't believe Riley is the child. I look over at her smiling and swooning over Julian. I clench my teeth. She still bugs me.  Adam comes and takes me to the bar.
"Want anything?" He asked.
I can tell he has had a couple of drinks already.  His breath stinks.
"Um, I'll take a ginger ale," I said.
Adam grabs my wrist and tries to kiss me. I pull away. Julian comes up behind me and pushes him away.
"Dude, I think it's pretty clear that she doesn't want you kissing her," Julian said.
"Mind your own business, Marx."
"Peyton is my best friend, she is my business."
"Yeah, but she's not your Soulmate. She's mine. Riley's yours. Go back to living your life," He spits, emphasizing all the yours and mines in the sentence.
"Look, dude if you want to fight, you should've just said it," Julian says sassily.
"I still haven't gotten my ginger ale," I said trying to break the mood.
But just as fast Adam tries to throw a punch but he stumbles and Julian pushes him away. Julian punches him in the face and Adam tries to kick him. The kick is wobbly and the aim is totally off. He ands up kicking me, giving me a very purple bruise. Adam's eyes widen in horror as he realized that he had hurt me.
"Babe, I'm so, so sorry," Adam says.
"No, I am just going to leave," I say, fed up with all the crap that has gone down here tonight. I walk outside and breathe through my nose and out through my mouth. I am honestly so tired of Adam and his tricks and charm. He was so drunk in there! But, I will have to learn to live without complaints because I would live with him for the rest of my life.
"Hey, Pey," Julian says.
"Hey, Julian."
"Adam's an idiot," he saysforcefully.
"No, he's going to be my husband."
Silence followsmy reply.
"Look, I didn't mean- "
"No," I say, "We need to stop, you need to be in love with Riley and I need to be in love with Adam. That's how it works."
"But the hologram said that there are people that are wrong matches. That's totally us! I don't feel that way about Riley and I want to be really honest about this!"
I know that it seems that I am trading positions with Julian because I'm the one fighting it, but I didn't want to have a third child that would be adopted and I don't want to be Exiled. I don't want to have a secret relationship with him because it would be secret. If I'm going to be with him, then it's going to be out in the open and my parents and everyone else are going to know.
"Stop! Julian, we can't be together. I don't want a secret relationship. I can't end up like her," I say, referring to Riley's mother, her real mother.
"Who?"
"I am in love with Adam! I am going to marry Adam and I are going to have two kids and we are going to spend the rest of our lives together."
Julian stays silent, nods his head and goes back inside and as he brushes my shoulder he says,
"Peyton."
When he says my name, a shiver rolls down my spine. The way he says my name is so intimate and filled with want. I want him, too.