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28. Separated

Paige's POV

I hated to wake him. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept. It seemed that when he was awake, there was a frown etched into his forehead. When he slept, I found myself staring for the longest time.

"Landon, I have to go," I whispered into his ear.

"No," he groaned and rolled over to where I usually slept to grab me. Luckily, I was already out of bed and standing on his side.

I watched his eyes fly open in panic and he searched around the room until his eyes landed on me and he raked them up and down my body.

"Come back," Landon moaned again and stretched his arms to brush against my hips as I stepped backwards. If he only knew the amount of effort it was taking to leave him alone in his bed.

"Baby, it's almost 9. Go back to sleep," I leaned down and rested on my knees to kiss his forehead.

As I stood and turned around, I felt Landon's hand wrap around my wrist and tug me backwards so that I would fall on top of his chest.

'That was a lousy kiss," he mumbled and grabbed the back of my neck to pull my face down and place his wet lips on mine.

After what felt like hours, I finally managed to remove myself from his grasp. I jogged outside to my car so I wouldn't turn around and climb back into bed with him.

1-2-3-4, what a safe gate code. I shook my head at myself and once I parked, I stepped out of my car and stood to lean up against the door and stare at the fountain. I missed Landon already. I missed the soft fingertips that he trailed up the back of my arms when I was standing near him, I missed his cheeky smirk and that dimple that popped out when he grinned hard.

"Paige Claire!" I heard my father call from the front doorway. The peace and quiet was nice while it lasted. I rolled my eyes as I walked up the stairs to meet him at the door.

"Not tonight," I spoke as I walked past him and he grabbed my upper arm to pull me back towards him. I spun and glared at him before tearing my arm from his grasp. I could smell him due to his proximity and I felt like gagging.

"Let's schedule a time, then," he spat back at me, shoved me further into the house and I stumbled into the foyer. I heard his footsteps follow me up the stairs as I scrambled up them.

"Oh, Paige! I was just cleaning up here," Diane stammered when I fell into the bathroom in the hallway, hoping that my father hadn't followed me down the hall as well.

"Hi, sorry," I breathed out and turned to open the door and peek out of it, only to see my father struggling to keep himself balanced as he clamored down the stairs.

I opened the door further and tiptoed into my bedroom before shutting and locking the door behind me. 9:30. Great. I walked into the bathroom and glanced at myself in the mirror.

Gross. My hair was frizzy and I had a line of mascara under my eyes. I leaned over to the shower and turned it to the hottest temperature before stripping down. I could vaguely hear my father shouting my name as I stepped into the stream of hot water.

Once I was fresh and clean, I changed into a pair of pajamas that Landon had left here and climbed under my blanket before shutting my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

When I woke to the sound of my alarm clock, I dressed quickly and ran a brush through my hair and my teeth. I scrambled around my room looking for my shoes when I heard a slight tap on the door.

"Paige? I have breakfast ready," Diane's sweet voice came from the other side of my door and I opened it to smile at her bright face.

"Thank you, Diane," I grinned at her and followed her down the marble stairs.