Everything Changes

Chapter Five

*Payton's P.O.V.*
I can't believe Brantley really asked me if he could adopt Dax as his actual son. I love that idea and I know Dax will be all for it, but we've barely been together for an entire day. Yeah we were friends as kids, but that was eleven years ago. I've done a lot of growing up in that time, mostly because I had to if I wanted to be a mother. Sure I didn't want to be one at seventeen years old, but from the time I found out I was pregnant and to when I had Dax I never once considered giving him up. Sure I wanted to ship him off somewhere when he'd keep me up all night or he wouldn't listen, but you're not a parent until you've felt like that. Watching Dax look at pictures with Becky was really hitting me. The whole reason my dad and I moved to Byron is because my mom died. Knowing Dax was never going to get a chance to meet her in this life stung a little. It also made me realize that if Brantley did become Dax's legal father he'd have all those things I can't give him as a single mother with no siblings.

"Payton, hey, you alright?" Brantley asked putting his arm around me.

"Yeah, just thinkin is all." I said smiling.

"I look just like you did! Only I have blonde hair." Dax said.

"Alright I have to look at these now." I said sitting down beside Dax and looking at the pictures of Brantley and I.

"You were always way taller then me." I said to Brantley. I was looking at picture of us standing side by side at a cookout.

"I still am." He said grinning.

"Sorry I'm not a freakishly tall girl." I said sarcastically.

"It's alright believe me." Brantley said.

"I've gotta go check on dinner. Payton would you like to help?" Becky asked.

"Of course I would." I said getting up and sliding by Brantley so I could get to the kitchen.

Becky was checking the chicken and adding some more rotisserie chicken flavor to it. I knew she didn't actually need help with anything, but I love Becky she was always so sweet to me.
"Now that that's done. Let's have some girl time while the boys have their fun." Becky said sitting down at the bar stools they had by the island.

"I think that sounds lovely." I said taking the seat beside her.

"Tell me a little about Dax. That boy is just so lovable and cute as can be." Becky said smiling.

"He's an all around American Boy that's for sure. He's a lot like Brantley, dark clothes, baseball hat, country music, lynard skynard, kid rock, baseball, and football. He's my little redneck rocker boy." I said smiling.

"Brantley told me that Dax called him his hero." She said.

"Yeah, it was just something in his music that Dax got hooked on and then he couldn't stop listening to it." I said.

"It's easy to see why Brantley is wrapped around his little finger. The way he talks and acts is really grown up for an eight year old." She said.

"I know. It scares me sometimes honestly. I don't want him to grow up too fast and miss out on all the fun of being a kid or a teen. I missed out on it after my mom died. My dad kinda forced me to grow up and do everything on my own. As soon as I hit ten he had me in the kitchen teaching me how to cook, always made me clean, basically everything the woman was supposed to do." I said.

"Oh my. I didn't realize how strict your dad was he always treated your mother like a real princess. It made everyone else so jealous." Becky said.

"That was in public. He did the same thing to me treated me like the world revolved around me in front of people but behind closed door I was kind of like a slave." I said.