What A Secret Looks Like | ✓

12: grayson

"Tessa wanted to be here, she just couldn't-" I try to offer to Peyton who is sitting quietly in the passenger seat of my car.

"I assumed that Aaron wouldn't let her come when I saw you instead; where is she this week?" Peyton asks, playing with the ends of her hair.

She was cleared from rehab today and while Tessa's flight was supposed to get in this morning, they told her she couldn't leave London yet because they booked her for another job. "London. She'll be back tomorrow night, hopefully. She has to be in LA in three days, but we should get to spend some time with her."

"So you guys are finally together?" This time when I look at Peyton she's smiling, "When did that happen?"

I change lanes as we get closer to my apartment building, "It happened a few weeks ago, same night as your overdose. There's a few bumps we have to smooth out still, but we're doing good." Except the bumps we have to smooth out is actually telling Hayes and Sephine that we're seeing each other.

"Glad that something good came out of the whole situation. I think it's incredibly ironic that you were the guy she had a one-night stand with. I definitely did not expect to see you in the hospital that day."

"And here I was thinking that I'm a fantastic pretend brother," I tease, succeeding in getting Peyton to laugh before she tries to recover with a joke.

"I think your maturity levels actually went down from the four years ago," She says as we pull into a parking garage.

"I beg to disagree."

It only takes a few moments for me to find my parking spot that the car rarely leaves, I just didn't want to take a cab today. The facility Peyton was staying at wasn't too far from my apartment so I very easily could have taken a taxi, but I felt like driving today. New York traffic is a bitch.

Peyton travels just as light as Tessa does with a small carry on that fit into the trunk without a problem. I'm almost positive that my briefcase weighs more just because of the amount of files I carry around along with my computer. "Thank you for picking me up today, I know it's kind of weird because of my history with Jared and all." She thanks me as I hold the door open for her, and we walk into the lobby.

"Yeah of course, I wouldn't have just left you there. Besides I always liked you when you were around because you were different from the other girls he would typically bring home." I smile softly at her, pressing the button on the elevator, adjusting my grip on the bag.

My phone rings just as the doors open, and I'm not surprised to see Tessa's name on the caller ID. "Hey Bella," I greet, imagining her rolling her eyes as she pretends that she doesn't like it.

"Hi Gray, did everything go okay?" She asks, and I look at Peyton standing at my side.

"Everything went great, how is it going?" I try to ask nonchalantly, but I miss her. She was supposed to be back standing right next to me, but instead she's an ocean away. I get it's only a day and a half later, but it just means less time because she has to leave again.

Tessa grumbles, "I'm tired and hungry and I'd much rather be with you instead of here in this empty dressing room hiding from Aaron."

"I know, but on the bright side I think I've learned a new thing to cook. Now we can survive on something other than grilled cheese and cereal," I actually haven't, but the goal in saying that is to make her laugh.

It does.

Her laughter rings through on the other side, "Oh good. I was worried that eventually we'd just be consumed by an army of grilled cheeses because of how many we've been eating." But before I can respond, Tessa curses, "Fuck I've been found. I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow," She hurries out, hanging up before I can even say goodbye.