Before You

Chapter 35

I walk into the living room just as Peyton is putting her shoes on.

"Hey. Are you ready to go?" I ask.

"Yeah. Thanks again for letting me stay here." She replies.

"No problem. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to." I say.

Peyton and I grab our purses and head out the door. The drive to work is quick, as usual. I take small glances of Peyton on the way there. She has been very quiet since last night. I haven't said too much, because I don't want to completely freak her out. Once the man from the pub gave us a description of who sent her the drink, I knew right away it was Davis. Peyton felt very confident as well, once she thought it through. True to herself, Peyton didn't want to explain to Nolan what has been going on with Davis. She said she wanted to take care of things at work first and then she would confide in him.

After leaving the employee lounge, Peyton and I go straight to Susan's office. I decide to wait in the hallway while Peyton explains to Susan the crazy series of events. I feel awful that this is happening to her. I can't imagine if someone was following me around. I would be paranoid all of the time. I hear the doorknob turn and watch as Peyton comes out of Susan's office.

"Well, how did it go?" I ask Peyton.

"I told her everything that's happened. She said that I need to continue work as usual. She needs to follow up on a few things and then she would get back with me." Peyton says, walking towards the kitchen.

I must admit I'm a little shocked that Susan wasn't more concerned. "Um, okay. At least she knows. Now you can go to the police and get a restraining order against him."

"A restraining order? Do you think that's necessary?" she asks.

"Peyton the guy keeps making advances on you while you're at work. He showed up while you were getting groceries, and he sent a drink to you at Pegs the other night. He's obviously following you around. He's crazy." I reply.

Peyton nods her head. "You're right. Better safe than sorry."

Peyton and I enter the kitchen and begin our shift. The breakfast and lunch crowd went by pretty quickly. Every few minutes I found myself looking around the lounge for Davis. I somewhat expected him to show up again today to taunt us. It's a good thing he didn't. I've had enough of him and his craziness. However, it was nice to see Peyton with a smile on her face again. She was happy as she greeted each customer. Once again, our hard work paid off and by the end of the day we each earned one hundred and seventy five dollars in tips.

"My feet are killing me. I don't think I'll ever get used to this." I say to Peyton.

"Yeah, probably not. I just told you that on your first day to make you feel better." She says laughing. "Oh by the way, Susan said she would be getting with you soon since you've surpassed your two week trial run."

I nod my head in response. "Good. Maybe I'll get some positive comments from her."

"I appreciate you letting me stay at your place last night. I'm going to the Police Station right when I leave to file a restraining order. After that I think I'm going back to my place." Peyton says.

"Are you sure? I don't mind you staying with me." I respond.

"I know and I appreciate that so much, but I don't want to run from him. I don't want the thought of him to take over my entire life." She replies.

Peyton is stronger than I thought she was. I can't imagine going through something like this. I probably would let it take over me. I would constantly wonder if I was being watched or if he would show up somewhere uninvited. There would always be a certain amount of fear surrounding me. I'm glad she's being strong and trying to move on from this. I grab my purse out of the employee locker and walk over to Peyton. I wrap my arms around her and pull her in for a hug.