Dear Payton,

Chapter 11

It's 6:32 p.m and I'm watching TV while Payton is asleep on the couch. All I've done is clean, pack the rest of our stuff away with Payton for a little bit, and watch TV all day along with taking care of Payton. After a few minutes of watching House Hunters, Payton sits up and starts coughing again. I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to her. She drank half the bottle and took a second to catch her breath. I kneeled down beside her and rubbed her arm softly, "Are you feeling any better?" I asked. "I'm okay, I'm really hungry though. I skipped breakfast." She said while rubbing her stomach. I asked her, "Do you want some tomato soup? My dad used to make it for me whenever I wasn't feeling well." She smiled and shook her head, "Yeah, that sounds really good." I got up and handed her the bag of chocolate and said, "Here, eat this while I make your soup." I kissed her forehead softly and then headed to the kitchen.
When I got to the kitchen, I started off taking a few cans of soup and emptying them into a medium bowl. I cut up a few tomatoes and put them in there as well. While I was cutting, I sliced my index finger with the knife. I don't know how but the blood began to drip on the counter, so I grabbed a paper towel and placed it on my finger. I went and got a band aid from the medicine cabinet and placed it on the small cut. I picked up the paper towel and saw the small, bloody circles that were stained on it. I thew it away and then headed back to the kitchen. While I was walking back, I heard a gun shot come from somewhere in the house. I turned around to see Payton behind me with a pistol in her hand. My heart began to pound and I felt my chest swell up in pain. It became harder to breathe, so I looked down and there was a puddle of blood covering my feet. The blood was coming from the bullet wound in my chest and I looked back up at Payton. Payton was just standing there with the gun pointed at me. I was in so much shock I didn't have much time to think of what to do, so I just ran. I ran down the hall and turned to the stairs and began to run up to our room. As I ran, I could feel myself and everything around me slow down. It was like everything was in slow motion and It felt like someone was holding me back. When I got to our room, I busted open the door and I saw Payton flinch. She put her hand on her chest and said, "Holy shit Sam, don't do that to me!" I walked to the mirror and I took my shirt off. I felt my chest where I thought Payton had shot me. But nothing was there, no wound, no bullet, no blood, nothing. I stood there in front of the mirror for about 3 minutes just reimagining what just happened. My mind was in too much shock to move or to speak. Payton came up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly before realizing what was going on. "Sam, are you okay?" Payton said with worry and sadness in her eyes. I hated when she looked like that, it broke my heart. I turned around and said, "Oh yeah, I just had chest pains and I was just relaxing myself." Payton shook it off and I said, "Your soups almost ready, I'll bring it up in a minute." I kissed her on the cheek and ran back downstairs. I put the bowl of soup in the microwave and I went back to the medicine cabinet to put everything away that I had left out. I heard the microwave go off, so I put the bowl on a glass tray along with a bottle of water and walked back upstairs. Payton was in bed watching TV and I put the glass tray on the bedside table. I sat next to Payton on the bed and I place my hand on her forehead to feel if she had a fever or felt warm. I moved my hand down to her cheek and she grabbed my wrist softly and looked at my hand. "Baby, what happened to your finger?" she asked confused and worried. "I was cutting tomatoes and my hand slipped and I cut it. It's okay though, just a scratch." I pulled my hand back and Payton said, "Aw, well, thanks for putting up with me today." I combed her hair with my finger tips and said, "Of course, I hate seeing my baby so sick." Payton sat up and sighed as if she needed to tell me something, "Sam, I was thinking, I want another tattoo before we move." Payton said with excitement and paranoia all at the same time. I've always wanted a tattoo myself, I always adored Payton's half moon tattoo. I also don't think it would hurt much, I always had a pretty high pain tolerance and I'm not scared of needles. I wanted a tattoo of my mothers name under my left collar bone where my heart should be. I sighed softly and said, "Want to go tonight? We move in like 4 days we won't have time, we'll be so busy. Your head feels fine and you seem like you're feeling better." Payton smiled and showed me a picture of the tattoo she wanted. It was an infinite sign on her ankle with her brothers name under it. I decided not to tell her that I was getting one too, I was gonna let it be a surprise. "Yeah, let's go at 11. There's this awesome tattoo shop downtown and they're only open late." Payton said while putting the glass tray in her lap. "Okay, sounds good babe!" I said hiding the nervousness under my breath. We relaxed and watched tv for about an hour. I was exhausted and I fell asleep pretty soon after Payton got done eating and passed out.
It's 7:42p.m, and I wake up to the sound of screaming. I looked beside me and Payton wasn't there. I screamed out, "Payton?" "Down here." She yelled out from downstairs. I walked down the stairs slowly while asking, "Hey, did you hear that scream coming from outside? Is everything okay?" I got down stairs and ran into the kitchen and Payton was there again. The gun was still in her hand and her head was down towards the floor. Her arm fell to the side and she started to cry out, "Sam, I'm so sorry I never meant to hurt you!" I walked over to her slowly and said, "Payton, it's okay. None of this is real, it's just a.." She interrupted me, lifted her head, and started screaming, "No, no, no! This is life, this is reality." Her voice become demonic and she continued to scream, "Life is nothing but a living nightmare." There was a loud ringing in my ear and Payton began to whisper. I couldn't understand what she was saying but it hurt to listen to. I shook my head and placed my hands on my ears. I couldn't listen to it for another second. When I opened my eyes, Payton was gone but the whispers were not. The walls of the apartment began to crack and pictures began to fall. All I could hear were the sounds of whispers and breaking glass. I looked back down at my feet and there was another puddle of blood. I ran out of the house and I tripped over something in the street. I fell on a rock and it went through my hand and I was bleeding continuously. I looked back at the apartment and it was caving in. Payton was standing in the doorway of the front door and I screamed, "Payton, move!" She stood there and I watched the apartment collapse on top of her. I screamed again but no noise came out. After a few seconds of watching the apartment collapse, Payton came up behind me and she whispered in my ear, "This isn't real. Wake up Sam, this isn't real."
I woke up and Payton was headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I looked over at the clock and it was 10:27p.m, I rubbed my eyes and Payton came out of the bathroom shirtless and said, "Come on babe, we gotta go soon!" I smiled and said, "I'm awake, I'm coming!" She ran back into the bathroom, took her shorts off, and got in the shower. "Why are you taking a shower before getting a tattoo? You took one like 3 hours ago." I asked while getting ready. "Well, you kinda have to shave the spot you want it at and if I change my mind on where I want it, I want to be prepared." She said while showering and turning off the water. She pulled back the curtain and stood in the bathtub as sexually as possible. I stared at her seductively and smirked a little playfully. Payton loved teasing me, sometimes seriously and other times just to turn me on at the worst times. Payton gets out and wraps a towel around her chest. She walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled and she went to the closet to change. I brushed my teeth and in the mirror, I saw Payton come back out in black shorts and a tank top. She came up and hugged me from behind while saying, "You know, you'd look pretty cute with a tattoo as well babe." I still wanted my tattoo to be a surprise, so I just sighed and said, "Maybe one day." She my keys from the bedside table and said, "I'll be in the car, don't take too long babe." When she walked out, I lifted my shirt and felt the part of my chest where I wanted my tattoo. I stood there for about 2 minutes imagining what it would look like. Then Payton honked and I slipped my sandals on and ran down stairs. When I got in the car, Payton kissed me softly and said, "God, I love you so much." "I love you too!" I said softly as I grabbed her hand. She smiled and she held my hand the entire way there.
It's 10:58p.m and we just got to the Art Freek Tattoo shop at 458 Wickedend Street. Payton tapped my leg and said, "Okay, we're here. Let's go." I got out of the car and Payton grabbed my hand. The building looked small and plain. It was black and had a few shirts in the small window on display. The door was white and over the building it had a huge sign that read 'Tattoo' in bold, white letters. We walked inside and it was very modern and chic. It had yellow walls and was covered in art work done by all the artists. It also had the prices, the minimum for each tattoo was at least $50. We got to the counter and a guy named Luke asked us what we wanted. Payton said, "I want an infinite sign on my ankle, with my brothers name under it." Luke was tall, handsome, her had green eyes, and snake bites. He had full sleeve tattoos on each arm and had a tattoo on his neck that read 'ne crains personne' which means 'fear no one' in french. He handed Payton an album full of infinite sign designs. She picked the one that looked as simple as possible. Luke directed her to the back and sat her down in one of the chairs. I watched Payton explain what she wanted and where she wanted it. Luke tried to sketch out the size and font of the name that Payton asked for. Then another man named David asked, "are you getting a tattoo as well?" I smirked a little and said, "I want it to be a surprise. Could you do that for me?" David laughed a little, shook his head, and whispered, "Yeah, head to the back room. I'll be there in a minute. Say you're going to the bathroom." David was very cute, he had gauges that were probably size 0, he had a tongue ring, and he only had a few tattoos that I could see. He had short black hair, decent muscles, a gorgeous smile, and one dimple on his right cheek when he smiled. He had on jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket. I headed back to the back and Payton asked, "Where are you going?" "Um, I'm headed to the bathroom." I said quickly running into the vacant room. A few minutes later, David comes running in saying, "Alright! I'm David, so what are you wanting today?" I smiled and said, "I'm Sam, and I want a small tattoo under my collar bone. I want my mothers name, Lorry Mitchell Wright." He smiled and got a note pad from the cabinet and asked, "Do you know what kind of font you're interested in?" "I just want it in cursive." I said in a whisper so Payton couldn't hear me. He began to sketch some more and then he asked, "What month was your mom born in?" "Um, December 13th. Why?" I asked confusingly. He sketched something else before handing me the note pad, "Maybe you'd like her zodiac sign above it as well." The sketch was absolutely beautiful. It was the perfect, the arrow was tilted against my collar bone so it would lye right underneath, and my mothers name was written in cursive under the arrow. I smiled and said, "I love it! How long would it take?" He thought for a second and said, "About 30 minutes to an hour, kinda depends. But I'll try to go a little faster so you get out before your girlfriend does." I smiled and I positioned myself in the chair. He leaned me back and asked me to take off my shirt. I laid there for about 2 minutes in a bra and jeans and he walks back in and says, "Okay, are you ready?" I felt my heart race and he said, "Okay, just relax. It shouldn't hurt much." I laid there silently and just relaxed my body then I started to close my eyes. After a while, I started to feel the pain so I began to ask him questions to focus on something else. "So, why do y'all have this room back here." I asked him. He laughed a little and said, "Well, for people who want the same thing that you do, a tattoo as a surprise. Plus, this is our sketching room if we're working on a huge piece but sometimes we'll use it for times like these." I shook my head and he asked me how Payton and I met. I told him about the football game and how I fell for her in a matter of seconds. He smiled and talked about how his girlfriend died 2 years ago from breast cancer and how much he missed her. He then put down the tattoo machine and lifted up his shirt and there was the cancer zodiac sign with 'Callie Ross 11.3.12' underneath it. "Wow, I'm so sorry. I bet she was just as beautiful as the tattoo is." He started putting the final touches on my tattoo and he smiled and said, "She was, and I bet your mother was beautiful as well. She sure had one beautiful daughter." I smiled at the compliment and he smiled at my smile. He then wiped off the remaining ink and put some plastic wrap on the tattoo. He lifted me up and said, "Well, we're finished. Want to see it?" I shook my head and he helped me off the chair and lead me to the mirror. I started to cry at how amazing it was and how beautiful it turned out. I turned around and David teared up a little himself and then gave me a hug. We talked a little more about how to take care of my tattoo and the procedures of taking care of it. He also told me what I can and cannot do. Then he handed me my shirt and helped me put it on over my tattoo. "Thank you for everything! I love it so much! if you ever need anything, let me know." I said while writing my number on his hand with a pen I took from his note pad. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will!" We left the back and Payton was standing at the front with one shoe on. "Hey, there you are! I've been standing her for a good minute, what were y'all doing?" I was too focused on the pain of my new tattoo to even respond. So David said, "We were catching up on old times of high school. Then I showed her some of my art work in my office and stuff." Payton said, "Oh, sounds like that was fun." I shook my head without even realizing what David just said. Then Luke came to the counter and said, "Okay that will be $110." Payton's mouth dropped in shock at how expensive her tattoo was. She gave Luke $120 and told him to keep the change as a tip. Then Payton walked out sort of mad at how much money she had to pay. I told David to text me whenever he could and then I walked out behind Payton.