Stay

Chapter 10

I undress myself and turned the shower on, waiting for the water to warm up. I run my fingers through my hair, untangling any knots at the bottom of my ends. I stare at myself in the mirror and take a good look at myself. I'm starting to like how my body looks, but there are still some things I want to change. For instance, I want to change my hips because they are too round for me, and get rid of the scars that are on my stomach. I think I want to keep the stretch marks because it's an important part of me and the baby that I lost.

After a few minutes being lost in my thoughts, I finally jump in the shower and let the hot water run down my back after hitting my neck. I hit myself mentally for forgetting my shampoo and conditioner, so I just use Peyton's body wash to wash my body, then stand in the shower a bit longer before getting out. I dry myself off with a purple towel that hangs on the towel rack. I wrap my long hair in the towel then pull my white dress over my body and zip up the back. I slip on the jean jacket that's green, and I leave it unbuttoned. I let my hair down from the towel and brush it through with a comb. I part my hair to the left and watch my hair curl naturally. I fold the towel and hang it up on the towel rack and walk out f the bathroom, where Peyton is waiting for me. He's already dressed in dark blue jeans with stains on them, and a white tee-shirt with Levi written on it. He smiles at me as I walk out of the bathroom. He stands up to hug me, but I don't get close enough for him to do that.

"Oh, uhm, Nathaniel has been calling you. Don't worry, I didn't answer." He hands me my iPhone and I glance at the screen to see how many times he's called me; a total of 10 times in 20 minutes. I put my phone down and look back up to see that Peyton has walked off to the kitchen. I decide to just call the husband and get it over with.

His phone rings and rings, until he picks up on the last one, again. He doesn't say anything at all, so I start the call off with "Hey."

"What are you up to?" He asks me. His voice sounds different than it normally does over the phone. A thousands thoughts flow through my head, making me feel even more worried and self- conscious than I normally do. What if he's out in Vegas fooling around with all these chicks, then comes back home to me.

I argue with myself that I don't care because I don't love him, not like I love Peyton. It's too soon to even think about liking or loving Peyton. Then again, I already slept with him, so it shouldn't be too soon to tell him that I love him.

"With a friend. Don't worry, Carson is with me." I briefly explain to Nate. He doesn't reply to me immediately, so I decide to change the subject.

"How's the conference thing?" I ask him. This time he does answer me.

"Boring, just as I thought. Just wanted to check up on you. Well, I gotta go. Bye." The line then goes dead. I turn my phone off and throw it on the night stand that's in Peyton's room. I wonder off into the kitchen and watch Peyton cook crepes and cut up the strawberries. I walk up closer to him, next to his side and watch him continue cooking.

"Do you like cooking?" I already know the answer to my question, but I just want to make sure I'm correct. Whenever I'm over here, he's cooking up something for us, no matter what time of day it is.

"Well, it depends. If I'm cooking for a beautiful woman like you, then yes. I even plan on cooking every day for my future family." He flips the crepe then grabs the whip cream from the fridge. When he turns around, he sees me in front of him, smiling. I close my eyes then open them again to see Peyton standing closer to me than before. He sets the whip cream down on the counter and wraps his hands around my waist, pulling me into him. He then leans down and I place my hands on his neck, then we begin to kiss. When he pulls away from me, a grin forms upon his lips, making me want to smile. It's so nice to see someone happy with me. Then one question pops in my mind; what are we?

HE grabs the whip crème and places the last crepe on a plate and turns the stove top off. I lean again the counter and watch his every move. He turns to look at me then I ask him the question. I couldn't even think before asking because I'm anxious to know the answer. Maybe I just want to hear that we are an item to make me feel better about Nate. Peyton gives me a confused look, so I walk away into the living room and pull out the paperwork for filling a divorce. I vigorously fill out each question until each page is filled out and ready to be turned in. I stand up and grab my purse that is resting next to the couch. Carson then wakes up and hugs me tightly. I rub my hand through his hair, which is getting long so he will need a haircut soon.

"where are you going Dakota?" His voice is a bit shaky, and coarse. I kneel down to his height and explain to him that I have errands to run and that I'll be back before noon. He nods his head then hugs me back. This time I hug him back. Peyton walks into the living room and looks up and down at me.

"I'll be back." I tell him. I turn away and walk out the door, and then I realize that I need a ride there. I walk back into the apartment and Peyton is there, holding his keys up for me, and I take them. HE kisses me on the cheek and smiles, and then I walk out the door. This is it; the final step to ending my marriage.