Peyton Griffin's POV

"You are the world's most horrible brother!"

Correct me if I'm wrong but when you take someone to the airport, say someone that means a lot to you and there is a slight chance of you guys not seeing them again for a long time. Wasn't it supposed to be a day of snort and tears?

Clearly, I got that part down, obviously not the part of me crying because if that ever happens again, I'd be damned if it were in public.

I was one glass slipper missing from throttling my brother and posing a theory. If I buried him in a pyramid would he have a mummy or would the afterlife deem him too stupid and send him back here for me to kill again.

That's how angry I am.

I had just convinced him that Miami was safe and him dragging my ass back to the Bahamas was going to do more harm than good.

When he said that my thinking was redundant, I told him that I had a deal with the employer that I could have sworn was the one that carried me to my bed last night. I even had to pinch myself in my sleep to be sure that he walked out of the room and not into bed with me.

I am a true dealer. This means that I will complete my end of the deal as far as he completes his and my bank account hasn't been this full since my fresher year in college.

Marcel and Dinah chose that exact moment to drag our attention from bickering in the middle of an airport, to a small coffee shop that looked very quaint.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think that you are both stalking us," I say when Danny and I put our argument on hold and sit in front of them.

"Have you told him?" Marcel demanded because if I said that he asked I would just be sugar coating things.

I knew my face was a pale white with how fast my blood ran cold and my eyes were squinted to glare at Marcel. If you can face my grandfather with a gun in his hand to your head, you can pretty much become unfazed by things like death glares.

"Told me what?" Following Marcel's questioning look. Danny was looking at me as if I just told him Charlie was gay.

Believable? No. Plausible? No. But funny? Yes.

"Peyton you have to at least let someone in." Dinah tried to coax me but it felt as if my mouth had been glued together.

Marcel looked heavenwards, "You haven't opened it yet."

They were met by my silence once again.

"Can someone who still has their motor neurons functioning, tell me what is going on?" Danny asked. The tone he was using was taking deadly calm to a whole new level.

Danny has always been the hot-headed one and I think that just seeing him act differently after a long time was enough to snap me out of my temporary muteness.

"Marcel here is the long-lost Wellington runaway. The one that got away from the British Empire; he and my mother had a thing and she left a letter for me but I haven't opened it yet. You remember Dinah; a very close friend to Mrs Sandel. Mother of the girl that you were between her legs before you came here." I couldn't even suppress a smirk even if I tried. I'm sure that shut down any future questions he was going to ask me.

"Is she sick?" Dinah asked nobody in particular as the trio were watching me as if I was a mental case waiting to happen.

"No, but I am facing facts. If I open that letter before I'm ready it won't end well and furthermore, everything's under control. Once Taryn comes back," I forced myself to swallow, "I will go back to the Empire to face my father and grandfather." I finish with ice clipped into my tone.

Dinah squeezed my hand while she looked me in the eye, "You are a very brave and selfless girl."

"Smart and dedicated," I almost fell out of my chair as I realized that Marcel just complimented me.

"But incredibly stupid."

Ah, there it is, the Danny Torent anger that I knew all too well because most times I was on the receiving end of it.

"Penny, if you think that I will allow you to stay here while I get on that plane, you're denser than I give you credit for."

"Espera Hermano." I turn to face Dinah and Marcel, "I think we all are familiar with how deals work and I have to complete mine before I leave. And I still have some loose ends to tie up." (Hold on brother)

Like finding out why the six-year-old I take care of has no memory of her parents.

"Are you sure it's not because of a blonde singer?" Dinah smiled slyly at me.

"I think my sister can last a few more weeks before I return." I swallowed.

I know I have said it one too many times but even I have yet to come to face the facts. As soon as Taryn comes back, I have to leave and even though Caleb has slightly confessed that he doesn't want me to leave.

It's not about what he wants or what I want, it's all about the people I love. Sad that I just finally feel liked or maybe loved by someone who has no clue who I am and I can't be selfish and enjoy it.

I guess even the selfless can't be selfish as well.

"So I am going back without you?"

I gave Danny a look that had my simple reply 'Do you really want us to go through this again?'

We argued the whole car ride here and I didn't want my brother and me to leave things like this.

"On another unrelated note, Caleb's birthday is coming." Marcel changed the topic and brought Danny and me out of an intense staring match.

"So what are we looking at here, party balloons and cotton candy or strippers and alcohol?" I asked even though that last option was not leaving a good taste in my mouth.

Dinah said, "Peyton, Caleb hates his birthday."

I furrowed my brows, "Why?"

"It has something to do with his parents." She said and avoided eye contact.

Finally, after Shawn had given me a cryptic version of what happened to his parents, I narrowed it down to that they were either dead or were too cowardly to tackle the reins of venturing into adulthood.

"Look it's not our secret to share and we have been trying to keep him from remembering it," Marcel told me.

"That bad," I looked from Marcel to Dinah.

"Very, so if you could be a dear and help him that day it would be nice," Marcel said.

"When is it?" I found myself asking and a plan forming in my head.

"A day from now, Tuesday."

It was at that exact moment that Marcel got a text; he looked down at his phone and sighed.

"The plane is ready for you to leave." He looked at Danny and it looked like they were passing messages to each other cryptically.

Seems like Dinah picked on my thoughts because she joined me in looking from her husband to my brother.

We stood up from the table and walked Danny to the airstrip. The steps were already set up and the crew was waiting for him to board.

I put a hand on his shoulder to make him stop in his steps. He turns around to face me and I surprise everyone as I wrap my hands around him and pull him into a hug.

He hugged me back as tightly and it felt good to know that home was not only where the heart is, It's where the soul is too, and it's where people we call family are as well.

"Promise me that at least give me a heads up when you decide to come home," Danny mumbled into my shoulder.

"That's if you also return a favour by telling me how I should approach things when I get back."

After a few more minutes, Danny kissed my forehead and said, "If he hurts you I'll..."

"I'm not too sure you can go through with that threat dear brother. Lola and Charlie will have your head and the rest of your body parts in a very interesting sculpture."

Danny raised his brows with a rueful smile, "And you wouldn't get in on the action?"

I wave my hand dismissively, "It's not my concern on what happens to the musician."

Danny rolled his eyes and began climbing the steps, "Keep telling yourself that and I'll believe it when you come home with a body part intact."

I calmly inhale and remind myself that there are people here. So if I were to get away with fratricide, I might want to rethink my strategy.

-

The day that was dreaded in this household had finally come and no matter how everyone tried to act normal. The air was still tinged with sadness.

The birthday boy had locked himself in his room since yesterday when he came back from the Wellington records. Jack refused to tell me what happened even after we played a very friendly game on who has the faster reflexives.

Jacob and Shawn volunteered to take care of Gail, Marci and the orphanage and Jack went to meet up with Marcel leaving me at the penthouse alone with Caleb.

Not gonna lie, I am a bit nervous about how I should approach this. I mean I never actually got to properly grieve my mother mostly because to me she was not dead and as for father dearest, I didn't even consider him that.

So as I made my way to his room, I kept replaying scenarios of how this could crash and burn or how it will be rainbows and sunshine by the time I am done talking to the musician to get out of bed and celebrate the day that he joined us here.

I was about to knock when I heard sobbing and I threw all caution into the window.

I opened the door and walked into the room which was surprisingly dark and had the strange smell of death. Yup, something died here.

My other senses went numb as my eyes honed in on my employer, Caleb bloody Parks.

He was bawling his eyes out but he still managed to look pretty while doing it.

I closed the distance between us and dragged the pillow from under his head and he raised it to give me a look of indifference.

I wasn't sure if he wanted me to stay or leave but I was shocked that he gripped the front of my top and dragged me down onto the bed and used my chest to replace the pillow that I took from him.

It felt more like instinct as I started stroking his hair and kept whispering things among the lines of 'it's okay' and 'please stop crying'.

I felt my blood run cold as the first words that Caleb said since I came in here were,

"I killed them today."