Peyton Griffin's POV

While my employer was busy crying his eyes out, I was wearing out the carpet in the hallway.

If he thinks he killed his parents; what would that make of me?

My mother gave up her life to save me, if it weren't for me being born, she would be here.

I shake my head furiously, now is not the time to dwell on my upbringing. I have to help him get over it. The question is how?

One can only handle so much before they become hollow of themselves.

How have I never noticed this before?

"If you keep pacing like that, we're going to need a new carpet before you leave," Marci said with an amused grin as she leaned on the bannister while watching.

"Don't mind me, just worrying about your brother," I say with anger in my tone.

Marci rolled her eyes, "If you think that none of us cared about him then you're not as bright as you look."

That was fast, "Excuse me?" If my hearing was not filling me, it was as if she just insulted me.

Marci started walking towards me with caution, not that I would blame her. Anyone who has been on the receiving end of my glare would.

"Caleb doesn't let any of us be near him on his birthday and we figured that you would be the one to help him."

"Why me? I got here just three months ago?" I look at her incredulously.

"For the love of everything holy!" I jumped back frightened.

Dinah marched toward us with resolve in her eyes. "Young lady, if you don't get your butt back in there and help my son, so help me if I don't..."

Marci put a hand over her mother's mouth, effectively shushing her. Dinah and I both sent confused looks her way.

Marci sighed, "Peyton, even if you don't feel anything for my brother. Are you going to leave him by himself at the moment he needs someone the most?"

I knew what I had to do, even if Marci had no clue. I did like her brother, maybe not enough to want to forfeit my family but enough to know that seeing him crying was hurting me.

I glance at the door five feet away and glare at it. Caleb bloody Parks, I have not known you for long, but I do know one thing.

With that in mind, I head over to his door, open it and slam it shut with only one thing in mind.

"Get up!" I command as soon as the door closes behind me.

I flip on the lights and inhale sharply.

Caleb was sitting up in his bed, looking horrible. From his bloodshot eyes with bags under them to the distressed vibe that rolled off him.

A new wave of determination surged through me.

"Peyton, it's okay." He sighs.

"If you so much as tell me crap, Black helps me so that I don't get the buzzes up here." I might as well get the ball rolling.

"I don't see how any of this concerns you anyway! You said it yourself. You're only here to help us with Abigail, then you leave. Leave me be and if the press decides they want to have a go in my life, then let them."

He falls back on the bed with a scoff.

I swallowed to keep my emotions at bay. Hearing it from his mouth was not part of the plan. I made a deal with Dinah that I would help Caleb through this day.

"How about this? If you get your bummed ass from that bed and follow me to where I go, I'll answer that question you've been dying to ask." I play my favourite card.

A deal.

"Don't you think that is getting a bit old?" He scoffs, "You just want to sell yourself short to get me to open up and when I do, what happens next?"

I have already thought that far. As a dealer, you should always know the buttons to push to make things happen. As a member of the British Empire, you should be ready to make things happen so that the outcome will work in your favour.

"What happens next, Peyton? You don't just make a decade of grief vanish as if it never existed, it's not a curable disease and you're not Doc Phil." He sits up and stares at me. His hazel orbs were dead and empty.

I walk to him and stretch out a hand. I'm not surprised that he eyed it.

"Where are we even going anyway?"

"It's a surprise birthday boy," I grin and try another tactic.

He still looks at it as if trying to decipher what I am playing at. He would have to look deeper if that were the case.

"What if I choose not to go?" He raises a suspicious brow.

"Then I will allow the hoards of strippers waiting outside this building, into your room and I will lock you up in here with them." A lie.

Not a full one though.

Some strippers roam the streets around here but they are not there for Caleb.

Maybe.

"Fine, I'm up" He agrees and latches onto my hand. I pull him up.

"Thank heavens you agreed. There are clothes in your bathroom, go take a quick shower and change." I use that same hand to push him into the bathroom while I sit on his bed.

A sickening feeling crawls up my spine as I mentally go over my plan. I texted Jack to rent a car and get everyone out of the penthouse for the evening.

It will only work if no one is here to witness it.

He came out, he looked better but the dead look in his eyes was still present.

"Now, you look more like a twenty-six-year-old. Come on." I grab his hand and pull him out of the room.

I grab the keys that hung on the bannister when Caleb was not watching and pull him towards the elevator.

"I feel obliged to ask, where is everyone?" He asks.

"Busy doing stuff." I lie quickly.

We arrived at the roof, and Jacob seemed to have taken my words to heart. The place was looking better than it was the last time I was here with Dinah.

I pushed Caleb to the blankets I had Jack set up while I grabbed the bottle of apple juice from a bucket of ice.

"Not sure what was the drink people used in this situation, so a bottle of apple juice will have to do just fine."

I sit across from him on the blankets and drop the glasses and drink between us.

"Dare I ask why we are drinking juice from alcohol-deemed glasses?" He asks with a chuckle.

I wave dismissively, "Because Jack said something about it being appropriate for the occasion. Enough about that; you owe me an explanation."

"And someone needs to teach you the prospects of being subtle." He dodges my question.

I already knew how this was going to go.

My way.

"You are going to make me keep drinking until you get a valid answer, aren't you?" He gives me a sceptical look.

I pretend to gasp, "Me, force people to do stuff? Never."

A sly smile coats my face, "Just so we're clear. I still have a dozen more bottles and no bathroom breaks." I clarify so he knows that he is not getting out of this.

"I never knew that you had skills in terms of blackmail." He takes a shot of the apple juice. I waste no time refilling it.

"And I never knew that your stalling skills have gotten better." I roll my eyes.

"You're too smart for your good,"

Never forget it.

He looks away from me, "You're not gonna look at me the same way after this."

I've heard many gruesome stories while growing up in the empire; most were of my grandpa being the bad guy.

What happened to his parents?

"Try me," I push his shoulder lightly.

"The Parks orphanage was my first home for the first thirteen years of my life. After spending a couple of hours in the world, the people who gave me life abandoned me in the hospital.

No one claimed me. I was placed on the doorstep of the home with just my first name attached to the basket. I don't even know who named me but I think it may have been a random nurse in the hospital.

The other occupants in the home didn't like me that much so I was insulted, bullied and hit by the adults and kids alike.

I still kept pushing on that one day a couple would adopt me. Mr Peter and Mrs Carol Parks had been married for half a decade and still didn't have a child. They took me in and showed me the true meaning of family. Things got a little better; life seemed less horrible. A year before I graduated from high school, they had Abigail. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was finally getting the happy family that I had longed for.

It was my graduation day which was my birthday. Since the note that was on my basket only had my first name. The adults of the orphanage made that day my birthday, the same day there was a car crash. My adoptive parents, Gail's real parents, didn't make it out.

Only she and I did.

So the day that everyone believes is the day that I was born was the day, I lost not one but two sets of parents."

I was expecting a lot of things but not this.

I even thought that he would keep crying, but he proved me wrong.

This explains a lot and this is what makes me go on with the plan I had in mind.

"Then how did you meet Marcel?" I get my facts straight before I ask.

"On that same day of the car crash, I was left to fend for Gail and myself. The catch was the Parks weren't all that well rounded, so to take me off to college and handle Gail. Since I was trying my best to think of a solution while trying to calm down Gail, he showed up and offered me a deal.

He takes me in and helps Gail and me financially while I sing for Marci on her birthday and become a musician for Wellington records."

A lot to process things are falling in place piece by piece.

He looks at me with a broken expression and it tugs on my heart strings, "Now that you know why I hate this day so much, can you please let me go back to my room and forget whatever is going on and that the day should just come to an end."

Oh hell no!

I made a deal.

That I would help Dinah's son be happy.

That I would help Marci's brother be happier.

And I make a deal for myself.

I may like him a lot more than before now. All the more reason that he has to face this now.

"Over my favourite black dress!" My mouth speaks before my brain processes its thoughts.

"Peyton, if it's about giving me a gift. I'm pretty sure that being left alone in my room is better." He sighs.

It's a gift alright and a damn good one.

"You want to be left alone?" I stand up and start pacing, deep in thought.

"Good, if you just go with me to this last place. I promise to leave you alone from today till I leave. No awkward run-ins, no stress on both parts, just a mutual friendship that hopefully will last."

It hurts to say this, but if this is going to work, he has to believe that I care for him.

"Deal." He answers while I feel a smile grow on my face.

-

Jack sent me the address as I drove Caleb and myself to the cemetery.

"Why on earth are we here?" I feel him staring at me. I school my expression and look forward.

"Remember when I said that we are both similar yet different." I begin opening a hardened wound that won't agree to heal already.

"I killed my mom when I was younger. Not in literal terms, there was a problem and the blood left in her system was only going to be enough for one of us to make it. She chose to kill herself and let me live.

My father was partially good at the beginning but as the years rolled by; he would get violent toward me and always preferred my sister.

I tried my best not to allow her to go through the horrors I went through. Here I am still doing it and I can't help but feel that I am failing miserably.

I do regret one thing though," I turn to look at him.

"I never got closure to grieve her because I never met her. Even though Dinah and my best friend's mother tried to fill the void, it was never enough.

I'm giving you the one thing you need today, the chance to say goodbye to people who made you into who you are now and embrace what you have become. It takes a lot of courage to fight off your demons. I should know I'm still in the battle." I tell him.

You can't miss what you never had.

I could never feel completely sad about her death. Caleb got to meet his parents before they left him. Therefore his pain went far deeper than mine.

I'll do him the favour; no one ever thought to do for me or Lola.

A secret message passes between us as we tilt our heads.

An understanding that I never thought that I would have with Caleb bloody Parks of all people.

On our walk from the car to the tombstones, I grip his hands for him to know.

A friend is with him.

A friend that will be both selfless and selfish when it comes to him.

'You need the right person beside you, to get over your demons.'

Caleb falls to his knees in front of the graves and starts weeping. I stop myself from going closer to him but can't help the few tears that slip out of my eyes.

The clouds that have been dreary all day now look darker as the wind picks up.

The rain starts during Caleb's goodbye and it feels like heavy ice on my skin.

I stay rooted to my spot, knowing that I will be sick to my bone the next day but I refuse to move.

When Caleb finishes, he turns around and wraps his hands around me.

As if to shield me from the rain or to say thank you but either way I hug him back with just as much force.

He pulled away and stared at me, allowing me to look into his eyes.

Relief covered his features, and his eyes shone with sad tears but there was still the glimmer of hope that I could see.

The rain goes on for a while but we stand there. Just holding each other and enjoying it.

-

After a bit, the rain stops. The dark clouds give way to the stars to shine. They say that when little lights show after a storm, it's considered a good omen.

Damn is.

As I take in the glow on Caleb's face, I want to say I should not be held accountable for my next course of action. My mouth works faster than my brain as I lean upward and kiss his cheek.

Caleb freezes up but grins back at me.

"We should go before one of us catches a cold." He smiles.

I know he still has more to tell me. I won't argue with him on it. I allow him to lead us to the car and drive us away.

We go into the penthouse quietly, careful not to wake up the rest of the household. Surprisingly, this scenario reminds me of all the times I've seen Danny sneak into the house with a redhead dripping off his arm.

I start making my way to my room as Caleb grips my hand, "Can you stay with me tonight. I'm not sure I can fall asleep after all of this."

I hide a smirk because the plan worked. I feel the tugging of my lip.

"I'll be right there." He squeezes my hand and leaves while I go into my room.

Freshly showered and in one of Danny's hoodies and shorts, I was on my way to the almost over birthday boy.

I knocked on the door and walked in. He sat on the window's ledge with a book and pen while I swore quietly.

"Why is the long-lost pirate of the Caribbean here?" He looked at me with an amused expression.

I rolled my eyes while walking toward him, taking the book and pen out of his hands. I said, "You should be in bed."

I dragged him up, making him stand very close to me. He was so close that I could feel him breathing on my face. If it had been someone else, I would be demanding some personal space but with Caleb, it felt so right.

"So should you." He replied with a slight grin.

"What's it gonna take?" I huff.

If you want something done, you have to get another thing done first.

"You're staying the night right?"

Even though his tone came out cocky, I could still hear the hesitation in it.

"This isn't the first time that we have slept on the same bed," He goes on, "if I can recall the first time, you were begging me to stay." He had a cocky smile on his face.

Was he making fun of me?

"Don't worry, it won't be hard to adjust; I have only ever shared a bed with Taryn. I had a pissed-off, Jack, to deal with the next day."

Definitely, making fun of me.

"Just get into the damn bed," I demand and look away.

I know that Taryn was Jack's girl but hearing that they slept on the same bed together was doing things to me. Things I'm not ready to admit out loud.

Caleb dove into the bed and dragged me along. He landed on top of me, using his elbows to hold himself up.

We looked at each other. I'm sure how my face looked as I held my breath.

"We should sleep," I said when I noticed his face was inches away from mine.

"Or we could talk," He proposed after he rolled to the side.

"If my mind doesn't fail me, I believe you said you wanted to talk about yourself tonight." He looked at me expectantly.

I was hoping he would forget about that. I will tell him but not too much because when I do get to leave here. I'm not sure he would be pleased to know that I may or may not get married the moment I step back into the British Empire.

I sigh and move as far away as the bed will let me.

"Caleb, the place I come from can eat you alive like a pack of wild dogs or make you grow like a moon flower in the night," I say.

Caleb looks at me. I still keep a pointed gaze at the door.

"If it's not all that peachy there, why don't you just stay. When Taryn comes back, you're free to stay here with us. I'm sure you guys will get along fine and..."

I cut him off before he could paint a picture that would have no place in my future.

"It's not that simple," I replied, my tone clipped.

Caleb sighs and drags me closer to him. Cupping my face, he says, "It would be if you tried."

I have an inkling of where this is going. But the consequences will be dire if I let it go on.

"Caleb, we had a deal. I take care of Gail and you pay me. No need to complicate things." I remind him.

Caleb looks as if he wants to say more but sighs and looks away.

"Goodnight." He murmurs and pulls away from me and lies on his side away from me.

A part of me wanted him to demand answers or at least try and coax me more. But another part of me, the sensible part, reminds me that being selfish is not possible.

I hold a tear from spilling out.

It's for the best anyway.

If I want everyone around me to have their happy endings, I can't let Caleb know too much about my past or what will happen in my future.

I turn around and lie on the bed. "Goodnight."

Before I slip into unconsciousness, a hand wraps around my stomach and pulls me backwards.

"I'm going to convince you one way or another: Even if I have to make a deal with the devil." Caleb kisses my hair.

And that's the last thing that I remember.