A Tragic Heart

by S. Elle Cameron

  I shake him off and stared at him with a face full of resentment and anger.

  “Don’t touch me!” I say, following him out of the store. “If you’re here to apologize, don’t waste your time. I don’t forgive murderers—especially the ones who kill my family,” I spit viciously.

  “I didn’t kill anyone. You’re mother killed herself, as far as I’m concerned,” he says recklessly.

  “Don’t you dare blame her for what you put us through. She died trying to get away from you. It’s your fault, and you know it!” I say, trying to stay calm but knowing that my tone gives me away.

  “Still a kid, I see. Your mother was a smart woman, but she was also a loose woman. She never told you, but she was still seeing that father of yours every now and then. She never let you know because she didn’t want you to think any less of her, and your father wasn’t ready to be in your life at the time. I heard her talking one night on the phone and I lost it. She finally tried to get away, but fate caught up to her. And the next thing we both knew, she was gone. So basically Peyton, I’m not the bad guy here. I was just a little angry. Your mother was a slut and she got what was coming to her!”

  He has to be lying. My mother can’t have been what he’s calling her. I don’t even want to think of the word. Even if it’s true, she didn’t deserve to die because of it. What he did is much worse and caused more pain. He killed my mother, and that’s all I can think about. I can’t remain calm any longer; I ball up my fist and aim straight for his face. I didn’t miss, which is an accomplishment all on its own. He pauses and touches his mouth and sees blood on his hand. That’s when it all begins.

  He throws a punch at me but misses. I guess old age is getting to him—either that or I’m just a better fighter than I was when I was thirteen. I give him a body blow next, and suddenly he grabs me and punches me in my stomach where I already have bruises. I’m in pain but I’m not going to let that stop me. I have to go on. I throw another punch, aiming for his face, but I miss. That blow to the stomach really hurt me. He pins me to the wall of the store and punches me repeatedly in the face. I can’t go out like this; I have to fight back. I push him off of me and continue throwing punches. I get lucky and hit him in the face a few times. I’m all for head blows; those are the ones that really pay off in the end. I’m winning and part of me feels victorious.

  I don’t see it coming. I feel a sharp pain in my side and I yell in pain. I look down to see a knife sticking out of the left side of my body. He stabbed me; he cheated. He’s a coward who knew he was losing, so he tries to out me by killing me. It’s not my time to go, so I continue to fight. I’m weak. Blood is seeping through my shirt, but I don’t care. I become so weak that I fall to the ground mid punch. Then I see Karson go down.

  It’s Mason. He must’ve been nearby, watching for a while. He still cares.

  “Come on, get up!” I hear Mason demand to Karson.

  He kicks Karson in the stomach and hits him over and over again. I try to get up to help but I can barely stand.

  “Stay down, Peyton!” Mason yells at me.

  I hear sirens and before I know it, the police and an ambulance are here. Both Mason and Karson are handcuffed and questioned. I’m taken into the ambulance and questioned there. I ask them to call Taylor, so she can meet me at the hospital. I hear the worry in her voice over the phone when the police officer calls her. I can’t stay awake for long. I must have lost a lot of blood because I finally black out.

  Mason

  The police questioned me at the gas station. They let me off the hook since I don’t have a record, and it was considered self-defense. I head straight to the hospital. It’s time to put all of the nonsense behind us. Sadly, it took this incident for me to see that. Peyton is family and not even denying him could ever change that. The truth is, I accepted him and Taylor a long time ago. I was just holding onto a grudge that was no longer there. I was being stubborn, but stubbornness didn’t hurt anyone but me. Peyton and Taylor are still in love and have moved on with their lives while I was bitter and suffering. I came to that realization a while ago, I just never admitted it. Now is the time to do so. I’m going to apologize to Peyton and I’m going to ask if it’s okay if we pick up where we left off.

  I reach the hospital; it seems like we always end up here after an altercation. I ask for Peyton’s room number and head straight to the fifth floor. As I’m about to walk into his room, police officers come out. That means he’s well enough to speak. I walk in to see him staring up at the ceiling. He looks at me and smiles; he knows this means I’m back on his side. He’s just waiting for me to say it.

  “Thanks, Mason.”

  “Don’t thank me. It’s my job. You’re family, and I had to,” I say, standing next to his bed.

  I’m not used to seeing Peyton as the victim. He has always been the fighter, the hero. But somehow I didn’t think any less of him.

  “You didn’t have to. You chose to,” he tells me gratefully.

  “I’m sorry, Peyton. I know it may be too late to say it now, but I’m sorry. I just want us to pick up where we left off. You’re my cousin and nothing will ever change that. It’s time for me to be a man about it and get over it. I have been over it for a while, but it’s time that I stop being stubborn and confess it,” I say, pouring my heart out.

  “It’s never too late, Mason. Even if I was dead, it still wouldn’t be too late. You’re my best friend and always will be, and I would love to just act like this entire thing never happened. I want to go back to the way it was. I’ve been feeling like this since day one of this whole tragic breakup.”

  Peyton and I are finally making a breakthrough. I laugh at how this is beginning to sound.

  “What’s so funny?” Peyton asks.

  “We sound like lovers,” I say, laughing.

  Peyton begins laughing with me but has to stop because it’s too painful to laugh. We both hear footsteps and turn to the door. It’s Taylor. Worry is written all over her face. She walks in and tries her best to smile at me. I return the gesture and tell Peyton that I’ll be back. I’ll give them some alone time. I see Taylor climb into bed with him and at that moment I see why they were made for each other. They’re two great people who deserve each other’s presence. And as for me, I’ll find my princess someday. It just isn’t Taylor, and I accept that.

  Taylor

  “Peyton what were you thinking?” I ask with tears in my eyes.

  “Hey, no crying. I’m fine…I’m okay,” he says, trying to convince me that he isn’t as badly hurt as he looks.

  I can’t hold it in so I cry on his chest. It was too much to deal with. Thank God Mason was there to help him.

  “I thought I was going to lose you,” I cry softly, holding onto him.

  “Well, you didn’t. I’m still here,” he says as he kisses my forehead.

  I’ll never be able to understand the strength that Peyton conveys. He’s stronger than most adults and yet he’s only a seventeen-year-old boy. His strength is God-given, which makes it twice as significant.

  “I should be out of here just in time for our trip to Australia,” Peyton informs me, stroking my hair.

  “We don’t have to go. You should just cancel. We can stay here until you get better,” I say softly.

  “No, I want to go. It’ll be good for me to get away from here…It’ll be good for us.” He sounds as if he’s really looking forward to going.

  “Can Mason come?” I ask, feeling as if we owe Mason something more than a thank you.

  “Sure, if he wants to come. It’ll be fun—you, me, and Mason. It’ll be the way it should be,” Peyton says lightly.

  I can tell his mind is drifting off to a faraway place.

  “What are you thinking about?” I ask, wiping my tears.

  “I need to speak with my dad. Karson told me some things that really got to me, and I want to know if they’re true or not,” he shares.

  “Like what?”

  “He called my
mother a slut and said that she was seeing my dad without me knowing. She supposedly was cheating on Karson with him, but since my dad wasn’t ready to be in my life, she kept it from me. I hope it’s not true,” Peyton says, clearly bothered by Karson’s words.

  “You shouldn’t worry until you hear it from your dad. You should call him now; he deserves to know you’re here and what happened today.”

  “You’re right,” he says, reaching over slowly to pick up the hospital phone.

  “I’ll be back. I’ll give you some time to talk to your dad,” I say, kissing him on the cheek and getting up.

  I see Mason down the hall and walk up to him. I touch his arm, and he turns around. He looks even more handsome than usual. It’s clear that he’s becoming a man; it shows physically. I look into the eyes of the boy I once loved who is now a man in more ways than one. I hug him tightly and close my eyes. He’s strong and his body is warm. “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “No problem.”

  There’s a long silence, but I am still holding onto him.

  “Taylor, I’m sorry about the way I acted. I’m sorry for everything.” His apology is full of sincerity. Mason really did grow up; maybe separation for a few months was all we needed.

  “It’s okay, Mason. It’s all forgotten. Everything is old and forgotten.”

  I finally let go of him, and we both sit down and talk as if we never went our separate ways.

  “Are you free for the next two weeks?” I ask Mason.

  “Yeah, why do you ask?”

  “I was talking to Peyton. He and I are going to Australia in a few days for two weeks, and we both would like it if you came with us.”

  “I don’t know, Taylor, the trip was meant for you two. Maybe you should go without me. I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything with you guys,” Mason says, skeptical about the idea.

  “No, we’d love for you to come. It’ll be the way it should’ve been for the past few months. We’ll just be making up for lost time,” I say, trying to persuade him to come with us.

  I know it’s impossible to retrieve lost time, but it sounds like a good thing to say.

  “Fine, I’ll come. When are you leaving?”

  “In three days. Peyton should be out of here in a day or two. His injuries aren’t too bad,” I answer.

  “So I guess it looks like I need to start packing tonight,” he says, smiling.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” I reply.

  Mason and I spend the next hour talking, laughing, and catching up on what we lost. It feels great to have my friend back. But most of all, it feels great to know that Peyton has his friend and family back. I never lost hope that Mason would come around. Faith proved itself this time around.

  Peyton

  My dad walks into the room. He pulls a chair next to my bedside and sits down. His face is plastered with anger; he wants to kill Karson, and I’m afraid that he might just find a way to do it. I didn’t tell him why I needed to speak with him, but I didn’t need to once he found out what happened with Karson. He hung up the phone and was on his way before I could even get another word out.

  I look like him—my dad. At first glance, people may think I look like my mom, but I have my dad’s features. The only thing I have of my mother’s is her red hair.

  “How are you feeling?” my father asks with a voice full of anger.

  He frightens me. And I’m not one who is easily frightened.

  “I’m fine. Just a little sore, but other than that I’m okay,” I say truthfully.

  “You’re strong. You get that from your mother,” he tells me.

  “Dad, can I ask you something?”

  I can’t believe how easy it is for me to call him Dad. I never thought I’d get to that place with him.

  “Sure, what is it?” His voice is strong and stern; I think I get some of my strength from him also.

  “Karson told me some things that really bothered me, and I need the truth. I’m old enough to know now,” I say, trying my best to mimic the strength in his voice.

  My father begins to become uncomfortable, but he tries not to let me see it. “What did he tell you?”

  “He called Mom out of her name and he says she got what she deserved. He also said that she was secretly seeing you and she kept it from me because you weren’t ready to be in my life. Is it true?” I ask vulnerably. I can’t be as strong as my father just yet.

  “Not entirely,” he answers, pausing for a moment. “It is true that she was secretly seeing me, but your mother wasn’t anything less than a lady. She was always classy and carried herself with dignity. That’s what made her so successful. She did keep you from me, but not because I wasn’t ready to be in your life. It was because she didn’t trust that I would stick around and she didn’t want me to break your heart again. I wanted to see you, but she didn’t want to complicate your life any more than she felt she already had by staying with Karson. She was planning to leave for a while. That’s when she was going to finally let me see you. But none of us ever got the chance. I could’ve come looking for you but I wanted to give you your space. And every time I thought it was the right time, my fear stopped me.”

  “What were you afraid of?” I ask.

  “I was scared that it was too late and that you hated me. I knew you wouldn’t want to see me or talk to me, so I kept putting our meeting off. But none of it matters anymore. We’re here now and we found each other.”

  My dad seems genuine, and I believe every word he says.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this as soon as you met me again?” I can’t stop the questions from flowing.

  “I didn’t want you to think any less of your mother. I wanted to keep the heroic image you had of her in your head,” he confesses.

  “But I don’t think any less of her now,” I inform him.

  “And that’s good, because you shouldn’t. No matter what she did, it doesn’t change the fact that she was your mother and she was the one who raised you to be the man you are today.”

  He thinks of me as a man. I didn’t get the chance to grow up with my father like most boys did, but it is the greatest feeling to hear that my father considers me a man. I knew that I’d done well and I was at peace with it all after hearing him say that.

  Taylor walks through the door not knowing that my dad is still here. My dad and I turn toward her. I can tell she wasn’t expecting this.

  “Sorry, I’ll just come back later,” she says.

  “No!” I stop her from walking away. “I want you to meet my dad…Dad, this is Taylor, the girl I told you about.”

  She walks up to him and shakes his hand.

  “We’re getting married. I don’t know when yet, but it’s already official,” I say, happy to let him know that I really did grow to be a man.

  He looks at her hand and notices the giant ring on her finger.

  “Congratulations to both of you,” he says, looking at us. “And Peyton, she’s beautiful. You did well for yourself.”

  My life is complete. I have the girl of my dreams. My best friend/cousin is back in my life. I have a dad who is proud of me. My dreams are being pieced together one by one. If I die right now, at least I would die a happy man, knowing that I have everything I could ask for.

  Taylor stays. She and my dad talk for a while, getting to know each other. He seems to love her, and that puts me more at ease. Mason walks in not too long after, and the world is happy.

  Taylor

  We arrived at Perth International Airport in Western Australia. I love this place. Being with both Mason and Peyton makes it even more beautiful. Peyton is still hurt from the stabbing but he is being strong and keeping up perfectly well. Of course, Mason and I don’t allow him to carry anything heavy, even though he tries to convince us that he’s okay. He always tries to be strong, even when he knows he’s weak.

  We reach Peyton’s house, which he hasn’t seen since he was twelve years old. It’s beautiful and it’s on the beach. He open the door for Mason a
nd me, and we all walk in, amazed by what we see. The house is huge and orderly. There are some old pictures of his mom; I’m stunned by her beauty and suddenly feel a pain in my heart since I never got the chance to meet her. She looks compassionate and welcoming. Peyton has her hair color and her eyes. I come across a picture of Peyton as a baby and I pick it up and laugh. Embarrassed, he snatches it from my hand and laughs a little himself.

  “You look the same,” I say, smiling at the picture.

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he jokes and puts the picture down.

  “I can’t believe you lived here before,” I say, looking around and admiring the home.

  “Let’s go upstairs so I can show you guys the rooms,” Peyton says.

  We follow him up the stairs. Peyton moves slowly, since he’s still hurting from his “accident.”

  “You shouldn’t be climbing stairs so freely,” Mason tells him.

  “I’m fine,” Peyton shoots back.

  Mason and I just look at each other, knowing that Peyton would never admit that he’s hurting. We tour every room in the house, each one more magnificent than the last.

  “We should stay in here!” I shout to Peyton.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s my mom’s old room.”

  “So? We can play husband and wife,” I say.

  “You really want to stay in here?” Peyton asks, still not happy with my idea.

  “Yeah, it’s beautiful in here,” I say, admiring the furniture and the overall vibe of the room.

  “Okay…If that’s what you want,” he says slowly.

  “You mean it?”

  “Yeah, if you want to, then I want to.”

  ***

  That night Mason went food shopping for the house, and I cooked for everyone. We laughed and watched old and new movies together. It was the quality time that we all needed with each other. Maybe I was wrong; maybe lost time can be retrieved; at least, it felt like it.

  “Mason, I have a question to ask you, and you can decline if you’d like,” Peyton says to Mason, who’s sitting across from us.