A Tragic Heart by S. Elle Cameron Read Free Book Online

down the stairs. “Mom—Dad—that’s so not fair! You won’t even let me spend the night at my boyfriend’s house!”
    Kristen is so immature. That’s why we never speak. She belongs with the Jizelles of the school, while I belong with the Peytons.
    “Get out!” Henry yells in pure anger.
    “Dad, just let her—” Jackson begins to say.
    “Jackson, you stay out of this!” Henry says, still yelling.
    “But if you would just cal—”
    “Don’t tell me to calm down, Jackson! Your little slut of a sister just decided to get married to a boy who doesn’t give a damn about her—so don’t you dare tell me to calm down!”
    Jackson can’t help me this time. That’s the only thing clear in this situation. I begin to walk toward the door. It’s also clear that they don’t want me here anymore. They never loved me; they just dealt with me and now that they no longer have to, I’m free. I think that secretly getting married was the best thing I could’ve done for them. It gives them a reason to disown me.
    “Tay, don’t go!” Jackson says with pain in his voice.
    “I’m sorry, Jackson,” I say, almost in a whisper.
    ***
    The only part that’s painful for me is leaving my Jack. I walk out of the front door with tears streaming down my face like a waterfall. I am broken and I am leaving my Jackson. I drive around for a bit, just to clear my mind of this tragic day. It’s funny: last night was the most memorable night for me and today will be one of the most memorable days. Ironically, it’s for the same reason, but I only regret today. I decide to drive to Mason’s house. I have nowhere else to go anyway. I park in front of Mason’s house and just sit in the car for a few seconds before getting out. I let out a deep sigh. I finally get out and ring the doorbell. Mason opens the door looking as if he’s in a hurry.
    “Oh, hey, babe, what are you doing here?” he says, almost out of breath.
    “I have nowhere else to go,” I say in a broken voice.
    “Why? Oh, you told them and they weren’t happy about it, huh?”
    All I could do was shake my head no.
    “Um, come in. I’m helping Peyton pack right now, so things are a little busy here.”
    I forgot Peyton was leaving today.
    “Where is Peyton moving to?”
    “Not far. He’ll still be going to our school. It’s about ten, maybe fifteen minutes away from here,” he says, moving out of my way so I can walk in.
    “Hey, Mason, you still here?” I hear Peyton call.
    “Yeah, I was just leaving, Peyton!” Mason yells back. “Sorry, I have to go put some things away in Peyton’s apartment, but I’ll be back. Peyton is here to keep you company,” Mason says, kissing me on the cheek and rushing out the door.
    I decide to walk upstairs to Mason’s room and maybe listen to some of his music, when I hear the most beautiful sound coming from down the hall. It’s the sound of an acoustic guitar, the sound that I miss hearing from Jackson’s room. The melody is slow and heartbreaking. It tells a million secrets in the chord of C minor. I walk up to Peyton’s doorway and listen to him play. He is a rare talent. That’s easy to notice, even through the simplest melody. I lose myself in the music until I see Peyton look up at me and smile.
    “I didn’t know you were here,” he says with that painful smile.
    “Yeah, I just got here when Mason was leaving.”
    “Well, I guess I should start by saying congratulations.”
    “He told you?”
    “Of course. I’m his best friend. He tells me everything.”
    “Thanks,” I say, looking down. “Why did you stop playing? It was beautiful.”
    “You think so?” He asked raising one eyebrow.
    “Yeah,” I say, sitting next to him on his bed. “It was a little sad. Why is that?”
    “For so many reasons,” he scoffs.
    And there it is
. The pain I was looking for in him for so long. Now, if only I could get him to open up. Next to him is the answer I’ve been looking for—the one thing I need to