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

she’d had enough. Karson was threatening to kill her and me if she left, but she says she had to leave because if she stayed, she was as good as dead anyway. She rushed and packed our things—whatever she was able to take—and hurried to the car. She was speeding. That’s all I can remember. The next thing I know, a truck slams into her side. I blacked out for a while and when I woke up, I found my mother bleeding everywhere. I tried to help her hold on, but there was nothing I could do. I wished it was me instead, because my mom was a surgeon—at least, if it was me, she would have known what to do. And if I died, so what? The ambulance finally came, but she was already gone. That was the last time I ever cried. I was forced to live with my stepdad because when I finally found my real dad, he didn’t want me. We never met face to face…it was decided in a phone call. Healready had a new family—a wife, a son, and a daughter. I was just extra baggage, even though I am his oldest child. Life with Karson was hell. He beat me almost every day for no reason at all. He was drunk most of the time. But the night I decided to leave for good was the night when Karson beat me so bad I was almost unrecognizable. I had to stay in the house for a few weeks before I went outside—I needed time to heal. I just made sure I stayed out of Karson’s way. I called Mason and he came for me, and ever since then, we have been best friends. It only made sense. He was the one who cried with me when my mom died. He told me I shouldn’t hold it in—that it would only make everything worse. He said it’s okay to cry, ’cause if I did, he would cry with me. He’s the one that told me that I don’t always have to put on my I-can-do-anything face; that it’s okay to show that I’m human sometimes. I owe it all to Mason.”
    I knew there was more to him. I knew something about him related to me. I’d felt it from the first time we met. His perception of Mason made me love him even more.
    “I decided to take up boxing professionally. I promised myself that if I ever came face to face with Karson again, I would fight. I would fight him the way he fought me; the way he fought my mother. I was going to fight for all the pain he caused me—and her—and for all the times he made me feel like cutting myself was the only way to get through all the pain. I was going to fight for my tortured soul.”
    Peyton lifts up his left sleeve and shows me the words “FUCK UP!” carved into his forearm.
Peyton is my missing half
. It’s like getting my twin back.
    “Peyton, will you be my best friend?” I realize it sounds “grade school” but I don’t know any other way to say it. I lay my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.
    “Only if you promise not to hurt Mason…”
    I find it pretty unusual for him to base our friendship on how I treat Mason, but I don’t care. I guess they are closer than I thought.
    “I promise.”
    ***
    A few months have passed, and the news that I married Mason traveled fast. Rumor has it Jizelle is too heartbroken to deal with the reality of it, so she switched schools. I kind of feel badly for her. Although she’s a total bitch, no one deserves to be that broken. It’s senior year and things couldn’t be any better. I am emancipated and so is Mason. We have our own apartment. It’s not too far from Peyton’s. We really are best friends now. I share everything with him and vice versa. I think Mason is getting a bit jealous of Peyton and our relationship. I keep telling him there’s nothing to worry about. Peyton is still his best friend and I’m still as in love with him as I was the day I decided to marry him. Peyton is a great friend, and that’s it. He didn’t replace Jackson, because no one can replace my Jackson, but I haven’t spoken to him since the day I left. I heard he’s been busy in New York and Europe, recording and performing. I hope he makes it bigger than he ever imagined. He deserves