Taylor: The Greatest Liar (Short Story)

Last week I posted my first short story based on the characters from my book series (RED Tragedies Series or A Tragic Heart Series, whatever you want to call it) and here I am this week with a new one. You can view the one from last week here (Peyton: The One) before reading this one if you want. As I stated in my initial post about the short stories they will be posted in no particular order and can fit any book.

This week the story comes from Taylor's point of view and if it belonged to a book it would belong to A Tragic Heart (Book 1 of the series). It's entitled "The Greatest Liar" and would fit perfectly with the triangle that happens between Taylor, Mason, and Peyton. Enjoy!

Listen to "The Greatest Bastard" by Damien Rice while reading:

https://soundcloud.com/damienrice/the-greatest-bastard

Taylor: The Greatest Liar

            Sometimes I wonder if we’re really in control of our decisions or if fate forces us to do what we do. Either way we have to pay the consequences. I guess life is unfair that way. I let one single tear fall before opening the door to our apartment. This used to be the only place that put a smile on my face after a hard day and now I can’t even call it my safe haven. It’s been built upon lies.

            I fake a smile towards the once “love of my life”. He really did keep his promise about trying to be a better man for me even after the infidelity and the whole getting another girl pregnant thing. The problem is that I just couldn’t forgive him as easily as I thought I could. It hurts all the time, just the same.

            He smiles back at me and pulls me into a hug as he kisses me softly on the cheek. He was lying across the couch watching a game he probably didn’t even care about. It was just something to pass the time until I came home.

            I told him I had something to take care of with Jackson since he came back to town. I told him he only had a week here and I wanted to spend time with my brother. It was a lie…all of it. Jackson is really in town but I wasn’t spending time with him…I was with Peyton. Mason knows Peyton and I are best friends but he would even find it weird that I chose to spend the entire night with him on a day we had a date planned. Truth is I would rather spend my time with Peyton at his place than go out into the real world with Mason. The biggest problem about that is Mason’s my husband and Peyton’s his closest cousin. Guilt consumes me once more.

            “How’s my love?” Mason asks with a grin. He’s been extraordinarily welcoming lately.

            “I’m good,” I lie.

            “I was thinking since you canceled our date maybe we could pull an all-nighter and watch a few movies over junk food. I bought your favorite cheesecake from your favorite bakery.”

            He flashes me his puppy dog eyes and I can’t decline that. He’s really trying. He’s really sorry. I wish I could say the same about myself. 

            “I’d love that, Mason,” I reply in a soft voice. “Just let me take a quick shower first.”

            I walk past him hoping he doesn’t ask why I need a shower. Honestly, I feel dirty after spending the night loving Peyton just to come home and fake it with his cousin. Mason and I had a good run but it’s over…I just can’t fully let him go. I’m doing to him what he did to me first but I think I’m the greatest liar in this situation. 

            Eventually I’m going to tell him; I’m just trying to figure out how and when. This is going to crush him more than it crushed me. At least Lauren wasn’t a friend or a family member. Peyton is practically his brother. They were raised together and even grew up in the same household. They took on the world together since forever and here I am breaking up one of the greatest bonds that ever existed. The stories of Mason and Peyton are legendary…but this one is going to go down as the most iconic. 

I strip off my clothes and turn on the shower. The moment the warm water hits my face I let the tears fall. How could Mason cheat on me for so long without it affecting him like this? It’s only been about two weeks since Peyton and I started this affair and I feel like I’m already breaking. 

I tried to justify my actions by remembering that I probably was always in love with Peyton from the start and just didn’t realize it. Peyton recently told me he was in love with me from the first time we ever spoke to each other. He saw me around from time to time and always thought I was his type of girl, he just never acted and Mason got there first. I thought Mason was all I ever wanted but once I got to know Peyton, I saw just how wrong I was. It was fate.

That’s exactly what I want to tell Mason when I break him the news. I want to tell him that it was fate that brought Peyton and I together. Our bad decisions weren’t ours at all but it was something in this cosmic universe that conspired to put us together before time even started. We’re soulmates and as foolish as it sounds it must be true because we both felt the attraction the moment we stood in front of each other. Peyton wasn’t just meant to be my best friend…he was always more. I’m his extra rib and Mason…Mason is the pawn that was played to bring us together. Maybe if I explained it this way Mason would understand and wouldn’t be as hurt; but even I know that’s not true.

I turn off the shower water and step out. I wipe off the foggy mirror in the bathroom to take a good look at myself. I still look intact and Mason wouldn’t suspect a thing. I hurry and head straight to our bedroom to get dressed. I throw on one of Mason’s t-shirts and walk back into the living room. He bites his bottom lip as I sit next to him.

“I always liked that shirt on you,” he says coming closer.

“I know, that’s why I wore it,” I reply as I forced him to cuddle with me. 

His skin is always so warm and something about that makes me feel like everything is going to be okay. Part of me wants Mason forever but I know I have to make a choice…or maybe the universe has already done that for me. In the end, I don’t think the choice is really mine at all. I was made for Peyton and Peyton was made for me; but for the time being I’ll just enjoy the movie and cheesecake with Mason.

           

Find out more about Mason and Taylor in the RED Tragedies series here! Mason appears in A Tragic Heart, RED, Turn It Off (Coming Soon), and What Could've Been (Coming Soon). Taylor appears in A Tragic Heart, Turn It Off and What Could've Been.

Peyton: The One (Short Story)

Earlier today I posted that I would start writing short stories based on the characters from my books. I didn't know I would start so soon but the writing bug bit me tonight. The first story is told from Peyton's (the one from A Tragic Heart) POV. I thought, "Why not start with a fan favorite?"

The short story is entitled, "The One" and takes off from the part in A Tragic Heart where he and Taylor comes back from their vacation with Mason in Australia. If "The One" belonged to a book it would fit right in with What Could've Been. It's an excerpt based on Peyton not going for a ride that night in A Tragic Heart. Enjoy!

Listen to the song "Cherry" by Moose Blood while reading:

https://soundcloud.com/nosleeprecords/moose-blood-cherry

Peyton: The One

           

           It’s hard to believe in just a few short days I’ll be leaving her just to follow my dreams. It feels a little selfish but I know she wouldn’t want it any other way. A few years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of deciding to live my dream or staying home for a girl…I never thought I would be so tempted to choose the second choice. 

            I run my fingers through her black hair as her head is on my lap. She fell asleep on the couch while we cuddled watching TV. It’s nothing new. She does this all the time; suggests we should watch something but falls asleep not even thirty minutes in. The thought puts a smile on my face. 

            We just got in from our trip to Australia with Mason and we’re both a little jet lagged. I’m surprised she was able to fall asleep so easily. During most of the trip I was a little bothered thinking about how I would have to leave her almost as soon as we get back from our trip. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself with her and my cousin, it’s exactly what I needed but it was bittersweet knowing that everything finally fell into place when I have to leave. 

            I thought about going for drive to clear my head but decided to stay right here with her. Usually a drive out on the town would help but I thought why leave her when I have to be out of here in a few days anyway. Besides, it’s pouring out there and that may not be a wise decision. I want to savor every moment with her…even if it means watching her sleep. 

            Funny how two years ago I was a kid running wild and now here I am, engaged and ready to start a family with the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. I’m only seventeen and four months shy of my eighteenth birthday but I feel like I’ve aged at least a decade since then. 

            I leaned over to kiss her softly on the side of her face. She moves around a little before finally waking up. She sits up and yawns with a stretch. God, she’s so adorable! I admire every second of this moment. 

            “Hey, what happened? You were watching it without me!” she whines as she looks back and forth from the TV and me. 

            I smirk at her and shake my head a little. I knew this part was coming. She falls asleep and then blames me for still watching the show. 

            “Actually, I was watching you,” I correct her. 

            “Well, that’s not creepy at all,” she replies sarcastically. 

            “So you’d rather me watch the movie without you?” I raise one eye brow and stare at her.

            “Ugh! Shut up and kiss me.”

            I love when she demands me to do something. She can be so feisty at times and I must admit I love it. I submitted to her and did as I was told. She always demands me to kiss her when she knows she’s lost a debate. 

            “I can’t wait to marry you,” I whisper to her before she kisses me again. 

            “Neither can I,” she replies after biting her bottom lip. She knows what that does to me. 

            I start to caress her arm and she knows what’s coming next. I can’t keep my hands or eyes off of her. Every day is almost like I’m just seeing her for the first time. 

            “Aren’t you tired?” she asks with her head slightly tilted to the side.

            “Not tired enough,” I say staring into her beautiful green eyes. 

            I pull her into me and kiss her a little rougher this time. She doesn’t interrupt and goes along with it. I grab the sides of her face and lightly run my fingers through her hair. She does the same to me, letting me know we’re on the same page. 

            I lay her on the couch and she bites her bottom lip and lets out a small laugh. She excites me in the most non-sexual way possible. I genuinely love her and adore every little thing about her. I can’t imagine this any other way. 

            I slowly lean myself on top of her just to stare into her eyes. I have to reposition myself because my side is still sore from the stab wound Karson gave me. She notices it and lightly touches my side. 

            “It’s okay. We don’t have to,” she says with a serious look. 

            “No, no, I’m fine. I’m good,” I assure her. I kiss her once more and I feel her hand touch the back of my neck. It gives me chills in the best way. “I hate that I have to leave you so soon.” I stare at her waiting for a reply.

            “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. Go follow your dreams and have the time of your life with your band. I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.” She smiles at me and I can’t help but smirk back. 

            “This is why I love you so much,” I respond kissing her on the cheek.

            “I can’t even begin to mention the reasons why I love you,” she says.

            We kiss again but this time it lasts for much longer. She knows how to make me feel good about any situation. That’s when you know you’ve met the one. I can’t wait to leave so I can come back home to my baby. 

Find out more about Peyton and Taylor in the RED Tragedies series here! They appear in A Tragic Heart, Turn It Off (Coming Soon), and What Could've Been (Coming Soon)!

Turn It Off: Based off of the character Peyton from A Tragic Heart (Short Story)

Intro

Enough was enough. This was the last time I was going to allow him to treat me this way. My mom is gone and there’s no reason for me to remain here any longer. He’s the reason why she’s no longer breathing and I refuse to go out that way. It was time for me to leave.

I looked at my face in the bathroom mirror. I was too young to go through this madness. I was only thirteen and I felt like I was living the life of a man. My face was sore and bruised. I guess since my mother was no longer here to be his punching bag, I had to suffice.

Karson was my stepdad since I was nine years old but I never respected him. Night after night I would lie in my bed listening to the horror going on in the room next to mine. My mother’s screams from his beatings would enrage me, but what was I to do? I was only a kid. Still, I continued to blame myself. I should have been stronger.

It wasn’t until I got a little older that I started to fight back. Fighting back only made him start to hit me too and that’s when my mother decided it was time to go. She had the mother’s attitude of: you can do what you want to me but leave my son out of it. I begged her for years to leave but it wasn’t until he started to hurt me that she listened. I only wished she listened sooner.

I applied alcohol to my face to clean my cuts and placed a cold compress beneath my eye. It was swollen from the fight I just had to endure. His reason this time: my mother’s death is all my fault. It’s not even like he cared about her to begin with. The only thing he loved was the bottle that seemed to be glued to the palm of his hand.

There was never a real father figure in my life. My dad left when I was only seven and I haven’t seen or spoken to him since. My mom was the only person I had in my life. She was my best friend and I loved her to pieces. It kills me that my love for her wasn’t enough. If it was she wouldn’t have ended up the way she did. She was a beautiful and intelligent woman that only deserved the best, which is why I could never understand how she ended up with Karson. The guy was bad news from the start.

I knew if I didn’t make plans to leave soon that I would end up just like my mother. I don’t want to die running away. I made my way back to my bedroom and locked the door. I picked up the phone and dialed the only person I knew I could trust, my cousin Mason. It was time for me to go…

 Chapter 1: Rebellion/Jessica

“Come on, Peyton! We can’t waste time! He’ll be home any moment now!” my mother said frantically as she threw a bunch of our belongings in a bag.

“Why are we running this way? Just tell him that you’re leaving him! That you had enough!” I replied helping her put a few things away.

“Because you know he’ll kill us both before he allows me to leave him!”

“Mom, you can’t be afraid of him forever. You can’t just run because you’ll spend your whole life running,” I said calmly as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

I pulled her into a hug and tried to console her. She started to cry and I hated Karson more than I ever thought I could at that moment. She was scared but I wasn’t. I had to be strong for her. I wasn’t going to allow him to touch her again. I’d rather die fighting for my mother’s life than have her be afraid any longer. She held onto me tighter and I knew that even though I was her son, I was also her protection. I might have only been thirteen but I been through enough to pass as much older.

“I’ll help you pack, mom, but you can’t be afraid. I’ll protect you,” I told her as I kissed her forehead.

“I love you,” she said as she wiped her tears.

“I love you too, mom”.

It didn’t take us long to get everything together and walk out of the door. I could feel her sense of relief from the moment we stepped out of the house. She rushed to start the car as I placed the bags in the trunk. This was it. We were really leaving him forever. My mother was finally going to get her freedom…the freedom she absolutely deserved.

I got in the passenger seat and she sped off as fast as she could. She was still nervous; her hands were shaking as she grasped the steering wheel. She stared straight ahead at the road but her eyes seemed dead and filled with worry.

“It’s going to be okay, mom,” I said trying to comfort her.

“It will. I know it will,” she responded as if she is still trying to convince herself.

            She was in deep thought and never saw it coming. What should have been the happiest day of our lives turned sour in an instant. The sun was shining and the skies were clear which should have been a sign of happiness. Instead, it was just a sign that the calm comes before the storm.

The light was turning from yellow to red but her mind wasn’t on that. Her eyes saw what was ahead but her mind blinded her. She accidentally ran the red light and my life changed in a few seconds.

I remember hearing a bang. I felt the impact. I felt the pain of my head hitting the glass window beside me. Tires screeching. Screams. Chatter. Then darkness.

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked a few times. I must have passed out for a little while…but it wasn’t long enough. I quickly gained consciousness and realized I was still in the passenger seat of my mom’s car. I wasn’t prepared for what I was going to see next. My mom. Her head leaned lifelessly on the driver’s side window. Her arms dangled at her side…her eyes wide open. A truck slammed into her side causing just enough damage to knock me out and end my mother’s life.

I snatched off my seatbelt and did what any other son would have done. I tried to save my mom. I leaned over to her side and attempted CPR the best way I could. The damage done to the car prevented me from being able to lay her seat flat.

“Come on, mom! Mom, please don’t do this to me!” I yelled while trying to pump her chest. “Mom!”

I pushed the passenger door open and unbuckled my mother’s seatbelt. I pulled her out of the car to lay her flat on the concrete. The sound of police cars and the ambulance filled the atmosphere. I attempted CPR again but I wasn’t having any luck. I knew I was doing it right, my mother taught me a billion times.

She was a doctor; a surgeon to be exact. She taught me a lot about saving lives, I just never thought I would have to use her lessons to save her own life.

“Hey, hey! You need to get checked out! Move away from her! Let the paramedics handle this kid!” A police officer yelled at me.

I ignored his orders and continued to try and save my mother’s life. I knew it was over but something in me wouldn’t allow me to give up.

“Come on kid!” he yelled again, this time pulling me away. “What’s your name?”

I look back at my mother who was now being handled by the paramedics. They were repeating my failed attempt. I couldn’t pay attention to anything else but my mom. We all knew it was too late but I wasn’t trying to admit it.

“Hey, kid! What’s your name? I need to know that you’re okay!” the officer said once more.

I look away from my mother for a few to answer him.

“Uh-um, Peyton…my name is Peyton Giordano. That’s my mom.  Her name is Cathleen Taylor-Davis. I need her to be okay! Please, tell me that she’s going to be okay!”

“They’re going to do everything that they can for your mother. You need to stay calm and go with a paramedic so I can take your statement,” he told me.

“No, no, I need to be with my mom. She needs me, I can’t-“

“Kid, you gotta calm down, you need to get checked out, you may be in shock,” the officer said, leading me to the ambulance.

A paramedic came over and began attending to me. They all were asking so many questions I couldn’t comprehend it all. My mind was focused on my mother. I was so far away I couldn’t see past all of the men that surrounded her.

“Will she be okay? That’s my mom. She’s all I have,” I said to the paramedic who was flashing a light in my eyes.

“They’re doing the best they could,” was all she said to me. “You don’t seem to have a concussion so that’s good. But, you will need stitches for that gash in your forehead.”

I lightly touched the right side of my head and saw a bit of blood come off on my finger tips. I didn’t even realize that I was hurt. I guess I went numb to pain when I saw my mother.

“We’re going to take you in for some observations and tests. Stay here,” she said before hopping in the ambulance and picking out a few packaged bandages and other supplies.

The crowd of people started to slowly move away from my mother. My heart sank when I saw it. They were preparing to zip her up in a black body bag like she was packaged meat. I immediately ran over to her, pushing everyone out of my way.

“No, this can’t be happening! Mom! No, no, no, no, no! This isn’t real!” I said out loud without realizing.

The same officer from before pulled me away from the scene.

“Let me go! That’s my mom!” I shouted while trying to get away.

He grabbed me by both of my shoulders forcing me to face him.

“I’m sorry, I really am but they did everything. You can’t go over there right now. Do you have any other family to call?”

That question lingered in my mind before I made the call to Mason to let him know that I was leaving. He was my only family. I told him not to tell his mom and dad my real reason for wanting to leave Karson; he promised me he wouldn’t. We planned to give my face some time to heal so there wouldn’t be any questions asked. During that time I stayed far away from Karson, making sure I wouldn’t give him any reason at all to go off.

About two weeks later I was living a new life in a new home with the only family I had left. My aunt and uncle welcomed me with open arms. I was always like a second son to them. Mason and I grew up together and were more like brothers than cousins. That’s how I knew that I could trust him. We knew all of each others' secrets and never judged. In reality, Mason saved my life a number of times and no one ever found out about it. He kept every moment to himself. I owed him more than I could ever repay. 

To find out more about Peyton pick up your copy of A Tragic Heart now!