Conflicted

Hide n Seek Method

Hanna thanked Dylan for having the courage and respect to apologize and for the warning. He left without a fuss. Back in the dining room, the three of us sit quietly.

Hanna makes herself busy and starts cutting the pie and plating the slices.

"Mama... he lives three streets away," Peyton starts.

"I think I want this piece, it has the most whip cream," she acts as if she didn't hear her, but we both know she did.

"What are we 'gonna do? He'll show up here, he doesn't care about the house arrest," Peyton presses.

Hanna is beyond stressed in this moment. She tries to keep cool and downplay the situation by putting off this casual demeanor.

"He'll come here, Mom," Peyton's shoulders drop in defeat.

Hanna stops plating the pie.

"I want to believe that isn't true, but he tried to hit you in front of a police station... He's completely lost his mind and I'm sick to my stomach knowing how close he'll be to us..." Mrs. Byrnes voice cracks I can tell she's about to cry.

"What if Peyton isn't here, though?" I blurt out. Both women turn to face me. I clear my throat and continue. "I mean, if he breaches house arrest, he's back in jail. He knows how close by she is. If he tries to come we can catch him. He'll be lured over to the house only to find out Peyton is not here but the cops will be. There's only one place that Preston, his friends and his family don't know about and that's my condo. He won't be able to find her there."

"You're right," Hanna's eyes are full of hope.

Peyton is stunned. "You said you weren't moving until Wednesday."

"A choice, not a necessity. I could move things along. I would do anything to make sure you're safe," I say the last part without realizing how clingy I sound.

Thankfully, neither seems to read too much into in.

"You'd do that for me? You'll hide me in your apartment, move in early, all for a girl you just met?" Peyton's big blue eyes stare up at me. Hanna looks like she is just relieved and grateful.

"Of course, it's the right thing to do. You need protection and I can offer that. Not only location-wise but physically too."

Hanna doesn't miss a beat.

"Peyton, head upstairs and start packing. Kate is offering, and I'm accepting. You're my child and my job is to protect you any way I can. I failed you once, I won't make the same mistake twice. Kate can provide you with more protection than I can right now..."

I try to remain calm, but inside my stomach is doing somersaults. I'm beyond excited at the thought of having Peyton stay with me and if that means moving in earlier then so be it. I was looking forward to the move already, but the concept of having Peyton there with me, safe inside my condo makes me feel proud and trustworthy. Regardless of any mixed feelings I have, my new found friendship with her means something to me and I won't let her down.

Hanna goes out to the garage to find things for Peyton to pack up with, leaving us to head upstairs and begin packing.

"Are you sure you really okay with doing this? Sort of a huge deal to be going through all this trouble for me..." Peyton wears a pained reaction.

"Yes, without an ounce of doubt. In such a short time, we have come to get to know each other and trust each other so much, so easily. That means something to me. I want to do whatever I can to help you, to continue to build your trust. I want to train with you, show you some basic self-defense moves. You deserve to feel safe again..." I trail off when I see a tear slip from her eye. Instantly I start retracing the words I just spoke, wondering what I'd said to make her cry.

"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, I feel like I'm meeting all these new people lately that I form such instant connections..." Peyton talks to me about Jess, a professional MUA. A girl who not only excels at beauty and make-overs, but also at hyper-realistic SFX. I am so happy as she speaks, picking up off her excitement towards this new friend she made, but deep down this tiny voice creeps in from my subconscious... something like, a twinge of jealousy. I immediately shut that down.

Nope, don't act like that, Kate..

After Hanna finds a couple duffel bags, a suitcase, a plastic tote, a milk crate and a wooden box to help Peyton pack her stuff into, the three of us finish the job in about an hour and a half. The idea was that if Peyton simply packed up every single thing in her room, she wouldn't need to come back for anything that might have been mised. Hanna would come by on Monday morning to pick Peyton up and meet with a lawyer together and file a restraining order against Preston. This would help if he does decide to risk it and try to see Peyton again. In the meantime, Sunday was devoted to the condo and furniture shopping. Before Hanna rushed us through the door, she packed up eleven grocery bags worth of food from her own home and sent us on our way. I insisted I could buy groceries for myself and for Peyton, I tried so hard to have her keep her food, but she had an answer to everything.

"It'll just be me in this big old house, I don't need this much food."

"Most of it will spoil soon anyways, someone should enjoy it before it goes to waste."

"It's the least I can do considering how loyal you have been to this family. Please, take it, it will make me feel better," was what finally made me cave.

I thanked her for trusting me, feeding me and allowing her daughter and I to be friends while Peyton put the bags she was holding inside the truck.

"You're a God-send, Kate. I know she appreciates you even more than I do. I trust you with her life, literally." Hanna smiles at me before her arms gesture out to me, inviting me for a hug. I return the embrace as well as I can with arms full of groceries.

I promise her we would text every day with updates, both of us.

"I knew I like you, right fron the start," Hanna winks at me in approval.