Home Ch. 08

But what kept gnawing at her was her need for him.

Hearing his voice that morning had blossomed a need for Nate. A bitter, distasteful need. She wanted him with her. She wanted him near. She wanted him begging for her, pining for her, needing her as much as she needed him. Comforting her, keeping all the pain at bay. Peyton refused to give in to this feeling, knowing full well that she'd succumb to Nate if she did. She wanted so bad to call him back, but she'd deleted the number that he'd dialed from in her anger. None of it made any real sense to her. He knew about her messed up relationship with Victoria and still he chose her to sleep with? He hadn't seemed angry or vengeful at Jane's fundraiser. He seemed to want her back, to want to make things work, to put it all back together again. Was it all a lie? Peyton didn't think so. In fact, now that she'd rested, things were beginning to look more and more out of whack. Why had Nate barely moved when she got there, even when Victoria had been crying out his name? Nate was always such a light sleeper. Always. Peyton just couldn't believe the man that had looked at her with such love and longing that night at the fundraiser was the same man who'd go and fuck her sister in the same week. Before she could think it through any more, a persistent knocking ushered her out of bed and to her front door. She looked through the peephole and saw the last person on earth (other than Victoria) that she needed to see right then: Addison.

She had her dainty fist balled, banging away at Peyton's door. "Open up bitch! I know what you did to Nate!"

Peyton frowned. What I did to Nate? She's got this fucked up. Peyton sucked in her breath and opened the door. Addison came bounding in, stomping her expensive-looking heels on the floor as she did.

"Addison, what a lovely surprise. Want to explain to me why you know where I live?" Peyton asked drolly.

"Fuck all that," Addison snarled as she turned to face Peyton, "you're going to go the police right now and tell them what you did to Nate."

Peyton's frown deepened. "What the hell are you talking about? What happened to Nate?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me you conniving black bitch. I knew right from the start that you'd be nothing but trouble for Nate and now he's in the hospital. What'd you do huh? Get your sister to drug him because he didn't want your crazy ass back?"

"What?" It took a moment before it all sunk in for Peyton. Nate had been drugged and was in the hospital. That was the number he had called from! "Oh God," Peyton mumbled to herself, "I've made such a mistake!"

"I knew it!" Addison screeched, "a confession!" Addison started rummaging around her purse frantically. Peyton figured she'd brought a tape recorder or some other device to record a supposed confession of guilt. She rolled her eyes and walked towards her room.

"Addison, you need to leave. I'll go check on Nate now."

"No you won't. You'll never go near him again." Addison whipped out a taser and shot the vicious barbed probed into Peyton's back.

Peyton's entire body froze. A hot current of pain began in her back and shot through her nerves and into her head. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't move. Addison let off the trigger and Peyton fell face first onto the floor. Her body twitched erratically. Addison walked over to her and lifted her leg. She pressed the flat of her heel on Peyton's trembling cheek. She glowered down at her, twisted her foot on her Peyton's face.

"I've waited too long to get rid of you," Addison growled. Before she could proceed, a thick meaty armed wrapped itself around her waist and sent her flying backwards. Addison skidded across the floor and hit Peyton's wall with a thud. She cried out and looked at her assailant. A barrel-shaped olive skinned man stood over her, his face amused. He had salt and pepper hair and smelled like cheap scotch. Addison recoiled from him and pressed herself into the wall.

"Who the fuck are you!?" she cried towards him.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Seems you've done me a favor." The man turned back to Peyton, who was shivering and now drooling on the floor. The man smirked down at her. "It would have been a bitch trying to wrestle her down. You tase her?" the man asked. He reached out a hand to Addison. She eyed it suspiciously, then reached for it. He helped her up and smiled at her.

"Yeah," she responded curtly. She ran her eyes up and down his frame, keeping her guard up the whole time. The man chuckled at her.

"Good thinking!" He strolled back over to Peyton and picked her up. He hauled her over his shoulder and carried her towards her bedroom. Addison scurried behind him.

"What do you want with her? She fuck with someone you love too?"

"Naw," the man gruffed, "I just gotta see how much she knows about a certain situation I'm in with her sister."

"Her sister! Victoria? She's the cunt that drugged my fiancé!"

The man chucked Peyton onto the bed and raised an eyebrow at Addison. "You're with that Nate fella? I thought this girl on the bed was with him."

Addison frowned. "What do you know about it? Who the fuck are you anyway?"

"Well, ya seen my face so I might as well. I'm Stiles. And I just got mixed up in Victoria's shit. Sorry about your hubby."

"I'm Addison, and its okay. It's actually pretty good. It has brought me and Nate closer together, but I need this bitch on the bed to admit what she's done so she can go to jail and Nate and I will be free to live our lives in love."

Stiles smothered a laugh. "Yeah good luck with all of that. I'll let you have a crack at her when I'm done." He looked down at Peyton's still body and frowned. Her trembling had stopped and she was still breathing, but her eyes were closed. "Damn girl, how much did you zap her? I think she passed out."

Addison came to stand next to him. She reached down to Peyton and smacked her square across the face. Peyton's head shot to the left and stayed there. "Eh. Maybe I went a little overboard. Shit happens."

Stiles laughed again. He thought that this would be the start of a very interesting friendship.

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Nate sat at the end of his hospital bed, his steady eyes not leaving Victoria's. She was staring back at him, as best she could with one eye half swollen shut.

Nate had fallen asleep after the cops had left, not waking again until the next day. Addison wasn't there to greet him, to Nate's relief, but one devil was traded for another, because when he did wake, Victoria was sitting across from him. Nate had sat up slowly, eyeing her wearily, ready to strike if she tried anything.

"Good. You're awake," she'd said quietly, "we have to go."

"I ought to kill you Victoria. How did you get in here?" Nate growled.

"Doesn't matter now. We have to go. Peyton's in trouble."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Victoria sighed. "We don't have time with for this. Peyton's in trouble."

"Why the fuck should I believe you? You almost killed me you psycho bitch!" Nate spat out. His energy had returned and he was up and stalking towards her. Victoria made no effort to move. Nate had gripped her shoulder and slammed her back against the nearby wall. Victoria's breath had left her body in a loud puff sound. Nate held her on the wall with his forearm pressed against her throat. Victoria clawed at his arm, but Nate didn't budge.

"I almost died because of you bitch. I'll have the cops in here in a second."

Victoria gasped and struggled against him. She sucked in air harshly and choked on her words. "Go ahead. Call the cops. I don't care anymore. But if you really do love my sister, you'll hear me out."

Nate narrowed his eyes down at her before releasing her from his grasp. She coughed roughly, then collapsed onto the chair across from Nate's bed.

"Talk. Now. And if I even suspect that you're lying, I'll break your arm before calling the nurses and cops in here."

Victoria nodded her head and rubbed her throat. "Okay. But get dressed first. We need to be out of here as soon as possible."

"No. Now."

"No. If you want to know anything, you put yourself together first. I'm not wasting any more time with you. You can choke me all you want, but in the end, Peyton dies. Do you want that? I brought you some clothes. They're in the bathroom. Go."

Now Nate sat, staring at her, his fists balled and his eyes focused.

"Talk."

Victoria sighed again. "So I'm guessing by your greeting when you woke, you've figured out what I did."

"Yeah. Drugged me and set me up for Peyton to catch us. You know that no matter what you're going to jail right?"

"I figured as much."

"Then why are you here?" Nate questioned, "if Peyton is really in danger, wouldn't you want her to stay that way?"

Victoria looked away from Nate then. "Everyone has their limits Nate. Even me. The guy I got the roofies from is not a nice man. I've done things, awful things, just to get at Peyton. And where has it gotten me? Broke, beaten, and fucked. I can't do this anymore. It's enough."

"I don't believe you," Nate said quickly.

"And I don't care if you believe me or not. This isn't about you. It isn't really about me either. It's about Peyton. I just want..." Victoria hesitated, "I want to talk to her one more time. I've paid the price for my choices. And she's taken all my shit. She shouldn't have to take any from him."

"What do you think this guy will do to her?"

"I don't know. I do know he wanted to confront her though."

"Why?" Nate raised a brow.

"Because he burned down the St. Michael's 6 months ago."

Nate was taken aback by this. "What? How do you know that?"

"Because I told him to," She said casually.

Nate's hands balled into fists, his steely gaze becoming even more intense. Victoria just waved his look away.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got a one way ticket to hell. Instead of fuming at me, we should go get the arsonist before he gets to Peyton."

She got up and headed towards the door. Nate got up to follow her. Before Victoria could reach the knob, Nate grabbed her bicep and turned her around to face him. He towered over her and gripped her close enough to hear him whisper.

"If anything happens to Peyton, I'll kill you both."

Victoria believed him, but it didn't scare her. Not anymore. It'd be the ultimate price for her actions. She was ready for whatever happened next.

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Peyton's stiff muscles could barely creak back to life. She felt parched and there was a dull throbbing in her head. Her eyes slowly fluttered opened and she immediately grimaced. Addison was sitting across from her on Peyton's bed, filing her nails. Peyton tried to move, but felt pressure keeping her trapped in her chair. She'd been duck taped in. She sighed heavily and dropped her head.

"Addison, don't you think this is extreme and incredible cliché?" she said finally.

Addison's head perked up and she smiled. "Welcome back sweetie. And yes, you're right about that. But it wasn't my idea. It was his." Addison gestured towards Peyton's bedroom door. As if summoned, the man who she'd heard speaking to strolling in, like he hadn't a care in the world. Peyton's eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted. His face, his skin, his hair, all tickled at her memory but she couldn't really place him. The man smiled down at her and walked over to where Peyton was tied down. He crouched down to one knee, his smile just mere inches away from her now. Peyton's nostrils were filled then with a sudden thick smell of sweat, musk, and scotch. Cheap scotch.

It all hit her then, like a ton of bricks.

"You were at St. Michael's that night. You burned it down," Peyton said breathlessly. Addison didn't hear her, but the man did. His smiled disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

"Got a good memory there I see," He said quietly, just above a whisper, "that's rather unfortunate. And here I wanted to let your pretty ass go, but you are just too big of a loose end."

Panic painted Peyton's face. Addison noticed it and frowned.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" she asked, but Stiles just dismissed her.

"Get your Taser. We need her knocked out again so we can transport her."

Addison became alarmed. "What the fuck? No! I don't want to do all that. I just want her to confess to what she did to Nate!"

Stiles whirled around to her. "It's too late for all that now. We have to get rid of her fast before anyone becomes the wiser."

"No Addison! Don't do this! You're not a murderer!" Peyton cried out. Addison's alarm was now replaced with panic.

"No Stiles. You're taking this too fucking far. We aren't killing her. I won't let you."

Stiles bellowed a rueful laugh and stood up. He started stomping over to Addison, who was quickly backing away from him.

"Don't get any closer! Or I'll tase your ass too!" she squealed. But when she turned to look for her purse with the taser in it, she saw that it was all the way across the room. Without another second to spare, Addison turned to run from Peyton's room. She didn't get far before stiles reached out a fat hand and caught Addison by her long red hair. She screamed in terror as he twisted his fist and yanked her backwards. Peyton then too began screaming.

"Somebody help! Help Us! Call the police!!" Peyton shrieked. Addison echoed her in screams while thrashing in Stiles' grip. His rage was only increased by their howls.

"Shut the fuck up you bitch!" he yelled, but Addison wouldn't stop fighting.

Peyton kept screaming, but took this opportunity to shift around in her chair. It was a lightweight chair from her dining room and she easily lifted it and stood up, awkwardly bent from the seat. She lifted her head and saw Stiles with one arm around Addison's waist, lifting her from the floor and the other around her neck. His face was beet red and sweaty and, despite his size, Addison's struggles seemed to be wearing on him. Peyton was afraid he'd snap her neck at any second. Without thinking, she turned and awkwardly ran backwards towards them, hoping the chair legs would meet with Stiles' legs. Two of them missed but another two stabbed into the back of Stiles' knee and at his ankle. Stiles let out a pained cry and released Addison instantly, who went sprawling forward onto the floor. Peyton shifted to the left hard, connecting the side of the chair legs into Stiles' other leg. He howled again and fell back, knocking his head on Peyton's night stand in the fall. Addison was to her feet and turned to see Peyton face down in a turtle position, the chair as her shell, and Stiles disoriented and groaning to the right of her.

"Addison help me!" Peyton screamed.

Addison turned instead, running out of Peyton's room.

"ADDISON!!" Peyton screamed again, crying this time.

Addison didn't slow. She ran through the apartment. "Sorry honey!" she yelled back, "but he wants you, not me!"

She was at the front door. She yanked it open and let out another high-pitched shout. Nate was standing at the door, his fist raised for a knock. Victoria was standing behind him, and they both looked equally surprised.

"Addison, what are you doing here?" he asked, taking in her disheveled, panting form. Addison launched herself into Nate's arms.

"Oh Nate baby! You're here to save me!" she cried happily.

"What? No! What's happening Addison?!"

Victoria strolled passed them, ignoring Addison. "Peyton! Are you in here?" she called out.

"I'm HERE!" Peyton's voice came from the back, "help me please! He's awake!"

Victoria shot through the apartment in an instant. Nate shoved Addison aside and was at Victoria's heels that same second. When they burst into Peyton's room, Stiles was on top of her, straddling her waist, his hand around her throat.

"You stupid bitch! You ruined EVERYTHING!" he snarled. Nate was on him the next moment, his arms around Stiles' head in a choke hold, pulling him off Peyton. Victoria looked around frantically. She ran to bathroom and came back with a pair of scissors. Stiles pushed Nate back, causing him to trip and for them both to go flying back onto the floor. Nate wrestled to keep his hold around Stiles' thick neck.

Victoria was on her knees, cutting away at the tape holding Peyton. Peyton was gasping for air, her eyes bloodshot, her face flushed. The tape finally gave way and Victoria was ripping it off Peyton in no time.

The sisters both looked to see Stiles on top of Nate, dealing out mighty punches to his face. Peyton struggled to get up for a moment, but got to her feet and jumped onto Stiles' back. She tried putting him into a headlock as well, but Stiles made a quick effort of flinging her off of him and towards the wall. Peyton skidded and hit the wall, crying out in pain. This delay gave Nate a chance to deliver and swift blow to Stiles' jaw. They both cried out in anguish, but Nate then bucked wildly, pushing Stiles off of him and onto the floor. Nate got on his knees and crawled quickly to where Peyton lay.

"You Fucker!" Stiles roared as he tried to make his way back up on his feet, "I'll kill you for that!"

Stiles was up, ready to charge at Nate. Nate lifted himself too, preparing to defend Peyton. Victoria ran over to Peyton and kneeled by her, whispering worries and checking if she was okay.

Stiles huffed like a bull. Right when he took his first step though, 2 probes shot into his chest. His body contorted, then stiffened mercilessly. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and an electric buzz filled the air. Then it stopped and Stiles fell face first onto the floor. His large body jerked and trembled, his broken jaw shivering. Nate turned his head and saw Addison smiling at him, Taser in hand.

"You're welcome!" she quipped.

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Peyton fiddled with her fingers anxiously. The police would be leaving soon and then she'd be alone with Nate. There was so much to say, but she didn't know how she'd go about saying any of it. She looked over at him and couldn't help but smile.

He was holding an ice pack over his swelling right eye while he talked to the officers. Stiles had been arrested, struggling the entire time, screaming about this recording he had on Victoria and how none of it was really his fault. Victoria had gone along willingly, only asking to say a few parting words to Peyton before she was taken away. Peyton's half-sister's words were still ringing in her head.

"Hate is an ugly thing Tonny... I mean Peyton," Victoria had said as the police officers cuffed her, "it roots itself deep in your belly and makes you do things and feel things that make you crazy. What it doesn't do is tell you the cost of those crazy things. There is always a price to hate. In my case, it's a steep one. I'm sorry that you had to suffer for it. Please, if this is the last time we are ever speaking, I want you to know how truly sorry I am." Tears ran down Victoria's face as she'd really looked Peyton in the eyes for the first time in their lives together. Peyton had fought back her own tears and had placed a hand on Victoria's shoulder.

"I forgive you," she'd said quietly.

Victoria smiled softly then, and turned to police. "When we get to the station, I have a lot I want to confess." She walked with them compliantly without looking back.

Peyton sat now with her face in her hands, tears overwhelming her. Sobbing quietly, glad that she'd already given her statement so the officers wouldn't have had to talk to her like this. She heard Addison whining from outside.

"But I'm the hero!" she wailed, "I shouldn't be getting arrested. I saved the day!"

"You participated in holding Ms. Cavanaugh prisoner and from what we've heard, you started it by tasing her in the first place," responded another cop.