Haunt Me

Sebastien...
As much as she'd hoped he would, Peyton still had had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she'd asked too soon, especially since he's taken so long to respond.

She sprawled on her bed covers with a silly grin on her face, still clutching the letter, the words "sincerely yours" pasted to the inside of her eyelids.

"Hey Sebastien." The accountant from an office a few doors down brushed her freshly manicured fingertips over his desk as she passed him. He nodded in response.

"Janine is nice." His boss came over with a broad smile. He leaned tenderly against the cubical wall. "She seems to like you."

"Yeah. It does seem that way."

"You've made quite an impression here. Have a girl waiting at home for you?"

Sebastien stopped typing on his computer and looked up. "Not yet, Sir. I've got my eyes on someone, though."

"Very good. Good... Welp, see you tomorrow." He pat the desk and headed for the door.

Sebastien hurried along with his paperwork, hoping to get out of the office a little early, but, as with every other day, he was out ten minutes late. He thought about swinging by Peyton's, but he was tired and wasn't really up to spending so much time on the bus. He left his desk a little cluttered, not wanting to be any later, and opened the door only to run into Peyton.

"Mr. Kate!" Her face lit up. "You're leaving?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. We've been closed for a little while and I need to catch the bus, otherwise I'd be very willing to help you."

She eyed him mischievously. "If I gave you a ride home, could I snag a couple more minutes of your time? Please, I just need to cash a check." Her big eyes asked playfully and he simply couldn't say no. He sighed heavily and opened the door for her.

It didn't take more than a minute to put her money in the account, they didn't even take off their jackets. Very soon they were sitting in her- actually, her bother's- car.

They listened to piano while he gave her directions to his apartment. She was a chatterbox. Even when they parked in his lot she kept going. "Yeah, I just found out a little while ago that my little brother is dating my best friend." She said. "I'm really happy for them. It's weird to think that they may never have met if my mother hadn't died and I'd be stuck in the same old dead-end relationship."

He forced a grin, "It's nice that you can see a silver lining in such devastating circumstances. You're very strong."

"Well, thank you." She blushed.

There was a long silence before he asked, "How are you holding up with the whole thing? Have they caught anyone yet?"

She shook her head. "I'm really not too worried about it. I miss my mom, but I don't think this uy is a danger to anyone else. I think he genuinely regrets his actions. What he did was horrible, but living with that kind of guilt is like prison." She sighed heavily. "Anyway, people do and say horrible things when they're angry and desperate. What's done is done, and either way, I have to learn to live with it. I'd rather just move on."