Mixed Breakfasts

An ache in her lower back woke Peyton. In the darkened room, it took her almost twenty seconds to comprehend why her bed felt hard and uncomfortable. That's because you're sleeping on the floor, dummy. Turning over, she stretched her long, lithe figure, enduring further aches and pains in her limbs.

Staring up at the barely visible ceiling as her eyes adjusted to the limited light, Peyton recalled why she ended up on the uncomfortable floor. After Newt convinced Fred to head back to the shore, they managed to wrap him up in blankets and escort him back to the cabin. Drunker than anyone she had ever seen in her life--including several over-the-top parties at college-- Fred passed out immediately upon tumbling into his bed. Knowing even before he announced it that Finn would stay to watch after his father, Peyton didn't hesitate to join him. She could see the strain on his face over his father's deterioration and wished to lessen the load he carried, whatever way she could.

Oh, poor Finny! Today was already going to be a tough day for him. Those memories from ten years ago are always more livid and frequent on the anniversary of Aunt Cassie's ****. Trapped in a car while your mom bleeds to **** while telling you that she loves you, and it will be okay, isn't a memory that lessens with time. And replaying the event continuously in regret that you should have done more for her is not a pain anyone deserves.

The loud snort from Fred's snoring shook Peyton out of her worrying over her close friend. Instead, she shifted to wonder how her brother was holding up in the hospital. Peyton vowed to hug him tightly when she next saw him, then scold him for doing an act that almost cost her a brother. And then I'll hug him again and tell him how proud I am of him. I'll call Mom the first thing once it gets--oh, crap! Mom's not here, and it's her turn to make breakfast. It looks like I'm on my own.

Reaching over, Peyton checked her phone for the time and groaned. It wasn't time to start cooking breakfast, but it was close enough that she couldn't roll back over and go back to sleep. I better get up and figure something out. I guess maybe French toast could work if we have the ingredients.

Standing up, Peyton didn't bother to try and stay quiet. She knew Finn to be a deep sleeper. And based on the **** intake that his dad downed the night before, she assumed he would be out for hours. Using the light from her phone, she noticed that Finn's blanket had fallen off in his uncomfortable position in the armchair. Picking it up, Peyton gently covered him with it, finishing with a soft kiss to the top of his head. Don't worry, Finn. I'm here for you today. Lana, too, in her own way.

Tired and feeling a slight hangover from last night, Peyton felt older than her years as she slowly climbed the stairs to the main floor. Approaching the top of the stairs, she was surprised to hear what sounded like humming as the pantry door shut. Maybe Rachel or Gabby...no, not Gabby. It has to be Rachel that decided to get up and cover for Mom.

Expecting to see her best friend's mom when she hit the kitchen, Peyton screeched to a halt upon turning the corner. Instead of the red-haired mother, she saw a brunette wearing an opened short, satin sky blue robe. Underneath the tiny robe, Peyton saw the young woman also a pajama set that appropriately reflected her name.

"Skye?"

"Oh! You scared me. Good morning, Peyton," Skye greeted, her stomach dropping as the subject of one of the salacious articles stood across the island from her. She's up early. Does she know about those rumors?

"Oops, sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone else to be up this early," Peyton replied. Is she up because of Mr. Singer? Did someone tell her?

"I didn't expect to be up, either, but the phone woke me." Shit! Why did I bring up the phone ringing?

"The phone? Was it my mom?"

"No, it was some of Whitney's friends calling after hearing about her fall through the ice. Lacey...um, fell asleep in the den last night. So, she was there to get the phone and talk to them. Have you, uh, talked to your mom yet this morning?"

"No, not yet. I don't want to call too early and disturb Whitney and Sean. They need their rest."

"Right, right. It sounded as if the doctors felt that rest was the best thing for both," Skye replied, unsure where to go with the conversation. So instead, she kept herself busy by pulling more ingredients from the refrigerator.

"So, you're making breakfast?" Peyton asked in mild surprise.

"I figured I would help since I was up, and I wanted to be of some use. Oh! Is that alright? I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I knew it was your mom's turn to make it."

"No, it's fine. I just remembered that it was her turn, so that's why I got up. What are you making?"

"Breakfast burritos. I'm not sure if that's a good choice. I saw the tortillas and it kind of just popped into my head. Is that okay? I don't want to make something that people don't like. Shit! Did your mom have something planned?"

"No, breakfast burritos sound great, Skye. I was going to make French toast. Still, something unexpected like these might help cheer everyone up after yesterday," Peyton remarked while she eyed the tomatoes, spinach, and olives that Skye had piled in the center of the island. "Newt's the only one that I can think of that won't like them for sure. But he's cool with cereal."

"Yeah, I noticed that Newt's a little picky," Skye noted. "You were really good with him yesterday. I mean, with how upset he was after Sean and Whitney's fall."

"Newt and JoJo have been attached to my brother's hips since they could walk. So he's almost like another brother. My mom probably would have handled it better, but I managed to help, I think."

"No, you did more than help. I heard that you want to be a doctor someday, and that's the bedside manner I would want for my mom or me."

"Thanks," Peyton replied, blushing a little at the compliment. "Do you have everything you need? I think I saw some cans of beans in the pantry the other day."

"Beans would be great! I usually prefer potatoes in my burritos, but I'm not sure if I have the time to cook them," Skye pondered, glancing at the clock.

"I think we've got plenty of time to cook them. Turn the oven on. I'll grab those beans and anything else in the pantry that looks good.

While doing that, Peyton wondered how she should bring up Fred's crazy suicide attempt from last night. I don't want to ask outright. I don't know Skye anywhere close enough to handle some emotional reaction.

"Here, I grabbed some onions along with the potatoes," Peyton revealed as she came back to the island.

"Oh, great! That was on the list in my head to grab."

"So, honestly, I'm not looking forward to calling my mom. I'm not sure how she and Mr. Diamond will take the news," Peyton started, referring to Fred's drunken actions.

Oh, shit! She knows! "I can see what you mean. Are you doing okay?"

"I guess. I didn't sleep too well." Damn floor!

"I hope your brother won't be too upset. Sean seems like a great guy."

I guess Sean might be upset for Finn. He does look to him for advice. "He'll probably be fine. He's pretty calm when it comes to issues like this, obviously."

"Honestly, I'm surprised that some girl hasn't locked down your brother. He's good-looking--oops, sorry, I don't want to make you feel awkward--and such a sweetie."

"Oh, that's okay," Peyton chuckled. "He was dating one girl, Beyza, and that seemed to be going well. I'm not sure what happened, and I should. He usually talks to Finn about girls, but I should be there for him too."

"I went through one of those dumbass bad boy phases in high school. Looking back on it, a guy like Sean would've been far better for me. Probably a lot more fun, too," Skye admitted. Crap! Way to go, Skye; keep on talking about the hotness of a girl's brother. Can I make this any more awkward?

"I know what you mean. I made a couple of poor choices back in high school. That's partly why I'm more hesitant to date these days." Why is she talking about dating Sean?

Change the subject, Skye, change the subject! "I don't know Harvey all that well, but I hope he doesn't take the news too badly." Why did I just do that? Bringing up the rumors of the guy banging her mom? Double crap!

"I can't see how he doesn't. There's a long history between the two of them," Peyton responded. I think Mr. Diamond and Mr. Singer go back as far as Lana and I do. Is this what it's going to be like when Lana has her inevitable mid-life crisis meltdown?

"Long history?" Skye repeated. Does she know about her mom and Harvey?!

"Well, yeah, they've been together forever. Honestly, knowing even a smidgen of the stories, I can't imagine the crazy shit they've done together over the years," Peyton speculated, thinking of those sex party rumors around town.

"Wait, you know about them?!" Holy fuck!

"Uh, of course. Why wouldn't I?" Is everything alright with her? She did come to the cabin of her then boyfriend's best friend!

"Holy crap! Is it all of it true then? Are you..." Fuck, I can't just ask outright if you're the lovechild of Harvey Diamond!

"Am I what? What are you talking about?"

"Well, at least I'm not the only one up this early. Morning, girls," Rachel greeted. Walking into the kitchen, she scanned the kitchen's island. "Ooh! Are you girls making omelets?"

"No, Skye's making breakfast burritos," Peyton replied, still waiting for an answer from the other woman.

"Great idea! Something different like this will help perk everyone up after that crap Fred pulled last night."

"What crap did Fred do?" Skye inquired, raising Peyton's eyebrows in surprise.

It took ten minutes, and the addition of Gabriela before a guilt-ridden Skye calmed down. Rachel, in particular, kept on informing her that it wasn't her fault, but all Fred's.

"Honey, you should feel good that a man loses his mind after dumping you," Gabby joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"I'm mad at Fred--very mad--, but I still don't want him to hurt himself," Skye declared, wiping a tear away. "Maybe if I had been there for him last night, I could--"

"No! Don't even think of blaming yourself. Not one bit!" Rachel sternly insisted while she continued the others' breakfast preparations. "This is all Fred's own making. He's spent that last decade refusing to deal with Cassie's ****. Rather than do that, he's spent ten years running around the world, getting drunk, screwing young pussy--no offense, dear--and neglecting the son that needed him!

"Okay, Rach, calm down. You're getting a little upset," Gabby told her bestie.

"Upset? Do I look upset?!" she replied, slamming the refrigerator door. Everyone watched as she tossed the carton of eggs onto the island.

"You kinda do."

"Well, maybe, I should be. Fred is not the one that deserves our concern today. Our focus should be--gawddammit!" Rachel exclaimed, her cracking of an egg ended up not in a bowl but onto the counter's surface. Turning around, she took two steps toward the paper towel holder. "Fucking great! No paper towel!"

The three women watched as the usually cheerful mother stormed over to the pantry door.

"Uh, is she okay?" Skye asked.

"She's in her mommy freakout mode," Gabby explained quietly. "It's over Finn."

"Yeah, my mom tried to help as much as she could, but her job can fill up her day quickly. So it fell to the Strattons to be there for Finn," Peyton added.

"For Rachel and Clive, Finn basically became their son. He often chose to be at their home instead of his grandparents' house. There were too many painful reminders of Cassandra over there," Gabby further elaborated.

"He still has a bedroom at Stratton house. You might have noticed that Lacey considers him to be her big brother. Well, she gets that from her mom," Peyton softly finished as Rachel exited the pantry, holding a paper towel and whipping the door shut behind her.

"Okay, give me that. Rachel, hand that over."

"No," she responded to Gabby. The two women had a quick tug-of-war over the paper towel roll with the dark-haired part of their friend duo winning.

"I'll clean up the mess. Take a moment and calm down. Finn's not alone today. We're all here for him," Gabby informed her BFF, leading her over to a stool to sit down on.

With the pause in Mrs. Stratton's freakout, a new thought struck Peyton. Turning to look at Skye, she re-asked her question from before.

"Hey, if you didn't know about Mr. Singer, then what were you talking about?"

"Oh, uh, when Lacey's friends called, they had some new news," Skye reluctantly revealed.

"New news? Like what?"

"Um...uh...it's a little...difficult to explain."

"That's why it's better if we show you," Lacey said, walking into the kitchen with Harvey's laptop.