Chapter 22

                                    

                                          
After getting Lex's phone call, Peyton wanted to rush back to Smallville, but she was persuaded to stay in Metropolis another day by him and her parents.
"Just in case," Lex said, "so you have an irrefutable alibi." He paused a moment before he explained. "She looked like you." 
"She?"
"I think it's something better explained in person." 
Peyton took consolation in the fact that neither Lex or Clark were hurt, but it did little to dull the horror after he told her that the woman who had impersonated her was dead. 
"Besides," Lex added to convince her, obviously trying to lighten the mood, "I still need a bit more time to finish my own errands." 
"Errands that I can't be around for?" Peyton prodded in suspicion. 
"It's so you can be surprised, cupcake." 
The smile in his voice was glaringly obvious; Peyton's face puckered in response. 
"Do not. Do not even start with that. I'm deleting your texts when I get back." 
He laughed easily and Peyton shoved down the warmth it bubbled up in her. 
She liked him as a person. She wanted good things for him and for him to be happy. She felt that way for a lot of people. There was nothing different about caring about Lex. 
And anyway, she was trying to get home. It felt like that goal had been shoved to the backburner for the immediate future, which was frustrating. Lex had forgotten to give her the names of the doctors he used, and she'd been too distracted to remember to bring it back up. Peyton was usually more organized and focused than that. 
There had to be irony in the fact that the reason her research into getting home was being stalled was because she was getting married. 
Peyton breathed out a frustrated breath as she found herself back in the familiar warm kitchen of her childhood. It wasn't an actual meal time, so it was empty for the moment, and she made herself at home as she dug through cupboards and the fridge. She found some leftover roasted vegetables and sat down at the island to eat them while she ruminated. 
After she got back, she'd bring up the doctors again, and she'd make sure Lex didn't forget this time. Shame crept along the edges of her psyche. Since waking up, she'd been far too lax with getting back. Usually she just waited, but this time was different. She could feel it; she was living it. 
And here she was, eating professionally roasted vegetables in a mansion while she planned a wedding to a literal millionaire, while she hardly considered her family. 
How long had she been unconscious this time? Was her boss pinning a pink slip to her blouse as the paramedics took her away?
Peyton shoved a piece of broccoli around her plate and rested her chin against her fist. It was easier not to think about her situation. Not on a deeper level at least. Thinking about it too much felt like it would send her spiraling, but she'd shoved it so far back she wasn't considering it at all. 
She was acting like this was her home. 
Water running broke her from her musings, and Peyton looked up in alarm as another person joined her. A tall man washed his hands, and she recognized his build. 
"Mr. Stanton!" She said in surprise. He turned and looked her over in an equal amount of surprise. His eyes dropped down to her plate of stolen leftovers and she ducked slightly; she hoped they weren't meant for something else.