A/N: The first chapter of the story was based on an accident that occurred in Long Island back in 2005. The family was leaving a wedding when a pick-up truck collided with the limo, killing the limo driver and the 7 year old flower girl inside. The remainder of this story is purely fiction and deals with how both the nuclear and extended familis deal with the grief.
There was no wake. The family didn't want it…Peyton wouldn't allow it. So there was just a funeral…a small and closed off funeral that was for immediate family only and a few close friends. But three members of that family were still in that hospital. Karen was moved out of the ICU and onto a regular floor, but Andy and Haley…they were still fighting for their lives.
Peyton had watched as they lowered the small casket into the ground, Andrea in her lap and Lucas gripping her hand tightly. Tears fell silently from his eyes, but Peyton remained eerily calm through the entire funeral. She had the antidepressant and sedative to thank for that…they were the reason she wasn't clinging to the casket…cursing the men that were burying her child. How did she know what she would do without the drugs…she knew because she desperately wanted to lunged at the two men, shoo them away from her child that they were about to put six feet underground…but the sedative wouldn't allow her to do any such thing. So she sat there, and watched helplessly as two people she didn't know gave her no choice but to say goodbye to her daughter.
Lucas pulled her body into his, her head falling into place on his shoulder. It was odd to see her without tears, but he understood why. His eyes shifted to his daughter, even she was crying…crying for her lost playmate….for her lost source of comfort when mommy and daddy got into a fight…for the sister that was there one minute and gone the next. She didn't understand it, but she knew something was wrong. She knew everyone was sad, that she hadn't seen her grandparents since she last saw Cassie…that Aunt Haley, who always came to the house on Saturday morning, wasn't there when she ran down the steps. She knew Aunt Brooke had been spending a lot of time around the house…with her mom…that that two of them were always crying, that daddy had been busy making phone calls, or arrangements, as she had heard him say once…that Uncle Jake had to help him make the calls because daddy would get upset and cry…and he never cried, but her had been crying a lot lately. All the adults around her had been crying a lot, even Uncle Nathan who was always smiling and acting silly…he tried to smile for her, but she could still see the tears glistening in his eyes. Everything was just different.
It was as they walked somberly across the moist grass that the sedative started the wear off…and that was when the first tears slid down her pale cheek…but no one would know that, not with the black veil covering her face. She gripped her daughters hand tightly as they walked to the car. Jake had driven, none of them comfortable with the idea of getting into another limo, and Lucas not stable enough to get behind the wheel.
There was no reception afterwards…the only people in the Scott residence were the same people who had been there for the past week, with the addition of Cooper and Deb. Nathan had left to go see Haley, leaving Brandon to play with Drea, but taking Jason and Kyle. At thirteen, Kyle just wanted to see his mother, but Nathan took Jason simply to get the young boy's mind off his cousin…his best friend. The normally talkative boy had grown quiet after being told about the accident. Cassie was the only one he could tell any and everything to…he had another best friend, but he wasn't Cass…no one would ever be his cousin.
While Drea and Brandon played in the yard with Jake, the rest of the group made small talk on the deck. Cooper had barbequed in an attempt to make the afternoon seem somewhat normal. The meal started silently, someone occasionally making stupid and pointless comments, anything to cut through the thick tension that loomed in the air.
"Daddy…" Lucas looked away from the food he had barley touched and down at the small brunette who was no standing next to him.
"Yeah…"
"Do you member when Cassie spwayed the hose on the swide and I got to go down it?" Her eyes were sparkling as a smile played on his lips.
"Yeah I remember" Lucas wore a sad smile as he responded to his daughter.
"Can me and Uncle Jake show Brandon?" The pain was evident on Luke's face but he ignored the tearing in his heart as he leaned down and gently kissed Andrea's forehead.
"Of course you can sweetie?" He watched he run back down the steps, grabbing the hose when she reached the bottom, and dragging it over to the swing set.
"I remember that day" Lucas turned to face Brooke who was now wearing a nostalgic smile of her own. "They played on that thing for hours…and you actually stood there the entire time holding that hose for them. God…you spoil them so much" tears glistened in her brown eyes as she recalled the incident from barley a month ago.
"Spoiled" the entire table turned to look at Peyton, the mother who had barley said three words all day.
"What…" Brooke questioned, not really hearing what her friend said.
"Spoiled…he spoiled them…he spoiled her" her voice was hoarse, her words seeming better, but her tone telling a different story…her tone relayed pain.
"Peyton…" the brunette next to her frowned, cursing herself for her word choice. "I didn't mean…"
"I know…" Peyton cut her off as she grabbed her best friend's hand. "I'm sorry…" she bit back tears as Brooke pulled her in for a tight and much needed hug. "That was a good day." Her voice cracked with the words. The sound of the doorbell interrupted the sentimental moment, causing them all to turn their heads, wondering who would be stopping by now. The blonde stood from her seat, pulling herself out of Brooke's arms.
"Peyton I'll get it…" Deb responded as she began to stand herself.
"No…it's okay…" She started to walk away but stopped when she felt Lucas grab her wrist. She turned back to him and found a questioning look on his face. "Really…it's fine" she reassured him before walking back into the house. She needed to get away for a moment…and answering the door gave her an opportunity to do just that. She approached the door slowly…she didn't really want to face anyone…but she had offered to get the door and if she didn't answer it the person was bound to keep trying. Her thin fingers grabbed the knob and turned it slowly before pulling the door open. She frowned upon seeing an older woman with light brown hair.
"Can I help you" the confusion was evident on Peyton's face as she waited for an answer.
"Mrs. Scott…" the woman questioned…Peyton raising her eyebrows in response.
"Yes…"
"Hi…I'm Mrs. Stanford..." Peyton's arms instinctively crossed over her stomach.
"I'm sorry…who…"
"Gregory's mother…" Peyton's face instantly hardened. "He was the one…"
"I know who your son is…" Her voice had grown cold at the mention of his name. "What could I possible do for you?"
"I wanted to apologize to your family…to you for…what happened. It was a very unfortunate situ…"
"Unfortunate…" the blonde's eyes were no longer sad…her hazel eyes were filled with anger.
"Mrs. Scott…"
"Your son got drunk and decided it was okay to speed down the highway…I don't know…maybe he thought it cool to drive down the wrong side of the road…or maybe he was just to trashed to realize what the hell was going on…either way…none of it was unfortunate…it was murder."
"I'm not trying to defend my son's actions…I know how wrong he was…that's why I'm here to apologize"
"You could have done that with a phone call…and if you wanted to do it face to face, then you could have waited for the hearing…how dare you come to my house on the day of my child's funeral…"
"I didn't know" the woman closed her eyes tightly…she honestly hadn't known what had happened that morning. But an apology wasn't all she was there for…Peyton could read that through her eyes.
"Why are you really here…" the blonde glared at the woman in front of her. An apology might have been part of it, but the hesitance in the woman's voice told her there was more.
"I did come here to apologize…"
"Yeah…but for what else"
"I know Greg was wrong…"
"…unbelievable…" she scuffed as she turned her head to side, her arms uncrossing as she ran a hand through her curls. "…but what…"
"…Mrs. Scott, my son is all I have…all I'm asking is that you don't request the death penalty…"
"How dare you…you come to my home and ask favors of me…favors to help the man that killed Cassie."
"My son…my child…you're a mother…" the woman pleaded.
"Yes I am a mother…and your child killed mine…what would you do if someone murdered your precious son…and then some woman appeared on you doorstep making pleading for the person responsible."
"I would understand"
"That's a load of crap and you know it" he voice was getting louder now…but she didn't care, anger was coursing through her veins…anger for the woman standing in front of her.
"Mrs. Scott…he's my only child…" Peyton's eyes widened as Mrs. Stanford cut her statement short…both of them knew what she was about to say. The older woman cursed herself for letting that slip out of her mouth…she never meant to say that…she had just been so desperate to save her son…she didn't know what she would do if she had to watch him die.
Peyton closed her eyes tightly, anything to calm her nerves. "I'm sorry…I truly am…but condemning my son to death is not going to bring your daughter back …it won't even any scores…it won't make things feel more justified or fair…"
"You wanna talk about fair…" Peyton cut the woman off…her voice low and bitter, her eyes cold. She ignored the feeling of a hand on her back.
"Peyton…" Lucas voice rang through her eyes but she didn't take her eyes off the woman in front of her. Lucas could see the distant look in his wife's eyes and the tears sliding down the unknown woman's cheeks. "What's going on…" he questioned as he looked between them…he had heard Peyton screaming moments ago…heard this other woman talking about something not being fair.
"How is it fair that your son comes out of this with broken ankle…and my daughter comes out of this decapitated…how is it fair that your son is the cause of all this…and he lived while my seven year old daughter dies" the words came through gritted teeth. Tears now streaked down the blondes face as Lucas gripped her shoulder tightly, pulling her body into his. He knew why she was yelling now…he knew who the woman was.
"Mrs. Scott…"
"Don't…I don't know why you're here…and I can't say that I really care. Just get off my property." Lucas now held the same icy stare that his wife had moments ago…Peyton didn't need this…neither did he…this was hard enough already. He watched the woman turn around to leave…she was halfway down the walk away when Peyton pulled away from him.
"Mrs. Stanford…" Peyton's voice caused the woman to turn around. "I'm not going to request the death penalty for your son…I know nothing is going to bring my daughter back…but I won't sit back and watch someone stick a needle in your son's arm so that he can just go to sleep and never wake up again…I want him to spend the rest of his natural life in a cell…I want him to pay for what he did to our daughter…and the death penalty won't do that." The blonde shook her head before spinning on her heal and retreating back into the house.
"Peyton…" the blonde ignored her best fried as she continued down the hall, leaving the brunette standing there confused and worried. Brooke watched Lucas close the front door before turning to face her.
"That was Mrs. Stanford…" he watched as I look of shock appeared on the brunette's face. "Don't ask" he quickly said as soon as she opened her mouth. Brooke pursed her lips together tightly as she inhaled deeply. She watched Lucas walk past her, leaving her to stare between the kitchen where two of her closet friends had just gone and the front door where an unwelcome woman had just left from. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew better than to ask right now, so she pushed it to the back of her mind and followed the two blondes back out onto the patio…maybe if they could just get through the day things would be okay…maybe.
