A/N: Here's another chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoy and please review! This is one of my longer chapters and I worked really hard on it! Thanks again to naley12, Ace5492, and hebewe for your comments!
Mallory had been quiet on the walk to the River Court. Landon finally stopped once they got to the black top and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Mallory finally looked him in the eye before saying, "I was just thinking about my mom. Tomorrow would have been her birthday and I always go visit her…"
Landon was confused and replied, "I thought Haley was your mom."
"Why don't we sit down because I started this conversation all wrong?" she paused long enough for them to sit on the bench beside the court, "Landon, there are a lot of things we don't know about each other. For instance, Haley is my mom but not biologically. My biological mother, Peyton, died when I was two from cancer. My dad and I lived by ourselves until I started kindergarten, which is where we met Haley. She was my teacher and soon became the only mom I ever knew. She eventually married my dad and gave me my two younger siblings. Anyways, every year my dad and I always visit Peyton's grave on her birthday. Usually, I go with mom and dad, but I was wondering if you would like to go with me this time."
Landon stood up and started pacing before stating, "I'm sorry I can't."
"Is this because of your mom? Landon…" she started.
"How do you know about my mom?" he said defensively, "Have you been talking about me behind my back? What do you know? You know, forget it. I don't want to talk about this anymore! I need to go home, I'll see you later!" With that said, he ran off.
Mallory just sat there as tears started forming. She was unsure of whether or not she should run after him. She didn't realize he would get this upset about it. She thought that by talking about Peyton first, it would help things. She knew this was hard for him, but he needed to talk about it. She decided to walk back to Uncle Luke's and she would call Jeff later.
Landon got home and slammed the door. He walked past the living room where Jeff was watching TV. "You're home early…" he started.
Landon paused for a second and huffed, "Leave me alone," before continuing up to his room.
Jeff followed him and walked into his room. "What happened to you? Why are you in such a bad mood? Did something happen between you and Mallory?" he wondered.
"She asked about mom," he finally whispered.
Jeff sighed, "Start from the beginning because you're not making any sense. What did you tell her?"
"I didn't tell her anything, but she somehow knew she was dead. She was telling me about how her real mom died when she was two and how she visited her grave every year on her birthday. She asked me to go with her and I told her I couldn't. She then asked if it was because of my own mom and I got defensive. I yelled at her before running off," he finished.
Jeff replied, "This is all my fault. She saw me leaving the cemetery the other day. I told her why I was there, which led to me talking about mom's death. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I asked her to help me get you to open up about it. So I think you owe her an apology because she was only trying to help."
"Why did you tell her?" he asked, "I never talk about her and you know that."
"That's the point! You never talk about it. You've blamed yourself for years and that's not healthy. It wasn't your fault and one day you'll finally see that," Jeff stated before walking out of his room.
Landon walked to the Scott residence before knocking on the door. A few minutes later Nathan answered the door. "Oh it's you, I'll go get Mal," he began but Landon stopped him.
"Actually Coach, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something first," Landon said hesitantly.
Nathan shut the door and sat down on the porch. "What is it son?" he wondered.
"How long did it take you to overcome your first wife's death? I'm sorry that came out wrong. My mom died when I was thirteen from a drug overdose. I was the one who found her. I haven't talked about it to anyone since then because I thought it was my fault that it happened. Today Mallory told me about Peyton and how she visits her grave every year. She asked about my mom and I couldn't take it. I got defensive and yelled at her. I know I was wrong by yelling and I didn't mean it," Landon responded, "I just didn't know how to talk about it with her."
Nathan was surprised by this bit of news because he had never seen the boy so serious. He understood why he got defensive though because he had been the same way when people wanted him to talk about Peyton right after her death. "Son, I get where you're coming from because I've been there, but now I realize that it helps to talk about it. Haley was the first person I truly opened up to after Peyton's death and look at me now. Peyton will always be a part of my life, but I had to move past that void in my heart. After all, I see Peyton every time I look at Mal and I know that Peyton's smiling down on us. What I'm trying to say, is that you should let Mal in and you'll feel a lot better. I'm glad you felt comfortable talking to me though about all this. Why don't we go inside and let you talk to Mal? She's up in her room, so go on up," he finished.
"Thanks Coach, I won't be long I promise," Landon replied.
Nathan said, "Don't worry about it. Why don't you stay for dinner? Hales always cooks plenty and we would love to have you. I'll go tell her to fix another spot and we'll see you in a little while."
Landon walked upstairs and walked towards Mallory's room. Her door was cracked and so he knocked before pushing it open. She was sitting on her bed reading a book. "Landon, what are you doing here?" she asked closing her book.
"First off, I came to apologize for yelling at you. Second, I want to tell you about more about my family. I know Jeff told you some stuff, but I want you to hear it from me," he answered.
"Landon, I'm sorry for pushing you earlier…" she started.
Landon went and sat down on the edge of her bed. He grabbed her hand before saying, "No, you were just trying to help. Mal, I don't know how much Jeff told you, but this is the first time I've talked about my mom since I found her in her bedroom. I have always blamed myself for her death because I acted up a lot back then. How messed up is that? I mean a part of me understands that it wasn't really my fault, but it's hard for me to let that sink in sometimes. It's never been easy for me to open up about my life because it's so screwed up, but I willing to try for you."
She smiled before replying, "I appreciate that. I need you to know that I am always here for you no matter what. I get that your dad is not the greatest man and that you lost your mom when you were young, but that doesn't make you screwed up. No family is perfect, but you have a brother who still cares about you. I care about you too and neither one of us likes seeing you hurt over this. It wasn't your fault! Your mom was sick and there was nothing anyone could do for her. From now on though, if you ever need someone to confide in, I'm here."
"I was hoping you would say that. I also think I would like to go with you to see Peyton tomorrow if you still want me to. Maybe while we're there we could go see my mom's grave too," he said quietly.
"Whenever you're ready I'll go with you. It doesn't have to be tomorrow though if you're not ready. I completely understand either way. Thank you for coming back though because I've been worried about you," she said leaning over to kiss him gently.
He smirked, "I had to get my daily kiss from you. However, we should probably head downstairs because I promised your dad I wouldn't be up here long. He invited me to dinner though, so maybe I can get another kiss good night on my way out."
"I knew you couldn't resist me," she joked.
"I don't know many guys who can. Unfortunately for them, you picked me," he stated.
She laughed before adding, "Yea well don't let it go to your head. Your ego is already big enough!" She then got up and rushed downstairs continuing to laugh. He followed her with a smile on his face. He felt relief for the first time in years and it was all due to his amazing girlfriend, he thought.