Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews and all the urges (surely not demands, right? ;) ) to update! Here's a new chapter, and I'm anxious to hear the reviews and opinions on this one.
TWENTY-FOUR
"Okay, what about these?"
Riley stepped out of Lydia's closet, one foot out, showing off the pair of red high heels. Lydia smiled a small smile when she saw her cousin.
"You look gorgeous, Riles."
"Am I too tall for these? I don't want to look like I'm on stilts or something."
Lydia let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head.
"No, they look great."
Riley smiled, turning back to the mirror.
"Do you think I'll be able to stand them? We're going to be at this game like all day long."
Lydia unfolded herself from sitting Indian-style on the bed, pulling her sweater tighter around her, and walked over to Riley. She stood on her tiptoes and looked over her cousin's shoulder.
"Those have always been pretty comfortable to me. They're kind of platform-y, so they won't hurt the way regular high heels do."
"I don't look like a baby deer learning to walk, do I?"
Lydia let out another laugh, walking back to her bed.
"Let's see. Walk to me."
Riley did, then back to the closet. Lydia shook her head.
"No, you don't look like Bambi. You look beautiful."
"Thanks. These shoes are amazing."
Riley turned back to the mirror, turning her feet and smiling at herself. Lydia looked down, then put a smile on her face.
"You should keep them."
"What?"
Riley glanced over her shoulder, seeing Lydia's smile. Lydia nodded at her.
"You should keep them. It's obvious that you like them, and I'm sure you'll wear them more than I do."
"But Lyd… These are your shoes."
"But they belong on your feet, Cinderella."
Riley glanced down, looking at her feet in the mirror again.
"You mean it?"
Lydia nodded.
"I do."
Riley smiled and squealed, running out of the closet and wrapping Lydia in a hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!"
Lydia laughed as she hugged her back.
"You're welcome. Now go. Model."
Riley struck a pose, causing Lydia to laugh again before she walked out of the room, yelling to her mother. Lydia fell back against the bed, grabbing a pillow and rolling with it, burying her face in it as she let out a sigh.
She was going to a treatment center in Raleigh, where she would stay for at least three months. It was Wednesday now, and on Monday, she'd head there with Clay and Quinn, and they'd leave her there. All alone. Shouldn't she be used to being alone by now? "People always leave," right?
Lydia rolled back onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. A tear rolled out from the corner of her eye, drifting down her cheek and soaking into the pillow she was laying on. The tears continued to fall as Lydia lay there, feeling absolutely hopeless.
Quinn folded a shirt, laying it in Lydia's suitcase, glancing over to the closet, where Lydia was standing, gently running her fingers over a light green sundress. She went on her tiptoes to pull the hanger down, stepping out of the closet.
"Hey, Aunt Quinn?"
Quinn gave her a smile.
"Do you think Sawyer would like this?"
Quinn's forehead wrinkled up.
"You're not going to wear it?"
Lydia smiled.
"I don't think I'll get much use out of it where I'll be. Might as well have people see how pretty it is, you know?"
Lydia ran a hand over it, then laid it on her bed.
"I'll ask her about it tomorrow."
Quinn had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't shake it, no matter how hard she tried. It followed her for the rest of the day, and that night, when she was lying in bed, she couldn't handle it anymore.
"Clay?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you asleep?"
"Yes."
Quinn was quiet, and Clay let out a sigh. He rolled over, flipping on the lamp on his bedside table. He let out a yawn as he sat up, glancing over at his wife.
"What's on your mind?"
Quinn glanced over at him, a smile on her face.
"I thought you were asleep."
Clay smiled and shrugged his shoulders, yawning again.
"Something's bothering you. What is it, pretty girl?"
Quinn sighed.
"It's Lydia. I just …"
She let out another breath, and Clay moved to take her hand.
"Hey. We are doing the right thing."
"Are we?"
She pulled her hand away from his, climbing out of bed and pulling her robe on. Clay sighed as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up and walking to Quinn, who was staring out the window. He came up behind her, putting his head on her shoulder, and she let out a sigh as she reached up, running her fingers through his hair.
"She was so adamant about not going. And now…"
"She knows she can't fight it anymore."
"She's given up, Clay. Have you seen her these last few days?"
Clay nodded, and Quinn let out another breath.
"She was fighting us so hard, remember? Everything that was said, she'd have something to say. And now … Now, she doesn't say anything. She's packing, and she's quiet. She goes to school, and comes back here. She doesn't have a door, so she can't hide from us, but Clay…"
"She's not on the pills anymore. Well, not like she was, you know. The withdrawal hasn't set in."
"It's not supposed to. We're keeping her on the pills until she goes to the treatment center."
Clay nodded, stepping away from Quinn, but taking her hand and pulling her back with him, until they both sat on the bed, facing each other. He took both of her hands in his.
"I know it's hard. And I know that you're feeling like the bad guy here."
Quinn's eyes filled with tears, and she nodded.
"Babe, we are doing what is necessary to get our girl better. She's not okay right now, and you know that. This treatment center is our only shot to get our Lydia back."
Clay wiped a tear from Quinn's cheek as she sighed.
"You're right. I know you're right. I just … I don't know. I can't help feeling that—"
"Oh, stop that right now. This is not your fault, Q."
She looked down at their hands, and Clay brought hers to his lips, gently kissing them, making her look at him. He leaned over, kissing her lips, bringing a hand up to run through her hair before cupping her cheek.
"This is a shitty situation, no matter how you look at it. But we're going to fix it. And it will, somehow that I don't know how, but it will be okay. One day, Q. It will be okay again."
Quinn leaned over, kissing him again. She let out a sigh as she rested her forehead against his.
"We are going to get through this."
"We will, Q. I promise."
"Scott and Evanses! Load 'em up, we're movin' out!"
Lydia glanced in her mirror, letting out a long sigh. Quinn came to her door—well, where her door would be if she had one—and leaned against it.
"Hey, kid. You ready?"
Lydia turned to her with a sad look on her face.
"Aunt Quinn, I feel terrible. I have this massive English report due Monday, and I completely forgot about it. I mean, I've got the rough draft but it needs to be polished big time."
"Oh, honey. Could you work on it on the road?"
Lydia shook her head.
"If I didn't get carsick, I know I'd end up with a massive headache, and there's no way I could enjoy the game like that. I just … I can stay here and work on it while you guys go."
"Well, let me just talk to Clay, and I can stay and help you."
"Aunt Quinn."
Quinn stopped, looking back at Lydia, who let out a breath.
"I know what's going on. I've barely been able to go to the bathroom by myself. Riley sits outside my door, then tries to sneak back to her room without me noticing. And you know how she is. She's not sneaky at all."
Quinn nodded. That was true. She let out a sigh.
"Honey, we're just worried about you."
"Well, I'm fine. We're going to Raleigh in, what, two days? Nothing to worry about."
"Still, let me go talk to Clay, and I'll—"
"Aunt Quinn, I love you, but you're smothering me."
Quinn stopped at that, blinking her blue eyes at Lydia. Lydia sighed.
"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but … I can barely breathe."
Quinn didn't say anything, and Lydia sighed again.
"Look, as soon as you guys go, I'll grab my stuff and head over to Sawyer's. We can work on our stuff together."
Quinn looked down at the floor for a minute, then back to Lydia.
"You'll head straight there? No detours to see Jude or anything like that?"
Lydia shook her head.
"Straight there, I promise."
Quinn let out a long sigh.
"All right. I know Jamie's been wanting to see you, and he'll hate to miss you."
"I know. I hate to miss seeing him, too."
Lydia bit her tongue against the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes. She shook her head, letting out a breath. Quinn sighed again, moving to take Lydia in her arms.
"We'll be back late tonight, okay?"
Lydia nodded, until she could speak again.
"I'll probably just stay at Sawyer's. Work on our stuff Sunday, too."
Quinn nodded, still holding Lydia, until she gave her one final squeeze.
"All right. You be good. Call me later, so I know you're okay."
Lydia smiled, nodding her head. Quinn leaned in and kissed her forehead, then held her hand as they walked downstairs. Clay walked through the door.
"Hey, car's loaded, got snacks, movies, kids. All that's missing is two of my beautiful girls. You ready to go?"
Lydia and Quinn shared a sigh, and Clay let out his breath.
"Well, that doesn't sound good."
"Massive book report, Uncle Clay. And I'm the dumb-dumb who forgot about it until now."
"Oh, kid. I'm the king of procrastination. I'll help you with it when we get back."
"Uncle Clay, it's worth more than half my grade. I can't half-ass this one."
Quinn cleared her throat, and Lydia and Clay shared a guilty look. Clay looked to Quinn, who widened her eyes, then spoke.
"She's going straight to Lucas and Peyton's when we leave here."
"Oh, I see what you're doing. Get the world-famous author to help with your book report. Guaranteed A right there."
Lydia let out a laugh. Clay leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"If you need anything, you call, okay? I'll turn the car around."
"I know. Thanks, Uncle Clay."
He wrapped her in his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, looking over at Quinn. She nodded to him, and he smiled as he let Lydia go.
"You be careful, Little Scott."
"I will. You be careful, too. And tell Jamie that I love him and I'm sorry I couldn't make it."
Clay nodded, and Quinn kissed the top of Lydia's head as she walked by her, taking Clay's hand. Lydia followed them out to the porch, waving at the car. Clay climbed in the driver's side, Quinn beside him, and started up the car. From the backseat, Riley spoke.
"Mom, what's going on?"
"Lydia's got homework she forgot about."
"So she's not going? We've been looking forward to this for months."
"I know, honey. But school is more important."
Clay glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as Riley chewed on her bottom lip.
"Hey, Riles?"
She looked forward, meeting Clay's eyes in the mirror.
"You okay, kid?"
She nodded, forcing a smile on her face. Clay nodded back, turning to back the car out of the driveway. Riley kept her eyes on the porch the entire time, watching Lydia wave goodbye to them. When she couldn't see her anymore, Riley turned back frontwards, chewing on her lip again, speaking so quietly only she could hear herself.
"I just have a really bad feeling."
Jude closed his eyes, letting his head fall back on his shoulders. His mother walked by him, continuing to mutter under her breath, every now and then speaking a word or two to Jude.
"Lemons. Do not forget the lemons. Get a bag of them."
"Lemons, got it."
"And sugar. Probably just a five-pound bag will do."
Jude nodded, as Brooke opened a cabinet for what had to be the fifth time.
"Ma, seriously. What are you so flustered about?"
Brooke turned to him, dark eyes wide. She sighed, letting her shoulders fall.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Uh… Yeah."
She smiled, walking over to him, reaching her hands up to pat her hair, which was pulled back into a bun.
"Owen had a doctor's appointment this morning."
"Is he sick?"
Brooke shook her head.
"No, it's just a routine thing."
"But…?"
Brooke smiled up at Jude.
"I don't know. With his history, I just … I worry something bad will happen."
"Mom, I'm sure he's fine."
"I know. I know, you're right. It's just … I just can't seem to shake this feeling."
"What kind of feeling?"
"Like a black cloud's come over me."
Jude's eyebrows came together, and Brooke waved a hand at him.
"I'm sure it's nothing. It's just … Unsettling."
Jude nodded, and Brooke gave him a smile.
"You need to go to the store. We have exactly three lemons, and people love sweet tea around here. Here's the card, do not act like your brother. This card does not give you free reign over the candy aisle, okay?"
Jude rolled his eyes.
"Can you give me a little more credit than that? Jeez."
Brooke laughed.
"Hey, speaking of… Where is your brother?"
"Five bucks says he's with Sawyer."
Brooke rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face.
"Well, he's down to work tonight, so…"
"I'm sure he'll be here."
Brooke turned away, and Jude spoke under his breath.
"Or he'll call me and I'll cover for him. Again."
Brooke came back over to him, a smile on her face.
"Swing by the store for me, drop this off."
Jude looked down, then to Brooke, and she laughed again.
"So nosy."
"I get it from my mama."
Jude laughed as Brooke swatted his arm.
"It's lunch for whoever's working and your sister."
"Meg's at the store? By herself?"
"With whoever's working. Turn your hearing aid on, Grandpa."
Jude and Brooke both laughed then, and she pulled his head down to kiss his cheek.
"You be careful, okay?"
"I will."
"I love you."
"Love you too, Mom."
Jude rolled his eyes, but only because Brooke was expecting it. She smiled as she watched him walk out of the café, as he drove away down the street, parking right outside of Clothes Over Bros. She laid a hand on her stomach, then shook her head, walking back into the kitchen.
An hour and a half into the drive, Clay glanced in the rearview mirror. Riley was asleep in the backseat, a colored pencil still in her hand, and Logan had his earbuds in, eyes closed. He glanced to his right, reaching over and taking Quinn's hand. She turned to him, and he could see the worry in her blue eyes.
"Hey. What is it?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know. I just …"
She laid a hand over her heart, and Clay glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road.
"Do I need to turn around?"
Quinn let out a sigh.
"No, we're halfway there."
"It doesn't matter. We're halfway from home. Quinn, if you think we need to, we'll go back."
"No. No, they … They've been looking forward to this for weeks. And Jamie's been talking about it, how much he misses us."
Clay glanced over at her, and Quinn sighed again, putting a smile on her face.
"No. We'll go and have a great time."
Clay nodded as a smile crossed his face.
"Call her."
Quinn glanced over at him, and he let out a laugh, lifting her hand to his lips. She reached over and grabbed her phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lyd. Everything okay?"
Quinn smiled as she heard Lydia blow out her breath.
"Everything's fine, Aunt Quinn. I called Sawyer, but she didn't answer. I figured she's probably out with Davis, and I didn't want to just go to Uncle Lucas' by myself."
"He wouldn't care. I can call him if you want."
"Aunt Quinn, come on. I just started working on it here, and I'll head over there in a little bit."
"Okay. I'm sorry. I just—"
"Worry about me, I know. But I'm fine."
"Okay. Call me later."
"I will."
"I love you, Lydia."
"You too."
Quinn smiled as she hung up the phone. She looked to Clay, who raised his eyebrows at her, and she let out a laugh.
"Sawyer's out with Davis, so Lydia's heading over there in a little bit. She's fine."
"You know how I hate to say 'I told you so'…"
"Oh, since when?"
Clay laughed.
"Come here."
Quinn leaned over, kissing him quickly. She settled back into her seat, looking out the window and smiling.
"Everything's fine."
Peyton stood behind her youngest daughter, smiling as she watched Ellie measure out the oil, then carefully pour it into the bowl. Ellie glanced up, and Peyton nodded.
"Very good. Stir like it's going out of style."
The phone began to ring, and Peyton nodded to Ellie as she walked over to pick it up.
"Keep on stirring."
She lifted the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Peyton. It's Quinn."
"Quinn, hey! Isn't today the big game?"
"Yeah, we're almost to Charlotte now."
"Good. Tell Jamie we miss him, would you?"
"We will."
Ellie looked back at Peyton, who motioned for her to keep stirring. Ellie smiled and did, and Peyton turned away from the kitchen, speaking softer into the phone.
"How's Lydia doing?"
"That's actually what I was calling for. She has a big English report or something due on Monday and she forgot about it. So we left her at the house to work on it."
"Do I need to go get her?"
"No. We have to show her a little bit of trust, you know?"
Peyton nodded, crossing her arm over her stomach. Quinn went on.
"She said she'd come over to you, work on her thing with Sawyer."
"Sawyer hasn't said a word about any report, so I'll bet you money she forgot about it, too. She's out with Davis right now, but they should be coming back within the hour."
"Will you call or text me when she gets there?"
"I will. Don't worry, Q. I'll take care of your girl."
"Thanks, Peyton. We owe you one."
Peyton just smiled, ending the call. She turned back to Ellie, who set the bowl on the counter, shaking out her arms.
"That's it. I can't stir anymore. That's going to have to do."
Peyton let out a laugh, laying a hand on the back of Ellie's hair, on her gentle curls. She glanced into the bowl.
"Perfect. There may be hope for one of my girls as a baker yet."
Ellie grinned, reaching for the pan Peyton had set out earlier.
Just outside of Charlotte, Quinn picked her phone up after her text tone sounded. She smiled as she read the message, then typed out a response. She looked over to Clay, who had an expectant look on his face, and she laughed.
"So nosy."
"Can't help it. Who's texting my beautiful wife?"
"Your niece. She just made it to Peyton's."
"See? And you were all worried for nothing. Should have listened to the man."
Quinn laughed, nodding. Clay reached over and took her hand.
"Next time, I will listen to the man. I love him."
"He loves you, too."
Quinn glanced at Clay, then leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Clay looked in the rearview mirror.
"Honey, not in front of the kids."
Quinn just laughed, shaking her head.
Jude shook his head as he paid for the groceries, bagging them up and carrying them out to the car. He'd been gone for so much longer than he'd originally planned. Brooke was going to kill him, he just knew it. But how could he know that Meg would have a meltdown while he was at the store, and he'd have to fix it? He unlocked the car, setting the lemons on the backseat, the sugar on the floorboard in the back. He climbed in the driver's side, looking down and seeing his phone in the cupholder. Naturally, he decided, as he shrugged his shoulders. He started up the car and heard the tone, one that signaled a new voicemail.
The one time he leaves his phone in the car, he gets a call. Jude picked up the phone, leaving the car in park, tapping in his passcode. When he saw the one missed call, one new voicemail, both from Lydia, his heart thumped in his chest. He swallowed, lifting the phone to his ear, listening to the message.
And peeled out of the parking lot, tires squealing.
Sawyer laughed as she walked into her house, dropping her keys in the bowl by the front door. Davis was right behind her.
"Babe, you know I love you, but… You stink."
"Oh, like you're a bowl of rose petals? We both need a shower worse than … Well, really bad."
Davis laughed, nodding. Peyton stepped into the living room, arms crossed over her chest. Sawyer gave her a smile.
"Hey, Mama."
"Hey. Have fun?"
Sawyer nodded, tilting her head. Something was up, and not in a good way.
"We went to the Rivercourt. I kicked his butt."
"I let her win."
Davis laughed as Sawyer punched his arm. Peyton smiled, nodding her head. Sawyer glanced from Davis to her mother.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Why would you ask that question?"
"Because you're giving me the 'you did something wrong' look."
Peyton looked down at the ground as she nodded, then back to Sawyer.
"Did you have any homework this weekend?"
Sawyer shook her head.
"No, I finished it last night."
"What about your English report?"
"What English report?"
"The one that Lydia's coming over to work on with you? The one that's due on Monday?"
Sawyer's nose crinkled, and she shook her head.
"I don't have an English report due on Monday."
Peyton let out a sigh.
"Sawyer…"
"I'm serious. I don't have any reports due. I'm not even in Lydia's English class."
Peyton let her hands fall at that.
"You're not?"
Sawyer shook her head.
"No, she has English first thing, and I don't have it until after lunch."
"Doesn't matter, same guy teaches it for the whole grade. And we don't have any reports due."
Peyton swallowed, looking away from Davis, back to Sawyer.
"You're positive?"
"Mama, I know I'm not the best at remembering things, but I'd remember that. We don't even do reports anymore. They're essays or research papers."
Peyton put a hand to her stomach.
"Call Lydia. Now. Davis, you call your brother."
Sawyer looked to Davis, both of them pulling their phones out of their pockets.
"Mama, is something wrong?"
"I don't know. Just get Lydia on the phone."
Sawyer scrolled through her contacts until she found Lydia's name, and clicked on it with shaking fingers. She held the phone to her ear as Davis did the same, both of them speaking at the same time.
"Voicemail."
Peyton laid a hand over her heart.
"Okay. Okay. Get in the car. We're going over there."
"Mama, what's going on?"
Peyton stepped up to Sawyer, laying her hands on Sawyer's shoulders.
"Lydia told Quinn that she had a report due and they left her home to finish it."
"By herself?!"
"She said she'd come over here, but she never did."
"Mama!"
Peyton increased the pressure she had on Sawyer's shoulders.
"Calm down. I'm sure everything is fine. She probably just fell asleep, turned her phone on silent."
Sawyer nodded, her entire body trembling.
"Easy, sweetheart."
Sawyer nodded again, taking in a shaky breath. Peyton ran a hand over her face, and Davis cleared his throat.
"If that's what you think, then why don't Sawyer and I go over there? It would probably freak her out if the entire family bursts through the door, huh?"
Peyton looked over at Davis and smiled.
"You know… You're probably right."
She turned back to Sawyer who was looking at Davis.
"You okay, kid?"
Sawyer looked to her mother, nodding.
"Yeah."
Her voice was breathy, too fast. She nodded again, letting her breath out.
"Yeah, I—I'm okay."
"Okay. Go with Davis."
Sawyer nodded, and Peyton patted her back as she walked away. Peyton heard the door shut, letting out a shaky breath when she did. She pushed her hands through her hair, shaking her head as she walked back to the kitchen.
Sawyer was shaking again by the time Davis started the car. He leaned over, running his hand up and down her arms.
"Hey. I know you're scared. Try and calm down, okay?"
Sawyer shook her head.
"What if—"
"Don't. Do not do that, okay? Remember what your mom just said? She turned her phone on silent and fell asleep. Happens all the time, right?"
Sawyer nodded. Davis smiled at her, his face showing absolutely no sign of the terror he was feeling inside.
"She's fine. She's fine."
He kept repeating the words, not even realizing when Sawyer began to do the same thing, barely even whispering the words. They both jumped when Davis' phone rang. He pulled to a stop at a stop sign, throwing the car in park and letting out a breath as he picked up the phone, answering the call.
"Christ Almighty, Jude, you scared the hell out of me. What's … What? … Whoa, slow down. … What? … Why? … Jude, are you … I don't understand. Are you okay? Did you have an accident or something? … Jude. Jude!"
He pulled the phone from his ear, looking down at it. Sawyer swallowed.
"What … What did he say?"
Davis looked up to her, blue eyes full of worry.
"He was talking so fast, I couldn't …"
He shook his head, and Sawyer reached over, clamping a hand on his wrist.
"Davis, what did he say?"
"Just 'Hospital. Come to the hospital.' He didn't say why or … Sawyer."
"Let's go."
"What if something-"
"Hey."
She laid her hand on his cheek.
"Remember what you just told me? Don't do that. Jude's fine. He ... He probably just ... I don't know, but he's fine, I'm sure of it."
Davis nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. He's okay."
Davis nodded, putting the car in reverse and backing down the street until he could turn around. Sawyer reached over and turned the flashers on, and Davis let out a shaky breath before he sped down the street.