A/N: In response to my lovely guest reviewers, Ava does need strong female influences. She's surrounded by a lot of men, isn't she? She's Dan's only girl after all. Now that she's back in town, Brooke and Ava will be bonding, so keep your eyes peeled ;)
Chapter Eight:
"You know, we aren't going to be able to get anywhere if you don't talk to me."
Apparently, this last event was one too many as far as trauma went, and Karen signed Ava up for some therapy sessions.
Honestly, Ava didn't think this was necessary. To her, it was a waste of time. Why would she want to spend a couple of hours every single week, talking to some stranger about the problems she didn't have?
"Every week, we start these appointments off with you refusing to speak to me." Her therapist, Linda, said. "You're only hurting yourself."
Linda was a nice name. Ava had never met a Linda before this one. This Linda didn't really look like a Linda. She looked more like a...Cheryl.
Maybe she'd call her Cheryl in her head just to amuse herself. That way, neither Cheryl, or her mother would ever have to find out.
Ava had actually gotten into an argument with her mother about going to see a psychologist. The last thing she wanted to do was see a shrink.
But Karen held her ground and made sure that Ava was attending her appointments every single week without fail. She actually had to go as far as dropping her off at the door.
And at first, it was like pulling teeth. Ava actually kept her mouth shut for the first two sessions, finally making a little progress in the third.
And that was only to crack a dark humored joke.
She thought that maybe if she held out long enough, her mother would just forget the whole thing.
No such luck.
Karen only got more firm. She wasn't going to allow Ava to fall off the deep end, or at the rate she was going, throw herself off. She her mother, sometimes that meant being a friend and other times, that meant forcing her to do the things she didn't want to do.
This was one of those times.
"How's your relationship with your father, Ava?" Linda quit beating around the bush.
She's had all sorts of patients come into her office. Ava thought she was stubborn, but there was no way she'd outlast her. She was patient.
"I don't have a father." Ava grouched. "My father's gone."
"I meant your biological father." Linda clarified, having been briefed on the story by Karen. "Dan Scott?"
"We don't have a relationship." She bounced her leg, picking at some loose leather on the upholstered chair she was sitting on.
"I don't think that's true. Your mother told me you two were quite close at one time."
The more agitated Lainey grew, the more she was telling Linda without ever having to get into details.
"That was a long time ago."
"A little under five years."
"That's a long time. It doesn't mean anything now."
"Alright." Linda moved on. "I heard that he was the one who saved you."
"So?"
"So, you're telling me that that doesn't mean anything to you?" She questioned, watching Lainey's fidgety movements. "At least part of you doesn't feel the way you used to about him?"
"No."
"You're not a very good liar."
"What's it you if I'm lying or not?" Ava glared. "You get paid either way."
"You're deflecting, which means that I'm right."
"He killed my uncle."
"And you were close to your uncle? You loved him?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I loved him, I was very close to him." Ava scoffed. "He was always there for me during the first nine years of my life. We were close. In fact, he'd still be here if it wasn't for his brother."
"And you're angry with your father for taking that all away?"
"You know, for an intelligent person, you sure do ask a lot of dumb questions." Ava grumped, making Linda chuckle despite herself. "Yes, I'm angry. He ruined everything."
"But you don't hate him."
"What?" Ava arched a brow.
"You said you were angry." Linda clarified. "You never expressed any hatred towards the man."
Ava had to admit that was true. She spoke ill of him, bashed him, and even insulted him. She never once told Linda she hated him.
"I…I want to."
"But you can't."
"But I don't know why."
"Is it because he saved you?"
"No." Ava shook her head. "It was before…..I told him I hated him after I found out about what he did, but I don't think I ever did…I don't think I could."
"That's perfectly normal."
"What's so normal about not hating the man who took the most special person in your life away?"
"It isn't that simple, though, is it? He's not just a 'man'. He's your father and the two fo you developed a very strong relationship. That isn't easy to forget or toss aside no matter how hard you try."
"Your mom finally let you out of her sight?" Maddie asked Ava as the two walked along the sidewalks of town.
"Kinda sorta." Ava hopped directly onto a crack in the ground. "After the appointment, I sorta took off."
"Ava!"
"I sent her a text!" Ava defended herself. "It's not like she's not checking her phone! If I sneeze, she'll be over here with a stupid blanket and some cough syrup faster than you can say, 'Ava, you were right'."
"If she grounds you for life, I support her. You're awful."
"Come on, I've been cooped up and everybody's been keeping an eye on me for weeks! I need some alone time!"
"Ava, far be it for me to agree with all the adults in out lives, but you literally got kidnapped and drugged."
"And it's over now. Everything is okay now. I need space!"
"I'm not sure Karen will see it that way."
"I'll make it up to her."
"So….." Maddie spoke after some awkward silence. "Your dad saved you, huh?"
"Yup."
"Has he been around much? I mean, since he got out?"
"Nope." Ava popped the 'p'. "He kinda just brought me and Jamie home…..and left. It's not like him."
"To leave?"
"To leave me." Ava clarified.
Maddie had to admit that that was true. For all the man's faults, he did rise to the occasion with Ava when they were kids. "How do you feel about it?"
"I don't know." Ava shrugged. "I'm supposed to be angry with him, you know? He's the reason why Keith is gone and that's never gonna change. But, he's also the reason I'm here right now. If it wasn't for him, Jamie and I would still be with that crazy nanny."
"He's still your father, Ava. I mean, Keith was definitely your dad and he raised you, but Dan is still your father." Maddie looked at her. "I'm not his biggest fan, but I remember how happy you were with him. That's not something you can just forget."
"That's what Linda said." Ava mentioned the therapist offhandedly.
"How's that going?"
"It's going." She sighed, kicking a pebble on her path. "Mom threatened me with physical violence if I didn't start talking during our sessions, so she finally got a few words out of me."
"It's gonna get better, Ava."
"I know."
"Look, Ava." Lily barged into the teen's room without so much as a knock, shoving her coloring book in her face.
Ava took a deep breath to keep her irritation levels down. She hated it when Lily did that. The door had been closed for a reason. She didn't want company. She wanted solitude.
"See?" Lily beamed, still holding her artwork out for her to look at.
"I see." She nodded, giving her a thumb's up. "It's nice. Now can you go away, please?"
"Mama says that you need to come out and socialize." The four year old spoke as a matter of factly.
"I don't care what Mama said. I want to be alone."
"Ooh! I'm telling Mama you said that!" Her eyes grew as wide as saucers. "You're gonna get it!"
"Oh, go away and bother somebody else." Ava rolled her eyes.
Lily's eyes narrowed and she turned on her heel, running out of the room. Ava knew that she was telling their mother exactly what happened, word for word.
Any minute now, Karen would march right into her room to tell her off.
"Ava?"
Just like clockwork.
"What?" The teen had to fight her eyes from rolling yet again.
Karen ignored her obvious attitude because she had been going through a lot. "I know the past few weeks have been hard on you. You're probably feeling smothered."
"Probably?"
"Havana, I came in here to have a civil conversation. Do not bite my head off. I'm not the enemy here." She scolded. Between Ava and Lucas, Karen was spreading herself a little thin. She was trying to do all she could for them, but at times, it was proving to be a difficult task. "I can understand your frustration. You're a teenager, you need your space. So, if you promise to keep your phone on you and be back in a couple hours, you can go."
"Really?" Ava perked up.
"Really. Go take a walk, clear your head." Karen nodded. "But be back in two hours."
Ava couldn't believe she was doing this.
It was like dejavú.
Here she was, standing outside of her father's house, the same way she had been five years ago.
This time, and Nathan wasn't there to bring her inside and break the ice.
She had to do this on her own.
So, she took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell to the beach house. She knew Dan was home. He really didn't have anywhere else to be. It's not like he'd be welcome in most places.
"Hi." Ava greeted stoically once he answered the door.
He looked kind of surprised to see her at first, but he quickly schooled his features and stepped to side, allowing her into the house.
And it was just the way Ava had remembered it.
Dan hadn't changed a thing.
"I can't stay long." She told him. "I just came by to say thanks. You saved me and you saved Jamie. I'm grateful. You didn't have to, but you did. So, thank you."
She wanted to say more. She wanted to tell him all about what was going on in her life and what he had missed out on. Something wasn't letting her do it.
He didn't deserve to know anything, that much was true. But she didn't feel comfortable treating him the way everyone else was. She didn't want to give him the cold shoulder.
"You're welcome." He smiled softly, wanting to be able hold her again. But he knew they weren't there yet. Far from it, actually. "You're my family. I'd do anything for you."
"Thank you."
"How's Jamie?"
"He's good." Ava decided to divulge some information, seeing as how he probably earned it. "He's always asking for you."
"He's a good kid."
"Yeah." Ava agreed, ignoring the little tug in her heart that she had been feeling ever since she had walked through the door. "He is."
"I know that I can never be in your life…..not like before." Dan said what they both had been thinking. "But I want you to know, that I'll always be here, looking out for you. And I'm proud of you and the person you've become. Keith would be proud of you…and I can never take back what I did, but I want you to know that I'm sorry and I live with the regret and the pain every single day. If I could turn the clock and relive that day, I'd do it differently."
"Me, too." Ava bit her lip.
She was still carrying around the guilt from that horrible day. Logically, she knew none of it was her fault, but emotions weren't very rational, were they?
"I'm not expecting your forgiveness or even your kindness, because I don't deserve it. Not after what I did. I just want you to know that I love you."
"I know." Ava whispered before leaving him alone with his thoughts. She had reached her limit for the day. Maybe they could revisit this conversation some other time. "And that's what makes it hurt so much." She added once she had closed the door.
"You were supposed to be home hours ago." Lily put her hands on her hips, looking like a mini version of their mother.
"I know." Ava ruffled her hair, making her glare. "I had stuff to do."
Lily was right. She did get home later than she was supposed to. She guessed that walk she took after seeing Dan, took longer than she thought it would.
The fresh air was great and it did help her mood, but she was still conflicted. She supposed that was something she would need to learn to live with. The good thing was, she didn't feel as hopeless as she had before. She felt like she could handle it now.
"What kind of stuff?"
"Stuff."
"You went to see your boyfriend?"
"I haven't seen him all day." Ava shrugged off her jean jacket just as someone knocked on the door. She noticed that Lily didn't seem all that thrilled with the fact that she had a boyfriend now. She couldn't really blame her. They didn't see each other often, so there was a possibility that she was jealous that someone else was holding her attention.
Maybe she'd take her out for lunch or something. Just the two of them.
"I'll get it!" Lily raced towards it and opened it, revealing Q. Ava swore her entire mood changed as soon as she saw him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Q." He smiled, not at all put off by the four year old's unimpressed look. "What's your name?"
"You're a stranger."
"Uh, a little help?"
"Lily, let him in." Ava chuckled at his expense. "He's not a stranger."
"I don't know him. Does Mama know him?" Valid questions considering her sister had just been kidnapped.
"Mama knows of him. Let him in."
Lily stepped to the side and let Q inside, still keeping a close eye on him.
"Lily, this is Q, he's my boyfriend." Ava introduced the two. "Q, this is Lily, my little sister."
"So, this is the Lily I've been hearing about?" Q smiled and shook Lily's hand to make her feel a little more grown up. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too." Lily finally smiled back. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad, but that didn't mean that they were friends or anything yet.
"I just came by to check on you." He said, kissing Ava's cheek. "That was some run-in you had."
"I'm fine, Q. You've been checking on me for the past few weeks and I appreciate it, but you've literally seen me everyday at school. I'm okay."
Ava thought it was sweet that he was so worried about her. But she really was okay. There was nothing to worry about. The worse was over.
"Alright, then I just wanted an excuse to come by and see you."
"That sounds more like it." Ava pecked his lips. "You know, you don't need an excuse to come and see me. You can always just come by."
"Oh, Q!" Karen came in from the kitchen. "It's good to see you!" She embraced the young man.
"It's good to see you, too, Mrs. Roe. How's Coach doing?"
Lucas was another issue entirely. Ever since Lindsay walked out on him, he had been devastated. Which was completely understandable. The poor guy was trying his best to be there for his sister while dealing with his own emotional baggage.
Ava felt bad for even thinking this, but part of her was glad Lindsay was gone. She never was 100% positive that their relationship would work. Of course, it wasn't her place to say anything, but she was entitled to her own feelings, which she politely kept to herself.
Lindsay wasn't a bad person. She just got involved with a man who was still in love with someone else. Ava thought that deep down, Lindsay knew that. That's why she didn't go through with the wedding.
"He's hanging in there." Karen sighed. "But he'll be alright, he's with Andy now. It isn't anything time won't fix. How's your mother?"
Andy was being a real gem through this entire situation. Between making sure Ava was okay; coming up with silly excuses to check up on her, like asking her about whatever she was watching on television, or helping her with her homework, and then having man-to-man talks with Lucas, he was proving to be more than a step-father yet again.
Ava found herself really enjoying his company, not that she hadn't been before, and she looked forward to whatever ridiculous excuse he would use in order to spend one-on-one time with her.
"Oh, she's doing alright." Q chuckled.
He liked Karen. He liked her the minute he met her. She was everything that Ava said she'd be. Kind, caring, open. She had welcomed him with open arms and treated him like one of the family.
She had even taken him off to the side one night, asking to speak with him alone. At first, Q was a little nervous about what she was going to say to him. He thought that she might ask him to stop seeing Ava, or tell him that they were too involved with each other. But she didn't say anything of the sort.
She thanked him.
She thanked him for being there for Ava and for making her happy. Then she thanked him for protecting her.
Karen told him that she knew about what happened that night on the Rivercourt. He had every opportunity to take advantage of Ava's vulnerability, in fact, most guys would've. But he saw that something wasn't right and he stopped her before anything could happen. That meant a lot to her. It showed her what kind of man he was.
His mother had done a magnificent job with him.
"That's good to hear. Is practice running smoothly?"
"As smoothly as it can without our coach. Nathan's been taking over."
"Sounds like fun."
"No way." Q laughed. "I thought Coach was tough. Nathan is a whole other level."
"Welp, that's Nathan for you." Ava shrugged, liking how her mother and her boyfriend were getting along.
"Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to make a quick stop."
"Say hello to the family for me."
"Will do."
"Uh, I'll walk you out." Ava led him outside, shutting the door behind them. "I love it when you come to see me."
"I love it when I come and see you." Q kissed her very tenderly.
"So dreamy….." Ava said between kisses. "The Marius to my Cosette."
"The Marius to your Cosette. I like the sound of that."
"Good." She grinned.
"So how long's your mom sticking around?"
"I have no idea. Soon, probably." Ava shrugged, wrapping her arms around his neck. "She'll be back though."
"She's cool. I thought she'd be a little less friendly with me, you know?"
"Why? Because you're dating me?" Ava teased.
"Exactly."
"She isn't like that." Ava assured him. "I think that as long as her kids are happy, she's happy."
"Then she is cool." Q gave her one last kiss before untangling himself and pulling away. "I'll see you at school, Cosette."
"You can count on it."
Ava bopped her head to the beat of the music that was playing on her CD player. She was so comfortable. Her books were open as she attempted to read more than one at once, laying across her bed on her stomach. Her feet with in the air, tapping along with the rhythm, and her door was closed to the rest of the world.
Just the way she liked it.
"You need to give it up, had about enough. It's not hard to see, the boy is mine." She sang soulfully, her eyes closing as she immersed herself into the music.
She loved this song. She didn't think she'd ever be able to relate to it, but it was really fun to sing along to.
"You see I know that you may be, just a bit jealous of me. But you're blind if you can't see, that all his love is all in —" Ava abruptly stopped singing when her headphones were pulled right off of her ears. "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself." Karen chuckled, sitting down next to her. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes."
"Oh, sorry." Ava smiled sheepishly, sitting up. "I didn't hear you."
"Don't apologize. It's good to hear you sing." It had been a while since anyone had heard Ava sing because she was happy. "I'd like to talk to you."
"Oh." Ava paused her music. "Is this about...?"
"Yes." Karen nodded. The conversation's timing was late. But it was better late than never. "Ava, I understand you were going through a very rough time, but what you did was very, very dangerous."
"I know. I'm sorry." The teen hung her head.
"Do you? If anything went wrong that night, between the drinking and going out to find Q, you could've been seriously hurt."
"I'm sorry.' Was all Ava could say. "I won't do it again."
"I hope not. But if you ever feel like you need to take a drink, or run away because things are too overwhelming, you need to talk to someone. Alcohol turns into a huge problem. Not only does it damage your body, but it makes you do things that hurt other people. It's addictive and you shouldn't be drinking. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mama."
"You're not alone, Ava. There are so many people here, who love you."
"Smells good in here." Nathan smiled, entering the kitchen.
"Yeah, I made some French toast."
Ava smiled at the two, noticing they had worked things out. They were happy. Things were changing.
"Nice."
"It's totally good, Daddy." Jamie nodded.
"It's totally good."
"That's not what I mean, but that smells good, too."
"You're disgusting." Ava shook her head, sipping on her orange juice.
"Oh, shut up." Nathan blew a raspberry on her neck, making her shriek and nearly spill her juice before he turned to Haley. "What's your day like?"
"Mostly just playing." Jamie answered.
"My day's not bad either. I'm just gonna finish grading these papers and. Then over to see Peyton for a little bit…..and then, you and I have to interview the N-A-N-N-I-I-E-S."
"I hate it when you spell."
"Don't say, 'hate'." Haley never once looked up from her work.
"Sorry, I just think it's D-U-M."
"Wow." Ava raised an eyebrow. "That's something to work on."
"Add a 'B' to the end of that, or you will be, too." Nathan snorted.
"Yeah, you don't wanna be, 'D-U-M', do you?" Ava joked.
"You're not funny, Ava." Jamie deadpanned.
"Really? I thought I was."
"Hey, Jamie, what do you think about going to practice with me today?"
"Can I?"
"I don't know. It's a big step. What do you think, Mom?"
Right along with Ava, Jamie had been kept under lock and key. His parents were terrified of anything happening to him again, so they made sure to keep him close.
"Please be careful."
"Sweet!" Jamie hopped off his chair. "I'll go get my jersey!" He only it made it halfway down the hallway before running back to kiss his mothers cheek. "Thanks, Mama, I L-O-V-E you!"
"I L-O-V-E you, too, Smarty-Pants." She tapped his nose.
"Kid's got your brains." Nathan said. "I just figured out that you were spelling 'nannies'."
"Whatever. They're getting here at five, by the way. And if you run into Quentin at practice, will you tell him he's doing a really great job with his chapter reports on Les Mis?"
"That's good. Now if only he could figure out his jump shot." Nathan got up. "I'll see you."
"Bye."
"And I'll see you." Nathan grabbed Ava from under her arms and wiggled his fingers, causing her legs to kick involuntarily as infectious giggled escaped her throat. "I heard you making fun of my son. Did you think you'd get away with that?"
"No!" She squealed, still hanging up in the air.
Haley just watched on with a loving smile on her face.
"You teased him because you're older, huh?" He playfully growled, shifting her so that he had one arm wrapped around her waist. "Guess what? I'm older than you are. You know what that means?"
"No!" Ava tried to push him away.
"It means that you're in for it!"
Nathan dug his fingers into her sides, making her wiggle and laugh at loud. The poor girl was all red-faced and she couldn't do a thing about it.
"Haley! Help!"
"Alright, alright.' The woman pretended to heave a sigh. "Nathan, honestly."
"What?"
"You missed a spot." She smirked, standing up from her place at the island. She wiggled her fingers and Ava once again, tried to make a break for it. "When she was a kid, Luke and I would always go for her weakest points."
Ava's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. "No!'
"Still ticklish there, huh? Let's find out." Haley squeezed her knee.
"Hehehe!"
"Oh, this is gonna be fun." She waggled her brows at her husband, prompting a team up.
Ava wasn't getting out of this one so soon. Those two were unstoppable together.
"Need a ride?" Lucas pulled up his car next to Ava.
She just so happened to be walking to school with her backpack perched up onto her shoulders and a content smile on her face. Lucas was heading that way, but even if he wasn't, he'd go out of his way to drop her off if she wanted him to.
"Sure." Ava hopped in and buckled her seatbelt. "You're going in to work today?"
"Yeah, I've had enough time to clear my head and think about things." Lucas kept his eyes on the road. "So, you and Q, huh?"
"We've been over this."
"I know, I know. I just haven't really gotten a chance to talk to you about it." He placated. "He's your first boyfriend and this is big deal."
"For you or for me?" Ava joked.
"I like to see you happy and I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know. Q makes me happy."
"I know, but when you're dating, there are gonna be certain pressures—"
"—Stop the car!" Ava clamped her hands over here ears. "I'm not having this conversation with you!"
"And you may want to give in to them." Lucas continued, completely ignoring her, a smile of amusement written all over his face. "Follow your gut. Don't do anything you'll regret…and remember, if you need to talk, you have a whole load of people who can help you."
"I can't believe we're having this conversation."
"Mom wanted me to cover all grounds." The blonde smirked.
"She already had this talk with me." Ava groaned as they pulled into the parking lot of the school. "She's awful. This is so embarrassing."
She knew she got off too easy when she and their mother had that talk. It was too good to be true. Karen Roe did not do things by halves.
She lured Ava into a false sense of security, only to strike when she let her guard down.
"It only gets worse from here."
"I'll bet." Ava climbed out of the car. "You guys just live to make me miserable."
"See? Now you're getting it!" Lucas teased. "How's therapy going?"
"It's going."
"Any nightmares?"
"No way." Ava scoffed. "I don't get nightmares anymore and even if I did, I'm old enough to handle them on my own. There's nothing to have nightmares over anyway. Nothing happened."
"Ava, something did happen." He corrected. "And it's okay if you're feeling a little nervous about it. What you went through is a lot to handle for anyone, let alone someone your age."
"Luke, I'm fine." Ava insisted. "The only thing that's a lot to handle, is all of you mother-henning me like I'm a baby."
"You're always gonna be my baby." Lucas threw an arm around her, ignoring her protests, as they entered his office, where Skills already was, sitting at his desk. "That desk looks good on you, Coach."
"Welcome back, Coach Scott." Skills greeted with a sly smile. "So, how's my boy doing?"
"Your boy's good. Sorry, I was out of touch for so long."
"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I just wish I was able to help you somehow."
"You did." Lucas grinned as Skills pulled Ava into a one armed hug. "You ran the team for the last month. How're they doing?"
"You know." Skills shrugged. "You win some, you lose some."
"And how many 'some' did you lose?"
"And it looks like that's my cue to leave, gentlemen." Ava let out a nervous chuckle before kissing her brother on the cheek. "I'll catch up with you later. Try not to bust a vein."
"How's the report going?" Ava asked, sitting down next to Q in the library.
"It's going better than it was when I first started." He answered, highlighting a few sentences on his page. "Eponine is really something, you know?"
"She's one of the best characters in the book." Ava leaned over to see what he was reading. "She starts off really obnoxious and spiteful…..but then somewhere along the line, she changes for the better."
"And she's in love with Marius, but he doesn't notice her. That's gotta suck."
"Big time." Ava agreed. "Is your hand okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing…..I just….." Ava sighed. "I haven't mentioned anything, because of all the crap's that been going on, but I'm here now. Your hand looks like it's been hurting you."
She could tell just by looking at him that his hand was still hurting. She didn't know how he was even using it now. And it was wonder he was still playing ball with it.
"Just a little pain here and there."
"Just a little pain?" Ava questioned. "You forget I was at every game this past month. Your shots sucked. And I say that with love. But even my mother noticed."
"It's nothing I can't handle, okay?"
"Did you at least see a doctor?"
"Of course I did."
"And what did he say?"
"He said that it should be better in a few weeks."
"When did you see him?"
"A little after I punched that dude at Tric."
"That was months ago!" Ava hissed, keeping her voice down because they were still in a library.
"And it's still healing." Her boyfriend was obviously in denial. "It doesn't even hurt as much as it did before."
Ava totally didn't believe him, but she didn't comment any further on the issue. She didn't want to get involved in an argument so early in the morning.
"You lost eight games?" Lucas' jaw nearly dropped in disbelief.
"Yeah, but we won four." Skills tried to make the situation seem better than it was. "Well, three, plus the first one, but you was here for that one. Look, I know this isn't what you was hoping for. And I'm taking all the blame for this. But I'm gonna keep it real with you. Q sucks and it's all his fault. I mean, he ain't hit a shot since you left."
"Because they're doubling him."
"No. His hand is messed up. I mean, we ice it constantly, but it just ain't been right since he punched that knucklehead over at Tric."
"What's Q say?"
"He said he had it checked out."
"Alright. I'll talk to him."
"See, that's the thing. He asked me not to say nothing to you about this. He thinks the injury is gonna cost him his scholarship in the long run."
"What's gonna cost him his scholarship, is playing injured and going 4-8."
"Yeah." Skills watched as Ava entered the gym. "Would your sister know anything more about this?"
"We could ask." Lucas shrugged. "Ava, come here."
"What's up?"
"Has Q mentioned or said anything about his hand?"
"Funny, we were literally just talking about it." Ava set her bag down on the bleachers. "He thinks his hand is gonna get better, but if you ask me, it's only getting worse. He didn't really wanna talk about it much, but I managed to at least get that out of him."
"Thanks for letting us know."
"Are you guys gonna talk to him?"
"We plan on it."
"Well, good luck with that." Ava certainly wouldn't want to be the one to initiate this conversation with Q. She already tattled on him. She wasn't going to poke the bear any further.
"Actually." Skills hesitated. "I wanted to ask you if you could stay. It'll probably soften the blow. He might be more willing to listen to us."
"Or I might just tick him off." Ava chuckled. "But I'll stay if you want me to."
"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie interrupted the conversation and raced towards his uncle, happy to see him.
"Hey!" Lucas caught him in one swift motion. "There's the man! I missed you."
"Daddy said you were on a ship. Did you see any pirates?"
"Yeah, I saw a couple pirate ships, but they didn't want any part of me. You want to show me your jump shot?"
"Yeah!" Jamie yelled enthusiastically as Lucas set him down.
"Welcome back, Luke." Nathan greeted his older brother. "You good?"
"I'm working on it."
Ava smiled at the two before looking at Jamie, watching him shoot a basketball.
"Will you play with me?" He asked. "Daddy says that when you were little, you were really good."
"Yeah, I guess I was." Ava spoke softly, looking at the net. "I haven't played in a long time, you know? Not with anyone else."
"How come? Doesn't it make you happy? It makes Daddy happy."
"It used to make me happy."
"Why don't you try again? Maybe it'll make you happy again."
Maybe that's what was missing. Maybe she needed to allow herself to love the very thing she gave up years ago. Maybe, it would help her heal.
Ava caught the ball that her nephew passed to her and felt the leather on her fingertips. It felt so familiar and safe.
So, she let herself dribble a little, gaining a little rhythm.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Around. Between. Right. Left. Every time that ball hit the gym floor and echoed off the walls, Ava felt her brick wall chipping away.
There was nobody else around her anymore. It was just her, the ball, and the basket. Left. Right. Left. Crossover. Left. Right.
And finally, from where she was standing at the arch, she shot the ball, sinking it in. It was like, with the ball, she had shot a piece of baggage away from her inner being. That particular load was gone and she felt so light that she could fly.
Just that little bit of pain was gone. And it didn't even take much to get rid of.
Once, when Lucas was going to give up basketball, Whitey had told him to let the game heal him. Ava didn't get how a simple game could heal a person after so much had gone wrong, but today, standing in that gym, she finally understood what he was talking about.
The game was helping her. The very thing she had given up, because she thought it would only bring her pain, was the very thing that was healing her.
She might have to stop by his place and thank him.
"Woah." Jamie's eyes widened, bringing Ava back to reality. "Did you see that, Daddy?"
"I did." Nathan smiled. "I told you she was good."
"I haven't seen you play in years." Lucas threw an arm around her. "It's nice."
"It felt nice."
It felt better than nice. It felt...reinvigorating.
"Keith wouldn't have wanted you to stop doing something you love." He told her. "He loved it when you played."
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah." Nathan ruffled her hair, knowing good and well that she hated it when he did that. Ava supposed that's why he continued to do it. "He'd want you to carry on the Scott tradition of playing the game. You're the only one who didn't let it get the best of you. Just like him."
"He really sucked at this game." Ava couldn't help but laugh.
For the first time ever, she was remembering her uncle with laughter instead of tears.
And she wasn't getting that awful pain in her chest and swelling in her throat.
Her eyes were actually sparkling and her smile was genuine.
"He did." Lucas laughed along with her. "But he loved to play, and so do you."
"I remember a girl who was about…nine years old." Nathan started. "Lucas and I took her to a Charlotte Bobcat's game, and we met one of the players."
"I love this story." Lucas smirked.
"What happened, Daddy?" Jamie was obviously intrigued.
"Well, the player asked the little girl what she wanted to do when she grew up, and do you know what she said?" Nathan turned to his little sister.
"I can't believe you remember this." Ava rolled her eyes. "I said that I wanted to play point in the NBA."
"And she was serious, Jamie." Lucas added.
"And you guys actually took me seriously." Ava groaned.
"You were cute."
"You wanted to play in the NBA?" Jamie asked.
In the all the time he had known his aunt, he had never once seen her pick up a basketball. All of this new information was giving him some insight into who she was.
"Yeah, when I was a kid." Ava chuckled. "Not so much anymore."
"You always did dream big." Skills nudged her.
"You guys are ridiculous. You know too much about me."
And truly? Ava wouldn't have it any other way.
"There's something missing up on the wall." Jamie mused, looking at the jerseys on the wall of the gym.
Both Nathan and Lucas' jerseys were up there, but there was a blank spot that looked like it once held something in its place.
"There used to be another one." His father told him, explaining the empty space.
"What was it?"
"That was your grandfather's jersey."
"Grandpa Dan? Why'd they take it down?"
"Because of the bad things he did. People decided they didn't want it up there anymore."
"You do bad things sometimes, Daddy, and yours is till up there."
"Not that bad." And Nathan would make sure he would never do anything that could even remotely measure up to what his father had done.
"Ho, ho!" Q's loud and boisterous voice echoed off the walls. "There he is!"
"Oh, here we go." Ava rolled her eyes.
"What?" Nathan questioned.
"Just watch."
"I said it's J-Luke Scott, the boy is hot. Wherever he goes, homie that's the spot." Q rapped, strutting up to Jamie.
"His name is Q, he's better than you. If the spot is hot, then he's there, too!" Jamie freestyled like a champ.
"Don't you dare, Nathan." Ava could see the gears turning in her brother's head. "Keep your mouth shut."
But Nathan just couldn't contain himself. "Yeah, I'm the dad…and I'm not so bad….."
"See, maybe next time you'll listen to me." She covered her face out of embarrassment for him.
"Ah, Mr. Fields." Lucas walked in with Skills, lucky enough to have missed whatever it was that just happened.
"Well, well. The prodigal coach returns…..and rockin' a tan to boot." Q smirked. "What's going on, Coach? You trying to get all dark and sexy like me?"
"It's good to see you, too." Lucas shook his hand.
"Aw, man. Come on now, Coach. You know how we roll. Even Big Game James knows that."
"Yeah, I know. But this is how I roll." He squeezed Q's hand, eliciting a hiss of pain from him. "Just what I thought." He began to examine the teen's hand.
"Look, man. The doc says it's gonna be a little swollen from time to time. Why ya'll sweatin' it so hard?"
"Because we're 4-8."
"Maybe that's 'cause of the coaching."
"Easy." Nathan reprimanded gently.
Whenever Q felt like he was being backed into a corner, he automatically attacked. Nathan knew that, because he was the exact same way. It took a while before he realized that not everyone was out to get him.
"Look, I'm just saying, man. One of 'em disappeared for a month. The other can't be trusted." Q looked pointedly at Skills.
"I told you this wasn't such a good idea." Ava muttered, sensing the tension rising as she stood with her arms around Jamie.
"It's for his own good." Nathan told her. "He's hurting himself by keeping this unchecked."
"Alright." Lucas let go of Q and picked up two basketballs. "I want you to palm these."
"Please." Q scoffed and took the balls from him. "There. You happy?"
"Not quite." Lucas shook his head. "Palm the balls…and hold them there."
"For how long?"
"I don't know." Lucas shrugged. "Thirty seconds? Shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I do this and all this nonsense goes away." Q held the balls up.
"You see, the thing is, Q, it's not so much that we're 4-8." Lucas circled him.
"We're 4-8 and you shootin' like trash." Skills said.
"That's 'cause they're doubling me, man."
"Double-teams never bothered you before." Nathan pointed out.
"And your hand isn't just hurting on the court, Q." Ava added. "It hurts you when you write, too. I saw you with your pen this morning, it's killing you."
"See, you're one of the best shooters I've ever seen, Q. When you're healthy. The other ones…..they're right here in the gym." Lucas referred to Skills and both his siblings.
"Even me, Uncle Lucas?" Jamie asked.
"Especially you, Jamie." Lucas couldn't help but smile. "See, you and Quentin are the best shooters we've got."
Jamie beamed and leaned his head back to look at his aunt, who kissed his nose.
And at the same time, the pain became too much for Q, and the balls dropped right onto the floor below.
"When you're healthy." Lucas finished. "Nothing like a second opinion. And this time, we'll come with you. Go."
Q's nostril's flared as he shot the adults in the room a dirty look, but softened slightly when Ava reached for his good hand.
"Listen, I know it looks grim." Lucas spoke to Q. "But we'll have that thing off by Playoffs."
As expected, Q's hand was still broken and the doctor put it in a hard cast. It pretty much solidified the fact that that hand was useless to him. Now, it was going to be even harder to play ball.
"Playoffs? Man, we're 4-8."
"Hey, we're gonna figure it out. Alright? Just hang in there."
"Yeah, I'd like to speak to Coach Taylor, if you don't mind…..alone."
"We'll be downstairs."
"You're gonna be okay." Ava kissed his cheek. "It's just a minor setback."
"Yeah." Q kissed her back, watching as Jamie excitedly pulled her out of the room, babbling about how they could spend the rest of their day together.
The four Scotts hopped into the hospital's elevator, traveling down to the lobby, but the machine made a stop on a certain floor.
The doors opened and just their luck, enters Dan.
"You're kidding." Ava deadpanned.
"Hi, Grandpa." Jamie smiled, not catching the older three's chagrin.
"Hi, Jamie." Dan smiled back, turning to face the closing elevator doors. "You boys wanna to jump me again, now's your chance."
"Uh, what do you mean, again?" Ava glared at her brothers.
"Just a joke." Dan waved her off.
It wasn't a joke. Right after he had brought her and Jamie home, Nathan and Lucas jumped him right before he got into his car to leave. They were still under the impression that he was the one who kidnapped them and they were going to do something about it.
"What're you doing here, Grandpa?"
"I had some business to take care of." Dan answered.
"…Is it all taken care of?" Ava couldn't help but be concerned.
"For now."
Their conversation didn't last too long. The elevator reached the first floor and the four Scotts and their senior went their separate ways.
Well, except for Nathan. He followed Dan.
He was probably going to tell him off or something, knowing him.
Ava just really wished they could be a nice normal family, but she knew that it wasn't possible.
"I guess, I just don't understand." Jamie sighed as he, Ava, and Lucas sat down at the stairs. They were still waiting on Q, Skills, and Nathan. "Grandpa Dan seems nice. How come everyone's always mad at him?"
The two siblings shared a look before Lucas answered. "You love Chester, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what if Grandpa Dan hurt Chester and took him away so you could never see him again?"
"I guess I would be really mad at him…..and sad, too."
"Yeah. Well, that's how we feel." Lucas told him.
Jamie reached out and hugged him, sensing his sadness on the situation, while Ava sat with her thoughts.
She was really mad at Dan. She had been for nearly five years and it was exhausting. The anger didn't bring Keith back and it wasn't going to.
But she felt like she should still remain angry with him, because of what he did.
Part of her didn't want to be angry anymore. She wanted to love him again.
And the more time that passed, the stronger the feeling got.
"You okay, Babygirl?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah." Ava wasn't really all that convincing.
So Jamie let go of Lucas and gave her a hug of her own.
"Oh, you know what?" She cracked a smile. "I feel so much better now."
"Hey, Jamie, why don't you go on in?" Nathan told his son as they arrived at Brooke's house.
Brooke texted everyone, telling them that she had huge news, but they had to come over in order to find out what it was. Ava didn't have the slightest idea of what it could've been, but she was excited because Brooke was excited.
"Okay!" The four year old raced up to the door.
"We need to talk."
"Okay, what'd I do now?" Ava quipped.
"Nothing." He shook his head. "I just wanted to know how you were doing."
"How I'm doing?"
"Well, with the kidnapping and seeing Dan again, I just want to make sure you're doing alright."
"I'm okay."
"Really?"
"No." Ava admitted, visibly deflating. "I'm confused. He murdered Keith, he went to prison, then he gets out and saves me and Jamie from that psycho…I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?"
"I'll let you know when I figure it out."
It wasn't a definitive answer, but knowing that one of her brothers was as messed up about this as she was, made her feel a whole lot better.
She wasn't alone in her struggle.
"But if it starts to get too much for you, I want you to come and talk to me. Okay? I'm gonna be so upset with you if you keep this to yourself because you thought I'd be mad."
"So, you'd get mad at me for thinking you'd be mad at me?" Ava had to laugh at that logic.
"Exactly." Nathan ruffled her hair.
"You're weird." Ava rolled her eyes, batting his hands away from her head before she remembered something. "Oh!" She dug through her pockets and pulled out thirty bucks, holding the money out for him to take.
"What's this?"
"It's for that alcohol I took." Ava wasn't proud of that one. She really goofed up that night. Drinking was one thing, but stealing from her brother was another. And it was something she didn't take very lightly. "Sorry."
Nathan stared at the money for a moment. He thought he'd be angrier when he found out that Ava had stolen his alcohol, but really, he could only bring himself to be mildly annoyed. Ava wasn't a thief, so he knew this wouldn't be a habit or something he needed to worry about. No, what made him angry, was the fact that she was drinking in the first place.
He spoke to Karen about it because he really didn't know what to do. He figured that this was one that she should handle. But Karen told him that because it was really bothering him, he should at least say something to her.
He just didn't know how.
And here Ava was, opening up the conversation for him.
"I didn't mean to steal from you." The girl's voice was just above a whisper. "Sorry."
"I don't want this, Ava."
"Why?"
"That alcohol isn't worth anything." He told her. "It doesn't mean anything to me. You mean everything. Ava, if you want to do something for me, promise me, that you'll never touch a drop of alcohol again."
"Okay."
"No. I want you to look me in the eye and promise me."
"I promise."
The dependency on alcohol ran in the Scott family. If Ava wasn't careful, she might end up falling down that path. Keith almost did.
And so did he.
"Good." He accepted the answer. "Get inside, you goof."
He smiled at her to show her he wasn't upset anymore and threw an arm around her shoulder, walking her inside.
"Hey, come on in!" Brooke waved them into the house. "I have a surprise."
"What is it?" Jamie asked.
"I found the carseat." Peyton burst into the house and the very same time that Lucas did.
It took everything in Ava's power not to laugh.
Those two were so funny to her.
They were madly in love with each other, but yet, they refused to acknowledge it.
"Surprise!" Brooke tried to lighten the mood, which obviously didn't work.
Well...now everyone knew there was a new baby in the picture.
"You've been out for a while." Haley smiled as Ava joined her and Jamie in the music room.
"Yeah, there was a nice sunset today…..all sorts of colors. You would've liked it." Ava plopped down on the piano bench. "What was that you were just playing?"
"Oh, this?" Haley plucked the strings of her guitar. "Just something I've been working on. You like it?"
"Yeah. It's nice." Ava played what little bit she heard on the piano.
Haley smiled at her and began playing the song again, allowing her to follow along.
"New song?" Nathan asked, leaning up against the door frame.
"Yeah."
"Nice."
"Thank you." Haley stopped playing. "Actually, I think I'm gonna record that album with Peyton."
"Really?"
"Seriously?" Ava grinned.
"Yeah."
"That's great, Haley."
"Yeah, it is. How'd your workout go?"
"Not so good. But you know what? Whatever happens, we're gonna be fine."
"We will." Haley nodded. "Hey, play that again."
"Play what?" Ava asked, her fingers still tickling the ivories.
"That little riff you just played."
Ava stopped and played it once again. "This one?"
"Yes! I love it! Can I steal it?"
"Come here, I'll show it to you then." Ava snickered, making room for her.
"Hello?" A new and familiar voice called, interrupting the two.
"Who is that?" Nathan asked, making Ava give him a sharp look.
Seriously?
"That's the new nanny Mama hired." Jamie informed him.
"Did someone call for a nanny?" Deb's eyes twinkled.
As if Nathan didn't recognize his own mother's voice. Honestly, sometimes Ava wondered about him.
"Grandma!" Jamie threw his arms around the woman.
"What did I tell you about? Grandma Deb is way too young to be a grandma."
"Sorry…Nanny Deb!"
"I like that so much better!"
"Hi, Mom." Nathan greeted her, already feeling better from seeing her.
If there was anyone he would trust with the welfare of his child, it was his mother. This really took a load off of him.
They didn't have to worry about crazy nannies anymore.
"Hey, Mom, you look great." Haley hugged her.
"Ooh, thank you." Deb gave her a squeeze, looking at Ava. "Well, are you just gonna sit there and play background music for me, or are you gonna give me a hug?"
"Hi, Aunt Deb." Ava stood up and allowed the woman to pull her into her arms.
"It's so good to see you." The blonde rubbed her back. "All of you."
Bonus Scene:
"Hey, Brooke?" Ava stuck her head through the door of Clothe's Over Bro's.
"Come in." The woman kept her eyes on the sketches she was working on for a new line.
"I just wanted to give this back to you." The teen set the money she had tried to give Nathan down on the counter. "He didn't take it."
She had actually gone to Brooke and asked is there was any way she could make a few bucks in order to pay her brother back.
Brooke considered the request and told her that if she felt up to it, then she could work a couple of days at the store until she made enough money to buy back what she stole. Of course, Ava jumped at the opportunity to right a wrong and worked diligently at the store, doing inventory and cleaning up, without anyone else ever finding out.
"You earned that, Honey." The brunette passed it back to her. "It's yours."
And as true as that was, Ava didn't feel right about taking it. She didn't feel like it was her money. It felt like it belonged to someone else, like she hadn't really earned it. Her guilt was still eating at her.
"But if you want, you can keep working for me." She struck up a deal. "Part time, you're not dropping out of school for this, I don't care how well you work."
"Okay."
Ava liked working for Brooke. The atmosphere was nice and she enjoyed spending time with her.
"Then it's a deal." She smiled. "But I need to talk to you about something." She grew serious.
"About what?"
"A little bird told me what you didn't tell me that night you came to my house."
"Oh."
Ava should've known that would get around. Tree Hill was a small town. Her business was everyone's business.
"I didn't bring it up to yell at you. I just want to talk." Brooke clarified. "What you did was really dangerous. What if Q wasn't the guy you thought he was? What if he didn't stop when he saw how scared you were? That night could've ended up being so much worse and it would've changed you."
"I'm sorry."
"Ava, it's okay to not be ready and you shouldn't force yourself to be ready just because you're upset. Trust me on this. I know. Don't make my mistakes. You're so young and you're still learning how the world works. Take your time. There's no rush."
"Okay, I will."
"Now get to work. I've got some files that need sorting." Brooke winked. "I don't pay you to stand around."
A/N: So that's where the money came from! I love writing Brooke and Ava. Brooke gets her and she's very patient. Also, Ava started playing ball again! Good for her! She and Nathan made up, but Q's hand is in a cast...a lot has happened this chapter! Stay tuned! XOXOXO