Chapter Fourteen:

Ava didn't know what she was doing.

Her legs were moving and she was definitely going somewhere, she just didn't know where.

Or why.

That had been happening a lot the past several days.

Aimlessly wandering for hours and hours on end, looking, searching for something.

Her family worried about her; Lucas tried to let her know that he was there for her, but she'd never seek him out. Haley tried to coddle her, Ava always untangled herself from her arms. Nathan made many attempts to talk, she'd make sure she found an excuse not to.

Karen and Andy tried to call, she sent them to voicemail. They couldn't get to Tree Hill due to weather conditions where they were. But as soon as it was possible, they'd be back.

Ava didn't care.

Peyton sent her sad smiles, Ava would look away.

She didn't know it, but sometimes Deb would sneak into her room after she had fallen fast asleep and she would sit with her in silence.

It was the only comfort Ava would accept.

Jamie had sensed a huge change in his aunt and made an extra effort to make her happy.

But not even he could get through. He'd ask her to play Rock Band with him, but she'd ignore him and acted as if he wasn't even there.

Small knuckles wrapped on the wooden door to the beach house on that chilly day.

Her thick, untamable dirty blonde locks whipped at her back as the wind's harsh wisps licked at her skin. She could feel the drop in temperature through her cozy sweater, but it didn't bother her.

She went to knock once more, and upon receiving no answer, she picked the lock and entered the house, shutting the door behind her.

No one was home.

Ava had expected her father to be sitting by the fireplace with a mug of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other. That's the way it always was.

But he wasn't home and now the place seemed a whole lot bigger than she remembered.

The teen found herself climbing the stairs, moving down the hallway towards her old room.

It was exactly the way she had left it.

Olive green walls, white bed frame, red colored bedsheets, with a desk in a corner by the window.

Nothing had been touched. Not one thing in all these years.

That's just what she had been hoping for.

Something that was still the same.

So, pulling the covers back, Ava climbed into her bed and curled up against her pillow.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she fooled herself into believing that everything was back to normal.

"Okay, pal. I need you to stay in the car. I'll be right back. I just want to make sure we're in the right place."

Haley had driven Ava and Jamie out to see Dan, because apparently, he was in hospice. That was the reason why no one was home when Ava went to the beach house.

As strong as she knew her father was, she wasn't very inclined to believe that this was it for him.

It took a lot of convincing on Haley's part to get her to get out of the house and take a drive, because for the past few weeks, Ava had been going to school and then coming straight to her room with minimal interactions.

"I wanna come with you." Jamie spoke from the backseat.

"Just stay in the car. Keep the doors locked." Haley instructed. "I'll be right back, I promise. And Ava's going to be right here with you, okay?"

"Okay." The fact that Ava was with him was a little comforting, but Jamie still would rather be with his mother.

Ava thought that it was pretty weird to have a hospice located in the middle of nowhere, and it felt like she had just entered the 'Twilight Zone'.

But she kept that to herself. Jamie already looked nervous enough without her help.

Still, this place was creepy.

There was a creepy cornfield nearby, with a creepy old house in front of it, and a creepy smog in the air.

Ava should've called Lucas to tell him about this place. It was straight out of a horror movie he had let her watch when they were kids.

When Karen found out, she had flipped. Neither of them could sleep in their own beds and had to stay with their mother for three weeks after.

Ava was having a really hard time believing that this was hospice.

Everything felt off.

"I don't like this place." Jamie broke the long silence.

"You and me both." Ava unbuckled her seatbelt to make herself comfortable.

It looked like they would be here for a while anyway.

"Where are you, Mama?" Jamie thought audibly, beginning to look for the woman.

"She's coming." Ava scrolled through her phone, looking at all the missed calls and unread messages she had. "She just wants to check thing out—"

The teen cut herself off when she and Jamie both screamed at the sight of Carrie by the car window.

She had literally come out of nowhere.

"Ava!" Jamie's eyes widened with fear.

Now that he knew for sure that Carrie wasn't a good person, he didn't want to have anything to do with her. She tried to take him and Ava away from their family, she wasn't a friend anymore.

"It's okay, Jamie." Ava tried to push the swell of her anxiety down, but her body was going into fight or flight mode. "It's okay, the door's locked and she can't get in."

At least, she hoped that was the case. Who knows what this woman was capable of? Maybe she'd break the glass with her bare hands or something.

"Jamie! Ava!" Carrie tapped the glass. "It's me, Nanny Carrie! Open up."

"Are you kidding?"

"No!" Jamie shouted. "Mama says you're a bad person!"

"Oh, that's not true. You love me, remember? Now open the door, Buddy." The former nanny smiled sweetly, trying not to make her desperation obvious.

"No! I want my Mama!"

Ava closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm. She'd be no use to Jamie if she freaked out.

Besides, she shouldn't be afraid. She should be angry.

This was the same woman that nearly destroyed part of her family and turned it upside down.

"I am your mama now!" Carrie violently slapped the window when she realized that this would be harder than she thought. "Unlock this door this instant!"

"No!" The five year old yelled defiantly.

While the two were going back and forth, Ava was taking the time to look at her surroundings. She knew that as determined as Carrie was, she was going to find someway to get into the car.

So they needed a get away plan. She needed to get Jamie somewhere safe.

There was only a short window of time to do it, and she didn't know exactly how she would, but she'd think of something.

"She's going away….." Jamie furrowed his eyebrows, watching Carrie walk away somewhere. "Is she going home?"

Wishful thinking.

"No." Ava sprang into action, climbing into the back where her nephew was, to unbuckle his seatbelt. "We need to get out of here. Now." Her nerves made her hands shake, which made getting him out of his carseat a little harder, but she succeeded.

"But what about Mama?" His eyes widened at the thought of leaving Haley behind.

"Mama's fine." Ava honestly didn't know that for sure, but she needed to focus on Jamie. It was up to her to keep him safe. "She can take care of herself." She said, opening the back door. "Go."

"But—"

"—James Lucas Scott, we don't have time for this. Move!" She shoved him out of the car (which is something she'd later regret), before hopping out herself and grabbing his hand to run away.

And it looked like they had gotten out just in time, because Ava heard the sound of glass shattering and made the mistake of turning around.

Carrie had gotten an axe and smashed the window of the backseat just to get inside.

She was nuts!

Ava turned back around and pulled Jamie to the cornfield she had seen earlier, letting him go as soon as they were hidden between the plants. "Go!" She had him run in front of her so that she could keep and eye on him.

He was so small, it'd be easy to lose track of him.

The corn leaves stung as they smacked against her face, and the smoggy heat made her clothes stick to her skin in the most uncomfortable way, but she had to ignore all of that in favor of escaping.

She was hoping that the end of the field wasn't a dead end and there was a way to get out.

"Jamie!" She heard Carrie call for her nephew. "Jamie! I'm sorry, I got mad at you, sweetie!"

She didn't sound like she was running. Her even breathing made it seem like she was no prowling around in order to sneak up on them.

"This way." Ava whispered, pulling Jamie to the right and forcing him to get down on the ground and lay flat.

Once he was situated, she laid next to him, throwing and arm across his back to keep him calm.

She knew that he wouldn't be able to run for very long. If they continued, he would get too tired to continue and Ava couldn't run and carry him at the same time. She wasn't strong enough.

The only thing she could think of doing, was using the tall corn husks to their advantage. If they hid below them, there was a strong possibility that Carrie would miss them.

"Ava…."

"Shh." She rubbed her hand up and down the five year old's back, pressing herself as far into the ground as she could.

She knew it was ridiculous, but at that point, it was almost as if she could feel Carrie's footsteps getting closer and closer.

"Just tell me where you are Jimmy Jam!" And honestly, Ava may have been right. Because Carrie's voice was louder. "I won't be mad anymore, I promise."

"Ava, I'm scared." Jamie whispered.

"I know…..it's gonna be okay. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Rosie Posie! Come on out, it's okay!"

Now, that, made Ava cringe.

No one had ever called her that disgusting nickname in her life.

Rosie Posie?

Carrie really knew how to grate on her nerves.

"Come on out, babies!" She called the two.

Ava knew she was right behind them and clamped her hand over Jamie's mouth, just in case he freaked out when she got too close.

If she found them like this, then they were really in trouble. They needed to be as quiet as humanly possibly.

She held her breath as the corn leaves rustled when Carrie continued to walk.

And before she knew it, Carrie was standing right above them. She was so close, Ava could see the threading of her outfit and the beads of sweat running down her face.

"I've got something special for you!" The woman smirked and pulled the cap off of a needle that was full of a sedative, no doubt.

The fifteen year old had already been sedated once by that woman, she wasn't about to let it happen again.

And she wasn't going to let it happen to Jamie either.

Not if she could help it.

"Come on." She continued to whisper, slowly helping Jamie stand back up once Carrie was far enough away. "Be quiet, okay?"

"Okay." Jamie was still frightened, but he trusted that his aunt would keep him safe.

Once again, Ava forced him to run in front of her, in the opposite direction Carrie had just gone in.

So far, she hadn't suspected a thing.

That is, until some of those stupid corn leaves rustled.

Carrie didn't call out for them again, but Ava knew she heard it, so she pushed Jamie to run faster, as fast as his legs would take him.

But suddenly and unexpectedly, two arms shot out of the leaves and pulled both her and Jamie into their direction.

Neither one could scream due to the hands pressed against their mouths.

How had Carrie found them? How had she gotten to them so fast? What was going to happen now?

Ava had failed.

She hadn't been able to protect Jamie the way she should've.

"Ssshh." The owner of the arms soothed. "It's Mama."

Ava reached up to touch the hand that was holding her and found a wedding band. The same wedding band she had been fiddling with since she was nine years old.

It was Haley.

That thought alone was enough to make her body relax.

But her heart was still hammering in her chest, because Carrie was still looking for them. At least now, there was an adult who could help.

Once Haley felt Ava give in, she let her go and looked both children over. Neither of them had any bruises, so that meant Carrie hadn't gotten to either of them. Ava's pupils weren't dilated, so she hadn't been drugged.

They both were unharmed.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise." She said, though her voice shook. "We just have to get out of here, okay?"

And as if on cue, her phone rang.

She had tried calling Nathan earlier, hoping that he was on a break from his tryouts, but the man hadn't answered.

She guessed that he just found a spare minute to return her call, but his timing was really, really bad.

"Run!"

Jamie was the first to go, with Ava and Haley following close behind.

The three pushed through the stitches in their sides and the rising heat on their skin, shoving the various leaves out of their way as they went.

Haley looked back once and could see that Carrie was closely trailing them with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Jamie!"

"Run, Jamie!" Haley panted. "Run!"

The three made it out of the cornfield, racing back to the house, but once they reached the porch, Deb surprised Carrie with a bottle to the face, knocking her flat on her back.

No one had expected that.

Ava was sure that in a few years, they would all be able to look back at that and laugh.

"There's more than once crazy nanny in this town." Deb glared at the woman's unconscious body.

No one got to mess with her family like that.

Ava set her hands on her knees as she settled by the porch, and tried to catch her breath as Jamie took it a step further and ran inside the house just to be safe.

They had made it out.

Carrie didn't get Jamie.

She didn't get Jamie. That was all that mattered.

"Are you okay?" Deb asked in disbelief of the entire situation, looking at the two girls. "How's Jamie and Ava?"

"They're— they're scared to death. They're gonna be okay. How are you?"

"This was a 1995, 'Dom Perigon' bottle of rosé." Deb smiled breathlessly, holding up what was left of the bottle she had just smashed over Carrie's face. "I was saving it for the day I was rid of Dan Scott for good. A girl can dream, right?"

"You saved us." Haley brought her in for a hug. "How did you know? How did you know that we were here?"

"I knew something was up when I saw the address. Dan always hated the woods."

Deb knew something was fishy when she read the address Haley left on the fridge that morning. It was right in the middle of the woods.

There was no way that Dan could've possibly decided to go off to the woods.

"Aunt Deb!" Ava yelled for her stepmother, snapping them out of their conversation as Carrie came to, grabbing the axe she had previously dropped on the ground and lifting it above her head to harm both woman. "Haley!"

And before any of them could react accordingly, a single gunshot rang out from right behind Ava, making her ears ring as her hands flew up to cover them.

Carrie gasped, and flopped over, once again collapsing in a heap on the floor. This time, she probably wouldn't be getting back up.

Both Haley and Deb's jaws dropped as they looked to see who had saved them from Carrie this time.

"I hate the woods." Dan muttered, lowering the gun.

Ava turned around very slowly, still rattled from the day's events, the gunshot definitely hadn't helped much. She looked at her father with an unreadable expression and blinked.

"Ava…."

Dan hated to think that this was going to ruin whatever civil relationship they had going on right now. Sure, he just saved them. But seeing him with that gun could be bringing up bad memories for the teen.

He did something he can never take back or make right, but he hoped that he could make amends with his own daughter.

He hoped that this hadn't ruined any progress they made.

Ava lowered her hands away from her ears as the flow of adrenaline in her body slowed down. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but for once, she didn't feel like stopping herself.

The teen climbed the porch steps and looked the man directly in the eyes.

And in that moment, she didn't see the man who had made everyone around him miserable, she didn't see the man who had shot Keith.

No, she saw the man that had promised that he would do better, she saw the man that had fought to get to know her.

She saw her father.

She needed her father. She needed him now more than ever.

So glancing up into his eyes again, she thew her arms around his waist and buried her face into his middle.

Dan, for all things considered, was shocked.

He thought that she was going to chew him out or walk right passed him.

He didn't deserve anything from her. Not after what he did.

Nothing would change what he had done.

He had lost his family forever.

At least, that's what he thought.

But now, Ava, his youngest, his baby, was back in his arms, clinging to him for safety.

"Ssssh." He put the hand that wasn't holding the gun against the back of her head. "It's alright. Daddy's here."

He felt it was a little bold to say, but he meant it.

And he thought Ava needed to hear it.

Ava's face contorted as everything she had been holding onto began piling up.

Her body tensed and her throat clenched painfully. Her stomach hurt and her eyes welled up.

And suddenly, just like that, the dam broke and her tears began to flow freely, giving her sobs room to escape her throat.

And for the first time since everything had happened, Ava allowed herself to bawl.

In the safety of her father's arms.

A/N: Well, that was a bit of a twist. I don't think Haley or Deb expected Ava to run into Dan's arms, but after something so traumatizing, it was to be expected. But on the bright side, Nanny Carrie can't hurt anyone anymore.

This one was a little short, but to make up for it, the next one is coming very, very soon :)