On the road
I had no idea how long I had been driving, but it was getting dark and the tiredness crept over me. It was time to take a break. The thought was tempting to check in at a motel for overnight, but since I was a minor I had to think about an alternative solution. I decided to leave the highway to find a place to stay overnight. It would be my first night in my car. But there wasn't another option. I parked the car in a wooded area near a lake. At least I could wash myself the next morning, I thought as I climbed onto the backseat. I pulled out my phone to check my messages and then stared in disbelief at the amount of messages I had received over the last few hours. Half a dozen messages were from Jude, the rest from Justin and Izzy. I scrolled through all the texts and started reading...
'It's me, Jude. Call me, dammit! Have you heard?!'
'Switch your phone on! Where the hell are you?
'Is it fun to ignore me? I'm warning you, you'll get a lot of trouble because of that.'
'I should tell you from Justin that you're an idiot! I can only agree!'
'Davis? Are you still alive?!'
'Why didn't you tell me what you were up to? We used to talk about everything! Dammit, Davis, I'm really worried! Call me!'
'Here's Izzy. We met Sawyer and she gave us Lydia's address. Don't think you can just leave without consequences! Mom and Dad are back. The fun is over, Davis. They know everything.'
I stared in horror at the last message. Mom and Dad were back? Already? They wanted to stay another week in Paris! Would they send a search party for me now? I quickly wrote a message to everyone: 'I'm fine. Don't worry. ~ D.' and pressed 'send'. I switched off the phone. I didn't want to read their responses. Exhausted, I rolled myself into a blanket and closed my eyes.
I didn't know how long I had slept when a knock on the window interrupted my sleep. Startled, I stared into the dazzling light of a flashlight and shaded my eyes. But I didn't have much time to get used to the brightness, because the door was suddenly torn open and a man in a police uniform grabbed my arm and dragged me from the backseat.
"Driving license and vehicle papers!" He said in a commanding tone.
With trembling hands, I took the documents and handed them to him. Then I watched him suspiciously as he slowly walked around the car, checking everything before he looked at the registration papers. "Is there a problem, Officer?" I asked hesitantly.
He pointed his flashlight to the car. "The car was reported stolen," he said curtly.
I stared at him in shock. "That's... not possible," I stuttered. "The car is mine!" But as soon as I had uttered the sentence, I remembered Izzy's last sentence: 'Mom and Dad are back. They know everything.' "My dad is the owner," I admitted quietly.
The police officer nodded. "Julian Baker. I can read that in the registration papers. And it was Mr. Baker who had reported the car as stolen and had filed for a criminal complaint."
I swallowed hard and was left speechless for a moment. I couldn't believe that my dad had reported me. He had given me the car as a gift to my 17th birthday! What would come next? Would he let me getting arrested now? Reflexively, I stretched out my arms to the officer and waited for him to pull out the handcuffs.
"Well, well, not so hasty. I'm not here to arrest you, if you thought that. All I want to do is to take you with me to the police station," the police officer said. "I don't know what had happened between you and your father, that he asked us to hold on to you, but you should clarify that with him." He pointed to the car. "Take everything out. The car is preliminary confiscated until the rightful owner comes to pick it up. You are coming with me now. You will stay overnight at the police station. Your father will pick you up the next day."
I took my bag out of the trunk and threw it carelessly into the police car before I jumped in. The drive to the police station was very short and when we arrived, they took me straight to a separate room.
"This is one of our sobering-up cells," the police officer said. "You can sleep here." He pointed to a cot attached to the wall with chains. "And over there is the toilet. If possible, please sit while peeing," he added dryly. "And now hand me your cellphone. Electronic devices of any kind are not allowed in the cells."
I was too exhausted to argue with him. So I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it over to him.
"That's all for now. You can keep your clothes. A pillow and a blanket can be found in the small closet behind you. Have a good sleep!"
The door got closed and locked up, and I was alone. That's how a criminal must feel, I thought as I took the pillow and blanket out of the closet and brought it over to the cot. Tired, I stretched myself out on my uncomfortable bed, closed my eyes and fell into a restless sleep.
House of the Scotts
When I went to bed with Nathan in the evening, there was a stressful and mentally exhausting day behind me. The question of whether I had done the right thing to send Lydia off weighed heavily on me, especially since Brooke had been here and had accused me of being responsible for her son leaving Tree Hill head over heels to go to California. Brooke and I had been friends since high school and I couldn't remember a fight that had escalated like it had today. She had dumped all her fear and frustration on me, and for the first time I had been in doubt. I noticed Nathan's hands on my shoulders and leaned back, sighing.
"You are totally tense," he stated and began to gently massage the cramped muscles. "Is it still because of Brooke's visit?"
"What do you mean, was it the right thing sending Lydia away to Santa Barbara to live with Quinn?" I asked softly. When he said nothing, I turned to him and saw him looking at me thoughtfully. "You agreed," I said. "Did you change your mind?"
He shrugged and continued to massage. "You didn't ask me, Hales, you just told me that she would stay with Quinn and Clay for a while. I just took notice."
Angrily, I turned to him. "You take the easy way out, Nathan! As if the children were my own responsibility. You are her father. Would be nice if you had an opinion about it too!"
He dropped his arms and sighed softly. "Okay fine. But you won't like it what I have to tell you."
"Okay," I began hesitantly and looked at him expectantly. "Then go ahead, be completely honest with me."
He cleared his throat before he started to speak. "First... I like Davis. I think he really has feelings for Lydia. Second... they are old enough to decide for themselves who they want to be with or not, and third... think of the time when you were Lydia's age. You also did what you wanted, regardless of what others said."
I gave a sigh and had to admit that he had a point. But just the fear that Lydia would suffer the same fate as I, had forced me to go through with my plan to send her away. But I didn't want to give in that easily. "You like Davis?" I repeated, wrinkling my nose. "You are not a teacher at our high school and have to see how he kisses another girl every day!"
"Even since he's with Lydia?" He asked.
I thought about his question and then shook my head. "No, I haven't seen him with any other girl for a few weeks," I admitted in a meek voice. "But that doesn't mean anything."
"That means he found the right one and decided to stay true to her from now on," Nathan said dryly.
I rolled my eyes. "No wonder you like him," I said, rolling my eyes. "Considering that you and Brooke also had a common past!"
"Brooke and I were both 17," he said indignantly. "We were stupid and naive and pretty drunk at the time. And besides, it only happened once. Why are you starting it now? I thought we had clarified that a long time ago."
Groaning, I ran a hand though my hair. "Yes, we had. And I also know that this had nothing to do with love between you and her. But I don't want Lydia to experience the same with Davis. He's like Brooke when she was his age. I didn't tell her that, but it's the truth. And I doubt he can only be faithful to one girl."
"But he loves her enough to do this reckless action to follow her to Santa Barbara," Nathan pointed out. "I don't know if I would have done that back then. That speaks volumes, if you ask me. "
"Brooke will never forgive me if something happens to him," I said desperately. "And neither will Lydia." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I couldn't have known that he would do such a thing."
"Did Lydia get in touch with you?"
"No." I shook my head. "I've called her several times, but she ignores me."
"And what about Quinn or Clay? Did you contact them?"
"I tried to reach Quinn, but it went straight to voicemail. I'll try again tomorrow."
"You asked for my opinion earlier," he said hesitantly. "My opinion is, call Quinn, tell her you made a mistake and you want Lydia to come home."
I looked at him in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me that before? Then I wouldn't have sent her away. "
"I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for Lydia. I think she is happier at home. And whether you like it or not, you won't prevent that she and Davis meet. You see what he is capable of when you separate them. "
"All right," I sighed. "I'll call her tomorrow. And I also have to talk to Brooke again. I hope they will find Davis unharmed."
"Come here."
When he put his arm around me and pulled me closer, I leaned my head against his chest. "I'm glad we talked about it," I mumbled.
"Yes, me too," he said and kissed me gently, "and now let's sleep."
I snuggled closer to him, closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately.
