House of the Evans, Santa Barbara
It looked like it would become again a beautiful and warm summer day when I opened my eyes. But I felt like crawling under the covers or shut down the blinds completely to isolate myself from the world outside. I looked to the alarm clock, causing me to groan softly. How could it be that I had slept 13 hours and was still tired? Were these the first pregnancy symptoms? I took the ultrasound image that I had placed on the bedside table and looked at it. "My baby..." I muttered and touched the image carefully. The thought was still unfamiliar and I wondered how long it would take to see the first physical changes on my body. According to the doctor's measurements, I was 2 months into pregnancy. So still at the beginning. I lay on my back, pushed my nightgown up and placed my hands on my belly. Everything felt like before. No change. Only the ultrasound image proved that something was growing inside of me. I was still lost in thought when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Quickly I pushed my nightgown down and sat up. It was my cousin Breanna who entered my room and looked at me worriedly.
"Hey, did I wake you up? I'm sorry, Mom said I should check on you because you've been sleeping all day."
I forced a smile. "Yes, I wondered myself. Usually I'm an early bird."
Her eyes fell on the ultrasound image, and instinctively I grabbed it to push it under the covers.
"It's okay," she said reassuringly. "I already know it. Mom told me."
I looked at her in surprise. Apparently the Evans didn't have secrets among each other. "And what do you think about that?" I asked, smiling shyly.
"How does it feel? I mean, what is it like to be pregnant?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I only know for a few days. And so far, nothing has changed."
"What does your boyfriend say about that?"
Sighing, I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "He doesn't know about it yet. But yesterday I talked with my friend Sawyer and she told me that he is on his way to Santa Barbara. So I have to tell him eventually."
"I envy you," Breanna said, sighing. "I don't even have a boyfriend. He really must love you when he's willing to drive such a long distance just to be with you."
I had to smile involuntarily. The same thing had crossed my mind when Sawyer told me about it. Even though it was dangerous and stupid, it also showed how important I was for Davis. But as much as I was looking forward to see him, I was also scared to tell him about the baby. My aunt had said he just needed time to get used to the idea of becoming a dad. She was convinced that he would love the baby when it was born, but I wasn't so sure about that. Davis made it very clear last time that a child was too much of a responsibility that he wasn't willing to take. And if I was honest with myself, I was as scared as he was. But unlike him, I couldn't escape from my responsibility. I had decided to keep the baby.
"What you wish for? A boy or a girl?"
I looked up, startled. I completely had forgotten that Breanna was there. "I don't know," I said with a soft voice and shrugged. "I haven't thought about that yet."
"Seriously?" She frowned. "That would be the first thing that would come to my mind. And then I would think about what he or she would look like." She took a seat on the bed. "Do you have a picture of your boyfriend?"
I nodded, picked up my phone and switched it on. There were quite a few pictures of Davis and me. All snapshots from the last couple of weeks. I held the display so that my cousin could scroll through them.
"Wow! He really looks hot!" She said while looking at the pictures. "He has a sweet smile."
It was funny how all the girls reacted the same way when they saw him the first time. "It's strange," I confided to my cousin. "We've known each other forever. We practically grew up together. But we have never been friends. Davis had fun to tease me and my friend Sawyer. And his twin brother, Jude, had protected us then. I hated Davis for that and had avoided him as best as I could over the years. He had thought to be irresistible." I rolled my eyes as I thought of Davis's way to treat girls. "And the girls had been so stupid to fall for his ploy. I think it had irked him that he couldn't fool me."
"And even though you despised him, you fell in love with him at some point," she stated, grinning.
I nodded hesitantly. "Yes, but that was a slow process and happened over the years. I didn't even realize that. Suddenly I was jealous of the girls he was dating with and couldn't understand why I felt that way."
"How long did it take you to realize that you loved him?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not sure. I was with his brother at the time and somehow it was weird to see him when I visited his parents' house. He never revealed that he also had feelings for me. On the contrary. He always treated me in such a condescending manner."
"Maybe he wanted to break through your reserve?"
"Maybe." I smiled. "But he did it the wrong way. He made me even more angry and gave me even more confirmation that he was just a jerk and couldn't be faithful."
"Your baby will definitely be good-looking," Breanna changed the subject and got up from the bed. "Shall we go downstairs and eat something now? Mom probably is wondering what's taking me so long, and I have afternoon classes today and need to go back to school."
I pushed back the blanket and slipped out of bed. "I'll just get dressed. Then I will join you in the dining room." She was already at the door when I called her back. "Bree?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks!" I said, smiling at her. "It was really good to talk to you. Somehow I'm feeling much better now."
"You're welcome." She returned the smile. "I also enjoyed talking to you. We haven't had the opportunity so often. And I think it's great that you live here with us now."
When she left, I dressed quickly and then went down the stairs to the dining room.
At the police station
On the long way to the police station, where Davis had been held overnight, I wondered what I could tell him when I saw him again. For sure he wouldn't get away with it this time. He had already caused a lot of trouble in his life, but this time he had clearly overstepped the mark. And that's why he would have to listen to my lecture, whether he wanted it or not. I had been informed that night that he had been found, and I hadn't only felt relief but anger too. But when I entered the police station and they took me to Davis, I stared in shock at the bars where my son was lying behind, sleeping on a cot without even noticing my appearance.
"You locked him in a cell overnight?!" I blurted and stared at the officer in disbelief. But he just shrugged, which made me even more angry. "The boy is 17! Do you know that? You can't lock children up in a sobering-up cell!"
"We aren't a hotel, Mr. Baker," the police officer said dryly. "You wanted him to stay with us overnight. And that's the usual way what we do with people we had picked up on the road."
"He didn't do anything!" I said outraged.
The officer cleared his throat. "You filed a criminal complaint claiming that he stole your car. He is guilty of a crime and deserves a punishment."
I could only stare at the officer and had to admit that he was right. I quickly glanced at Davis, who was still asleep and didn't notice what was happening around him. What have I done? It was my fault that he was here and that he was treated like a criminal! "Can I take him home?" I asked in a low voice.
The police officer nodded. "Are you withdrawing the charge?"
I nodded hesitantly. It was already enough punishment for him to spend the night in a prison cell. "Yes, I'm withdrawing the charge," I said quietly, then watched as the officer pulled out a key, unlocked the cell door, and then nudged Davis.
"Hey boy! Wake up! Your father is here."
When he finally opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, my stomach clenched. His face was pale and I could see dark circles under his eyes. He also looked like he badly needed a shower and fresh clothes. He looked like a tramp. When he recognized me, his eyes darkened immediately and I instinctively sensed that this wasn't going to be an easy drive home. When he rose slowly and then, accompanied by the officer, left the cell, I reached out my hand to touch him, but he recoiled, as if he had burned himself. He glared at me full of hatred and I flinched. Would he ever be able to trust me again, I wondered. At the moment it didn't look like it at all.
"You're a lucky boy," said the officer. "Your dad is withdrawing the charge against you. You are free to go."
"I want my phone and my bag back."
I looked at him. He could only manage this one sentence while he was still ignoring me.
The officer walked around the counter and took out the things and handed them to him. "I need a signature that you got everything back. Then you can go."
Davis scribbled his signature on a piece of paper, tucked his cell phone into his trouser pocket, and slipped the strap of the travel bag over his shoulder. "And what about my car?" He asked the officer.
"You have to ask your father," the officer replied.
"I've hired a towing service," I hurried to say. "They take care of getting the car back to Tree Hill." I cleared my throat. "You're going home with me now."
We arrived at home after an 8-hour-drive. Davis hadn't said a word to me during the drive, but had his headphones over his ears and had turned the music up so loud that I thought his eardrum would burst. But I knew there was no point talking to him when he was in that mood. Worried, I kept looking at him from the side. He only stared stoically straight ahead. Only by his grinding jaw muscles I could see how tense he was. I had barely parked the car when he torn open the door, grabbed his bag and ran to the front door. Although I followed him right away, I was too late. When I entered the house, all I could hear was his door slam shut. He had locked me out again. Groaning softly, I dropped in the kitchen on a chair and buried my face in my hands.
"Julian? Everything okay?"
I looked up as Brooke gently put her hand on my shoulder. "No." I shook my head wearily. "He'll never forgive me," I said quietly, then told her what had happened at the police station.
"They locked him up in a prison cell?" She gasped in horror. "No wonder he is mad at you."
"He's not 'mad'," I corrected with a sigh. "He hates me." As Brooke put her arms around me, I leaned against her. "I wanted to teach him a lesson, but not like that. You know that I only did this because I was worried. But he'll never understand that."
"Maybe not until he has kids of his own." She smiled. "I've had similar situations with my parents and at that time I couldn't understand why they were so strict with me. Now I do understand them better."
"No matter what he thinks of me now, I'm glad he's back," I confessed softly.
"Haley called me earlier. Apparently my conversation with her came to fruition. She even apologized to me." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. "She wants Lydia to come back to Tree Hill."
I raised my head and looked at her surprised. "Maybe I should tell Davis that Lydia is coming home."
"You should tell him." Brooke smiled and straightened up. "Maybe he'll forgive you then."
I nodded, gave her a kiss and then went up the stairs to Davis's room. Of course, I didn't get an answer when I knocked. But I didn't care, I only hoped that he would listen to what I had to tell him now. "Davis? I know that you don't want to talk to me, but I just want to tell you that Haley Scott called your mom and told her that Lydia is coming back home." I waited a moment to see if any reaction would come from him and then went on quickly. "Did you hear what I said, Davis? And from now on, I promise you, we won't interfere in your relationship." I waited again, and when there was still no reaction, I went down the stairs back to Brooke.
