House of the Bakers

As always we sat together in the dining room in the evening and took our meal. But unlike usual, where there were conversations accompanying the meal, there was a peculiar silence today. I looked back and forth between the children, who either eagerly swallowed their food or poked in it. "Don't you like it?" I turned my question to Davis and Izzy, who had barely touched their meal.

"Mom, it tastes really delicious." Little enthusiastic, Izzy put a piece of meat on the fork and shoved it into her mouth while she was looking over to Davis, who continued to poke around in his food.

"Did anything happen that we should know about?" I asked cautiously and looked at Julian, who only shrugged. But before I got an answer, Jude suddenly pushed his plate away.

"I've had enough. Can I get up?" He asked.

"I have eaten up too. Can I go to my room now?" Justin joined him.

Confused I looked between the two back and forth. Something had happened. I could sense it. "Of course," I said, frowning. "Is there something else you have to do?"

"I still got some homework to do and need to practice for a test," Jude said and jumped up. "Bon appetit!"

As he ran out of the dining room, I exchanged a puzzled glance with Julian, who looked just as perplexed.

"The meal was very good, Mom. Thanks."

Justin left and I dropped the fork and gave my two other children a sharp look. "Well, what's the matter?" I saw Izzy glancing at Davis, who had turned his attention to the dinner plate and continued to shift his food from side to side. "Davis?"

"Oh man, it's unbearable!" Izzy suddenly exclaimed and punched Davis in the side. "Either you tell Mom and Dad, or I will!" She threatened.

The tension grew as we all looked at Davis, who, however, persistently remained silent.

"Lydia is pregnant!" Izzy dropped the bombshell.

I didn't have time to grasp the information as Julian began to cough and reached for his glass of water and took a sip.

"Lydia is... what?!" he gasped, still coughing.

"She is pregnant. And before you ask further on..." She pointed to Davis. "He's the father."

"Traitor!" Davis hissed, glaring at her. "You had no right to tell them!"

"You were chicken to tell them!" She countered.

"Still, it's not your business!" He mocked. "I would have told them at some point."

"When it's too late and you can see that she's pregnant, or when?" Izzy retorted snippy.

"Silly cow!"

"Cowardly asshole!"

I stepped in before they could go at each other's throat. "Stop it right now!" I shouted loudly. "We can talk about it in a civilized manner, can't we, Julian?" I expected some support from him, but he still hadn't recovered from his shock. "Is that true, what Izzy says?" I questioned my son. When he nodded hesitantly and then lowered his head again, I let out a groan. The boy really had a knack for getting into difficult situations. Only this time it wasn't just a trivial issue. This time, his whole life would change. I searched for words, but Julian chimed in.

"And I always thought you young people were so responsible and knew so much about sex and contraception," he remarked dryly.

"It's not his fault," Izzy interrupted her father when Davis didn't respond. "The condom was broken."

I looked at her in surprise. When push comes to shove, she always stuck by her brother.

"The expiration date of the condom was expired," Davis confessed. "And that's probably why it was leaking." He raised his head. "I never would have slept with her without protection. You have to believe me!"

"I assume Jude and Justin already know about it?" Julian asked Davis.

Izzy answered again. "Everyone knows by now. Lydia's parents as well as Jamie and Sawyer."

"Apparently, half of Tree Hill already knows that my son got his girlfriend pregnant," I mumbled, then got up from the chair. "Now that we all seem to have finished with the meal, I want to go to my room and think about what I had just learned. Julian, are you coming with me?" As he nodded and got up, I motioned for him to follow me. We had to talk in private.

"Mom... Dad...!"

I turned to Davis, who gazed at Julian and me with a pained look.

"I-I'm sorry!" He stammered.

I just nodded because my throat was tight and I was close to tears. I felt Julian taking my arm and leading me outside. Only when we were alone, I finally burst into tears. "Why did this have to happen again?" I sobbed as I pressed my face against Julian's chest. "There really seems to be a curse on the name 'Davis'."

"A baby is not a curse," he said in a low voice. "And if you hadn't lost the baby at the time, we would have had another son or daughter. We also would have been teenage parents."

I took a step back and wiped my face. "Yes, you're right," I agreed. "And we also would have hoped that our parents would have supported us."

"Everything would have been different," he said softly. "We would have stayed together."

"I still wished that they wouldn't have to take on responsibility for a baby so early," I sighed. "Davis isn't 18 yet, and Lydia just turned 17." I reached for the phone.

"What are you doing?" Julian asked, frowning.

"I'm calling Haley. I have to talk to someone."

"Hey, what about me? You can talk to me."

I put my arms around his neck and kissed him. "You're my husband. But I need my best friend now," I confessed, hoping he would understand.

He grinned slightly. "It's a woman thing, isn't it? All right, call her and talk to her."

"Thanks!" I kissed him again and then picked up the phone and started dialing Haley's number.

River Court

The next day

I was a bundle of nerves when finally the school bell rang and the lesson was over. Only Lydia knew about Justin and me, and she also had confessed to me that Davis had texted her, that his parents knew about the pregnancy as well and that a clarifying talk would take place soon. I had offered her my support and she had asked me if I wanted to become the godmother of her child. A strange thought to become a godmother at that age. I started the engine of my car and drove to the 'River Court' where Justin and I had wanted to meet. I stayed in the car and watched the place where some boys played basketball and let my mind wander. What would he tell me? I was afraid that he would tell me what he had already hinted at, that we had no future together. He soon would leave Tree Hill. And what would become of me then? I leaned back and closed my eyes. But only for a brief moment, because suddenly the passenger door was torn open and Justin jumped on the seat.

"Go!" He urged and ducked.

Puzzled, I looked at him. "Where to?"

"Doesn't matter. We just have to get out of here."

I accelerated and the car lurched forward before finally taking off. I glanced at him. He had sat back upright again after we had left the place. "Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" I asked with a frown.

"I'm just thinking of your reputation," he said curtly, taking a deep breath. "In two weeks I will be gone, and I really want to spare you the talk. It's not good to be seen together."

I was about to tell him that I didn't care what the others said, but I held back. I knew he was only doing this to protect me. And I should be grateful to him for that. "Two weeks," I repeated, sighing softly. "Then we should use the time." He said nothing as we drove away from the city. We had already left Tree Hill when he put his hand on my arm.

"Pull over and stop the car right here," he begged.

I steered the car to the edge of the road and turned off the engine. "And what now?" I asked, looking at him helplessly. When he suddenly turned to me, shoved his hand into my neck and pulled me in for a kiss, I didn't resist. I wanted it just like him. Blindly, I felt for the buckle and loosened the seat belt, so I could put my arms around his neck too.

"Tell me when to stop," he gasped.

But I didn't want him to stop. It just felt too good. "No," I breathed and pressed my lips back to his mouth. "Never..." I heard him moaning softly and felt his hand slide under my shirt and then slowly move up. Heat flowed through me as his hand closed around one of my breasts and he began to fondle it. Never had a boy touched me this way. And no boy had kissed me like that. I was inexperienced, and yet my body apparently knew exactly how to react. Carefully, I pushed his shirt up and ran my hands over his bare, muscular chest. Reflexively, he sucked in his breath and then moved away from me.

"My God, Sawyer," he gasped. "What are we doing here?" With a trembling hand he ran through his hair. "My brother had just learned that he will become a father, and we are sitting in the car just about to make the same stupid mistake!"

Startled, I looked at him and realized only now what we had just done. Embarrassed, I adjusted my bra and pulled my shirt down. "I'm sorry," I mumbled quietly, though I knew it was a lie. If he hadn't stopped I'm sure I would have slept with him.

"We should go back," he said softly, pushing his shirt down. "It was a mistake to drive out here with you at all."

"We wanted to talk to each other," I reminded him.

"Yeah, that's what I had planned originally," he confessed. "But I can't think clearly when you're near me."

My heart leaped with joy. I knew now that he loved me as much as I loved him. "I know you're going to L.A. in a few weeks, and we won't see each other for a while," I said softly. "But you should know that I will wait for you. And if you don't come back to Tree Hill, I'll go to L.A. someday." I smiled. "I altered the last sentence in my poem." I took a deep breath and then began to quote. "And if you go now, my heart will go with you, and if you stay, I will follow you." I hadn't expected that he would pull me in his arms again, but when he kissed me, I returned the kiss and then looked at him tenderly. "I love you, Justin! And that's never going to change." I saw the emotions in his face and I knew that my words hadn't left him without effect.

"I love you too," he confessed softly. "But I don't want you to wait for me. That can take years. And I don't know what the future holds for me. And you don't know either what will happen to you in the meantime. We can't swear eternal love to each other because we don't even know where fate will lead us."

"Don't expect me to forget you," I said, noting how tears suddenly came into my eyes. "I tried it long enough. It didn't work."

"Why are you making it so hard for me?" He sighed. "We can't even have a date in public, because everyone would gossip about us. And you believe that we can have a shared future?"

I nodded tentatively. I couldn't explain it, but I knew Justin was my future. And I was willing to wait for him. I put on my seat belt and started the engine. "Let's go back now." He didn't contradict me, and so I started the engine, turned and drove back to Tree Hill.