House of the Bakers

One week later

The last days until my departure had literally gone by really quickly. I couldn't believe that I would actually fly to L.A. to start a new life there. I had already said goodbye to Jamie the day before, as well as to the team. Now my family was the next. I had told everyone that I wanted to say goodbye at home. Nobody should come to the airport. Presumably, they thought, that it would be easier for me to say farewell to them. But there was another reason. But I kept that a secret.

"I'll miss you terribly!" Izzy sobbed.

I hugged her and noticed that I had to fight back tears myself. "I'm not out of the world. We still can text and skype. And of course I'll come back for visits, too," I said, stroking her back. "And surely you can come to L.A. to visit me there."

"We'll all come to a visit once you've become a big movie star," Jude said with a grin. "Then we will certainly get free tickets for the theater."

I laughed. "It will take some time for me to become a movie star. First, I have to go to drama school. And then we'll see."

"Hey Justin! You should use your connections," Davis said smirking. "After all, you have two fathers who work in the film industry."

"And of course they will accompany you along this path."

I looked at my dad and smiled. Like Tom, my biological father, he had promised to help and support me. And I knew that I could always count on him. I pointed upstairs. "Be glad that I'm moving out now. Then you have a room where you can set up the nursery," I said to Davis.

"I still can't believe that Lydia's mom really allowed her to move into the Baker house," Izzy said.

"Due to Mom and you," I said with a smile. "You were very persuasive."

"We won't give the room to the baby. We want you to come home one day and stay forever."

Big tears ran down my mom's cheeks when I took her into my arms and held her tight. "Stop crying, or I'll start!" I said hoarsely. None of them knew how hard it was for me to say goodbye. I'd probably miss them all the more than they'd miss me. And if I knew another way, how my life should continue, I would stay. But there was nothing here for me. I had to go out into the wide world. And considering I wanted to pursue an acting career, L.A. was the essential step stone. "I'll be back for a visit soon," I promised. "At the latest to the birth of the baby."

"Well, then in the new year," Davis said. "That's six months from now. Do you really want to stay in L.A. for that long?"

I nodded hesitantly. How could I make them understand that this was a forever relocation. L.A. was to become my new home. But I didn't want to give them more grief about it. They would notice soon enough that I wouldn't come back.

"We have to go, Justin."

I approached Jude and Davis and hugged them one last time before taking my suitcase and backpack and followed my dad out. When we got to the car, I turned back to the house, where they all were standing, waving goodbye to me.

"Good flight and text us when you've arrived!"

I blinked the tears away and got into the car. I was glad that my dad didn't say anything on the way to the airport. He would be the only one I would see because he was working in L.A. several times a month. He and Tom were good friends. And so it was normal for him to go in and out in his apartment.

"You really don't want me to come to the gate?"

I shook my head. "Just drop me out here," I said. He got out, got my luggage out of the trunk, and turned to me.

"Then I wish you a good flight too," he said. "Like your mom said, get in touch when you've arrived. See you in two weeks. I'll be having a casting there then." He chuckled. "Maybe you want to come over and take a look around there?"

"Sure, see you at the casting studio." I nodded and looked nervously at the clock. We were still on schedule. A lot of time to say goodbye to Sawyer, who hopefully was already waiting for me at the gate. When my dad got in and drove off, I watched him with mixed feelings before I went to the entrance. I checked in, did the usual procedure, then went to the gate with my boarding card. And then I saw her; she wore a fluffy dress that reached just above her thighs. Her blonde curls were falling like silk over her shoulders. My heart started to beat faster. How should I spend one day without her? And now we would be separated for a long time. Apparently she sensed that she was being watched, because she turned to me, and I could see tears in her eyes. I couldn't hold on to myself anymore. Still running, I dropped my backpack and then put her in my arms.

"Sawyer..." I whispered before I put my mouth over hers. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body tightly against mine, and I could feel the heat of her body through the fabric of her thin dress. For a moment we had forgotten everything around us as we kissed and caressed each other. "You really came," I mumbled into her ear.

"I'd like to come with you," she said softly. "For a moment, I really thought about it."

"Sweet Sawyer." I gently stroked her cheek, then touched her lips slightly. "You don't know how much I would want that. But it doesn't work. You know that as well as me."

"I don't want you to leave! I love you!"

Startled, I noticed tears running down her cheeks and I gently lifted her chin. "Don't make it so hard for us to say goodbye," I whispered, wiping away the tears. "We stay in touch. We can text and skype."

"But that's not the same!" She exclaimed desperately. "Or does it replace this...?"

As she pressed her lips to my mouth and slid her hands through my hair, I could barely stifle a moan. She was right. No texting or skyping could replace that. But I couldn't think about that now, otherwise I wouldn't have the strength to get on this plane. I took a step back. "I have to go now," I said hoarsely, reaching for my backpack.

"Justin..."

Her eyes begged me to stay, while tears were streaming down her cheeks. I couldn't bear this any longer! Without turning back to her, I walked determinedly to the gangway and then entered the plane.

House of the Scotts

It was a strange feeling to pack my stuff together knowing that I wouldn't return. I had spent 17 years in this room, had experienced nice and sad things, now leaving everything behind was really hard. But a new period of life was lying ahead of me, which I was looking forward to. I was so grateful to Brooke, Davis's mom, and Izzy, that they had talked to my mother again and had convinced her that it was better for me to move to Davis. So we could share the responsibility for the baby right from the beginning. Although the baby wouldn't come before the turn of the year, I wanted to use the summer holidays to set up the nursery. In the beginning I hadn't felt anything, but now I could feel and see the physical and mental changes of my body. I was tired all day long and I suffered from morning sickness. When it knocked on the door, I interrupted my packing. I thought it was my mom who wanted to know if I had finished packing, but it was Sawyer. And I could tell by her red eyes that she had cried. "Hey, what happened?" I asked worriedly and pulled her to the bed.

"He's gone," she said, barely holding back her tears.

"Who's gone?" I asked with a frown.

"Justin." She wiped her eyes. "We said goodbye at the airport an hour ago."

"That was today?" I asked surprised. Because of my packing and preparations to move to the Bakers home, I had completely forgotten that Justin would leave Tree Hill. "I'm so sorry, Sawyer!" I said and hugged her.

"It's not like you didn't warn me all the time that there's no future for us," she exclaimed desperately. "But it hurts so much!"

When she started to sob again, I just held her in my arms and stroked her back until she had calmed down a bit. I didn't know what to say. We both knew that he would leave Tree Hill at the end of the month. Still we had both blocked out this fact. "Did he say when he will come back?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not so soon, I guess. We want to skype and write us text messages. "

"Then ask him next time, how long he wants to stay," I suggested.

"Yes, I'll do that." She sat up and wiped the tears from her face. "Hey, you're packing?" She stated after looking around.

I nodded, smiling. "It's time. Davis picks me up later and then I'll officially move into the Bakers home."

"I'm happy for you, Lyddy. You got everything you ever wanted. I envy you!"

"Well..." I caressed my still flat stomach. "I would have liked to wait a few years longer before having a baby. But it's too late now."

"I mean you and Davis," she corrected. "You got the boy you wanted."

"You'll get that too. Don't pretend your life is over," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I've already found him," she said, leaning back with a sigh. "And I told him that I would move to L.A. when I'm of legal age."

Startled, I looked at her. That was in a year, because Sawyer would turn 17 in three months. "You can't do that!" I exclaimed shocked. "I've always had the idea that our kids would grow up together, here in Tree Hill. It won't happen if you leave."

"Lydia, are you crying?" She asked concerned.

I was surprised about how this thought, that Sawyer would leave Tree Hill, affected me and I quickly wiped my eyes. "I'm crying all the time," I admitted embarrassed. "This has something to do with the hormones."

"I'm not leaving yet," Sawyer said reassuringly. "Only in a year. We will have plenty of time until then."

"Maybe his feelings about you have changed until then," I blurted. But immediately afterwards I regretted my impulse when I saw Sawyer's face. "Don't listen to me," I said quickly. "I'm just talking nonsense right now."

"Yes, you are right." She nodded sadly. "I've already thought about that. I'm pretty sure my feelings won't change, but what about him?"

I looked at her sympathetically and didn't know what to answer. "You never know," I admitted. "I always thought I could control my future. But look at me now..." I pointed to my belly. "Now I'm pregnant and I certainly didn't plan that. Nor could I have imagined that I would get together with Davis. My life is very different now than I had planned. Just leave it to fate."

"Fate...," Sawyer mumbled. "Yeah, maybe you are right." She got up. "I have to go now. We'll meet later at the cheerleading training."

I hugged her again and then watched her with mixed feelings as she left my room. The cheerleading training! I almost had forgotten that today was the day I had to tell everyone that I would quit. And not only that. I would have to tell them the reason for that. Somehow, everything was suddenly too much for me and I curled up on the bed, letting the tears run. I was still crying when the door opened and Davis came in.

"Lydia? What happened? Why are you crying?"

As he sat down beside me and put me in his arms, I wrapped my arms around him. "Nothing, it's nothing," I sobbed on his shoulder.

"Did you change your mind? Would you like to stay here?"

I moved away and looked at him startled. "What? No! Why do you think that?"

"Well, you're lying on the bed crying and it looks like you're not done packing yet." He shrugged. "I thought you might have changed your mind."

I shook my head and wiped my eyes. "No, I didn't change my mind. It's Sawyer."

"Sawyer?" He echoed, confused. "What about her?"

"Well, Justin left today, and she's..." I broke off in the middle of the sentence as I suddenly remembered that Davis didn't know what was going on between Sawyer and Justin. But it was too late. I had already said too much.

"This is the second time you're making such strange allusions about Justin and Sawyer," he said slowly. "What's going on between the two, Lydia?"

I hastily lowered my head. "I can't tell you," I muttered. "I promised Sawyer." I didn't have to say much more, because the way Davis looked at me now made it quite clear that he knew the truth.

"Oh man, does that mean that they have a secret love affair?" He asked in disbelief.

I closed my eyes and nodded slightly. "She was just here to talk with me," I confessed. "She's miserable that he went to L.A."

"I can't believe it." He smirked. "Justin and Sawyer! And all the time they kept it a secret. Do her parents know?"

I shook my head. "Please don't tell them!" I begged him insistently. "This has to remain our secret."

He frowned. "I won't say a word. However, I wonder how they want to continue with this when he's in L.A. and she's here in Tree Hill."

"That's not our business. We have other things to do." I pointed to the pile of clothing still lying around. "Don't you want to help me pack up? Then it goes quicker." In fact, we managed the packing in much less time than planned and when my mom came to my room to see if I had finished, we had just closed the last suitcase.

"Wait, I'll help you carry the suitcases upstairs and bring them to the car."

I looked at my mom in surprise. She seemed changed. I even had the feeling that she had finally accepted that I was moving out. When I wanted to pick up a cardboard box, Davis stopped me.

"You can watch," he said indignantly.

"But I want to help you," I said, reaching for the box again.

"Hey, put it down! You're pregnant!"

I looked at my mom and noticed her slight smile.

"Thanks, Mrs. Scott, for helping us," Davis said politely, as all my stuff was stowed in the trunk.

"Don't you think it's time to drop the formalities, now that you're part of the family?" She cleared her throat. "Call me Haley."

I could only stare at my mom. Had she really just welcomed Davis into the family? We said our goodbyes and were already on the way to my new home when I turned to him. "Pinch me," I asked him.

"What…? Why?"

"Because I think I'm just dreaming," I answered. "My mom has always spoken poorly about you and now you're suddenly a member of the family?" I shook my head. "I don't get it."

"Maybe it's 'cause you're a member of the Baker family now too," Davis said with a chuckle. I looked at him confused and tried to see the connection behind it. But I didn't have much time to ponder when we arrived in front of the Bakers house. Davis parked and then walked around the car to open the door for me.

"Welcome to your new home, Lydia Scott!"