Keith sat at the chair, his hands covering his face as his body shuddered from both the coldness of the garage air and from fear. He was unsure what had happened in the last hour except that when he returned to reality, he saw Haley slowly slipping into her bra and pulling on her faded pink T-shirt. Her bottom half was still uncovered, save for the black thong that rode just slightly below her hips.
"There's nothing to worry about," she had said quietly as she picked up her jeans from the concrete floor and slipped them on, her hair draped over her face, "We both needed this..." despite her words, Haley sounded unsure, her features confirming her insecurity. She turned to look at the older man sitting in the chair, his shirt nowhere to be found, his denim jeans unbuttoned and slightly unzipped.
Keith allowed his hands to slide down over his mouth as his eyes focused on the boots
that he always wore: brown, ragged boots that showed their age as well as their resilience.
"It shouldn't have happened..." Keith whispered quietly, his words slightly mumbled underneath his hands, "You're still just a kid. I'm sorry..."
"Hey," Haley said as she walked toward the man and crouched in front of him, "If I didn't want it to happen, I would have said so. And I'm more mature than you think so don't worry about it, okay? I won't say anything if you don't." Haley gently pried Keith's rough hands from his face and placed them against her cheek. "To think...someone as rough as you could be so gentle..." Haley looked into Keith's reddened eyes, her own welling with emotion.
"...Thank you," Keith said and made an honorable attempt to smile at the young woman.
Haley smiled back and stood up, grabbing her backpack from the floor where she let it fall and began to walk toward the door. Stopping at the door, she turned back toward Keith. "You take care, okay?" she said with genuine concern, "Karen needs you now."
Keith looked up at Haley and watched as the young woman made her way out of the garage, closing the door slowly behind her.
Keith sighed and stood up, walking toward where Haley had thrown his shirt after she stripped it off of him. Picking it up, he unraveled it and slipped it on over his naked torso and zipped and fastened his jeans.
He could still feel her on top of him, her soft, lithe hands across his chest, her head and long hair on his shoulder, her cool, sweet breath causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
A hand through his hair stirred Keith into reality once again and he walked toward the table and picked up his keys from the surface. The contents of the table were noticeably disheveled, reminding him constantly of what had occurred.
Keith looked at the table a moment longer and then walked toward the light switch and turned off the lights and, for a time, quietly stood there, allowing what had happened to sink further into his mind.
* * *
She sat in silence on the comfortable sofa as the television quietly garbled on about events she never really cared about and now had no grasp of, all things considered. She sat there staring blankly at the soft glow of the device in the surrounding darkness of her living room, a blanket covering her body as she drew closer into the fabric cocoon she had developed for herself.
And then a ring.
Karen looked up slowly from the television, hearing the doorbell the first time, but never getting up. She allowed it to ring for at least three more times before she willed herself away from the sofa and began making her way toward the door, the blanket falling away from her body and onto the carpet floor.
As she stood in front of the door, she made a feeble attempt at readying herself for the visitor, sliding stray locks of hair away from her face. Sighing, she looked out of the window of the door...and saw him. Her face became hot as her eyes burned and she unlocked the door and grabbed the knob.
The door swung open with powerful force to reveal Dan standing behind it.
"What the HELL do you want!?" Karen yelled furiously.
"I just need to talk to you," Dan said quietly, "May I come in?"
"You most certainly may not, Dan!" Karen exclaimed, "So I suggest you turn around, get back into your car, and drive away unless you want to be taken away by the cops."
"Karen, please..." Dan said as he looked into her eyes, his face revealed in the porch light. There was a clear expression of pain and anguish across the man's face accented by tears that still managed to find their way across his cheeks. "I-I need to talk to you about Lucas."
Karen looked at Dan long and hard and finally left the doorway, signaling for Dan to enter.
Dan slowly made his way into the woman's home, shutting the door behind him.
"So...I trust Deborah told you about what I wanted from you, right?" Karen asked.
Dan nodded slowly, his hands shoved deeply into his coat pockets.
Karen nodded as well, her arms crossed over chest. "Good. So then why are you here? What? Do my words still not mean anything to you, even now?"
"Karen, that's just it. I want to be a part of this. I...I want to be there for you," Dan said, "You can't just..."
"Don't. You. DARE tell me what I can and cannot do, Dan!" Karen yelled, "He was my son, for God's sake! You had no part in that boy's life! I'm the one that has lost somebody!"
"He was my son, too, Karen," Dan said quietly, "As much as he was yours."
"Oh, well," Karen said as she threw her hands up in the air, "If you call being a fucking sperm donor a parent then have at it! Go ahead! Tell me what you want to do! Tell me what you want to do! But so help me God, you're gonna watch while I shoot down every last thing you say!"
"Karen..." Dan started.
"You have no idea what it's like to grieve for a child, Dan!" Karen yelled, cutting him off, "Because if you did, you wouldn't be standing here right now! You would be like me, cut off from the world instead of acting like you're entitled to more rights. And what right do you have, Dan? Huh?"
Dan only looked at Karen.
"What right do you have to come here and tell me what to do? To tell me what to do with my son? How dare you even think you have ANY authority over my decisions!"
"All I want is to be there for his service..." Dan pleaded, "That's all, Karen. I-I just want to be there to..."
"To what, huh?" Karen asked with a subdued anger, "To gloat about how you were right? About how he would never become anything? About how...how he was never worth anything to you?"
"Karen, I would never..."
"Oh, don't fool yourself, Dan! You know that's what you're thinking! You know that's what you were hoping for!"
"I NEVER wished death upon Lucas!!" Dan screamed, "EVER!"
"LIAR!!" Karen screamed backed, "You shit-faced LIAR!! You wanted him dead even before he was even BORN!!"
Dan was shocked, his face frozen in utter confusion.
"You wanted an abortion the day you found out I was pregnant," Karen said, "Remember that? Or were you just so preoccupied with your 'grief' that you just forgot?"
"Karen. I know what I wanted in the past but it doesn't matter anymore," Dan pleaded more calmly, "Now...all I can think about is Lucas. He's gone and...and I just don't know what to do."
Karen looked at Dan, shaking her head. "You know what's sad?" she asked, "What's sad is that I actually believe the words that just came out of your mouth. I really believe that you did care about Lucas. But it's too late now, isn't it? Because he's dead and in the eighteen years that you had a chance to know him you never did. Sure, you knew ABOUT him, but you never truly KNEW him. And that's a tragedy, Dan!"
"I know," Dan whispered, "I know and I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't enough," Karen replied flatly, "Because sorry isn't going to change anything. Sorry isn't going to bring Lucas back. And sorry sure as hell isn't going to make me forgive you."
"Karen, please..." Dan begged, "Please, don't do this! Please don't keep me from him!"
"You've had your time, Dan," Karen said simply, "Now you need to leave. Get out." And with those words, Karen walked toward the door and held it open.
"No, Karen..." Dan pleaded, "Please, just change your mind! Don't do this to me!"
"Dan, you heard what I said," Karen said with growing irritation, "Leave now!"
"No!" Dan cried and grabbed Karen's arm, "I'm not leaving until you do what's right! I won't let you keep me away from my son! OUR son! I won't!"
"Let me go, Dan!" Karen screamed, "Have you lost your mind!?"
"Just change your mind!" Dan sobbed, tears streaming down his face, "You're not like this! Y-you're better than this!"
"Dan...OW! You're hurting me! Let me go!" Karen cried.
Dan looked at Karen and looked at what he was doing. His grip softened and just as he was about to release Karen's arm, he felt a hand turn him and his right shoulder around. A hard fist met sharply with Dan's jaw and in one instant, Dan came from standing in front of Karen to making rough impact with the porch, his head slamming into a wooden post.
Karen gasped, her hands going in front of her face as she witnessed Dan's collapse and then looked up at his attacker, Keith, who stood in front of her, shaking the slight pain from his fist. He was still looking at his brother whom he had just struck to the ground.
"Oh my God," Karen whispered as she walked toward Keith to embrace him, "Thank you so much."
Dan's eyes opened once again as he groaned, feeling the stinging pain of splinters in his scalp. He could feel the warmth of blood trickling down his forehead.
"I suggest you get up and drive away now, little bro," Keith said, "I don't want to hurt you again but I will."
Dan looked at the floor of the porch and then made a slight chuckle as he slowly picked himself up from the floor. Staggering to his feet, he held his hand to his head as an attempt to stop the blood flow. He looked at Karen and Keith standing beside one another, staring at him. "So now your playing guard dog, huh, Keith?" Dan spat viciously, "I guess you'll do anything to get into bed with this slut."
Keith charged to attack Dan again, only to be held back by Karen. "I want you gone, Dan!" Karen cried, "And don't you ever come back here!"
Dan looked at the pair once more before he walked past them and toward his car. "You know this is wrong, Karen! You can believe that!" he called as he neared his car, "I just hope you can live with yourself!"
Karen did not respond and watched as the car started up and drove away from the house.
"Are you okay?" Keith asked quietly, looking down at Karen.
Karen could not tear her eyes away from Dan's distancing car, even as her vision became blurry. She sobbed, placing her hands in front of her face. "What was he thinking?" she whimpered.
Keith's response was to embrace her in a tight hug and closing his eyes as well as they were bathed in the yellow light of the porch.
* * *
"All of the lies and the deceit...all of this hurt that we've brought on ourselves and others...it has to stop!"
"I agree. This isn't the time to be angry at each other. All we should be doing is grieving for him."
The two young women look at the headstone that reads "LUCAS SCOTT 1986-2004, MAY HE REST IN PEACE." The two young women cry and embrace one another.
"I'm so sorry for everything!"
"I'm sorry too!"
Peyton sighed as she wrote the final letter, dotted the final piece of punctuation, and shaded in a final shadow that was cast upon the two women that she had drawn on the piece of paper. Placing the pencil down gently, she sighed and looked at her work.
The young woman had since calmed down. Her eyes were cried out and all she could do was go home and wander around the house, searching for something to do. And she did. The bathroom needed tackling so she went to it, scrubbing the tub, the toilet, and the sink to near perfection and then mopping the white tile floor until it looked and smelled fresh. Moving to the kitchen, she worked tirelessly washing dishes, scrubbing the floor, and cleaning any remotely dirty surface that her eyes rested upon.
Deciding to get dinner ready, she dug through the fridge until she produced various things: a chicken, part of a roast, and leftover ground beef. She decided upon the chicken and, in seemingly no time, had prepared lemon pepper chicken with a side of broccoli.
When her father came home, she acted as if nothing was bothering her and, in some perverse way, there wasn't. Even as her father embraced her, telling her it would be okay, Peyton was all smiles, saying she could handle it, that it was no big deal.
Her father knew better and, after a slight argument, told his daughter to go get some rest.
And she did so, until she awoke at midnight, finding herself still in her school clothes.
So she decided to draw until, a few hours later, she had produced another dramatic comic that rested snugly in her lap.
She didn't know why she had made the drawing, yet it spoke volumes to her about the conflict going on inside of her.
"Hello?" a small voice asks on the other line.
"...Hey, it's me."
An uncomfortable silence responds on the other end.
"Brooke, I-I know what happened has affected us all but...that doesn't give me any right to blow up at you like that."
Silence.
"I've made just as many mistakes as you have, maybe even more. I don't want you to ever feel that you're some phenomenal screw-up because I'm probably the first in line to take that title."
A small chuckle sounds on the other end.
"You're grieving, too. We both loved Lucas and now he's...he's gone. I shouldn't make you feel any worse than you already do, so..."
"I'm sorry," the two girls say in unison.
Silence dominates both ends of the phone.
"You have no reason..." Peyton started.
"Yes, I do," Brooke replies, "I have every reason to be sorry. My lies and my anger...they just made me more of a bitch than usual. My God...when I lied about how I was pregnant...I wanted the both of you to hurt. But when I think of how...how much time was wasted doing something like that it just..." Brooke sighs and sniffles, "...God, Peyton. When will we just wake up from this nightmare?"
Peyton was quiet, her golden locks falling over her face. "It's not a dream...or a nightmare." She looked down at the drawing, at the headstone that she had drawn for Lucas. "This is real, Brooke. And all we have now are the people that are still here...and each other."
Brooke made a laughing sob. "Yeah, I guess we do," Brooke said, "Because isn't that what Lucas always wanted? Always trying to make things better between us, even if it seemed hopeless."
"Yeah," Peyton said with a smile, a tear rolling down her cheek, "And he did it, too, didn't he? We're stronger than ever because of Lucas."
"Yeah," Brooke managed to say and made another pained laughed, "Thank you, Peyton. I'll see you tomorrow at school?"
"I don't know..." Peyton said, "I don't know if I'm gonna make it."
Brooke was silent for a moment and then replied with, "Well, call me when you make your decision. I'll be there for you no matter what."
Peyton smiled. "I love you, Brooke," she said amidst a sob.
"Love you, too, buddy," Brooke said, "Good-night."
"Night," Peyton said and hung up the receiver and placed her hand over her mouth and sobbed quietly. Taking her hand away from her mouth, she made a smile as she let her hands trace Lucas' name on the comic strip. "Thank you, Lucas," she whispered.
* * *
It was a warm and bright Friday morning as the funeral procession made its way slowly down the main streets of Tree Hill, a black hearse being followed by dozens of other cars in an orderly procession toward the cemetery only another mile away.
As the procession made its way through the streets, many people along the sidewalks stopped what they were doing and stared as the black hearse and closely following car of the same color led the procession of thirty or more vehicles. Many people looked on as the hearse distanced itself from their sight and, like clockwork, they began their day again as if nothing unusual had occurred.
It is because they knew who was in that hearse and it was best not to linger on the idea, unless depression was a desired effect. Nothing could be done for the young man inside that hearse.
The procession continued its way through the streets, even passing the very place where that young man had met his end. It had been closed ever since that night.
It passed the playground where that young man and some of his closest friends had played basketball for hours into the night and then hung out by the riverside, chatting it up about school, girls, and their futures.
Of course, that young man's future, whatever it may have been, would never be realized. Whatever possibilities may have formed were shattered the moment he drew his last breath while lying in the shuddering arms of his uncle. Whatever dreams or wishes were created for him have dissipated the moment those that loved him realized that he would never come back.
* * *
"...and as you say your final goodbyes, know that Lucas is at peace in his new home and with his new family with God. Know that he is at peace with himself and all of you and that he is waiting for all of you to move on with your lives, so that he may rest in peace as well."
Karen sobbed as she buried her veiled face into Keith's chest, finally breaking down just as the minister finished his final words. A tissue to her eyes, she shook with grief as she held fast to the man's jacket.
Keith looked down at Karen and rubbed her shoulder, using every fiber in his being to remain strong for the woman. He returned his gaze to where the white coffin, now six feet underground, once shone brilliantly in the light: a gift from Dan.
"Thank you, and God be with you all," the minister said and slowly, people began to slowly get up and hug one another, chattering quietly.
Keith rubbed Karen's shoulder vigorously and whispered, "Are you ready to go?"
Karen shook her head negatively. "I-I need to stay here. So many people came. I want to thank them." The woman lifted her head from Keith's shoulder and made an attempt at smiling at him. "I'll be fine and...thank you, Keith for your support."
Keith nodded and stood as Karen stood and left toward a group of her friends. They turned and instantly embraced her one by one.
"Keith?" the voice of a young woman said from behind and Keith turned to find Haley standing there.
"Hi, Haley," Keith said and he hugged the young woman gently, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine...and you?" she asked.
Keith nodded. "It'll take some time but...I'm okay."
Haley nodded and turned to look at the rectangular hole in the ground. "He was my best friend in the world, Keith. We would always talk about everything that went on with each other. And even when times were bad, we were still there for each other. But after how I just left things with him..." Haley trailed off, shaking her head.
"Hey, hey," Keith said placing a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever problems you and Lucas may have had before he..." Keith cleared his throat, "...What I'm saying is Lucas cared about you no matter what. Some little disagreement would never change that. Some relationships just can't be broken, no matter how hard you try."
Haley nodded and then closed her eyes. "And what about our relationship, Keith?" she asked, "I need to know what will happen between us."
Keith watched as Haley turned around to face him once again.
"Keith, I'm..." Haley started.
"Haley...are you...?" Keith said quietly.
Haley looked at Keith for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I...it wasn't my time, so to speak," Haley smiled, "I just wanted to know that you'll do your best to keep what happened that night between us. Nathan and I...it's getting rocky and something like this will only make it worse."
Keith nodded, what seemed like a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "You don't have to worry about me," Keith said, "I have a lot riding on it, too. Karen doesn't need more pain in her life right now."
Haley nodded. "I totally agree," Haley said and held Keith's hand in hers.
"Haley..." a voice called out and she turned to find Nathan walking toward the grave, "Are you ready?"
Haley nodded positively and, with one final look at Keith, turned and walked away from him and toward Nathan. As she stood beside the young man, she watched him look at the grave for a good while before finally talking his arm around her and leading her toward the exit of the cemetery.
Keith sighed and put a hand through his hair and turned to make his way toward Karen, briefly greeting and passing Peyton and Brooke as they stood away from a larger crowd.
"Do you think the minister is right, Peyton?" Brooke asked as she wiped away a tear from her face, "Do you think Luke is at peace?"
Peyton looked at her best friend and gave her a smile. "You know, I never really got into religion as long as I have lived and when my mother died I was further pushed from it. All that 'God has a purpose' crap wore me out. But...yeah, wherever he is, I think he's doing all right."
Brooke smiled back and the two young women hugged one another.
As the day drew to a close, the group of people dwindled down to twenty, then to fifteen, then to five, until finally, the only people left were those that tended to the grave, sifting soft, black soil onto the white grave, filling the hole. Before long, the grave was filled and then no one remained as the clouds moved over the cemetery and began to lightly drizzle the graves with their life-giving water.
The soil softened and, as the rains dispersed, hardened into more solid ground.
As the days went by, flowers were placed amongst Lucas Scott's gray marble headstone, another gift from Dan. Flowers of all vibrant and gorgeous colors lined the grave, and all were subject to the eventual effects of nature, wilting before the cold stone that they once so gracefully lay against.
The months went by and the soil began to grow lighter, a sign that it was fast becoming rooted by grass, its integrity strengthening, even as more rain, and even snow, became a common occurrence around the headstone.
Thus, twenty years pass in Tree Hill and what once was a daily reminder of tragedy has now become a distant memory of grief as a new death affects the small town once again...
* * *
"Yeah, Mom, I know," a middle-aged man replied on his cell phone as he drove his black Mustang, "I just wanted to make sure you were all right." He was silent for a while, listening to the words of his mother as she talked. "I still loved him, but love can only solve so much, you know?"
He noticed that he had bypassed the house he was trying to find and stopped, backing up the car. "Yeah, well, I gotta go. I'm here...I love you, too, Mom. Bye." And with that, the man turned off the phone with one hand as he parallel parked with the other hand on the wheel.
Sighing, Nathan Scott placed his head back on the seat of the car and looked up at the ceiling. 'It shouldn't be this hard,' he thought to himself and he turned to once again to look at the beach house that he had parked in front of.
Since his leave for college, Nathan had rarely kept in touch with his father. His excuse? Both parents were involved in the biggest divorce case Tree Hill had ever seen and he wanted no part of it. However, he made it a point to talk to his mother, more so than his father.
Of course, it ran deeper than that. Nathan just couldn't deal anymore and he needed an escape. College and, eventually, family life proved to be the greatest barriers between him and his father and Nathan would have been content to live out the rest of his days just like that...until his father died.
"You know your father," Deborah had said over the phone amidst sobs, "I always thought he drank too much. But when we found out that the gun used to kill Lucas was the same one stolen from him two years earlier he...just went into a downward spiral. He got alcohol poisoning and just..." she trailed off, allowing for the news to sink in her son's head.
"I guess I never really knew what he was going through until it was too late," she had said finally.
"I guess not."
Nathan stepped out of his car and shut the door, slowly walking toward the beach house, still in its gorgeously pristine condition as it shimmered wondrously against the sea. It was the man's job to decide whether to keep it or sell it to the highest bidder. Even as Dan's final gift to his son, it was little consolation to a man that had felt the lack of his father's love for so long.
"The old man still cared about his stuff, that's for sure," Nathan said as he stepped inside the house and found that it was equally as pristine on the inside as well as in the outside. He made his way into many area of the house, tracking upstairs and then back down to the first level, eventually finding his way into the living room where numerous pictures lay across numerous surfaces.
"Oh, Dad..." Nathan sighed as he noticed a picture of himself and his father posing for a picture. Nathan remembered when the picture was made when he was a teenager.
"Are you sure you're all right doing this, Nathan?" Deborah asked, "I don't want this to be hard on you."
"Don't worry, Mom," Nathan said, "It's been so long I've forgotten what he looks like."
Of course, Nathan was only joking but he might as well have been telling the truth. It had been too long since he had seen his father. In fact, the final time he saw him alive was over two years ago when he was still married to his now ex-wife. He got to see his two grandchildren for the first time when they had turned four and five.
"They look just like me!" Dan joked playfully as he smiled at Nathan, his odor consisting of cologne and strong liquor. It was more than obvious that he had been drinking and his eyes, speech, and manner said everything. Nathan and his wife were not amused.
Nathan sighed as he thought back to their final conversation over the phone. His father was drunk, as usual, yet something in his tone made him sound clearer than he had ever been in the last few years.
"Son...before I die, I just want to let you know that I love you so much. I've always loved my sons and that won't ever change. It never really mattered to me what you did. I just wanted you to live and give you the best there was. All I ever wanted was a chance to be there for my boys. But..." and with a laugh Dan yelled, "...But I SCREWED UP!! I couldn't even protect one son and then I lose the other because he doesn't want anything to do with me!"
"Dad..." Nathan had said with much frustration.
"No, let me finish. I promise that from now on...I'm gonna do what's right for my boys. I'm gonna...I'm gonna be there for them both. Encourage 'em. Love 'em. Make 'em happy. No more of this ruler shit! Because I love 'em! I love 'em with all my heart and soul, Nathan! I love you, Nate!"
Nathan had simply told his father to go to bed and hung up on him without another word.
"Wherever the hell you are, old man," Nathan said as he looked up at the ceiling, "I can only hope that you're finally at peace."
The silence responded accordingly and left Nathan to his thoughts.
* * *
"So, is that it? After everything we've been through you're just gonna drop it all because of one stupid mistake? Nathan..."
"Look, I...I didn't want to do this. Trust me, if there was any way around this, I would have taken it. But...you're asking me to just forget that you cheated on me, Haley! Never mind that it was with my uncle! The simple fact that you cheated on me, it just..."
"Don't forget that you've made mistakes, too, Nathan! Don't you ever forget that!"
"Yeah, mistakes that I owned up to! Mistakes that I confessed to you! But you...you wanted to start a relationship with me, based on a lie! Does Keith even know that you were wrong about being pregnant and gave birth to his son, not to mention trying to pass him off as mine?"
"That's my business! And you're one to talk! You're always saying one thing and doing the exact opposite. You're such a hypocrite!"
"Yeah, maybe so. But with all of your talk about truth and honesty, I really doubt that you're so pure yourself."
* * *
Nathan crouched over his father's grave, a bouquet of roses wrapped in green and white paper in his hands. He had just finished placing a yellow flower reef next to the headstone.
"Hey, stranger," a voice said behind Nathan and he turned to find Brooke Davis Scott standing behind him carrying a bouquet of purple flowers, "How's it going?"
Nathan smiled and stood to give his old friend a hug. "I'm all right. I should be asking you that question."
"I'll live," Brooke said as she walked toward the headstone and placed the flowers on the ground. She stared at the headstone for a long time before she stood and faced Nathan once again. "That old coot never did treat me right when we were married. So why do I still feel like I could drown myself in my own tears right now?"
"I don't know," Nathan said, "I guess that's the curse of the Scott men. We love 'em, we leave 'em, and they keep comin' back for more."
"Hmm, guess so," Brooke said, "So, how're my grandkids?"
Nathan chuckled, "They're fine, 'Mom'. Apparently, they think that everything can be put on credit these days."
"Ouch," Brooke said.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Nathan said, "It never stops. And they're not even in high school yet."
"I can only imagine..." Brooke said, "And how's Marcia?"
"We're...divorced," Nathan said after a bit of discomfort.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Brooke said, "Heh. Even after twenty years I still I manage to put my foot in my mouth."
"Don't worry about it," Nathan said, "There are worse things that can be talked about."
Mr. Scott, the cancer is spreading...
"Yeah," Brooke said and after a while of looking around she grabbed Nathan by the arm, taking care not to rupture the bouquet in his hands, and they walked toward a familiar area of the cemetery. "I talked to Peyton recently," Brooke began again, "Her husband just got a major promotion out in Washington D.C., of all places, so they have to move again."
"Where are they living now?" Nathan asked with genuine curiosity.
"Out of some cruddy condo in California. Well, if you call a one hundred thousand dollar condo cruddy, which she does," Brooke said, "And I kind of agree with her."
"What? Why?" Nathan asked, ignorant to the facts of many of his former friends.
"Nathan, they've been married for five years and not once have they truly settled down!" Brooke exclaimed, "I don't know about you, but I think that's high time for two things: getting a steady job or calling it all off. She wants a family not a lifetime of traveling the world."
Nathan nodded, noticing that they were drawing closer to his second stop in the cemetery.
"They come back every now and then to visit him," Brooke said as they stopped in front of Lucas' grave, "But this has been the longest gap between visits. I don't know if either Keith or Karen decided it was time to let go, but it's been almost one year."
"Where do they live again?" Nathan asked as he slowly crouched toward the grave and placed the flowers at the headstone.
"New York state," Brooke replied as she watched Nathan graze his hand across the headstone gently, "They have kids. Did you know they have kids?"
"No," Nathan said quietly as he stood up once more, "I didn't know that."
"I've never seen them, though," Brooke said. She looked at Nathan with concern in her eyes. "Nathan, please tell me what's wrong."
"I'm in a cemetery, what do you want?" Nathan asked moodily, "I'm just grieving."
"No offense, but I don't buy that for a second," Brooke replied.
Nathan scoffed quickly and began making his way toward his car, Brooke following close behind him.
...How much time do I have?
God...how can I put this delicately...you'll see your kids into high school, but you won't see them graduate.
Nathan laughs uproariously. You call that "delicate?"
"Nathan," Brooke said as she grabbed his arm, "What aren't you telling me? Come on, I'm your stepmother, for God's sake! I wanna know!"
"First of all, no mother of any kind says wanna and begs like you do and secondly..." Nathan turned to look at the woman in front of him, "...it's nothing at all. I just...need time, all right?"
Brooke stared at Nathan's tired eyes and shook her head. "Should've known. You never were one for opening up."
"Yeah, you should've known," Nathan said, "Now could you let go of my arm? I gotta go."
"But..." Brooke started but a voice calling out to the two people caused them to look around. Their eyes fell on a young man with dark hair in his mid-teens that was walking toward them with a young woman not much older than he with long light hair following close behind him.
Nathan watched as the two people walked toward them...and gasped in shock, nearly dropping his keys as he caught a better look at the young man.
Other than dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, this young man looked identical to Lucas Scott. At first, Nathan thought he was hallucinating but when he felt Brooke's hand tighten around his arm he realized that what he was seeing was the truth.
"Hi, we're sorry to bother you," the young man said, "But we just couldn't help ourselves. Did...either one of you know Lucas Scott?"
"W-what?" Nathan asked with a slight tone of disbelief.
"Well, we saw you were at his grave, we just assumed..."
"We're sorry," the woman beside him said, "We also came to visit his grave and we were just curious, that's all." This woman, aside from minor features, looked identical to Karen Roe.
"Um, yeah," Brooke said after her initial shock, "Lucas was a good friend. In fact, he and Nathan were bro..."
"Best friends," Nathan cut in quickly, "Yeah, um, Lucas and I grew up together. We were rivals, too."
Brooke looked at Nathan, her face silently questioning his response.
"Oh, I see," the Lucas look-alike replied. Something seemed to click in his head and he smiled, "Where are my manners? My name's David and this is my older sister Lauren. Lucas was our half-brother."
Nathan felt butterflies in his stomach. He knew it from the moment he saw them. "Oh, really?" he asked, "So your parents must be..."
"Keith and Karen Scott," the young woman finished, "You know them?"
"Yeah!" Brooke said, "They used to live here. Are they doing all right?"
"They're fine," David replied, "They're really doing good."
"Good," Nathan said and smiled.
"David, it's time to go," Lauren said, "Sorry for the intrusion."
"No, it's all right," Brooke said, "Nice meeting you!"
"Same here!" David called as he flashed her a familiar smile and walked along with his sister until they disappeared behind the trees leading to the other side of the cemetery.
"My God..." Brooke said, "Did you see him? He looked just like him!"
"I know..." Nathan said, "I saw it."
"What was your deal? Why didn't you tell them who you really were? You could have got to know them a bit better and told them everything about Lucas!"
Nathan simply shook his head as he gently pried Brooke's hand off of his arm.
I guess we all gotta go sometime, huh, doc?
Nathan sat in the car seat and looked straight ahead then turned to Brooke. "I want you to have the beach house, Brooke," Nathan said suddenly, "I don't have a need for it and it's just sitting there so...will you take it?"
"Why not?" Brooke said, "I lived there with your father for five years, what's another five to me?" But Brooke still could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with Nathan.
"If I don't see you again," Nathan said, "Could you take care of my father and my brother's graves?"
"Of course," Brooke said. At this point, the woman felt no need to pry any further. Nathan was set on keeping silent about whatever he was hiding.
Nathan looked up at Brooke and smiled before closing the door. Starting the car, he rolled down the window to face her again.
Brooke leaned in and gave Nathan a tender kiss on the forehead, "Whatever you're going through, just be careful. I'd hate to see you go, too."
"Yes, mother," Nathan said and put the car in gear, "And you do the same...okay?"
Brooke nodded and lifted her head from the car and backed away, watching and waving as the Mustang sped off down the road and out of her sight.
"There's nothing to worry about," she had said quietly as she picked up her jeans from the concrete floor and slipped them on, her hair draped over her face, "We both needed this..." despite her words, Haley sounded unsure, her features confirming her insecurity. She turned to look at the older man sitting in the chair, his shirt nowhere to be found, his denim jeans unbuttoned and slightly unzipped.
Keith allowed his hands to slide down over his mouth as his eyes focused on the boots
that he always wore: brown, ragged boots that showed their age as well as their resilience.
"It shouldn't have happened..." Keith whispered quietly, his words slightly mumbled underneath his hands, "You're still just a kid. I'm sorry..."
"Hey," Haley said as she walked toward the man and crouched in front of him, "If I didn't want it to happen, I would have said so. And I'm more mature than you think so don't worry about it, okay? I won't say anything if you don't." Haley gently pried Keith's rough hands from his face and placed them against her cheek. "To think...someone as rough as you could be so gentle..." Haley looked into Keith's reddened eyes, her own welling with emotion.
"...Thank you," Keith said and made an honorable attempt to smile at the young woman.
Haley smiled back and stood up, grabbing her backpack from the floor where she let it fall and began to walk toward the door. Stopping at the door, she turned back toward Keith. "You take care, okay?" she said with genuine concern, "Karen needs you now."
Keith looked up at Haley and watched as the young woman made her way out of the garage, closing the door slowly behind her.
Keith sighed and stood up, walking toward where Haley had thrown his shirt after she stripped it off of him. Picking it up, he unraveled it and slipped it on over his naked torso and zipped and fastened his jeans.
He could still feel her on top of him, her soft, lithe hands across his chest, her head and long hair on his shoulder, her cool, sweet breath causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
A hand through his hair stirred Keith into reality once again and he walked toward the table and picked up his keys from the surface. The contents of the table were noticeably disheveled, reminding him constantly of what had occurred.
Keith looked at the table a moment longer and then walked toward the light switch and turned off the lights and, for a time, quietly stood there, allowing what had happened to sink further into his mind.
* * *
She sat in silence on the comfortable sofa as the television quietly garbled on about events she never really cared about and now had no grasp of, all things considered. She sat there staring blankly at the soft glow of the device in the surrounding darkness of her living room, a blanket covering her body as she drew closer into the fabric cocoon she had developed for herself.
And then a ring.
Karen looked up slowly from the television, hearing the doorbell the first time, but never getting up. She allowed it to ring for at least three more times before she willed herself away from the sofa and began making her way toward the door, the blanket falling away from her body and onto the carpet floor.
As she stood in front of the door, she made a feeble attempt at readying herself for the visitor, sliding stray locks of hair away from her face. Sighing, she looked out of the window of the door...and saw him. Her face became hot as her eyes burned and she unlocked the door and grabbed the knob.
The door swung open with powerful force to reveal Dan standing behind it.
"What the HELL do you want!?" Karen yelled furiously.
"I just need to talk to you," Dan said quietly, "May I come in?"
"You most certainly may not, Dan!" Karen exclaimed, "So I suggest you turn around, get back into your car, and drive away unless you want to be taken away by the cops."
"Karen, please..." Dan said as he looked into her eyes, his face revealed in the porch light. There was a clear expression of pain and anguish across the man's face accented by tears that still managed to find their way across his cheeks. "I-I need to talk to you about Lucas."
Karen looked at Dan long and hard and finally left the doorway, signaling for Dan to enter.
Dan slowly made his way into the woman's home, shutting the door behind him.
"So...I trust Deborah told you about what I wanted from you, right?" Karen asked.
Dan nodded slowly, his hands shoved deeply into his coat pockets.
Karen nodded as well, her arms crossed over chest. "Good. So then why are you here? What? Do my words still not mean anything to you, even now?"
"Karen, that's just it. I want to be a part of this. I...I want to be there for you," Dan said, "You can't just..."
"Don't. You. DARE tell me what I can and cannot do, Dan!" Karen yelled, "He was my son, for God's sake! You had no part in that boy's life! I'm the one that has lost somebody!"
"He was my son, too, Karen," Dan said quietly, "As much as he was yours."
"Oh, well," Karen said as she threw her hands up in the air, "If you call being a fucking sperm donor a parent then have at it! Go ahead! Tell me what you want to do! Tell me what you want to do! But so help me God, you're gonna watch while I shoot down every last thing you say!"
"Karen..." Dan started.
"You have no idea what it's like to grieve for a child, Dan!" Karen yelled, cutting him off, "Because if you did, you wouldn't be standing here right now! You would be like me, cut off from the world instead of acting like you're entitled to more rights. And what right do you have, Dan? Huh?"
Dan only looked at Karen.
"What right do you have to come here and tell me what to do? To tell me what to do with my son? How dare you even think you have ANY authority over my decisions!"
"All I want is to be there for his service..." Dan pleaded, "That's all, Karen. I-I just want to be there to..."
"To what, huh?" Karen asked with a subdued anger, "To gloat about how you were right? About how he would never become anything? About how...how he was never worth anything to you?"
"Karen, I would never..."
"Oh, don't fool yourself, Dan! You know that's what you're thinking! You know that's what you were hoping for!"
"I NEVER wished death upon Lucas!!" Dan screamed, "EVER!"
"LIAR!!" Karen screamed backed, "You shit-faced LIAR!! You wanted him dead even before he was even BORN!!"
Dan was shocked, his face frozen in utter confusion.
"You wanted an abortion the day you found out I was pregnant," Karen said, "Remember that? Or were you just so preoccupied with your 'grief' that you just forgot?"
"Karen. I know what I wanted in the past but it doesn't matter anymore," Dan pleaded more calmly, "Now...all I can think about is Lucas. He's gone and...and I just don't know what to do."
Karen looked at Dan, shaking her head. "You know what's sad?" she asked, "What's sad is that I actually believe the words that just came out of your mouth. I really believe that you did care about Lucas. But it's too late now, isn't it? Because he's dead and in the eighteen years that you had a chance to know him you never did. Sure, you knew ABOUT him, but you never truly KNEW him. And that's a tragedy, Dan!"
"I know," Dan whispered, "I know and I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't enough," Karen replied flatly, "Because sorry isn't going to change anything. Sorry isn't going to bring Lucas back. And sorry sure as hell isn't going to make me forgive you."
"Karen, please..." Dan begged, "Please, don't do this! Please don't keep me from him!"
"You've had your time, Dan," Karen said simply, "Now you need to leave. Get out." And with those words, Karen walked toward the door and held it open.
"No, Karen..." Dan pleaded, "Please, just change your mind! Don't do this to me!"
"Dan, you heard what I said," Karen said with growing irritation, "Leave now!"
"No!" Dan cried and grabbed Karen's arm, "I'm not leaving until you do what's right! I won't let you keep me away from my son! OUR son! I won't!"
"Let me go, Dan!" Karen screamed, "Have you lost your mind!?"
"Just change your mind!" Dan sobbed, tears streaming down his face, "You're not like this! Y-you're better than this!"
"Dan...OW! You're hurting me! Let me go!" Karen cried.
Dan looked at Karen and looked at what he was doing. His grip softened and just as he was about to release Karen's arm, he felt a hand turn him and his right shoulder around. A hard fist met sharply with Dan's jaw and in one instant, Dan came from standing in front of Karen to making rough impact with the porch, his head slamming into a wooden post.
Karen gasped, her hands going in front of her face as she witnessed Dan's collapse and then looked up at his attacker, Keith, who stood in front of her, shaking the slight pain from his fist. He was still looking at his brother whom he had just struck to the ground.
"Oh my God," Karen whispered as she walked toward Keith to embrace him, "Thank you so much."
Dan's eyes opened once again as he groaned, feeling the stinging pain of splinters in his scalp. He could feel the warmth of blood trickling down his forehead.
"I suggest you get up and drive away now, little bro," Keith said, "I don't want to hurt you again but I will."
Dan looked at the floor of the porch and then made a slight chuckle as he slowly picked himself up from the floor. Staggering to his feet, he held his hand to his head as an attempt to stop the blood flow. He looked at Karen and Keith standing beside one another, staring at him. "So now your playing guard dog, huh, Keith?" Dan spat viciously, "I guess you'll do anything to get into bed with this slut."
Keith charged to attack Dan again, only to be held back by Karen. "I want you gone, Dan!" Karen cried, "And don't you ever come back here!"
Dan looked at the pair once more before he walked past them and toward his car. "You know this is wrong, Karen! You can believe that!" he called as he neared his car, "I just hope you can live with yourself!"
Karen did not respond and watched as the car started up and drove away from the house.
"Are you okay?" Keith asked quietly, looking down at Karen.
Karen could not tear her eyes away from Dan's distancing car, even as her vision became blurry. She sobbed, placing her hands in front of her face. "What was he thinking?" she whimpered.
Keith's response was to embrace her in a tight hug and closing his eyes as well as they were bathed in the yellow light of the porch.
* * *
"All of the lies and the deceit...all of this hurt that we've brought on ourselves and others...it has to stop!"
"I agree. This isn't the time to be angry at each other. All we should be doing is grieving for him."
The two young women look at the headstone that reads "LUCAS SCOTT 1986-2004, MAY HE REST IN PEACE." The two young women cry and embrace one another.
"I'm so sorry for everything!"
"I'm sorry too!"
Peyton sighed as she wrote the final letter, dotted the final piece of punctuation, and shaded in a final shadow that was cast upon the two women that she had drawn on the piece of paper. Placing the pencil down gently, she sighed and looked at her work.
The young woman had since calmed down. Her eyes were cried out and all she could do was go home and wander around the house, searching for something to do. And she did. The bathroom needed tackling so she went to it, scrubbing the tub, the toilet, and the sink to near perfection and then mopping the white tile floor until it looked and smelled fresh. Moving to the kitchen, she worked tirelessly washing dishes, scrubbing the floor, and cleaning any remotely dirty surface that her eyes rested upon.
Deciding to get dinner ready, she dug through the fridge until she produced various things: a chicken, part of a roast, and leftover ground beef. She decided upon the chicken and, in seemingly no time, had prepared lemon pepper chicken with a side of broccoli.
When her father came home, she acted as if nothing was bothering her and, in some perverse way, there wasn't. Even as her father embraced her, telling her it would be okay, Peyton was all smiles, saying she could handle it, that it was no big deal.
Her father knew better and, after a slight argument, told his daughter to go get some rest.
And she did so, until she awoke at midnight, finding herself still in her school clothes.
So she decided to draw until, a few hours later, she had produced another dramatic comic that rested snugly in her lap.
She didn't know why she had made the drawing, yet it spoke volumes to her about the conflict going on inside of her.
"Hello?" a small voice asks on the other line.
"...Hey, it's me."
An uncomfortable silence responds on the other end.
"Brooke, I-I know what happened has affected us all but...that doesn't give me any right to blow up at you like that."
Silence.
"I've made just as many mistakes as you have, maybe even more. I don't want you to ever feel that you're some phenomenal screw-up because I'm probably the first in line to take that title."
A small chuckle sounds on the other end.
"You're grieving, too. We both loved Lucas and now he's...he's gone. I shouldn't make you feel any worse than you already do, so..."
"I'm sorry," the two girls say in unison.
Silence dominates both ends of the phone.
"You have no reason..." Peyton started.
"Yes, I do," Brooke replies, "I have every reason to be sorry. My lies and my anger...they just made me more of a bitch than usual. My God...when I lied about how I was pregnant...I wanted the both of you to hurt. But when I think of how...how much time was wasted doing something like that it just..." Brooke sighs and sniffles, "...God, Peyton. When will we just wake up from this nightmare?"
Peyton was quiet, her golden locks falling over her face. "It's not a dream...or a nightmare." She looked down at the drawing, at the headstone that she had drawn for Lucas. "This is real, Brooke. And all we have now are the people that are still here...and each other."
Brooke made a laughing sob. "Yeah, I guess we do," Brooke said, "Because isn't that what Lucas always wanted? Always trying to make things better between us, even if it seemed hopeless."
"Yeah," Peyton said with a smile, a tear rolling down her cheek, "And he did it, too, didn't he? We're stronger than ever because of Lucas."
"Yeah," Brooke managed to say and made another pained laughed, "Thank you, Peyton. I'll see you tomorrow at school?"
"I don't know..." Peyton said, "I don't know if I'm gonna make it."
Brooke was silent for a moment and then replied with, "Well, call me when you make your decision. I'll be there for you no matter what."
Peyton smiled. "I love you, Brooke," she said amidst a sob.
"Love you, too, buddy," Brooke said, "Good-night."
"Night," Peyton said and hung up the receiver and placed her hand over her mouth and sobbed quietly. Taking her hand away from her mouth, she made a smile as she let her hands trace Lucas' name on the comic strip. "Thank you, Lucas," she whispered.
* * *
It was a warm and bright Friday morning as the funeral procession made its way slowly down the main streets of Tree Hill, a black hearse being followed by dozens of other cars in an orderly procession toward the cemetery only another mile away.
As the procession made its way through the streets, many people along the sidewalks stopped what they were doing and stared as the black hearse and closely following car of the same color led the procession of thirty or more vehicles. Many people looked on as the hearse distanced itself from their sight and, like clockwork, they began their day again as if nothing unusual had occurred.
It is because they knew who was in that hearse and it was best not to linger on the idea, unless depression was a desired effect. Nothing could be done for the young man inside that hearse.
The procession continued its way through the streets, even passing the very place where that young man had met his end. It had been closed ever since that night.
It passed the playground where that young man and some of his closest friends had played basketball for hours into the night and then hung out by the riverside, chatting it up about school, girls, and their futures.
Of course, that young man's future, whatever it may have been, would never be realized. Whatever possibilities may have formed were shattered the moment he drew his last breath while lying in the shuddering arms of his uncle. Whatever dreams or wishes were created for him have dissipated the moment those that loved him realized that he would never come back.
* * *
"...and as you say your final goodbyes, know that Lucas is at peace in his new home and with his new family with God. Know that he is at peace with himself and all of you and that he is waiting for all of you to move on with your lives, so that he may rest in peace as well."
Karen sobbed as she buried her veiled face into Keith's chest, finally breaking down just as the minister finished his final words. A tissue to her eyes, she shook with grief as she held fast to the man's jacket.
Keith looked down at Karen and rubbed her shoulder, using every fiber in his being to remain strong for the woman. He returned his gaze to where the white coffin, now six feet underground, once shone brilliantly in the light: a gift from Dan.
"Thank you, and God be with you all," the minister said and slowly, people began to slowly get up and hug one another, chattering quietly.
Keith rubbed Karen's shoulder vigorously and whispered, "Are you ready to go?"
Karen shook her head negatively. "I-I need to stay here. So many people came. I want to thank them." The woman lifted her head from Keith's shoulder and made an attempt at smiling at him. "I'll be fine and...thank you, Keith for your support."
Keith nodded and stood as Karen stood and left toward a group of her friends. They turned and instantly embraced her one by one.
"Keith?" the voice of a young woman said from behind and Keith turned to find Haley standing there.
"Hi, Haley," Keith said and he hugged the young woman gently, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine...and you?" she asked.
Keith nodded. "It'll take some time but...I'm okay."
Haley nodded and turned to look at the rectangular hole in the ground. "He was my best friend in the world, Keith. We would always talk about everything that went on with each other. And even when times were bad, we were still there for each other. But after how I just left things with him..." Haley trailed off, shaking her head.
"Hey, hey," Keith said placing a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever problems you and Lucas may have had before he..." Keith cleared his throat, "...What I'm saying is Lucas cared about you no matter what. Some little disagreement would never change that. Some relationships just can't be broken, no matter how hard you try."
Haley nodded and then closed her eyes. "And what about our relationship, Keith?" she asked, "I need to know what will happen between us."
Keith watched as Haley turned around to face him once again.
"Keith, I'm..." Haley started.
"Haley...are you...?" Keith said quietly.
Haley looked at Keith for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I...it wasn't my time, so to speak," Haley smiled, "I just wanted to know that you'll do your best to keep what happened that night between us. Nathan and I...it's getting rocky and something like this will only make it worse."
Keith nodded, what seemed like a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "You don't have to worry about me," Keith said, "I have a lot riding on it, too. Karen doesn't need more pain in her life right now."
Haley nodded. "I totally agree," Haley said and held Keith's hand in hers.
"Haley..." a voice called out and she turned to find Nathan walking toward the grave, "Are you ready?"
Haley nodded positively and, with one final look at Keith, turned and walked away from him and toward Nathan. As she stood beside the young man, she watched him look at the grave for a good while before finally talking his arm around her and leading her toward the exit of the cemetery.
Keith sighed and put a hand through his hair and turned to make his way toward Karen, briefly greeting and passing Peyton and Brooke as they stood away from a larger crowd.
"Do you think the minister is right, Peyton?" Brooke asked as she wiped away a tear from her face, "Do you think Luke is at peace?"
Peyton looked at her best friend and gave her a smile. "You know, I never really got into religion as long as I have lived and when my mother died I was further pushed from it. All that 'God has a purpose' crap wore me out. But...yeah, wherever he is, I think he's doing all right."
Brooke smiled back and the two young women hugged one another.
As the day drew to a close, the group of people dwindled down to twenty, then to fifteen, then to five, until finally, the only people left were those that tended to the grave, sifting soft, black soil onto the white grave, filling the hole. Before long, the grave was filled and then no one remained as the clouds moved over the cemetery and began to lightly drizzle the graves with their life-giving water.
The soil softened and, as the rains dispersed, hardened into more solid ground.
As the days went by, flowers were placed amongst Lucas Scott's gray marble headstone, another gift from Dan. Flowers of all vibrant and gorgeous colors lined the grave, and all were subject to the eventual effects of nature, wilting before the cold stone that they once so gracefully lay against.
The months went by and the soil began to grow lighter, a sign that it was fast becoming rooted by grass, its integrity strengthening, even as more rain, and even snow, became a common occurrence around the headstone.
Thus, twenty years pass in Tree Hill and what once was a daily reminder of tragedy has now become a distant memory of grief as a new death affects the small town once again...
* * *
"Yeah, Mom, I know," a middle-aged man replied on his cell phone as he drove his black Mustang, "I just wanted to make sure you were all right." He was silent for a while, listening to the words of his mother as she talked. "I still loved him, but love can only solve so much, you know?"
He noticed that he had bypassed the house he was trying to find and stopped, backing up the car. "Yeah, well, I gotta go. I'm here...I love you, too, Mom. Bye." And with that, the man turned off the phone with one hand as he parallel parked with the other hand on the wheel.
Sighing, Nathan Scott placed his head back on the seat of the car and looked up at the ceiling. 'It shouldn't be this hard,' he thought to himself and he turned to once again to look at the beach house that he had parked in front of.
Since his leave for college, Nathan had rarely kept in touch with his father. His excuse? Both parents were involved in the biggest divorce case Tree Hill had ever seen and he wanted no part of it. However, he made it a point to talk to his mother, more so than his father.
Of course, it ran deeper than that. Nathan just couldn't deal anymore and he needed an escape. College and, eventually, family life proved to be the greatest barriers between him and his father and Nathan would have been content to live out the rest of his days just like that...until his father died.
"You know your father," Deborah had said over the phone amidst sobs, "I always thought he drank too much. But when we found out that the gun used to kill Lucas was the same one stolen from him two years earlier he...just went into a downward spiral. He got alcohol poisoning and just..." she trailed off, allowing for the news to sink in her son's head.
"I guess I never really knew what he was going through until it was too late," she had said finally.
"I guess not."
Nathan stepped out of his car and shut the door, slowly walking toward the beach house, still in its gorgeously pristine condition as it shimmered wondrously against the sea. It was the man's job to decide whether to keep it or sell it to the highest bidder. Even as Dan's final gift to his son, it was little consolation to a man that had felt the lack of his father's love for so long.
"The old man still cared about his stuff, that's for sure," Nathan said as he stepped inside the house and found that it was equally as pristine on the inside as well as in the outside. He made his way into many area of the house, tracking upstairs and then back down to the first level, eventually finding his way into the living room where numerous pictures lay across numerous surfaces.
"Oh, Dad..." Nathan sighed as he noticed a picture of himself and his father posing for a picture. Nathan remembered when the picture was made when he was a teenager.
"Are you sure you're all right doing this, Nathan?" Deborah asked, "I don't want this to be hard on you."
"Don't worry, Mom," Nathan said, "It's been so long I've forgotten what he looks like."
Of course, Nathan was only joking but he might as well have been telling the truth. It had been too long since he had seen his father. In fact, the final time he saw him alive was over two years ago when he was still married to his now ex-wife. He got to see his two grandchildren for the first time when they had turned four and five.
"They look just like me!" Dan joked playfully as he smiled at Nathan, his odor consisting of cologne and strong liquor. It was more than obvious that he had been drinking and his eyes, speech, and manner said everything. Nathan and his wife were not amused.
Nathan sighed as he thought back to their final conversation over the phone. His father was drunk, as usual, yet something in his tone made him sound clearer than he had ever been in the last few years.
"Son...before I die, I just want to let you know that I love you so much. I've always loved my sons and that won't ever change. It never really mattered to me what you did. I just wanted you to live and give you the best there was. All I ever wanted was a chance to be there for my boys. But..." and with a laugh Dan yelled, "...But I SCREWED UP!! I couldn't even protect one son and then I lose the other because he doesn't want anything to do with me!"
"Dad..." Nathan had said with much frustration.
"No, let me finish. I promise that from now on...I'm gonna do what's right for my boys. I'm gonna...I'm gonna be there for them both. Encourage 'em. Love 'em. Make 'em happy. No more of this ruler shit! Because I love 'em! I love 'em with all my heart and soul, Nathan! I love you, Nate!"
Nathan had simply told his father to go to bed and hung up on him without another word.
"Wherever the hell you are, old man," Nathan said as he looked up at the ceiling, "I can only hope that you're finally at peace."
The silence responded accordingly and left Nathan to his thoughts.
* * *
"So, is that it? After everything we've been through you're just gonna drop it all because of one stupid mistake? Nathan..."
"Look, I...I didn't want to do this. Trust me, if there was any way around this, I would have taken it. But...you're asking me to just forget that you cheated on me, Haley! Never mind that it was with my uncle! The simple fact that you cheated on me, it just..."
"Don't forget that you've made mistakes, too, Nathan! Don't you ever forget that!"
"Yeah, mistakes that I owned up to! Mistakes that I confessed to you! But you...you wanted to start a relationship with me, based on a lie! Does Keith even know that you were wrong about being pregnant and gave birth to his son, not to mention trying to pass him off as mine?"
"That's my business! And you're one to talk! You're always saying one thing and doing the exact opposite. You're such a hypocrite!"
"Yeah, maybe so. But with all of your talk about truth and honesty, I really doubt that you're so pure yourself."
* * *
Nathan crouched over his father's grave, a bouquet of roses wrapped in green and white paper in his hands. He had just finished placing a yellow flower reef next to the headstone.
"Hey, stranger," a voice said behind Nathan and he turned to find Brooke Davis Scott standing behind him carrying a bouquet of purple flowers, "How's it going?"
Nathan smiled and stood to give his old friend a hug. "I'm all right. I should be asking you that question."
"I'll live," Brooke said as she walked toward the headstone and placed the flowers on the ground. She stared at the headstone for a long time before she stood and faced Nathan once again. "That old coot never did treat me right when we were married. So why do I still feel like I could drown myself in my own tears right now?"
"I don't know," Nathan said, "I guess that's the curse of the Scott men. We love 'em, we leave 'em, and they keep comin' back for more."
"Hmm, guess so," Brooke said, "So, how're my grandkids?"
Nathan chuckled, "They're fine, 'Mom'. Apparently, they think that everything can be put on credit these days."
"Ouch," Brooke said.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Nathan said, "It never stops. And they're not even in high school yet."
"I can only imagine..." Brooke said, "And how's Marcia?"
"We're...divorced," Nathan said after a bit of discomfort.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Brooke said, "Heh. Even after twenty years I still I manage to put my foot in my mouth."
"Don't worry about it," Nathan said, "There are worse things that can be talked about."
Mr. Scott, the cancer is spreading...
"Yeah," Brooke said and after a while of looking around she grabbed Nathan by the arm, taking care not to rupture the bouquet in his hands, and they walked toward a familiar area of the cemetery. "I talked to Peyton recently," Brooke began again, "Her husband just got a major promotion out in Washington D.C., of all places, so they have to move again."
"Where are they living now?" Nathan asked with genuine curiosity.
"Out of some cruddy condo in California. Well, if you call a one hundred thousand dollar condo cruddy, which she does," Brooke said, "And I kind of agree with her."
"What? Why?" Nathan asked, ignorant to the facts of many of his former friends.
"Nathan, they've been married for five years and not once have they truly settled down!" Brooke exclaimed, "I don't know about you, but I think that's high time for two things: getting a steady job or calling it all off. She wants a family not a lifetime of traveling the world."
Nathan nodded, noticing that they were drawing closer to his second stop in the cemetery.
"They come back every now and then to visit him," Brooke said as they stopped in front of Lucas' grave, "But this has been the longest gap between visits. I don't know if either Keith or Karen decided it was time to let go, but it's been almost one year."
"Where do they live again?" Nathan asked as he slowly crouched toward the grave and placed the flowers at the headstone.
"New York state," Brooke replied as she watched Nathan graze his hand across the headstone gently, "They have kids. Did you know they have kids?"
"No," Nathan said quietly as he stood up once more, "I didn't know that."
"I've never seen them, though," Brooke said. She looked at Nathan with concern in her eyes. "Nathan, please tell me what's wrong."
"I'm in a cemetery, what do you want?" Nathan asked moodily, "I'm just grieving."
"No offense, but I don't buy that for a second," Brooke replied.
Nathan scoffed quickly and began making his way toward his car, Brooke following close behind him.
...How much time do I have?
God...how can I put this delicately...you'll see your kids into high school, but you won't see them graduate.
Nathan laughs uproariously. You call that "delicate?"
"Nathan," Brooke said as she grabbed his arm, "What aren't you telling me? Come on, I'm your stepmother, for God's sake! I wanna know!"
"First of all, no mother of any kind says wanna and begs like you do and secondly..." Nathan turned to look at the woman in front of him, "...it's nothing at all. I just...need time, all right?"
Brooke stared at Nathan's tired eyes and shook her head. "Should've known. You never were one for opening up."
"Yeah, you should've known," Nathan said, "Now could you let go of my arm? I gotta go."
"But..." Brooke started but a voice calling out to the two people caused them to look around. Their eyes fell on a young man with dark hair in his mid-teens that was walking toward them with a young woman not much older than he with long light hair following close behind him.
Nathan watched as the two people walked toward them...and gasped in shock, nearly dropping his keys as he caught a better look at the young man.
Other than dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, this young man looked identical to Lucas Scott. At first, Nathan thought he was hallucinating but when he felt Brooke's hand tighten around his arm he realized that what he was seeing was the truth.
"Hi, we're sorry to bother you," the young man said, "But we just couldn't help ourselves. Did...either one of you know Lucas Scott?"
"W-what?" Nathan asked with a slight tone of disbelief.
"Well, we saw you were at his grave, we just assumed..."
"We're sorry," the woman beside him said, "We also came to visit his grave and we were just curious, that's all." This woman, aside from minor features, looked identical to Karen Roe.
"Um, yeah," Brooke said after her initial shock, "Lucas was a good friend. In fact, he and Nathan were bro..."
"Best friends," Nathan cut in quickly, "Yeah, um, Lucas and I grew up together. We were rivals, too."
Brooke looked at Nathan, her face silently questioning his response.
"Oh, I see," the Lucas look-alike replied. Something seemed to click in his head and he smiled, "Where are my manners? My name's David and this is my older sister Lauren. Lucas was our half-brother."
Nathan felt butterflies in his stomach. He knew it from the moment he saw them. "Oh, really?" he asked, "So your parents must be..."
"Keith and Karen Scott," the young woman finished, "You know them?"
"Yeah!" Brooke said, "They used to live here. Are they doing all right?"
"They're fine," David replied, "They're really doing good."
"Good," Nathan said and smiled.
"David, it's time to go," Lauren said, "Sorry for the intrusion."
"No, it's all right," Brooke said, "Nice meeting you!"
"Same here!" David called as he flashed her a familiar smile and walked along with his sister until they disappeared behind the trees leading to the other side of the cemetery.
"My God..." Brooke said, "Did you see him? He looked just like him!"
"I know..." Nathan said, "I saw it."
"What was your deal? Why didn't you tell them who you really were? You could have got to know them a bit better and told them everything about Lucas!"
Nathan simply shook his head as he gently pried Brooke's hand off of his arm.
I guess we all gotta go sometime, huh, doc?
Nathan sat in the car seat and looked straight ahead then turned to Brooke. "I want you to have the beach house, Brooke," Nathan said suddenly, "I don't have a need for it and it's just sitting there so...will you take it?"
"Why not?" Brooke said, "I lived there with your father for five years, what's another five to me?" But Brooke still could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with Nathan.
"If I don't see you again," Nathan said, "Could you take care of my father and my brother's graves?"
"Of course," Brooke said. At this point, the woman felt no need to pry any further. Nathan was set on keeping silent about whatever he was hiding.
Nathan looked up at Brooke and smiled before closing the door. Starting the car, he rolled down the window to face her again.
Brooke leaned in and gave Nathan a tender kiss on the forehead, "Whatever you're going through, just be careful. I'd hate to see you go, too."
"Yes, mother," Nathan said and put the car in gear, "And you do the same...okay?"
Brooke nodded and lifted her head from the car and backed away, watching and waving as the Mustang sped off down the road and out of her sight.