"Go sit." Whitey commanded.
I decided to save my energy and just listen to him. I planted myself in the couch that obviously hadn't been used in the last decade. Whitey needed a woman.
He paced back and forth in front of me. I didn't look up at his face, but I didn't need to. He was pissed. He would start to say something and then stop several times until he finally got out, "Do you really think that being a smartass to the child services person is going to help you stay with Keith?" He was yelling. I didn't have enough energy left to yell.
"Coach, I'm sorry, I just- did you hear what she was asking me? How old does she think I am? I should be able to decide for myself who I live with."
"It would have been a hell of a lot easier if you cooperated."
I looked away.
"Lucas."
"What?"
"Look at me." I did.
"What did that accomplish?"
"I'm sorry," I was whispering.
"Sorry isn't going to let you stay with Keith!" He yelled.
I stood up, and somehow I found the energy to yell "I said I'm sorry. What else do you want?"
Whitey got really close to me. I should have learned by now not to mouth off to Whitey. I needed to work on that.
"Sit." He commanded.
I stared at him furiously.
"Sit down, son."
"I'm not your son."
"You're living in my house so you'll sit your ass down on that couch."
I sat, but didn't drop my gaze.
He did the start talking and then stop again a few times, trying to sputter out his frustration, but failing each time. He decided to change the subject. "What the hell happened during basketball practice?"
"They were treating me like an egg...or something else that breaks easily and can't play basketball." I shook my head, "That sounded so much better in my head. Anyway, I'm not broken! They can pass me the goddamn ball!"
"And what makes you think you can undermine my authority like you did today?"
"You were ordering me around." I said quietly, knowing he wasn't going to take that.
"Yeah I was! I'm the coach, that's what I do!"
"Well it doesn't matter, anyway, cause I'm done."
"You're not done," he dismissed my statement.
"Yes, Coach, I am. You can have my jersey. I quit."
"Why?"
I shrugged. "I just don't care about basketball anymore."
"The hell you don't! I saw you in practice. How much it pissed you off that they weren't letting you play. You care maybe even more than ever now."
I turned away. "Look. I just can't play anymore."
"Get up."
"What?"
"Up. Get up."
He stood up and I followed. "Get in the car." He didn't wait for me to answer, he just started walking.
I didn't know what else to do, so I followed him. Plus, Whitey was a pretty scary guy. I didn't want to piss him off more than I already did. He snatched his keys from off the table, and walked faster than I could keep up with to the car.
"Where are we going?" I finally dared to ask when we were seated and buckled in the car.
He didn't answer.
"Okay, then." I said quietly.
He didn't speak until we pulled up in front of my house.
"Go get Keith." Whitey demanded.
"I though I wasn't-"
"Go get Keith," he repeated, more forcefully.
I looked at him, but he was looking straight ahead, out the window. I got out of the car and rang the doorbell.
Keith was just as surprised as I was to be there.
"Luke? What are you doing here?"
"Whitey told me to get you."
Keith looked passed me out the window, where Whitey was sitting in his car.
"I have no idea what this is about," I confessed.
"Come in," Keith still looked confused, but he picked his jacket up from the back of a chair and put it on with his back to me. I looked around the house as he put his jacket on. The living room was "wicked clean" as Peyton had described it, but the kitchen was a mess. The piles of food were growing and there was no more room in the fridge.
There was a bottle of vodka open on the counter. It scared me. He zipped up his jacket and it brought me back to reality.
"I though you stopped drinking, Keith." I said quietly.
He followed my gaze and spotted the bottle and immediately put the lid back on it. I watched him awkwardly put the bottle back into the freezer.
"Why do you have that?"
"I- I was- I just-"he shook his head, "I'm not having this conversation with you, Luke."
"Who are you going to have it with?"
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's not your problem."
I kept staring at him.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm fine."
"Look at you like what? Like you're drinking again?"
"Let's go." He took my shoulder and led me out the door.
Whitey's angry road rage-y driving took us to Dan's Motors.
"I didn't agree to this." Keith said right away.
Whitey ignored this comment. He got out of the car and walked quickly to the office.
Keith and I looked at each other and got out of the car to follow him.
When we arrived in the office, Whitey was already yelling at Dan.
"What the hell are you doing, threatening Lucas?!"
Dan looked at me.
"I didn't say anything," I held up my hands in surrender pose, but Dan didn't seem too upset that Whitey found out. In fact, he was smirking, rubbing in the fact that he had that power over me. I hated him.
"You're making him quit basketball," Whitey stated.
"I never said-"I tried to defend myself, but Whitey wouldn't hear of it.
Whitey lunged for Dan's desk and materialized the papers amidst the piles of paperwork. Dan reached for his arms trying to stop him from getting the papers, but Whitey grabbed them and held them up, "Sign them, Dan!"
"It's really up to Lucas if I sign them or not."
"Like hell it is! You're going to sign them to prove to him that you're not the bastard he grew up thinking you were."
Dan didn't move. The smirk on his face was terrifying me. He had more power than I chose to admit.
"Once I sign these papers you're going to start asking for money." He told Keith.
Keith shook his head, "Not if you sign them. But if you don't sign them, I will take you to court for all the money that you owe Karen. You didn't give her shit for all of Luke's life."
Dan considered this.
My fingers were crossed behind my back, please please please please please.
Dan shook his head. My heart sank to my stomach. Keith looked like he was about to pounce on him.
"It's in Lucas's hands. He can decide. We'll see by Monday's game." Dan started looking through his file cabinets, telling us that he was finished and going back to work.
Keith wasn't going to take that. He slammed the drawer of the file cabinet that Dan was looking through shut.
"Shit Keith! You could have cut my finger off!"
Keith wasn't done. He pushed Dan into the wall, pinning his shoulders to the wall.
"You want to play that game, fine."
For the first time in my life, Dan looked scared. Keith looked like he was about kill someone. I expected Whitey to step in and break them up, but he didn't.
"If you don't sign those papers, I'll tell everyone the truth about what happened between you and Karen."
"You wouldn't," he said like they do on soap operas. How cliché. He couldn't come up with anything better?
"Not only that, the real reason you quit basketball. You can forget about your dealership. No one is going to buy a car from Dan Scott, drug addict."
Dan pushed Keith back. Keith must have forgotten he was holding Dan against the wall, because he stumbled backwards easily.
Dan sat down at his desk, keeping his gaze fixed on Keith. He wasn't happy about this, but he scribbled his name on the papers.
This was quite possibly the dirtiest adoption in Tree Hill history.
Dan held the papers up without looking up. "Don't ask me for money."
Keith snatched the papers out of his brother's hand and stormed out of the office, saying quietly, "Let's go, Luke."
I took a look at my father, holding his face in his hands. He looked up, catching me staring at him. "Now you're officially not my burden anymore."
Whitey took my arm before I could go try to attack Dan.
"Come on, Luke. We're done here."
Whitey drove Keith back home without saying anything. He put the car in park and turned to look at me sitting in the back seat.
"You can stay with Keith tonight if you want," his face broke into a smile, "Congratulations, Keith. You have a son."
Keith, who had been sitting in the front seat with his eyebrows furrowed, looked up. He smiled, too. Keith put his hand on my shoulder, "I guess I do."
He leaned over and kissed my forehead, "Let's go home, son."
Keith went inside first and I followed.
The digital clock on the microwave read 8:36. It felt like days had gone by. It had to be later than 8. The clock on the oven read 8:37 and the VCR blinked 12:00. I voted for the 8:37.
"You hungry?" Keith asked me.
I shook my head.
"When was the last time you ate something?"
I couldn't remember. I shrugged.
"I'll heat something up for you."
"I'm not hungry."
"How long are you going to be not hungry?"
I shrugged again, "Tell you what, when I get hungry, you'll be the first to know."
He considered this, and then decided it was fine, "If you don't eat tomorrow, I'm force feeding you."
"Fine."
He smiled at me.
"What?"
He just kept smiling, "I can't believe you're actually mine."
I smiled too.
"You know, I've always been jealous of Dan cause he could have you anytime he wanted."
"But he never did. Wanted me, I mean."
"That's his loss, Luke. I've told you before, Danny's an asshole. He proved it by threatening you." He shook his head disbelievingly. "I can't believe he was going to make you quit basketball."
"I would have done it. I'd give up basketball to stay with you."
Keith hugged me in what we used to call a bear hug.
"We're gonna be okay, Luke. We're gonna be okay."
I decided to save my energy and just listen to him. I planted myself in the couch that obviously hadn't been used in the last decade. Whitey needed a woman.
He paced back and forth in front of me. I didn't look up at his face, but I didn't need to. He was pissed. He would start to say something and then stop several times until he finally got out, "Do you really think that being a smartass to the child services person is going to help you stay with Keith?" He was yelling. I didn't have enough energy left to yell.
"Coach, I'm sorry, I just- did you hear what she was asking me? How old does she think I am? I should be able to decide for myself who I live with."
"It would have been a hell of a lot easier if you cooperated."
I looked away.
"Lucas."
"What?"
"Look at me." I did.
"What did that accomplish?"
"I'm sorry," I was whispering.
"Sorry isn't going to let you stay with Keith!" He yelled.
I stood up, and somehow I found the energy to yell "I said I'm sorry. What else do you want?"
Whitey got really close to me. I should have learned by now not to mouth off to Whitey. I needed to work on that.
"Sit." He commanded.
I stared at him furiously.
"Sit down, son."
"I'm not your son."
"You're living in my house so you'll sit your ass down on that couch."
I sat, but didn't drop my gaze.
He did the start talking and then stop again a few times, trying to sputter out his frustration, but failing each time. He decided to change the subject. "What the hell happened during basketball practice?"
"They were treating me like an egg...or something else that breaks easily and can't play basketball." I shook my head, "That sounded so much better in my head. Anyway, I'm not broken! They can pass me the goddamn ball!"
"And what makes you think you can undermine my authority like you did today?"
"You were ordering me around." I said quietly, knowing he wasn't going to take that.
"Yeah I was! I'm the coach, that's what I do!"
"Well it doesn't matter, anyway, cause I'm done."
"You're not done," he dismissed my statement.
"Yes, Coach, I am. You can have my jersey. I quit."
"Why?"
I shrugged. "I just don't care about basketball anymore."
"The hell you don't! I saw you in practice. How much it pissed you off that they weren't letting you play. You care maybe even more than ever now."
I turned away. "Look. I just can't play anymore."
"Get up."
"What?"
"Up. Get up."
He stood up and I followed. "Get in the car." He didn't wait for me to answer, he just started walking.
I didn't know what else to do, so I followed him. Plus, Whitey was a pretty scary guy. I didn't want to piss him off more than I already did. He snatched his keys from off the table, and walked faster than I could keep up with to the car.
"Where are we going?" I finally dared to ask when we were seated and buckled in the car.
He didn't answer.
"Okay, then." I said quietly.
He didn't speak until we pulled up in front of my house.
"Go get Keith." Whitey demanded.
"I though I wasn't-"
"Go get Keith," he repeated, more forcefully.
I looked at him, but he was looking straight ahead, out the window. I got out of the car and rang the doorbell.
Keith was just as surprised as I was to be there.
"Luke? What are you doing here?"
"Whitey told me to get you."
Keith looked passed me out the window, where Whitey was sitting in his car.
"I have no idea what this is about," I confessed.
"Come in," Keith still looked confused, but he picked his jacket up from the back of a chair and put it on with his back to me. I looked around the house as he put his jacket on. The living room was "wicked clean" as Peyton had described it, but the kitchen was a mess. The piles of food were growing and there was no more room in the fridge.
There was a bottle of vodka open on the counter. It scared me. He zipped up his jacket and it brought me back to reality.
"I though you stopped drinking, Keith." I said quietly.
He followed my gaze and spotted the bottle and immediately put the lid back on it. I watched him awkwardly put the bottle back into the freezer.
"Why do you have that?"
"I- I was- I just-"he shook his head, "I'm not having this conversation with you, Luke."
"Who are you going to have it with?"
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's not your problem."
I kept staring at him.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm fine."
"Look at you like what? Like you're drinking again?"
"Let's go." He took my shoulder and led me out the door.
Whitey's angry road rage-y driving took us to Dan's Motors.
"I didn't agree to this." Keith said right away.
Whitey ignored this comment. He got out of the car and walked quickly to the office.
Keith and I looked at each other and got out of the car to follow him.
When we arrived in the office, Whitey was already yelling at Dan.
"What the hell are you doing, threatening Lucas?!"
Dan looked at me.
"I didn't say anything," I held up my hands in surrender pose, but Dan didn't seem too upset that Whitey found out. In fact, he was smirking, rubbing in the fact that he had that power over me. I hated him.
"You're making him quit basketball," Whitey stated.
"I never said-"I tried to defend myself, but Whitey wouldn't hear of it.
Whitey lunged for Dan's desk and materialized the papers amidst the piles of paperwork. Dan reached for his arms trying to stop him from getting the papers, but Whitey grabbed them and held them up, "Sign them, Dan!"
"It's really up to Lucas if I sign them or not."
"Like hell it is! You're going to sign them to prove to him that you're not the bastard he grew up thinking you were."
Dan didn't move. The smirk on his face was terrifying me. He had more power than I chose to admit.
"Once I sign these papers you're going to start asking for money." He told Keith.
Keith shook his head, "Not if you sign them. But if you don't sign them, I will take you to court for all the money that you owe Karen. You didn't give her shit for all of Luke's life."
Dan considered this.
My fingers were crossed behind my back, please please please please please.
Dan shook his head. My heart sank to my stomach. Keith looked like he was about to pounce on him.
"It's in Lucas's hands. He can decide. We'll see by Monday's game." Dan started looking through his file cabinets, telling us that he was finished and going back to work.
Keith wasn't going to take that. He slammed the drawer of the file cabinet that Dan was looking through shut.
"Shit Keith! You could have cut my finger off!"
Keith wasn't done. He pushed Dan into the wall, pinning his shoulders to the wall.
"You want to play that game, fine."
For the first time in my life, Dan looked scared. Keith looked like he was about kill someone. I expected Whitey to step in and break them up, but he didn't.
"If you don't sign those papers, I'll tell everyone the truth about what happened between you and Karen."
"You wouldn't," he said like they do on soap operas. How cliché. He couldn't come up with anything better?
"Not only that, the real reason you quit basketball. You can forget about your dealership. No one is going to buy a car from Dan Scott, drug addict."
Dan pushed Keith back. Keith must have forgotten he was holding Dan against the wall, because he stumbled backwards easily.
Dan sat down at his desk, keeping his gaze fixed on Keith. He wasn't happy about this, but he scribbled his name on the papers.
This was quite possibly the dirtiest adoption in Tree Hill history.
Dan held the papers up without looking up. "Don't ask me for money."
Keith snatched the papers out of his brother's hand and stormed out of the office, saying quietly, "Let's go, Luke."
I took a look at my father, holding his face in his hands. He looked up, catching me staring at him. "Now you're officially not my burden anymore."
Whitey took my arm before I could go try to attack Dan.
"Come on, Luke. We're done here."
Whitey drove Keith back home without saying anything. He put the car in park and turned to look at me sitting in the back seat.
"You can stay with Keith tonight if you want," his face broke into a smile, "Congratulations, Keith. You have a son."
Keith, who had been sitting in the front seat with his eyebrows furrowed, looked up. He smiled, too. Keith put his hand on my shoulder, "I guess I do."
He leaned over and kissed my forehead, "Let's go home, son."
Keith went inside first and I followed.
The digital clock on the microwave read 8:36. It felt like days had gone by. It had to be later than 8. The clock on the oven read 8:37 and the VCR blinked 12:00. I voted for the 8:37.
"You hungry?" Keith asked me.
I shook my head.
"When was the last time you ate something?"
I couldn't remember. I shrugged.
"I'll heat something up for you."
"I'm not hungry."
"How long are you going to be not hungry?"
I shrugged again, "Tell you what, when I get hungry, you'll be the first to know."
He considered this, and then decided it was fine, "If you don't eat tomorrow, I'm force feeding you."
"Fine."
He smiled at me.
"What?"
He just kept smiling, "I can't believe you're actually mine."
I smiled too.
"You know, I've always been jealous of Dan cause he could have you anytime he wanted."
"But he never did. Wanted me, I mean."
"That's his loss, Luke. I've told you before, Danny's an asshole. He proved it by threatening you." He shook his head disbelievingly. "I can't believe he was going to make you quit basketball."
"I would have done it. I'd give up basketball to stay with you."
Keith hugged me in what we used to call a bear hug.
"We're gonna be okay, Luke. We're gonna be okay."