Chapter Twenty-Six
"Callie, get in here!" yelled Jenny. It was almost twenty four hours since the time at the beach, a whole other night had passed and I was finally back home. And aching for him.
"What?" I asked, walking to the doorway of our room. Lauren sat on my bed while Jenny sat on hers.
"I'm lecturing, and I need your help. Come here," she ordered again. I compiled easily and sat down next to her.
"Jennifer was lecturing me on the sins of impurity," said Lauren with false brightness.
"Right. Bad idea Lauren! You're fourteen. You're just a kid. And you know what can come of that? Pregnancy, STDs, loss of respect! Not just from your family and friends, but from yourself! Do you really want to look in the mirror in twenty years and see yourself as someone who lost it at fourteen? You're too young! And with Jason Winters! He was your best friend's boyfriend! What would Tess think about it? Isn't your relationship with her more important than some boy? And I thought you wanted to wait until you got married," I said.
"Okay, you lecturing me is fair enough but Jen has no place in this," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms. She groaned.
"I was one until junior year! And Squirt has as much a right as I have-come on, she's just spent two nights in Sawyer Scott's bed," said Jenny.
"Jenny!" I shrieked.
"What? Mom can't keep a secret for her life. So spill already," she said.
"We didn't have sex. We almost did. And besides, we're getting completely of topic," I said.
"Chicken. Anyway, Laure. This will only harm you in the long run. Do you know what people think of you? Of someone who did it with a guy who wasn't even her boyfriend, who used to go out with her very best friend? Do you really want that on your record?" said Jenny sternly.
"Actually, I don't even get why I'm being lectured seeing as it's a bit too late for that. And I don't see why it's so much worse than being a hookup queen," she said. This viciously, in my direction.
"Hey!" I said defensively.
"Cal's big on hookups, but everyone knows she never goes all the way. She's made out with the entire varsity basketball team but they're always groaning about how they're not good enough for her to go all the way with them. And if you stop doing this, if you're abstinent for another year or so, this one might go under the bridge," said Jenny.
"Thanks. And yeah. This won't be such a big deal if it was a one time thing. You can blame it on alcohol," I said helpfully. I felt guilty, us ganging up on her, but I thought that it was one of the worst decision's she'd ever made.
"So it's better to be a drunken whore than an easy lay?" she demanded angrily.
"Lala, calm down! You don't want people to look down on you for the rest of your life!" I said.
"Rest of my life?" she said scathingly.
"People still remember Brooke Davis' history. People still remember Mom… and Lucas," I defended.
"It was one time!"
"And all we're trying to say is that it shouldn't be more!" said Jenny.
"Go to hell," she said, flouncing out of the room.
"That sure went well," I said, laughing wryly as I put my head on my big sister's shoulder.
"Yep, just peachy. So can you tell me?" she asked eagerly.
"What? Oh, yeah. Um we met in the library and he kind of cornered me and we kissed for a while until I said we shouldn't do it in the library, so we went to his beach house and started fooling around on the bed. And then he made me… you know but then I said I wasn't ready so we just slept together on his bed and I woke up the next morning and went downstairs in his sweater and he was making me breakfast. Uh then we hung around on the beach for a while then we basically did the same thing the next night," I summed up.
"That's so great," she said.
"It is, isn't it," I said.
"Maybe you'll get married," she suggested.
"Uh, no," I said.
"Why not?"
"Because we haven't gone on our first date yet. Hey, you hear something?" I asked, as I began to hear running footsteps. I sat up suddenly and my eyes took in her white face an I began to understand. We gripped hands as Daddy entered, eyes glaring.
"Jennifer Jagielski, why is Nicole Turner staying at the motel downtown?" he demanded.
"Her choice," she said flippantly.
"Actually it isn't. Because if she tries to see you, she'll be arrested. Now, why is Nicole Turner staying at the hotel downtown?" he asked, standing over us.
"Because she's worried about me," burst out Jenny.
"Worried? Worried about what? Your upper class home, your perfect grades, your ideal familial situation?"
"Worried that it seems you've left out every detail of your entire life!" she said.
"What did she tell you?" asked Daddy, slightly more subdued.
"That you asked her to marry you, and when she came back and tried to get you to honour that you shot her down!" exclaimed Jenny. I gasped.
"Did she mention that…" he was cut off.
"You asked her to marry you?" asked a voice softly, from the door. Six eyes turned to see it.
"Pey…" he started.
"No, Jake. The truth, for once. You asked her to marry you."
"I love you," he said desperately.
"And?"
"It was the honourable thing to do," he said slowly. He walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She shook him off.
"I was your second choice, wasn't I," she said dully.
"No! I wouldn't have ever married Nikki if it hadn't been for Jenny. We didn't get married because of Callie," he reminded her.
"No, we got married because of Jenny!" she said hysterically, shaking his hands off her again.
"Don't let her come between us Peyton," he implored. Her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't, Jake. Because she already has."
She ran down the hall and I heard the front door slam and her car start up.
"I'm going out," said Jenny shortly.
She began to walk into the hall, but Daddy caught her arm on the way out.
"Actually no. You'll go to school and cheerleading practice. You'll go to games with your sister. Otherwise, you're staying here," he said, staring straight ahead.
"I didn't do anything!" she protested.
"Jenny, I love you. And I hate doing this to you, really I do. But none of us can afford the risk of you and her," he said.
