Chapter Forty-Eight

I just got a review saying they read the whole trilogy at once. That is so, so awesome. Sacrifice, Early for Two, and Chasing Fate put together are probably over one hundred thousand words altogether by now! By the way, any of you watch Desperate Housewives? RIP Rex.

I was barely out of Tree Hill before I was accosted. Not by Mom or Daddy. Not even by Haley, Nathan, Brooke or Sawyer. It was Lucas Scott.

He saw me at a stop light at two o'clock in the morning and got into my car without permission.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm running away," I said coldly.

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Running. Away."

"Why?" he asked.

"Oh, is who next? I'm pregnant and they're trying to pressure me into marrying Sawyer Scott," I explained.

"Shit. I thought you were into him?" he said.

"Yeah. I'm seventeen," I said.

"You know about my history, right?" he asked. I took my eyes off the road to look at how earnest he looked.

"About your Mom and Dan?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah. About how he got her pregnant in high school and she ended up having to raise me alone. Callie, I never forgave him that. I'll never forgive him that," he said.

"I'm not doing this alone. Sawyer isn't his grandfather."

"That's true. Sawyer's a good kid, and you're a good kid. But you're both just kids. And it could never be the same," he said.

"Do you have any idea what you're talking about?" I asked in annoyance.

"I know it's not my place, and that you have every right to hate me. But yeah actually, I do. Brooke had a pregnancy scare in our junior year," said Lucas.

"And you'd have married her?" I asked.

"If she'd let me," he said slowly.

"Even though you were in love with Mom?" I asked.

"Despite that. Are you in love with someone else?" he asked.

"No. You should get out," I advised. He sighed.

"Callie, I'm sorry. Really I am, for everything I've caused you and your mom and Dad. They mean a lot to me, they always have," he said. By this time he'd gotten out of the car and was standing by it. I looked into his eyes for a moment.

"Then tell them," I said simply, speeding away.

I rode late into the night and then early into the morning. Eventually I stopped at a small, low quality motel, and dropped down onto the bed for an uneasy sleep.

I awoke to steady pounding on the motel door. Wrapping a blanket around myself, I stood and walked to the door.

"Apparently as a fugitive you suck," said Mom, walking in.

"Apparently. What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, sitting on the bed again.

"You're treading on my area of expertise. I'm here to talk about what I've been trying to talk to you about since the 'meeting'," she said. She flopped down into a chair.

"Which is?"

"Marriage with a motive," she said.

"I thought you weren't pregnant when you got married?" I asked.

"Yeah, like I've said before: I didn't get married for you, I got married for Jenny. And I don't regret it. I've never regretted it, I'll never regret it. I've made Jenny's life better from it and I've got you and Lauren, and I don't think anything else could have made me happier," she said.

"It doesn't always work our like that," I reminded her.

"True. But I think the odds are slightly in your favour," she said.

"Why's that?"

"Because of all the marriages you've grown up with. It was harder for me because my mom died young, and my best friend's parents were barely there and the parents of the first two high school boys in my life didn't have exactly model marriages," she said, laughing.

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"That you love Sawyer. That you've always loved him. That underneath that exterior and that complete incapability to say what you really feel-which, by the way, you got from me-you want to marry him, and do the right thing by his child," she said.

"How did you find me?" I asked a moment later. She rolled her eyes and held in a smile.

"Well, your Dad had them trace your credit card, he called every motel that you could have possibly gotten to in case you paid with cash, and you were snitched on," she said.

"Lucas, of course. Why is Daddy being so insane?" I asked. She sighed.

"Honey, in a way completely detached from you and who you, he's having flashbacks that terrify him," she said.

"Of Nikki," I stated.

"Yes, of Nikki. He loves you, and he loves Sawyer, and I think he figures if you guys get married, you can't really leave that easily. And he is your father, and he knows that you love Sawyer," she said.

"He told you this?" I asked curiously.

"We've been married for over seventeen years. He doesn't have to," she said.

"I'm seventeen," I moaned.

"I was eighteen," she reminded me.

"You had a choice!" I countered.

"You do too! Kind of. Maybe. Not really," she admitted.

"You know if it had been one day earlier…" I moaned.

"So much for rhythm," she said.

"I'm sorry I lied to you," I said.

"Shh. I know," she comforted.

I woke up many hours later. Sometime during my sleep she'd gotten my head off her shoulder and arranged me amongst the pillows and sheets.

"It's been less than twenty-four hours. It's pathetic," I complained.

"Yeah, I lasted almost a week," she bragged.

"But that was too bring back Aunt Haley as much as anything else, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. It was Brooke's idea," she said.

"Of course. She'd think of something like that," I said. The look on Mom's face almost made me question why she was so worried about her best friend. But part of me knew already.

"You're scared for her, I think," I said.

"Yes. It's hard not to be. Brooke's beautiful and intelligent and loving, but she's also headstrong. She'll dive into something before she thinks about it," said Mom.

"You and I should dive more often," I said sadly.

"Not without thinking of the damage it might cost," she said sternly.

"Okay, I guess we're talking about this now," I said nervously.

"I guess. I hate to pull such a mom card, but I thought you wanted to wait for all this? You've been saying for years you wanted to wait until you got married! And Lauren was so annoyed at you two when you were preaching to her about premarital sex!" she scolded.

"Lauren's fourteen!"

"And while most would argue that seventeen is a perfectly normal age, as your mother you know I'm never going to agree with them," she said.

"Do you regret having sex before you got married?" I asked.

"A little bit. Nathan wasn't the greatest guy back then," she told me.

"So I've heard. So why were you with him?" I asked.

"Honestly? Because he was hot. And pretty damn good in bed," she said.

Mom had taken the bus to find me, so the two of us rode back home in my car. We were an hour away from home when she reached into her pocket and gave me back my cell phone.

"Why did you throw this at Sawyer?" she asked curiously.

"Well, if I had it you guys would bother me with phone calls, and it would just make me more traceable. And I didn't throw it at him, I threw it near him," I corrected her.

"When Brooke and I roadtripped to New York, I had mine and each of the guys called me at least a half dozen times," she said, laughing at the memory.

"Did you answer them?" I asked.

"Well, not your fathers, but eventually I answered one of Luke's and your Dad was nearby and he wrestled the phone from him," she answered.

"What did he say?"

"It was the first time he told me he loved me," she said softly.

"When was the first time you said it back?" I asked.

"Um, I think it was after the whole prom fiasco," she said awkwardly. I winced. I knew more about the "prom fiasco" than I could ever possibly want to know.

Most of Tree Hill was thankfully sleeping when Mom and I arrived back. Daddy walked slowly out onto the lawn. I looked up at the house and noticed Lauren looking out of her third floor bedroom window.

Daddy kissed Mom before turning to me. We stared at each other for a full minutes before he opened his arms and ran into them.

Later, after we'd all eaten and small talked, they herded me into his study and sat me down across from them.

"So what's the plan?" I asked with resignation.

"You guys get married as soon as possible. Nathan and Haley have offered to let you stay in the beach house. You guys can keep going to school, when it's time for college we can hire you a helper so the two of you can go away to school," said Daddy.

"As soon as possible?" I asked.

"Before school starts," he suggested. I shut my eyes tightly. School started in a little over a week.

"Has everyone else been informed?" I asked.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"So really I don't have any choice."

"Don't you get it Callie? You guys screwed up! This is the only thing to do!" he said, gripping the edge of the desk.

"I know. I'm going to bed," I said, standing up and leaving the room.

I slowly pushed the door of my room open. I gasped as I entered-instead of encountering my empty dark, room, I found my room transformed. Scented candles dotted the room, making the mood romantic.

Sawyer was sitting on my bed, staring out the window when I entered. He sprang up and half ran toward me, kissing me while cradling my head in his hands.

"Come here," he requested. He trailed his hand down my arm and took my hand and led me to the bed again. I sat down and nervously waited while he went down and took out the box again.

"Callie, will you marry me?" he asked. I nodded, and he took my hand and slid the diamond onto it. Laughing, he held my hand up and watched it twinkle in the candlelight.