This is up sooner than I thought it would be... um, so on my other stories, I am working on Merdiocre Bad Guys, and Busted and Freedom, and I will try to have all of those updated monday. I haven't started school yet so I am going to try to update as much as I can before I do. Please Read and Review!

xoxo Jules

Chapter 4: "They said she died easy"

TWO DAYS LATER

Spencer, Logan, and Aspen stare out of the window as a sign that read
"Welcome to Tree Hill" , passed them by.

"You been here before?" Spencer called back to where Aspen was lying in the backseat. Logan was asleep in the front.

"Nope." Aspen said. "My family didn't take long trips because there are so many kids." Aspen said laughing. "What's it like?"

"Small… quiet, too quiet. I don't know how my parents grew up here, theres nothing to do."

"Haha, Logan said that her mom loved it."

"Yeah, aunt Haley was different from everyone else. My dad and her are best friends you know." Spencer informed her

"Really?"

"Totally. And my mom used to go out with Logans dad." Spencer said glancing in the rearview mirror.

"Ew, that's like, your mom used to date your uncle…" Aspen said. "Now even my family isn't that twisted."

They pulled up to a small café that said "Karens" on the outside.

"What's this?" Aspen asked.

"My grandma's place." He said as he shook Logan awake.

"Wha…" Logan said turning over rubbing her eyes.

"We're here!" Aspen yelled to her best friend dragging her out of the car by her arm. She was still barely awake.

The three teens entered the diner… right when they went in someone caught Logans eye… a girl, about early thirties, like her parents. She had shoulder length dark brown hair. It didn't take long for Logan to realize that it was the girl from Aunt Peyton's picture… her "supposed" mother… But she had to be hallucinating, right? She did just wake up! Brooke was supposed to be in California, that is what her parents had always told her.

When she stopped staring at the girl she realized that Aspen and Spencer were staring at her.

"Huh?" Logan said looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Are you alright babes?" Aspen asked grabbing her hand, much in the way that Peyton would have had to Brooke in their younger closer days.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

--------- Back in New York

Hannah and Cody sat under the tree by the creek in silence. Cody could tell that she had something on her mind, but she never pushed. She knew her cousin to well. Hannah had a way of spilling her feeling out after awhile. Except when she didn't talk for awhile like this it worried her.

"Han, what's up?" Cody asked putting out her cigarette butt and scooting closer to the girl who was just staring off into the distance.

"Nothing." Hannah said tossing her dark brown hair over her shoulders.

"Come on, I know you better than that." Cody said lightly shoving her in the shoulder.

"It's nothing." Hannah said becoming annoyed with her cousins pushing.

"Is it River?" Cody asked

"No, why do you think that I'd be thinking about her?" Hannah said defensively.

"No reason." Cody said rolling her eyes, her cousin just looked away from her anyway.

Hannah took the packet of cigarettes from Cody

"You really shouldn't be smoking these." She said tossing them to the side.

Cody shrugged.

"Why do you do that anyway?" Hannah asked

"Why does anybody do the things that they do?"

Hannah huffed. She hated how Cody would always answer a question with a question.

"I think," Hannah began, "I think that everyone is pretty much a result of their parents, yanno?"

"In good ways or bad?" Cody asked

"Both." Hannah answered simply.

"My grandma always says that Spencer was just like my dad at his age." Cody said smiling a little bit. "The basketball star, tragic hero type. The guy that couldn't quite get it right." Cody pulled her curly blonde hair up into a pony tail. She was a spitting image of her mother at her age, besides the freckles that lightly dusted the top of her nose.

Hannah glanced down at her watch.

"Shit, I'm late! I have to watch the twins!" Hannah said jumping to her feet. "Coming with?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to stay here awhile and vege, out, yanno."

"Alright, call me later if your bored. Riv's coming over for a sleepover if you wanna crash." Hannah asked

Cody smiled at the thought. She was still in such denial.

"Nah, thanks though. I think I'm gonna stay here."

"Suit yourself." Hannah said grabbing the cigarettes off of the ground. "By the way, you're done with these." She slipped them in her backpack.

Cody rolled her eyes. Everyone always treated her like a baby. Like she needed help, but she was fine, all that she needed was a razor.

"Bye Han." Cody said.

"See ya around Co-Co." Hannah said turning quickly on her heels as she jogged out of the woods.

--------- Tree Hill

"What do you mean she's not here?" Spencer asked the guy at the counter.

"Like I said, she's away doing a cooking convention or something."

"So what are we going to so now?" Logan asked leaning back against the counter.

"My grandma must keep a key or something somewhere. All people do, like in the yard under a ceramic turtle or something. We just have to find it." Spencer explained

"Let's go then." Aspen said as she headed towards the door.

"Actually, I think I'm going to take a walk." Logan said looking around.

Spencer was a bit worried.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to come with you?" Aspen asked

"No, it's cool, you and Spence go check out the house. I'll just walk over there when I'm done. My legs are tired from the car." Logan lied.

Spencer nodded.

"Alright, call me if you want a ride or something."

"Will do." Logan said hugging them quickly before they went their separate ways.

Logan walked through the old park. Her parents always took her there to play when she was little and they were visiting. At the time her mom was pregnant with Cassie. She and Hannah would swing for hours,

up and down, up and down

Logan stopped in her tracks where she came across the woman, this "Brooke" again. She was unsure what to do. She was sitting alone on a bench just watching the kids play. She looked kind of dazed as she watched them swing.

up and down, up and down

She took in a deep breath and then took a seat next to her… they sat in silence for a minute. Unsure of what else to do Logan pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. The girl turned and raised an eyebrow to her.

up and down, up and down

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you mind?" Logan stuttered sounding like a small child.

"No." The woman said with a smile. "You just look a little young." She added.

Logan looked down and shrugged. She really had no plan, she was sitting next to her birth mother and had no plan at all. What if she figured it out? Haley… Haley was her mother, she would be heartbroken.

"But, I guess I'm in no place to judge." She continued. "I did the same thing when I was your age."

Logan looked at the woman curiously.

up and down, up and down

"Do you still?" She asked

"Sometimes." The woman answered. "I stopped twice."

"Why?" Logan asked. Brooke looked back at her with surprise. Logan realized that she was being a little too forward but decided she had gotten this far, it was no time to pull out.

"I had a child." Brooke said looking away from Logan. "Logan Elizabeth."

Logan smiled. Logan Elizabeth Scott, she never had a middle name, all of the other kids did though.

up and down, up and down

"She is about your age now." Brooke said.

"So you grew up here?" Logan asked. Brooke raised her brow, "I mean, I was just guessing."

Brooke nodded.

"Yes I did."

"So did my parents. They graduated from Tree Hill High, class of 2005." Logan said looking Brooke dead in the eye now.

"Really. So did I. Maybe I know them." She said curious, although she hated reliving her high school years.

"I was kind of hoping that you did…" Logan said quietly. "I um, I grew up with my dad and my step-mom, but my step mom was like my mom. My mom wasn't around. My mom and dad gave me everything…" Her voice trailed off but it picked back up again. "I'm Logan Scott." She said now meeting Brookes shocked eyes… the same eyes that she saw when she looked in the mirror everyday.

up and down, up and down

"Oh my god." Brooke said about to continue when a little girl ran up to her.

"Mommy!" The little girl said with a smile. "Who's that?" She asked looking at her mother. When her mom didn't respond she stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Katia!" She said with a smile. Logan quickly took her hand.

"Logan." She said standing up. "Nice to meet you." She said turning to Brooke and Katia before she hurried out of the park.

She turned around when she was out of Brookes eye shot. She was staring at the space where Logan had just disappeared. And in the background Logan could see a younger pregnant woman pushing two swings, a little girl in each,

up and down, up and down

All done with that chapter. I donno if Katia is Brooke's or not yet, I mean, I was thinking about somewhere I can go with that but yanno. Hum... You'll just have to wait and see!

xoxo Jules