Hey. Sorry for the delay. My mind has been reeling with so many new story ideas its hard to focus on the ones that I have... eh lol. Anyhow this ones rolling along. Please review. I will love you forever!
xoxo Jules
Chapter 10: "She always had a pretty face"
Cody sat in her bedroom with her knees pulled to her chest rocking back and forth humming a soft tune in her head. Her eyes were distant and glazed over. Fresh cuts on her wrists were hidden by her sleeves.
Someone knocked on the door. Cody didn't respond. Another knock, no response.
"Co-Co?" Hannah said as she pushed her way through the door. "I'm sorry if you-re bu-"
Cody cut her off
"I thought that you were my mother." She said facing her eyes towards the door where her cousin stood.
Hannah nodded not quite understanding. She stepped towards Cody's bed and sat beside the girl that had made no effort to welcome her.
"Watcha doing here?" Cody asked
"Coming to see my favorite cousin." Hannah said playfully shoving Cody in the shoulder. Unfortunately Cody wasn't in such a playing mood.
There was an awkward silence. Finally Hannah let out a sigh.
"So maybe I haven't been completely honest with you." Hannah finally spoke up. Cody didn't speak, she just turned to face her cousin. "Maybe there's something with River… I'm not sure. It's so confusing."
Cody let out a grin slightly satisfied.
"So what do you think you're going to do?" Cody asked
Hannah shrugged
"I'm not really sure yet. I think I have a lot of decisions to make." Hannah lightly yanked on of Cody's blonde curls. "What's been going on with you Co-Co?"
"Nothing." Cody said a little too quickly
"Come on Cody. I know you better than that. You can't expect me to come here and be honest with you when there is so much that you are hiding from me!" Hannah said becoming frustrated.
"I just don't feel like talking about it right now." Cody said leaning back against her bed frame.
Hannah sighed and got up from her bed.
"River, Canyon and I are going to a movie tonight. You're coming. I'll be here at 5:30, be ready." Hannah said and with that she left.
--- Peyton entered Gunners room where he was sitting on the bed staring out of the window.
"Hey buddy." She said joining him on the bed.
Peyton still looked young for her 32 years, and still at times behaved the same way.
"What's up kiddo?" She asked
"Nothin'." Gunner said with his eyes still pointed towards the sky.
"Watcha thinking about?"
"Getting away from here." Gunner said honestly
"What do you mean?" Peyton asked becoming concerned
"Getting away from here. Being somewhere else. Somewhere where I have friends and people aren't afraid of me."
"People aren't afraid of you Gunner." Peyton said running her fingers through her sons golden locks. He looked so much like Spencer had at his age.
"Yeah mom, they are." Gunner said getting up from his bed and grabbing his skateboard. "You mind if I go to the skate park?" He asked
"Go ahead." Peyton said with a weak smile before tossing him a ten dollar bill. "Be careful."
"I will." Gunner said heading towards the stairs.
Peyton drove to the "Scott Motors", repair shop where she found Lucas hunched over some car, grease marks on his face. This had been a welcome site to her a long time ago, but now other things mattered more.
"I thought that you were going to be home for lunch." Peyton said leaning against the car.
"Oh hey!" Lucas said standing up wiping his face with a towel. "I was going to but I'm we got a shipment of parts and I got sidetracked."
"To sidetracked to be with your family?" Peyton asked
"You know it's not like that Peyton!" Lucas said
Peyton sighed
"I think it might be good for Gunner to go stay with your mother for awhile. Once the school year starts maybe." Peyton suggested.
Lucas looked at her in confusion
"Why? Gunner is fine where he is! And besides he is a handful, he's always getting into trouble."
"Maybe that's why he's so angry Luke. Look at what everyone thinks about him, and he knows it! We're even guilty of looking at him as a problem. You have never looked at Gunner the same way that you have Spencer. He sees it Luke. He needs a new start. Tree Hill would be good for him."
"What are you trying to do Peyton? Accuse me of playing favorites among my sons? I would never do that!" Lucas yelled defensively
"You may not know it Lucas but you do."
"This talk is over Peyton, my son is not going anywhere." Lucas said
"Since when do you make the final decisions around here Lucas? We have always talked this stuff out." Peyton said crossing her arms over her chest. "I have no idea what's happened to us lately but you're never home, you don't even know your children!"
"Peyton!" Lucas called as she walked away.
"Don't Luke. I think that we both have some things to think about." She said
--- Tessa was sitting at the kitchen table when Hannah walked in followed by River, Canyon, Rivers twin brother, and Cassie, Nathan and Haleys daughter who was the same age as Tessa.
"Do you know if Cody's ready?" Hannah asked her younger cousin
"I donno, you guys can go up to her room and check." Tessa said gesturing towards the stairs.
"Cool." Canyon said as the three older kids went upstairs and Cassie stayed behind with Tessa.
"How are you feeling?" Cassie asked Tessa who for the first time was not pale looking or even very sick.
"Alright." Tessa said smiling "How are you?"
"Alright. My parent's went to Tree Hill last night."
"Really why?" Tessa asked
"I don't know."
"So did you guys get to stay home alone?" Tessa asked
"No, mom and dad got uncle Jake to stay with us." Cassie said flinging her red hair over her shoulder
"Uncle Jake is in town?" Tessa asked in surprise. The first person that he saw was usually her mother.
"Yeah. Right now he's off with Becca, Kylie Rhea, and the twins." Cassie explained "Where's your mom?" Cassie asked.
"I don't know. She went to visit my dad at the shop awhile ago, but I don't know where she is now." Tessa said
"How long haven't you been able to find her?" Cassie asked
"I donno, about an hour or two…"
--- Cody, Canyon, River, and Hannah walked to the movie theater, Hannah and River in the front, and Cody and Canyon trailing somewhere behind.
"Alright?" Canyon asked Cody shoving her shoulder lightly.
"Yeah." Cody said looking at the boy rolling her eyes.
"So, what do you think is up with your cousin and my sister?" Canyon asked Cody bluntly but lowering his voice so that they couldn't hear.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Cody lied crossing her arms over her chest.
"Aw come on Co-Co, you know what I'm talking about." Canyon pressed
"You know that it's none of our business." She snapped back
"Ouch. What's going on with you." Canyon asked pretending to be upset.
"Nothing." Cody said staring off into space.
Canyon always knew that Cody was different, but it was always a good different, until lately that is. Something was going on, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.