He walked slowly through his front door. After a long day at work he was glad to be home finally. Along with his position as head of the English Department at Tree Hill High, he had taken over Whitey's position as head coach a little over two years ago and he loved it most of the time, but days like today he wondered how Whitey could have coached for so long. All the boys did was argue back and forth on the court the entire practice and he couldn't help but laugh now as he thought back on what he and Nathan must have looked like. He sat his briefcase down and stood back up, still thinking about his days back in high school. His thoughts were interrupted as a small brunette leaped into his arms, through her own arms around his neck as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Hey" he said with a smile as he hoisted her up higher on his waist and planted a kiss at the corner of his lips.
"How was work" she asked as she chewed on the bottom of her lip, her eyes never leaving his.
"It was good, but I missed you babe" He leaned his forehead against hers as her smile grew wider.
"I miss you too" she said bobbed her head up and down, causing her high ponytail to bounce. It was messy and he could tell that she had rushed to do it herself. "Guess what?" her eyes grew wide and he couldn't help but laugh at the serious yet excited expression on her face.
"What hun" he asked trying to remain serious after his laughter caused a slight frown to form on her face, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it formed when she began talking again.
"I'm gunna be three tomorrow" She arched her back to try and make herself taller as she held up three fingers and he looked down at her in disbelief.
"No you're not" he shook his head and sighed.
"Yup…I am…it's my birfday and I'm gunna be three" he laughed again as she spoke.
"It's your birthday" he said making sure to stress the 'th' in the word. He watched as the little girl nodded her head and smiled. "Well even if you are gunna be three, I can still do this." His fingers quickly began tickling her back causing her to squirm. She bent backwards in his arms laughing uncontrollable, exposing her stomach. He bent down and kissed her stomach repeatedly causing her to erupt in another fit of laughter. She eventually wiggled her way out his arms and he let her take off running down the hall. He laughed to himself as he watched her long chestnut hair swing around the corner.
He moved out of the front hall and walked towards the back of the house where he found her near the bathroom door staring up at her mom. He stood in the doorway behind the small child and watched as the woman dried her face with a small towel. She had a towel wrapped around her hair and it nearly fell off when she swung her head around to smile up at him. "Hey you" She said brightly before turning back around to wipe off the sink.
"Hey" he replied slowly. It was that time of the year again, when his mind was flooded with memories. He watched her dark brown hair fall out of the towel as she dried it off but he couldn't help but travel back to nearly three years ago when his life had fallen apart. It was almost three years ago when he got the horrible call from the hospital and he had waited for nearly over five hours in a cramped yellow hall. He had heard the solid ringing in his ears and at that same moment he had heard his heart begin to break. The doctors had come out and told them that they had stabilized her only to have her flat line again nearly an hour later.
He had never been able to forget any detail of that night, no matter how hard he tried. He still had nightmares about it but they had become much less frequent. The brunette turned to him and looked on in confusion. "You look like you just saw a ghost" she began to smile but when he only looked up at her she quickly frowned. "Baby I'm sorry" she said lightly as she wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly as he brought himself back to reality. Her hair had gotten longer over the past few years and now the straight chestnut strands now hung a couple of inches above her waist, and at the moment a few strands were wrapped around his fingers.
"Don't apologize for it…it's the past and one of these days it'll stay there." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"But I don't think were supposed to forget everything from the past Luke, our memories are important even if they are bad." She looked into his eyes as she pulled away from him. She watched him nod and she smiled up at him as a slight twinge of guilt ran through her, but she brushed it off as she turned back to the mirror. She ran a comb through her hair pulling the tangles out and she didn't mind that he just stood there and watched her. After a few minutes she had the tangles out and went to work with the blow dryer. When she was down her hair was mostly straight but it had a curl to the ends. She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow with an anxious look on her face.
"It's fine…I don't think I've ever known someone so obsessed with their hair." He joked ass he walked past him.
"Ha-ha" she retorted as she made her way back to the other side of the house with her daughter as her heels. He laughed as he turned out the bathroom light and went in the same direction and into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water before closing it back and taking a seat on a stool by the island counter.
"How was your day" the brunette by the sink asked as she began washing dishes as Allison, who everyone referred to as Ally, sat at the table drawing.
"Tiring, but fine. I'm just glad it's Friday." She laughed as a sigh escaped his mouth.
"I thought you loved your job Broody." She hadn't called him that in awhile but his current attitude had earned him the nickname in the first place.
"I do…but the weekend is still nice and it's still welcomed with open arms Cheery." He cocked his head to the side as he recalled her old high school nickname. She walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You will forever be the brooding basketball player Lucas" she cooed into his ear.
"And you will always be the cheery cheerleader Brooke" she laughed before leaning down and kissing him quickly on the cheek.
"I wouldn't have it any other way" she informed him before she walked off to go admire her daughter's pictures. She scanned over all the drawing and looked up quickly but her eyes didn't wander back down tot eh table. "That's disturbing" she commented bluntly as another brunette figure appeared in the doorway, child on hip.
"What" she asked quizzically setting the young girl on the floor.
"Nothing…it was just shocking to see you appear in the doorway like…that." Brooke shrugged and then smiled. "But I like it" she chirped as she bit the edge of her tongue.
"Good to know" Brooke nodded in agreement before looking back down at the table.
"Daddy can we have pizza for dinner" the little girl questioned as she leapt into Lucas's arms.
"Sure we can Dana" he replied causing her to smile. Her ponytail was now neater and tighter, indicating that her mother had redone it. The small brunette bounced off her father's lap and ran towards the table to join Ally in drawing. A few minutes later Brooke scoffed as she looked down at Dana's picture. They all looked over at her in confusion as they waited for her to explain her sudden look of disgust.
"Look, tell your daughter to stop showing off" she pointed down to the picture. "Not everyone inherited those artistic genes of your P. Scott." They two Scotts just laughed as they went back to what they were doing, reading the paper, and ordering pizza.
It was an hour later and the three adults and two children were sitting at the counter eating pizza and talking. Life had thrown them all a few curve balls throughout the years but they managed to survive and at this point they were all happy with the way things turned out.
"Alright you guys I think me and Al are gunna head home. Charlie's probably wondering where we are now, I don't think he planned on me stealing his daughter all day." Brooke shrugged as she zipped her daughter's coat up and lifted her into her arms.
"Bye Brooke" Lucas said as he held his own daughter in his arms, the small girl almost falling asleep. He shut the door as she pulled out the driveway and then he made his way up to the bedrooms. He laid Dana down in her bed and changed her into pajamas before tucking her in and kissing her goodnight. He met the brunette by the door of the girl's bedroom and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"God…I'm so glad we have her" She said as she thought about how early her daughter could have been lost.
"She's our little miracle child." Lucas said as he pulled her closer. Dana wasn't expected, no one even knew that she was pregnant. The accident required her to have a sea section and the doctor coming out and telling Lucas that his daughter was going to be fine was a shock to them all. Regardless of everything the small brunette was nothing short of a blessing to all their lives.
"Yea…and she's growing up so fast…" She let a smile play her lips as she thought of her little girl turning three in only a few hours.
"Come on, let's go to bed" Lucas said as he tucked his wife into his side and moved towards their bedroom. They each changed into more comfortable clothes before sliding into the king size bed they had purchased about a year ago. Their life was something neither of them had ever expected and the perfection that had evolved around them was a complete shock, but something they looked forward to each day.
Lucas wrapped a supportive arm around Peyton's waist. He was used to burying his face in her blonde curls but for the first time they weren't there. "Sorry" she whispered, knowing that he was looking for her thick curls.
"It's okay, I'll get used to. I like your natural hair color on you anyway." She could feel him smile into her neck as his lips trailed her skin.
"I like it too" she informed him before turning around to meet his lips with her own. He pulled her closer to him as his tongue invaded her mouth. Her hands rested on his bare chest as his roamed her back. The eventually pulled away, both breathing heavily and she laid her head against his chest comfortably.
"I love you Peyton" he whispered into her hair as he gently kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too" she responded as she snuggled closer to him. Her body fit into his perfectly just like it had every other night and they soon fell asleep to the sound of their simultaneous breathing.
Lucas awoke the next morning and looked down to find his arms empty. He frowned slightly to himself and sighed deeply. He sat up and swung his legs over the bed and hung his head down. He pulled a shirt over his head and stood up and walked down the hall. He pushed his daughter's room door open to find the small brunette still curled up under the covers, fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile to himself, she was three today and in an hour or so she would be awake and bouncing around the house, ready to inform the whole world.
How his dreams had become so vivid and detailed he wasn't sure about. He also wasn't sure whether he liked his dreams or not. They kept her alive but hew as living with her memory. He created his own memories and sometime he could swear they were real, but in the end he knew they would never be. Every dream was different but they were all familiar. It was as if he was living another life at night, on in which she was still by his side. He changed her in his dreams, she had aged a little and she now looked less like a teen, just like him. He relieved each day while he slept with the exception of Peyton.
He never told anyone about his dreams, they were his and he wanted to keep it that way. He could swear it was really Peyton at night, she would tell him things and he would listen. He took her advice on everything involving Dana, after all she was their daughter. Everyone thought he was an amazing parent but what they didn't know was that he would have no clue what to do if it wasn't for his dreams. He loved to fall into deep sleeps at night, he loved being that close to her again even if it was only for a few hours.
They didn't know she was pregnant and he wasn't involved in the decision that was made when the doctor informed her in the emergency room. She sacrificed her own life for her daughter's and was still unsure of what he would have done if he was in that room. He loved his daughter more then life itself, but he didn't know if he would have given up his wife at that point in time. He would have been determined to find another way and he knows that's why she didn't let him make the decision with her.
"Daddy guess what" He looked up just on time to see his daughter leap into his arms with a large grin on her face. "It's my birfday" She squealed with delight and he smiled.
"It's your birthday" he emphasized the –th- just like he had in his dream and she nodded the same way. "Wow…you're three years old already"
"Yup" she grinned as she jumped off his lap and ran upstairs into her room. Peyton had gotten to hold Dana that night. Lucas had watched as she rocked her daughter back and forth, humming lightly with a smile playing on her lips. He had taken pictures of the scene and that was followed by Brooke taking pictures of them for the next few days. She made it for three more days and she fell asleep in Lucas's arms late the third night with a smile on her face. She never woke up the next morning but Lucas couildn't bare to let her chilled body go. When they walked into the room to find him with tear steaming down his face they knew and it was he and Brooke who stayed in the room for the remainder of the morning. He looked up as the front door opened, tearing him from his thoughts. and waited for the figure to appear in his doorway.
"Hey" he said half heartedly as she walked in with a small smile, he could tell it was forced.
"Hey…are you taking her this year…" she watched him shake his head and she just nodded. "We'll be here when you get back and she'll be dressed and ready to head out to the café. "
"Thanks Brooke" He said as he got to his feet and grabbed his car keys. The brunette embraced him tightly as a single tear slid down her cheek.
"Give these to her for me" she handed him two white roses, like she had every year, before she made her way upstairs and into Dana's room. "
"Aunti Brooke" he heard the happiness in his daughter's voice and he could hear the change in Brooke's tone as she responded cheerily to the little girl. She reminded her so much of her best friend from when they were kids, but she smiled and played with her niece like nothing was wrong.
Lucas slowly made his way out of the house and climbed into his car. He soon pulled up in front of the deserted land. He walked over to the cold marble slab that stood for what was left of his wife. "Hey" he whispered as he kneeled down on one knee. "God I miss you so much. I just wish you were still here, that I could hold you once more. The nightly visits help, but it's just not the same, it's not you. I don't think Dane really understand yet, that's why I didn't bring her. She does miss you though. Sometimes I catch her humming that song you used to sing to her. She doesn't know what it is but she knows the exact melody and a few of the words. I'll teach her the rest one day but for now I'm glad she's got something to hold onto. She asks about you sometimes ad I'm still not really sure what to tell her, you never really answer me when I ask before I fall asleep, I guess there is no answer. There is no easy way to tell her so I just tell her that you loved her with all your heart. She too smart for her own good sometimes. The other day she asked me if you had loved me and I told her you did. Then she asked how you could love me if you loved her with all of your heart. I just told her you found away. She's definitely your daughter Peyt." He laughed lightly to himself. "She loves to draw and she's getting better everyday. I've never seen a girl under three draw people. They may only be stick figures but I know what I was three I was still mastering the art of coloring in the lines, she has that down. I've been playing basketball with her more lately and I'm proud to say she's good at it and she likes. I don't think you'd want me to put her on a team though so I won't; at least I'm not planning on it. There are still a few more years before we have to worry about that one though, I don't know why I'm trying to make her older than she is. She's with Brooke right, who really misses you two. I think she's planning on come out here later by herself. We all miss you Peyt. I'm just glad that you got to hold Dana and that you were happy. I'm glad I got to see you smile, I mean really smile, its amazing. I still carry the picture that Haley took of us around in my wallet. She told me that I should get it restored because it has a few creases but I always turn her down. Somehow I just think it would take away from the picture. The picture you drew of me and Dane is still framed and sitting on my bed side table, but I'm sure you know that. I'm pretty sure you know most of the things that I tell you when I come here but it's nice to talk to you. Everything is going pretty good, some days are still pretty rough, but we survive. I'm convinced you have something to do with that, at least I like to think so. Dana's probably wondering where I am now so I'm gunna get back to her. I'll be back later this week, I promise. I miss you and I love you Peyt."
Lucas set the two red roses Brooke had given him down on the grass, placing a rock on the stems to make sure they stayed there. He then peeled a picture off the bottom of the marble stone and replaced with another one. It was an updated picture of him and Dana, he replaced the picture twice a year, it was his war of keeping Peyton involved. He then laid a single yellow rose underneath the picture after removing the old dried one. He replaced the second rock on the edge of the stem and pushed down into the grass to make it stay. Tear began to slide down his cheeks as he leaned forward and placed his lips on the cold marble. "I love so much" he breathed as he stood up and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked up towards the sky briefly before gazing back down at the polished rock. "Bye Peyt." He whispered as he forced himself to walk away and go home to his daughter.
In Loving Memory of
Peyton Elizabeth Scott
Apr. 28, 1987 Jan. 5, 2011
Beloved Mother, Wife and Friend
Concrete Angel
The End