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Chapter 7

A couple of days had past since Peyton found out the truth about her mother and since she had last seen her father. It was too hard for her to go home but she was handling it as best as she could – the only way she knew how and that was on her own. Of course Lucas and Haley were there for her but they didn't have what she needed – she wanted answers.

"Hold your horses," Whitey Durham muttered under his breath as he made his way from the kitchen to the front door, "I'm coming,"

She was about to knock on the door again, when it swung open, scaring her in the process. The sour look on Coach Durham's face softened when he saw the familiar blonde with the famous curls.

"Peyton Sawyer…summer vacation has barely started. What on God's green earth brings you by here?" he thought for a moment before joking, "What kind of trouble has Clyde gotten you in this time?"

Peyton smiled politely. She wasn't exactly in the joking mood and Whitey now sensed it. He had never seen such a young girl who carried so many burdens to last three lifetimes.

It was unfair and the only thing Whitey could do was what everyone else did – walk beside her and help carry the weight.

"You knew my mom, in high school right?" she quietly asked.

"Yeah,"

"Could you tell me about her?"

Whitey was glad to, "Well, she was a lot like you when she was in high school…smart, beautiful and always getting into some sort of mischief. But she had big dreams for herself. She wanted to…"

A tear slipped from her eye.

"Peyton? What's wrong?"

"She's not my mother," she softly admitted.

When the shock faded, Whitey solemnly shook his head and exhaled a deep sigh. Another burden to carry.

Larry Sawyer stalked up the stairs and onto the second story balcony. He passed each door until he found the one he was looking for. Room 246. Without hesitation, Larry pounded on the door. When the door finally opened, he saw Elizabeth.

Anger pulsed through his veins. He was staring at the woman who had walked out of his daughter's life without even a glance back. She left in the middle of the night, without a word or explanation and now suddenly there she was…16 years too late.

Elizabeth wasn't expecting to see him that moment, but she was anticipating him to show up. It startled her to see him behind the door, but she quickly collected herself together, "Larry, it's been a long time. You haven't changed much,"

"What the hell are you doing here?" his voice was slightly raised with anger. Larry wasn't there for small talk; he was there to protect his family.

"I'm here to see my daughter,"

"You, don't get to call her that! Peyton is not your daughter and you are not her mother. You haven't been ever since you walked out on us,"

She remained calm, "And I've always been sorry for that but you know why I had to leave," Elizabeth had a nasty drug problem when she was younger. It was a habit she tried to beat but after nine months of forced sobriety, her cravings were stronger than ever.

"Yeah, to get high. Liz you chose drugs over her,"

"I was a kid and I made some bad choices but I'm clean now…I have been for almost 7 years,"

"So that gives you permission to waltz back into our lives?"

"She deserves to know the truth, Larry,"

"She does. She wanted to know the truth and I told her…I told her that Anna wasn't her mother and now it's killing her inside. Do you know how much painful it was to lose Anna in the first place? And now, Peyton is losing her mother all over again. Why couldn't you leave her alone?"

"I want to see her. I can explain,"

"No! You stay the hell away from her. The only thing you can do is pack your bags and leave," Larry gave her one last glare before walking away.

"You know she wouldn't want me to do that," she called out to him, "Anna would want me to..."

Larry quickly spun around. "Don't! Don't you dare say her name. Anna was a good mother and she didn't deserve this…neither of them do," he yelled, "You leave my family alone!"

"She'll call when she's ready," Haley suddenly appeared beside Lucas who was staring at his cell phone.

"Huh?"

Haley rolled her eyes at her best friend and threw a dishrag at him, "Come on, put the phone down and help me get the place cleaned up," she pointed to the dirty counter top at the café.

Lucas gave in and picked up the rag to start wiping up the soiled counter. When the bells on the door jingled he immediately looked up, hoping to see a certain blonde, but it was no blonde. It was a brunette.

"Hey, Uncle Keith! Haley, look, it's Uncle Keith," Lucas grinned and dropped the rag back onto the counter causing Haley to sigh – although she was happy to see Keith, she knew it meant another afternoon cleaning up the place on her own.

"Hey Lucas. Hey Haley," Keith nodded.

"Hey Keith. It's good to see you," she said giving him a hug.

"So, come to take your favorite nephew away from his work?" Lucas asked.

"Well, not exactly. I came by to tell you some good news, I'd like to share,"

As if on cue, the door to the café jingled again. Keith smiled as he watched her walk in. Lucas's face dropped while Haley blinked several times, to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks, but both remained speechless as they watched Emily Carr, also known as Jules, walk into Keith's arms.

"I'd like you guys to meet my wife," Keith smiled, "Emily,"

It had been a long time since he had last seen her – too long to remember. But he needed her now more than ever. Larry had been sitting there for a few minutes trying to find the words to tell her how he had let her down; how he was a terrible father; and how lost he was without her.

"I miss you so much. I don't know how I could let things get so out of control. I shouldn't have left months at a time. I should have been here for her…been here being a father you could be proud of, like I promised. But after you left, I couldn't stay here," Larry took a deep breath, trying to fight the tears. "Missing you hurt too much and it tore me up inside listening to her cry herself to sleep every night,"

"Why did you have to go? I need you here, Anna. I don't know what to do," he choked out, "I tried to protector her, but I couldn't. I tried to spare her all this pain, but I couldn't. I failed our daughter…I'm so sorry," His shoulders slumped in and his head hung low as he sobbed.

A twig snapped causing Larry to look up from his wife's grave. Behind him stood their daughter, with tears streaming down her face.

"Peyton," he whispered through his own tears.

Her heart broke, seeing her father like that. He had tried his best to raise her on his own when Elizabeth walked out and again when her mother died. They were both lost and neither knew how to deal with the pain. But none of this was his fault and she was sorry for making him feel that way.

Peyton collapsed into her father's arms and cried. "I love you, dad,"

Larry could barely speak through his falling tears, "I love you too, Peyton,"

"I miss her so much," she cried softly.

Together they held each other trying to ease the pain of missing her. "I do too,"

Even though she was no longer with them, she would always be the one thing that would bring them back together. She would always be a part of them and they would always be a family.