Summary: This is a Naley, Brucas, Jeyton story, but with a few twists and turns. Everyone lives in Apple Valley, Minnesota where Lucas, Nathan and Jake play basketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Haley and Nathan live together with her niece and nephew and her/their daughter. Brooke and Lucas live together with his son and her daughter. Peyton lives with Jake and Jenny, and Peyton is six months pregnant. (Read the rest of the story if you don't understand!)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I did because I would be filthy freakin' rich, but I don't. Except for the characters that are made up in my silly mind. Those I own… haha… my slow plan to take over the world!
WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MURDER AND A TINY BIT OF FOUL LANGUAGE. IF YOU DO NOT READING THE DETAILS OF A MURDER OR BAD WORDS, DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER! I WILL GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT CHAPTER TO CATCH YOU UP! THANK YOU!
Author's Note: OK, we have reached two milestones. The first one is that this is my 10th chapter. I have never written ten anything… lol
I am so glad that everyone is enjoying my story. It's so fun for me to write, even if it takes a little while for me to update between chapters…
The second milestone is that during this week's OTH episode, my 3-year-old daughter, who was watching the show with me, turned to me and said that Nathan was "smokin' hot". I rolled over laughing, it was so funny. I have really got to stop letting her watch grown-up shows… But it was hilarious, and it confirmed to me that she is going to be just as boy-crazy as I was… God help us… lol
So I got a couple of ideas about how to kill off Nicki from your reviews, so I'm going to tie them in together to make one big soap-opera affair. Let's see: It's December 12th, and the day of Dan's hearing. (I know that was soon, but I want it to be over before Christmas) All of the adults are going, including Anna who is still in town, while the kids stay with a babysitter.
I think that's all you need to know, so without further ado, here's Chapter Ten.
"So how excited are you guys to finally be getting rid of your father once and for all?" asked Peyton as she climbed into the front seat of Lucas' hummer.
"Extremely. You have no idea. We have been waiting for this day for a long time. I hope they give him the death penalty like they did that Scott Petersen guy. He did practically the same thing," said Lucas, climbing into the driver's seat.
"OK," whined Brooke from the seat behind Peyton as she leaned in to talk to her best friend and boyfriend. "I think it's cool that you guys get along so well and whatever, but why does Peyton get to ride in the front? You're MY boyfriend." With that, she pouted at both of them, which made Peyton and Lucas laugh.
"Brooke, I already told you. I get nauseous and throw up if I ride in the backseat. So unless you want me to blow chunks all over your nice truck, I have to ride in the front.
Brooke sighed. "Fine… just don't play any grabby games up there."
"I'll try hard to control myself," said Peyton as she rolled her eyes. "Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself around my man, too, Missy."
"As if," scoffed Brooke. "No offense, Jake, but you are definitely not my type."
Jake clutched his chest as if his heart were hurting. "Brooke, why would you say such a horrible thing? I had such hope for us."
"OK, apparently it's pick-on-Brooke day, so I'm just gonna stop talking and sit here." She crossed her arms the way a five-year-old would and scrunched back in the seat to pout, but was interrupted by Haley and Nathan arriving at the car.
"Sorry it took us so long. Summer didn't want to stay and Jaymie was crying, so we had to get them taken care of," said Haley.
"No problem, Tutor Mom and Hot Shot. Just hurry up and get in so we can get to the courthouse," said Brooke. Haley and Nathan climbed into the very backseat of the Hummer with Anna as Lucas started the car and backed out of the driveway.
"Dan's demise, here we come," said Nathan, and all of them laughed.
When they arrived at the courthouse, everyone piled out with Haley on her cell phone. "Ryan, untie the babysitter and let her out of the closet right now! That is not funny! If you don't untie her, I'm going to come home and you will not be laughing then, mister." She paused for a second as she listened to something Ryan was saying. "That is not a funny joke, Ryan. Now let me talk to Savannah right now." She talked to the new babysitter, and after being assured that all six kids were OK, she followed everyone into the courthouse.
"Is Savannah doing alright with the kids?" asked Nathan.
"Yeah," said Haley. "Except they're driving her crazy. She said she was having one of her friends come over to help her with them. I just hope that friend isn't her boyfriend…"
Nathan laughed. "Haley, she's thirteen. She can't handle six kids by herself. And she doesn't have a boyfriend. She told me that right after she told me I was 'like, the hottest dad she'd ever met'," said Nathan.
"Well, you are pretty studly," said Haley giggling at Nathan.
"Alright, everybody," said Lucas. "Let's at least try to act serious during this thing, OK?" Everyone nodded and filed into the courthouse, sitting on the side of the defense, which included Nicki's small family and a lawyer from the state.
As she sat down, Anna looked over and saw the man who was being held for the murder of this Nicki person and gasped. Everyone turned to look at her, but she just smiled and waved them off. They all shrugged and turned back to the front of the room, but all Anna could think about was that night almost a month ago…
FLASHBACKAnna knocked on the door of the hotel room and waited until the woman answered the door. She was smiling until she saw Anna's face, then fear flashed across her eyes. "Anna. What… what are you… doing here?"
"Funny you should ask, Cynthia. Why don't we go inside and… oh, I don't know… have a chat. Or is your boyfriend here?" said Anna walking into the room and making the girl walk backwards and run into a chair.
"N… no, he's not here right now. Anna, how did you… how did you find me?"
"Oh, come on, Cynthia. You made it pretty easy. And anyways, I love you. Love powered my way. And now, my love is going to power your way to an early grave, my sweet." With that, Anna pulled the thin, leather cord out of her purse and wrapped it around Cynthia's neck. As Cynthia struggled, Anna tightened the cord and held it there until she felt her ex-girlfriend and the love of her life go limp against her. Then she let her body drop to the floor, put the cord in her purse and, using her shirt, opened the door and left the room. As she walked down the hall, she saw a man heading towards her, so she ran around the corner and peeked to check if he had seen her. 'Oh shit…' she thought. 'He's going into Cynthia's room. Is he a cop? I've got to get out of here!' With that, she ran towards Brooke's house. She had found it earlier, and was going to use it as her alibi in case anyone suspected her…
END FLASHBACKAnna was jarred from her memory as the judge entered the room, and she looked at the man in the orange jumpsuit. She knew she had recognized him on the news. This was Cynthia's boyfriend. But why did everyone keep calling Cynthia Nicki?
"Psst…" whispered Peyton, making Anna jump. "Hey Anna, you OK?"
"Oh… Yeah, I'm fine. I guess court rooms just creep me out a little, that's all."
"Don't worry. As soon as Dan is convicted, we'll be out of here, and then maybe you and I can go out to lunch. Just the two of us. How's that sound?"
Anna smiled. "Sounds great." Then she turned to the front of the room once more. 'That is, if I can stand watching a man take the blame for a crime I committed…' she thought.
An hour later, everyone filed out of the courtoom. Dan had been convicted of Nicki's murder based on the evidence found at the crime scene, which included a pack of shoelaces with one missing, and the casual way Dan was acting during the investigation. He had been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. Everyone was happy, except for Anna. She just couldn't get past the guilt. She had to tell someone the truth, but who?
Peyton waddled up and draped an arm around her shoulder. "So how about that lunch? We can have Lucas drop us off at his house and we can take the car Jake just bought me."
"Uhh… sure," said Anna. "That sounds like a great idea. I have something I need to tell you, anyways."
"OK," said Peyton, oblivious to the strange way her friend was acting.
After Lucas drove away from Peyton and Jake's house, Peyton and Anna climbed into Peyton's brand-new Blizzard Pearl Lexus GX470 with Dark Gray Leather Trim and Golden Bird's-Eye Maple Accent. (OK, had to add all that, because I just bought this exact car, like, a week ago, and I am so freakin' excited!)
"So, where do you want to go for lunch?" asked Peyton, pulling out of the driveway.
"Doesn't matter to me," said Anna. "Wherever you want to go is fine."
"Well, I have really been craving chili and cornbread, so how about Marie Callendars?"
"Yeah, that sounds great!" said Anna. She hadn't had Marie Callendars in a long time.
"So what did you want to tell me?" asked Peyton.
"Uhh…" said Anna. "OK, you have to promise not to freak out or go to the cops or anything, OK?"
"OK… I think…" said Peyton, looking at Anna out of the corner of her eye.
Anna took a deep breath before continuing. "Lucas and Nathan's dad… Dan… didn't kill Nicki."
Peyton looked at Anna since they were stopped at a red light. "How do you know?"
"Because I was there that night… It was right before I showed up at Brooke's."
"What were you doing there?"
Anna sighed. "I found out that Cynthia was staying there with her boyfriend, and so I followed them and… I killed her."
"What! You KILLED Cynthia? But… wait… There were no other murders that night. It would have been in the paper."
"No, there was only the one. Cynthia was… not who I thought she was. It turns out her real name was… Nicole McCarthy."
Peyton slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Oh my God. YOU killed Nicki? Oh my God… I can't believe it. But how? Why didn't you say anything during the trial?"
"Well, because first of all, I didn't think I would get caught, and I don't want to go to jail. And second of all, everyone seemed to be so relieved to get rid of Dan, I couldn't let you all down."
"But, Anna, that's wrong and sick. You can't let him rot in prison for the rest of his life for something he didn't do!"
"Why not?" asked Anna. "From what I hear, there's plenty of other things that he should be in jail for, so this is really a favor to everyone, including me."
"Anna," said Peyton. "This is crazy, and totally immoral and unethical. You need to get some help. Seriously. This is not normal!"
Anna bowed her head, and was quiet for a minute. "I know, but if I get help, I will have to admit what I did, then everything will be ruined!"
Peyton was quiet, trying to think of the best way to approach this. "No. No, you won't. Just say that you're having mental problems and are seeing things that aren't there. There are people who can help you, Anna. But first, we need to go back to Brooke and Lucas' and tell everyone the truth."
Anna nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks, and Peyton turned the car around, arriving at Brooke and Lucas' about ten minutes later.
Jake, Haley and Brooke were outside in the front yard playing with Ryan, Jenny, Tyler, Alison and Summer. "Hey, babe. What are you guys doing back so soon?" said Jake, kissing Peyton and wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Umm… everyone needs to come inside. Kids, why don't you go out back and play with Benji?" said Peyton leading everyone into the house. (Benji is the name of the dog that Brooke, Lucas, Nathan and Haley picked out for Jenny when she broke her arm!)
Once the adults were settled into the living room, and the kids were outside playing (except for Tyler and Jaymie, who were asleep in the den), Anna told her story to Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas and Jake. After the initial shock and bits of anger, everyone agreed that Anna needed some help, and convinced her to talk to someone at the mental hospital. Later that day, Anna was admitted into Northwestern Mental Health Center in Crookston, MN, which was about 370 miles from Apple Valley.
Nathan and Lucas went to the jail, and after making Dan promise and swear to leave them alone and never bother them again, they told the police the truth about Anna and Dan, and Dan was released, and soon after left town. Everyone was amazed at how the day had turned out, but also relieved in a way. They had gotten rid of Dan, but they didn't feel guilty about keeping a secret anymore.
Peyton and Jake were sitting on their couch at 10:00 that night watching "Red Eye". Jake wrapped his arm around Peyton who was rubbing her belly. "So, Peyton, how about we don't meet any more of your friends for a while?"
Peyton laughed. "That might just be a good idea, Jake."
Over at Brooke and Lucas', Tyler had finally gone to sleep and they were climbing into bed to get rid of the exhaustion their day had caused. "So," said Lucas, pulling Brooke into your arms. "Are all your friends that crazy or was Anna special."
Brooke giggled and kissed Lucas. "Oh, Broody, you have no idea."
Nathan and Haley were having a similar conversation themselves. "Did you know that Anna was crazy all along?" asked Nathan.
"Oh yeah, Nate. I knew she was a psycho killer and yet I introduced her to my friends, you and the kids. Just hoping something like this would happen," said Haley rolling her eyes before laying her head on Nathan's bare muscled chest. (hee hee… growl…)
"Well, how about we just hang out with our normal, only semi-crazy friends for a while," said Nathan wrapping his arms around Haley and kissing her forehead.
Haley looked up at him, then gave him a thumbs-up. "You got it, dude!"
Author's Note: I know it was kind of short, but this thought just occurred to me, and after the initial shock of Anna being a homicidal lesbian maniac, I thought it was an awesome idea, and I just had to write it down… Let me know what you think!
I have some ideas for what Peyton and Jake's baby boy's name is going to be, but if you have any suggestions, let me know. I'm also trying to think of the next dramatic thing that's going to happen, because I have to have drama, I can't just write a happy-go-lucky story. So if you have any suggestions for that, either, let me know!
Thanks for reading!
