Now onto the story, enjoy!
"Well, if it isn't little Jenny Jagielski all grown up. Welcome home."
I turned around to see a man standing there, I wasn't sure what to say cuz the man wasn't smiling or anything. Would it be alright to confess the truth to him? "I don't know what you're talking about Mr. …?"
"Durham, but you can call me Whitey, and I believe you do." He looked at me trying to read me based on my facial expressions to see if I would fess up. I couldn't look him in the eye because I was becoming very ashamed of all my lying to people. I just nodded. "Don't worry little lady, I won't tell your secret to anyone. It'll be our little secret. Well actually one other person knows the truth."
"Who?" I asked rather loudly as evidenced by the fact that almost everyone turned to look at us. Whitey just signaled that everything was alright and everyone went back to minding their own business. He led me over to a table so we could talk.
"Who?" I asked again as soon as we were seated.
"One of my old basketball players, Tim Smith."
"The officer?"
"Oh yeah, he mentioned that he met you while he was working. When he was done with his shift today he hurried over to my place to tell me about you. I guess while you were at Child Services Tim made the connection. Something about your drawings and how they resembled an old Tree Hill cheerleader's drawings that Tim and I both know and love, and with how much time you were around her as a baby maybe some of that drawing skills rubbed off on you."
"Wow."
"Yeah, you must be a pretty good artist if Tim compared you to Peyton."
"No, well, I mean yeah thanks for the compliment, but I really meant, wow, he's not as dumb as he looks."
Whitey laughed at that, "Yeah, I admit that Tim's not the sharpest tool in the shed and I had some doubts when he told me you were back in town. But when I saw you tonight, I could tell that you were Jenny Jagielski all grown up."
"That explains it."
"What, what explains what?"
"Oh, he was looking at me oddly earlier, I couldn't place the look, but it was the look of recognition, surprise and curiosity."
"Ok. May I ask why you are keeping your identity a secret? I know you haven't been back in town for long, but you have to know how happy everyone would be when they realized that you have returned."
"That's the question I have been asking myself all day. This morning when I showed up I was more than ready to reveal myself but then stuff happened and I lost control over stuff and I got scared and before I knew it I was all of a sudden living in my father's home. I'm even living in the room he and Peyton set up for me and I'm realizing that the time when I should have identified myself has past and now I have to play catch up and try to find the best time. I have to find a time when people won't end up getting mad at me for keeping the secret."
"Well, I would say to tell them as soon as possible. I know it may seem hard at first but it's the best thing to do."
"I know." I knew this was something I had to do but something like this is easier said than done.
Seeing that this topic was making me uneasy Whitey changed the subject. "So tell me about yourself Jenny and what you have been doing over the last fourteen years since I've seen you."
"Um, nothing much, mostly I stick to school, work and hanging out in my room. Sometimes hanging out with other kids when they felt like pitying me."
"Why would they pity you?"
"Did you ever meet my mother?"
"A couple times, I didn't know her all that well, but your dad seemed quite taken with her when they were dating."
"Well now she's a drug addict who although she loves me sometimes seems more concerned over her next fix than whether I'm doing alright."
"I'm sorry to hear that. No child should have to go through that. It's really sad that Jake never found you in all those years he was away from here searching for you."
"Peyton mentioned that earlier. I'm not quite sure how my mother eluded him. I don't remember a lot about that time in my life. I remember moving around a lot but not much else."
"Peyton told you the story of Jake and you? How did you get her to tell you the story without revealing who you were? They don't usually tell people that story."
"They had told Anna to show me to my room. She ended up showing me 'Jenny's Room' and when Peyton realized what had happened she told me the story and the significance of the room. If I didn't feel guilty about keeping the secret before then, that definitely raised the guilt level."
"Ahh," and then changing tones he asked, "So you play basketball?"
I gave him a weird look cuz that question seemed to come out of left field but I soon realized why had quickly changed the subject.
"So do you play basketball, cuz basketball is a really big thing in this town? Hi Whitey."
"Hi Taylor. Long time, no see. Just passing through or is the great Taylor James actually going to settle down in the boring town of Tree Hill, North Carolina?"
"Whitey, Whitey, Whitey, you know Tree Hill is never boring. There's always some sort of drama or excitement going on here. Speaking of excitement, it would seem this young lady here would be the newest exciting thing to happen to this town. Mind if I steal her away from you and have a little girl talk with her?"
"Sure go ahead." I wasn't sure really if I should look forward to talking to Taylor about who knows what, yes we got along earlier, but I was scared for who knows what reason.
Taylor took me over to another table to talk, "So what were you and Whitey talking about?"
"Stuff. I think he was sensing how overwhelming this was all for me, so he took me aside to just talk. He was really cool about it. Not getting into the heavy stuff but still making me feel a bit more comfortable."
"K. It just seemed a bit serious is all."
"So what's this girl talk you wanted to have with me?"
"Oh, yeah, that. Actually I was just trying to get you away from Whitey, not that he isn't a great person to talk to, it's just that you're new here and should talk to as many people as you can."
"Oh, ok."
"Boy, things can sure change a lot in a day."
"What do you mean?"
"If you remember, it was just this morning that you left my vehicle covered in mud and you were on your way to find your relatives. Now here you are, all cleaned up and living as a foster child of the Jagielskis. What a difference a day makes."
"Yeah I guess."
"So how did it happen anyways?"
"You mean, how did I come to live with Jake and Peyton?" She nodded. "Well, after I left you I found this outdoor court along the river…"
"The River Court."
"What?"
"The court you're talking about is called the River Court. I know it's not all that original of a name, but that's what it's called."
"Oh, ok. So anyways, I found the River Court and thought I would play some basketball for a little bit and since no one was there I thought it would be fine. While I was there a police officer approached me and started asking questions. I think I made an mistake by revealing two facts, one that I really had no home and two that I'm fifteen, thus making me a homeless minor and so he ended up bringing me to see your sister, Haley …"
"How did you know Haley's my sister?"
"There were some pretty obvious hints to the fact. Anyways once I got there, she started some things in motion to get me into a foster home and fast forward some and now I'm living with Jake and Peyton and here at this party."
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" We turned to see Peyton and Haley approaching us.
"Oh, nothing, just talking to the fourth Charlie's Angel." We all laughed at that comment although Taylor and I couldn't understand why Peyton and Haley were laughing, it's not like they would understand what that meant.
"What's so funny about that?" asked Taylor.
"Oh, it's just that one time Peyton called me that, fun times," Haley replied.
"And what did you do to get that distinction?"
"She siphoned gas using a knife and a hose one time in high school when we were stuck in the middle of nowhere."
"See Little Sis, I told you that's a neat trick to know, now aren't you glad I taught you how to do that?"
"Yeah, okay, so teaching me that wasn't a bad thing. So Jenny why did my sister nickname you the fourth Charlie's Angel?"
"I changed a flat tire on her vehicle on the way here."
"Wait, it was her vehicle you did that on. Wait, that means you rode with her. It's a miracle you got here in one piece."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sorry Taylor, but your driving makes Peyton look like a perfect driver when she really is far from it."
"HEY!" This came from both Taylor and Peyton.
"So, Jenny, the reason we came over here is I was just going to mention that we're going to be leaving soon. Jake's not feeling well. But if you want to stay Haley offered to give you a ride home when she and her family leave."
"Actually I think I'll go with you guys. It's been a long day and I really just want to crawl into a warm bed tonight and sleep."
"Okay, well we're just going to say our good byes and then we'll be ready to go."
With that all the Jagielskis said our good byes and I made promises to talk some more to the people I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to that night and Taylor remember I owed her a rain check on eating together at whatever local diner she had talked about earlier in the day. When we got home everyone went straight to their rooms and went to bed. For the first time in a long time I wasn't scared as I went to bed. I felt safe and felt truly at home.
The next morning I woke up around 10:00 and walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The house seemed quiet and I figured that no one else was home. I was fine with being home alone, nothing I was used to, but what made me sad was that there was no note left telling me where they were, maybe they forgot they had a foster child, I mean it had only been one day. I was pouring myself some orange juice when I was broken out of my thoughts.
"Good morning Jenny." I was so surprised to hear someone's voice that I spilled the carton of orange juice all over the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. If you tell me where the towels are and everything I clean that up for you."
"I'll help you. I mean I was the one who scared you. If I hadn't scared you, you wouldn't have spilled the orange juice."
"Thanks Jake." After we cleaned up the mess, we both sat down at the table. "So where are Peyton and Anna?"
"Brooke, I think you met her briefly last night, she's one of Peyton's best friends, talked Peyton into going shopping with her and her daughters. Anna went with. They were going to invite you with but Peyton thought it better to let you sleep with everything that has been going on in your life lately. I think she said she was going to buy some stuff for you though. I guess we'll see what she got for you when they get back later."
"Okay."
"But I guess you're stuck with me for the day."
"Oh, the hardships," I said jokingly. Seeing a flicker of sadness in his eyes, I asked him something not sure if I really should be asking him, "Does it hurt to look at me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Peyton told me the significance of the room I'm in and it got mentioned a couple times last night. With that whole history, does it make you sad to look at me?"
"To be honest, yeah. But more for what could have been. We could have taken in a fifteen year old African American girl named Faith and although there would be no way she could be my Jenny I would still have that look of sadness sometimes when I looked at her. So while it's kind of you, it's not really, if that makes any sense."
"Okay, kinda. Do you think it's possible for her to come back after all this time?"
"Yes, I have to believe. It may never happen but I can't give up hoping for this miracle."
"Do you think it's possible that you have seen her, even talked to her without knowing who she actually is? "
"I guess, I mean anything is possible."
"Would you be mad if she knew the truth and kept it a secret from you?"
"No, I don't think so. What's with all the questions?"
"Just curious I guess. So, since I'm stuck with you today, have you got anything planned for us to do?"
"Well Tim said something about when he found you that you were at the River Court, you play basketball?"
"Yeah, I don't get to play it a lot but I like to play whenever I get the chance."
"Well how about we head over there and you can show me what you got."
"Are you sure you want to take me on old man?" I said teasingly.
"Old man? I see how it is, you're on."
As we drove to the River Court I took out my pad of paper and started drawing, it had been a while since I drew anything and with everything that had been going on I had plenty of inspiration to draw from.
"What are you drawing?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I draw without thinking and that's what I was planning on doing."
"You should ask Peyton to show you some of her drawings, I think you would like them."
"Oh yeah, I heard yesterday that she likes to draw."
"Well actually she's a regular contributor to a local magazine here. Who told you about her drawings?"
"Haley and Tim were talking about it at her work and then Whitey mentioned it at the party last night."
By this time we had reached the River Court. When we got out of the vehicle I could see that there were some men playing, some of who I had met the night before at the party.
"Hey guys, you remember Jenny."
"Hey dawg, hey Jenny. I'm Skillz, and this is Fergie and Junk. And that scrawny man over there is Mouth."
"HAHA," Mouth said sarcastically. "So Jake, what are you guys doing here?"
"Well, supposedly Jenny here can play and since she called me an old man I brought her here to prove her wrong."
"Which isn't going to happen."
"Brave words, girl, brave words."
It was decided that we would play one on one so no one could use the excuse that the other was winning just based on who had who for teammates.
We had been playing for about thirty minutes and the score was really close when we heard a car pull up. After parking it the driver got out and came over to watch.
"Hey Coach, what's up?"
"Mouth over here called me up and said I should get over here to the River Court if I wanted to see one of my best former players losing to a girl."
"Gee thanks Mouth. And for your information Coach, we're tied."
Whitey just shook his head and said, "Carry on."
We played for about another half hour and the score still seemed to stay about tied so we decided to declare it a tie. As we walked over to the sideline Whitey turned to me and said, "You looked really good out there, did you play back wherever you lived before?"
Everyone turned to look at me, cuz up until this point I hadn't really said anything about my life before coming here. "Umm, sometimes, I played like this type of ball a lot where it's a little more laxed and not set teams. I played a couple times in organized leagues but that didn't happen a lot, only a few times when I snuck the permission slip in and got the slip signed. I wouldn't have gotten it signed if she knew what the slip was actually for."
Not wanting to push my past on me anymore, Whitey kept asking about my basketball playing. "So what position did you play usually?"
"Usually all over but I was kind of the go to person when it came to free throws, that was my real strength, I had a high free-throw percentage."
"Unlike someone I know," Whitey said while looking straight at Jake.
"Gee let's not identify the person by name but look right at him, making it quite obvious who you're talking about Coach," Jake joked.
After hanging out a bit longer Jake stood up and said, "Well, we gotta go. Peyton wants me to do a few things before she gets home."
Everyone seemed to break into a fake cough attack which didn't hide the fact they were all calling him whipped.
"Don't call me whipped, you guys are the most whipped men I know. Skillz, if I'm not mistaken, didn't Bevin have you watching "The Notebook" on your first date."
"So, it's a good movie," Skillz said trying to defend himself.
"And you Mouth, I don't even want to go into the examples of how I know GiGi has you whipped. Fergie, Fergie, Fergie, Theresa has you so whipped that I do believe that was you last week in the convenience store buying tampons for her. And Junk don't you even dare think I'm going to forget the time when Brooke got you to go out in the middle of the night to buy her ice cream, and you're not even married to her."
"Okay, first of all, that girl is so persuasive she could get an Eskimo to buy ice from her, meaning it's not hard for her to get others to do stuff for her. Second, she was pregnant and had cravings. And third, Lucas was on a business trip and she had a kid at home, it's not like she could have just left her at home."
"Whipped."
By now Whitey was laughing so hard at hearing how all these men were whipped by some women. "Oh, Coach, I wouldn't be laughing at us if I were you, I seem to remember that you were so whipped that you were allowed to smoke in the house and then even after she had died you were so whipped that you couldn't even smoke."
"I was and am still so in love with her."
"As are we all. When you're in love being whipped is part of the package."
"Except for Junk who has no excuse."
"Shut up Mouth."
"So forgive me for going home so I can make dinner for my girls, but if being loved by them means I'm whipped then so be it."
"Amen to that brother."
As we all said our good-byes Whitey whispered in my ear, "I'm glad you didn't inherit your daddy's free-throw percentage." The way he said it made me think he had said something along those lines earlier in my life.
When we were on the way home Jake asked me what Whitey had whispered in my ear. I replied, "Just that I was the better basketball player. He would have told everybody but he didn't want to hurt your feelings."
He looked at me like he was going to argue but I just smiled and he decided not to push the issue. When we got home I asked if he needed any help making dinner. He willing agreed to the help and we set about making dinner. As we made dinner we talked, it was nice to talk to him. It made me feel closer to him. If only I could figure out a way to tell him the truth, then everything would be alright. I planned to tell them the next night, I wanted one dinner before the big announcement cuz I felt that that announcement would change everything. And I wanted one night, one night to be like the calm before the storm.
That night we had a peaceful dinner and such. Anna had to finish her homework for school the next day since she had put it off until the last minute. Jake and Peyton told me that I would actually being starting school on Tuesday, allowing me one more day to get settled in.
Later on that night as I was falling asleep, I heard the phone ring but paid no attention to it. How was I supposed to know that that one call would change everything?
Spoilers:Who called and how is it going to change everything?
More people find out.
When the time comes how will Jake deal with having Jenny back?
Nikki's coming back to Tree Hill in the near future unfortunately.
Please read and review. I appreciate everyone who reviews my story so thanks to those who have.