The discrete buzz in her pocket had Jenny smile, her hand covering the phone in a move that went unnoticed by Peyton.
"All this walking, I can't wait to get back to the room and put a record on and just do nothing" Peyton sighed dreamily, wrapping an arm around Jenny's shoulders, "did you have a good day?"
"Yeah" Jenny grinned, "I think we should move somewhere close to the beach"
"You know what? I think that is a great idea" Peyton looked forward again, smiling widely as they walked side by side.
As they got to the motel room Jenny dropped the bags onto the floor by the door, "talking about the beach, Lily told me there's a bonfire Saturday night, its some annual thing, can we go? Please, Mom?"
"The beach this Saturday?" Peyton's tone made it clear she was not keen on the idea, Jenny inwardly sighed but tried to keep her hopeful smile.
"Come on, Mom. Don't you want to see your friends again?" Even as she said Jenny was remembering Lily challenging her about having any other plans, though she wanted to say something similar towards her mother Jenny did not have the nerves in that moment to say something like that to Peyton, so instead Jenny softened her voice "please"
In her head Peyton counted down the days until she was out of Tree Hill, "okay, we can go, but not all night, two hours, okay?"
"Three!"
"Okay, but not a minute longer!" Peyton looked around suddenly, "did you grab the green bag?"
"Uh… I don't see it" Jenny bit her lip.
"Okay, I'll go check the car" Peyton quickly turned around, while her back was turned Jenny quickly pumped her fist excited for the coming weekend.
Walking back to the car Peyton was already regretting agreeing to go to the bonfire, distracted she walked straight by the other woman without noticing her until she heard her voice said in a shocked voice, "Peyton?"
Spinning around Peyton almost fell back, the metaphorical ground being swept up from under her as she recognised the deep brown eyes of the woman in front of her.
"It is you!" Nicki smiled, "I-"
"What are you doing here?" Peyton stepped backwards.
Still smiling Nicki shrugged, "I'm in town for my cousins wedding"
"You can't be here" Peyton hissed, talking to herself more so than to Nicki, her eyes straying to the motel room that was only a corner away.
"Peyton" Nicki gave a sad smile, "I hoped after all this time we could put the past behind us. I'm not the same woman I was back then and I've wanted to see you for years, to thank you. I couldn't be the mother Jenny needed and you stepped up and gave her what I couldn't, and I will forever be grateful for that"
Far from what she'd been the last time Peyton had seen Nicki, while the other woman was a resident of a women's prison in Georgia, Nicki looked healthy, her tanned skin aglow, her once limp long dark hair now short and glossy, her eyes bright and aware, no longer a thin mess of skin and bones Nicki had a few extra pounds from when Peyton had first met Nicki before drug addiction had taken so much of the young woman's beauty. It was back now though, and her clothes were neat and professional.
"I cleaned my life up, as you can see" Nicki said on seeing the way Peyton looked at her, "I even got married, and I have two little boys. Last time you saw me I was at my worst but some lessons as hard as they are to learn change you for the better, I'm a better mother now for it. I wish I could have changed for Jenny sooner-"
"STOP!" Peyton shouted, "I do not want or need to hear your apologies or your thanks, I definitely do not need to know how losing Jenny made you better as a person, so you can take your smile and keep on walking" the anger in Peyton grew stronger with each word she spoke until her voice was laced with it, her eyes flaring with disgust.
Nicki stepped back in shock, "Peyton, as Jenny's mother too-"
"I'M HER MOTHER! NOT YOU!" Peyton shouted.
"Surely-"
"NICKI, SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Peyton turned herself back around and with her momentum threw herself forward away from Nicki and in the opposite direction of where her daughter was. Panicked Peyton walked right by the rental car and out of the parking lot breathing coming in short, rough breaths.
Ten minutes later Peyton carefully returned to the room, making sure not to encounter Nicki again, she rushed into the room, her sudden and loud appearance causing Jenny to jump from where she was sitting, her eyes unusually large.
"Mom-"
"Pack your things" Peyton's voice came out louder and sterner than she wanted, she tried to smile, it came tight and forced, "come on, kiddo, we've stayed here too long, lets start our next adventure we can come back next summer"
Jenny knew her mother was lying to her, "we can't just leave!"
"Yes, we can!" voice louder and more impatient now, "Jen, I mean it. We have got to go" Peyton pulled out their empty bags and spread them across the bed.
"This is crazy! We don't have to run away" Jenny observed her mother frantically pulling drawers open, "can you just stop and talk to me!"
"There's nothing to talk about" Peyton shot out though she still stopped and faced Jenny, soaking in her daughter's face as if it may disappear, "we were never meant to stay so long and we are leaving"
"In what car?"
Peyton froze, "okay, here is the plan, you're going to stay here in this room and you are not to leave under any circumstances, I'm going to go sort things out, get supplies, organise a car, but you're going to pack up here and first thing in the morning we are out of here. If you do this without complaining I will take you to see Lily in the morning, got it?"
For a moment Jenny didn't respond and then she nodded, "fine. How long are you going to be?"
"I'll be home at five, I'll grab dinner on the way back" Peyton rushed over to Jenny, and placing a hand on the back of her head she kissed the small girl's forehead, "I love you"
"You too, Mom"
And then Peyton left leaving Jenny alone. The blonde girl stood still for five minutes before quickly grabbing her duffel bag and locking up the room on her way out. She pulled out her phone, dialling quickly.
-x-
Before there was a knock on the door Lily was running from the other side of the small two-bedroom house, "it's for me!" her shout was no sooner out of her mouth when the expected knock came.
Brooke looked up from the couch, "it's for you?" she questioned.
"Yeah" Lily flipped her now shirt hair back, "I invited Jenny over"
"You know it is my house, right?"
"But you don't mind" Lily added as she opened the door and with her good arm pulled Jenny inside, "we're going to my room"
"Hi Brooke, bye Brooke" Jenny called over her shoulder as Jenny dragged her further through the house.
The bedroom door slammed behind them, Brooke sighed at the loud bang, "pick your battles" she mumbled to herself.
"Is this your room?" Jenny was surprised at how bare it is, not showing any personality. It was nice but simple, no extras, no seemingly personal belongings.
Lily let go of Jenny and plopped herself on the bed, "it's technically just Brooke's spare room but the way I see it its mine, all my stuff is at Dad's though, that's why Brooke brought me here instead so I didn't have too much fun, but hey I got my phone back so its not so bad"
"And things are good with her?"
"We talked it out. She doesn't hate me, blah blah, she's sorry and all that" Lily shrugged, "I still don't really trust that she's going to stick around but I get it, its not because of me, she's just dealing with her own stuff and it's not that she doesn't love me" Lily smiled, "she does, she loves me so much that sometimes she's scared that she will lose me too or that if she's allowed to be my mom then she won't be good at it and she will hurt me" Lily flopped back and laid down on the bed, wincing as her cast made contact, "I told her that's stupid but I guess she blames herself about what happened, like she could have been a better mom"
"You know, you never told me that they had a kid" Jenny said.
Lily leant up, and raised her dark brows, "didn't I?
"No!" Jenny sat down at the edge of the bed, she kinked one fine blonde brow, "you missed that"
"Anyway, you're here about your family not mine, tell me everything"
Jenny leant in closer to Lily, her body still in shock, "It was her, it had to be, my mom was screaming at her, and she called her Nicki"
"That's wild!"
"And she didn't even tell me, she comes back and announces we are leaving first thing in the morning and to pack!"
"Are you sure, like really, really sure it was the bio mom?"
Jenny nodded, "I don't know any other Nicki's, and she told her to stay away and now we are running away, why else would we run away?"
"I don't know, your mom is weird sometimes" Lily paused, "do you want to talk to her? Nicki, I mean"
"Well," Jenny bit her lip, "yeah, I guess. Maybe. Someday. I didn't even see her face" she looked down at her shoes.
Lily suddenly jumped off the bed, "that I might be able to help you with".
Unable to not follow Jenny quickly walked behind Lily, almost running into the other girl when Lily abruptly stopped. Brooke was still on the couch, her bare feet propped up as she sketched in a small pad.
"Brooke, do you have any pictures of Nicki, Jenny's other mom?"
There was a pause, Brooke didn't look up but merely lifted the pencil in her hand to her lips, and then she lifted her gaze, glasses perched at the end of her nose, she kinked her brow slightly confused, "a photo of Nicki?"
"Yeah, don't you have boxes and boxes of photos from high school?"
"Well, yes, but Nicki and I didn't really hang in the same circles, she was older than us" then Brooke frowned, "actually, I might have something"
"Cool" Lily rocked on her feet.
Brooke's dark brow lifted higher, "now?"
"It's not like Jenny has much time here" Lily rolled her eyes, "please"
With a smile Brooke put her pencil and paper down, revealing the dress design she had been working on, then crossing the room she pulled down the ladder to the attic and started climbing up, "I'm pretty sure I have all the year books, you can help me Jenny"
Lily was the one who went to follow but stopped when Brooke looked down with a scowl, "you are not climbing up here with your arm like that"
Without arguing Lily huffed and stepped back, watching with a pout as Jenny climbed up behind Brooke. Once the other two were up there, Lily moved to the couch, still pouting.
A few boxes were shifted and Jenny carefully helped Brooke, "it will be in one of these three" Brooke said as she laid them out and began to open them. The second box had Brooke exclaim in excitement, "here we are! Nicki would have graduated this year, or at least that's her graduating year, I'm not sure she actually graduated" Brooke chose one of the blue books and flicked through it.
Jenny sat down next to Brooke and scooched closer, their shoulders bumping, finally Brooke pointed her finger, "there she is"
Looking at the coloured image Jenny did not know what to expect, she stared at the face, recognising it enough as the woman she'd seen her mother talking to, yet able to clearly see the face this time. The sharp features so unlike her own, the dark colouring, and there was something about her expression that turned Jenny's stomach for a moment.
Yet the thing she'd hoped to feel wasn't there, it was just like looking at a stranger, "that's her?"
"Yeah." Brooke suddenly looked at Jenny, "You okay?"
"I just thought… I don't know, that it would feel… different" Jenny shrugged and closed the book, "do you think I look like her?"
Brooke shook her head, "not really. Genetics are strange, Lucas has blonde hair too and his parents both had dark hair too. She was very skinny too, and you're petite for your age maybe you will grow as tall as her too one day" and instinct had Brooke wrap an arm around Jenny's shoulder.
There was a sadness in Jenny's eyes and Brooke had the desire to make it fade away, so she smiled and said more cheerily, "I have some photos of you when you were a baby, want to see?"
Jenny nodded, her eyes lighting up.
From another box Brooke started pulling out albums, passing them to Jenny who carefully placed them next to her.
She paused when a pink album was in her hands, clearly a scrap book, it had window in the front of it that displayed a photo of a newborn baby, eyes closed. Jenny didn't place it down and Brooke looked at her, hazel eyes growing sad when she noticed what caught Jenny's attention.
"Is this your daughter?"
Brooke nodded at the question.
With extra care Jenny placed the album on top of the others, "I'm sorry about what happened to your little girl"
With a slight nod Brooke acknowledge Jenny's words, swiping a stray tear away before continuing with the albums. Finally, Brooke opened a red album from junior year and flicked through a few pages, "here you are".
On the page there were multiple pictures, one had a baby in a car seat between a much younger Brooke and Peyton, another had Peyton holding a yellow clad baby on bouncing on her knees "oh my god, that's me with Mom"
"Yep, before she was even dating your dad" they both looked at the photos a bit longer before Brooke turned to another page, "you're a bit older here"
"I was so chubby!"
"Yeah, those chubba bubba cheeks" Brooke smiled, "Peyton adored you so much, still does I'm sure. Even back then she was all mother bear with you"
"Still is" Jenny grinned remembering her mom, who despite not always understanding Jenny or giving her what she wants still had given her so much love and good memories over the years. It was Peyton who helped her sleep when the nightmares grew too dark.
"You know, blood doesn't always matter, Jenny. Love is much stronger than DNA and in every way that counts Peyton is your mother"
"I know" Jenny gulped and then smiled.
From beneath them Lily's voice suddenly broke the silence, "what's taking so long? You dead up there?"
-x-
Brooke insisted in driving Jenny home when it was time to go, she's messaged her mom asking if she'd be back soon and Peyton had replied in another hour. Not wanting to risk it Jenny made sure to arrive long before Peyton said she'd be back.
As the car parked and Brooke said goodbye Jenny stopped as she was about to get out of the car, she smiled back at Brooke, "for what its worth, I think you are a great mom"
"Thanks Jenny"
"Bye Brooke" Jenny closed the door, unsure if she would ever see Brooke Davis again and hoping that she would see Lily again in the morning. She was optimistic that her mother would allow her to say goodbye, yet Jenny was still nervous as she walked back to her motel room.
About to round the corner Jenny almost froze when she spotted Nicki walking towards her with another brunette woman, laughing and smiling, and to Jenny's abstract horror Nicki didn't even blink as she walked by Jenny with no change in her stride or expression.
Jenny quickened her steps and ran to her room, and when her mother returned that night jenny hugged her tightly.
-x-