CHAPTER 4
The following afternoon, Lucas sat idly in his mother's café quietly singing along to the latest Killers tune playing on the radio while Peyton sat across from him reading "Rolling Stone" magazine.
"So, Brooke called me last night. . ." Peyton watched as Lucas' eyes darted toward her, hungry for more information.
"Did she happen to mention why she hasn't returned any of my calls? Please don't tell me that she's met some blonde surfer called Parks, Chip, Bam or something equally ridiculous" Lucas frowned and Peyton laughed at the obvious look of worry on his face.
"No, she hasn't met anybody, or at least nobody that she's told me about" Peyton smiled menacingly at her friend. "My Dad talked to her parents and they're going to let her stay at my place when she comes home." Lucas tried to hide his disappointment but Peyton caught it. "Come on, Luke, did you really expect her to come back to Tree Hill and move back into your house? If you guys don't get back together it would be totally awkward and if you do, there's no way in hell Karen will let you guys live under the same roof. It works out better this way." Peyton gave him her cute half smile, waiting for the question she knew he would ask.
"Did she mention me?"
"She mentioned that you guys had been talking, although not so much as of late."
"Yeah try 2 weeks. Did she say why?"
"You know I can't break best friend confidentiality, Lucas. However, she does want to see you when she gets back."
Lucas leaned back in his chair and sighed. At least Brooke wanted to see him. That was a good thing, right? Or maybe she wanted to tell him that she didn't love him and never wanted to see him again. Or maybe. . . Lucas ran both his hands through his hair in frustration and tried to chase away thoughts of Brooke Davis. This was torture.
Behind him, the bell rang as the door to the café opened. Lucas turned and saw Deb Scott looking around. Her eyes finally found Lucas and she smiled as he stood to approach her. "Hi, Deb. How are you?" Deb sat down at the counter as Lucas made his way to the other side and began to prepare a coffee for her. He placed the cup in front of her and she smiled at him, impressed that he remembered how she liked it. Lucas raised his eyebrow at her as if to say, 'What did you expect? We lived together for several months. . .' Deb smiled again as she took a sip of her drink.
"There's something I want to talk to you about, Lucas." she put her cup down cautiously and raised her eyes to meet Lucas.
"Sure, you have my complete attention. I don't have to collect my mom from the airport for another hour."
"Oh, I forgot she was coming home today! I'm actually really excited about seeing her, surprisingly enough, I've quite missed her." Lucas nodded in agreement, waiting patiently for her to continue. "Anyway, I've been doing a lot of thinking, Lucas and I'm really not happy at the way you and Nathan have left things. I really want you both to go back to the way it was when it was good between you both. I understand that there are many issues you both have to face up to but I need you both fix this."
"Deb, I tried several times, but it's like talking to a brick wall. Nate just isn't interested in forgiving and forgetting." Lucas shrugged and looked helplessly at Deb.
"Lucas, I'm pregnant."
"Um. . . Ok . . . Congratulations?" Lucas was completely confused, why was Deb telling him this?
"You look confused. I'm telling you this because it's Dan's baby. I'm carrying your sister, Lucas." Deb smiled as Lucas' expression quickly changed from one of confusion to that of complete shock.
"Oh. Wow. Um. . . Wow." Lucas was dumbstruck. Realisation suddenly hit Lucas. Deb's baby was his sister. Oh my God. Deb's baby was his sister.
"Lucas, I don't want my daughter to grow up the way you and Nathan did. The biggest mistake I made during my marriage was not forcing you and Nate to be part of each other's lives. I want this little girl to know and love both of her brothers." Deb looked at Lucas expectantly waiting for a response on his part.
"Um, ok Deb. I'm cool with that. I'm sorry I don't really know what else to say. I'm kinda in shock." Lucas laughed nervously. Deb placed a warm hand over his and gave it a light squeeze.
"It's ok. Nathan couldn't talk for about 15 minutes when he found out. But since then he's been amazing. He won't let me do anything around the house and he drives me to all my hospital appointments. He's like a completely different person. Luke, I would really like you and Karen to come to dinner tomorrow night. I know it's short notice and your mother will probably have jet lag but if you don't already have plans. . .?"
Lucas looked sceptical, unsure if this was a great idea. He and Nathan in the same room might not work out so well. "Sure we'll come. It's no problem. What about Nathan? Does he know about your plans?"
"Don't worry about your brother, I'll take care of him. You just show up tomorrow night and let me figure out the rest. I better get going, I have a few errands I need to get done. I'll see you tomorrow?" Lucas nodded and stared after Deb as she left the café.
"So what was that about?" Peyton called over from the corner table. "Looked pretty intense."
Lucas pulled his gaze away from Deb getting into her car and grinned at Peyton. "You are not going to believe this. . ."
Pushing her trolley of luggage through the automatic glass doors, Karen Roe searched the crowd in the arrivals lounge for that familiar blonde spiky hair. Finally, she spotted her son stretched across the plastic chairs trying to read a book as Haley, who sat in the seat next to his head, talked his ear off, oblivious to the fact that he was completely ignoring her. Karen smiled as she walked toward the pair. Haley saw her first and squealed with delight as sprinted toward her and bombarded her with kisses and hugs. Lucas quickly followed suit and pulled her into a bear hug.
"Oh my God, Karen I missed you so much! By the time I got back from New York you were already gone so I haven't seen you in like, forever! How was it? Tell me everything!" Haley linked her arm with Karen's as Lucas followed behind with her luggage.
"It's good to see you too, Hales. New Zealand was wonderful and I will tell you everything and share my photos all in good time." Karen stopped abruptly and turned to face her son behind her. She lifted his shirt sleeves and examined his arms. "No tattoos, piercing or pregnant girlfriends?" Karen raised her eyebrow and waited for a reply/
"Of course not! And hey, I even made it to the airport this time!"
Haley and Karen both stared at Lucas, their faces like thunder. "That's not funny!" they both said in unison. Lucas shrugged. Obviously they weren't ready to joke about his accident yet. It was still less than a year since he and his Uncle Keith had been involved in a near fatal car accident on their way to collect Karen from the airport. It was still a touchy subject.
"So how has Tree Hill survived without me?" Karen continued, lightening the mood again. "Anything strange or exciting happen? Haley, when we leave here are we going to be bombarded by autograph hunters and paparazzi?" Haley laughed and slightly tightened her grip on the woman who had come to be her second mother.
"I'm taking a little break from showbiz. It was getting a little crazy so I decided where better to pull me back to earth than good old Tree Hill. I think they call it 'tired and emotional' in the industry"
Karen chuckled and kissed the top of Haley's head as she pulled her closer to her. It was so good to be back and having Haley here just made it even better. Putting the luggage into the car, Lucas playfully tugged at Haley's ponytail "Tired and emotional my ass. They realised she wasn't any good and kicked her off the tour! Ouch! Lucas yelled as Haley pinched his arm. "I was kidding! I'm sorry!"
In the car driving back to Tree Hill, a comfortable silence fell between the three. Lucas' gaze kept drifting to his mother in the passenger seat beside him. There was something different about her, she seemed very calm and serene. The trip must have been just what she needed to take her mind off Keith, Jules and Dan. The whole episode had taken a lot of energy out of her but now she seemed to be putting it behind her.
"How do you feel about having dinner at Deb's tomorrow night, Mom?" Lucas broke the silence, pulling Karen from her daydream.
"That would be nice. You never mentioned that you and Nathan had worked things out." Karen glanced at Haley through the corner of her eye, hoping that the mention of Nathan wouldn't upset her. Haley continued to stare out of the window, seemingly lost in her own little world.
"Actually, we haven't. Nathan still hates me because I betrayed him and he has every right to. However, I think Deb intends to play peacemaker and is probably roping you in to help."
"That should be fun. Nathan is so stubborn, he's so much like you." Karen looked at her son, seeing, not for the first time, the man he was becoming. Life had started out pretty rough for them both. Gossip and scandal had haunted them in the small town of Tree Hill but they had soldiered on and they got through it. When Karen looked at Lucas, she felt immense pride at her boy. Seeing the way Lucas had turned out, Karen didn't regret any decisions she did or didn't make. Life would never be perfect for Lucas and Nathan as their past held too many lies, secrets and betrayals. They would have to work extremely hard to build the kind of relationship that most brothers have but Karen knew they would eventually get there. This past year, both boys had defied the odds and peoples expectations and had become friends. No, they had become brothers. Nathan was still angry with Lucas and it may take him some time to forgive his older brother. However, there was no running away from the bond they had formed this year.
"Mom? Mom?" Karen quickly turned to look at her son, startled.
"Sorry honey, I was a million miles away. What were you saying?"
"I was just saying that Deb came into the café this afternoon because she had something to tell me." Lucas swallowed, not sure what his mother's reaction would be. "Deb is pregnant."
Karen's head snapped up, a bemused expression forming on her face. "What! You've got to be kidding me. . . Are you serious?" When Lucas just nodded, Karen laughed. "Well, I'll be damned. I can't believe it." Karen shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable"
"Before you ask, it's Dan's baby, but they're still getting a divorce." Haley intercepted, leaning forward between Lucas and Karen's seat.
"Ah. It speaks." Karen turned to face Haley. "You know about this too?"
"Only what Lucas has told me. I'm not exactly going to be on the baby shower guest list."
"I'm sorry honey." Karen smiled sympathetically, making a mental note to avoid conversations involving the Scott family when Haley is around. "Well, it seems like this dinner tomorrow night really is going to be a lot of fun.!"
A/N; I'm not sure how the whole Lucas/Deb encounter worked out so please let me know what you think!