Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own characters!
The ride back to Tree Hill seemed almost anti-climatic to Lauren. While the rest of the squad celebrated, she sat in the back of the bus, by herself. She had worked so hard at keeping all of her conflicting emotions at bay this weekend, for the sake of the competition, and now that the competition was over, they all flooded back. On top of everything else she was worried about her mom. Peyton had gotten on the bus and stared out the window, not saying a word to anyone. That wasn't like her mother at all. Lauren had expected her mom to try and cheer her out of her "funk" as her mother put it, but she was off in a world of her own. That suited Lauren just fine for now though. She was struggling to process all the hurt, betrayal, and bitterness that the weekend had produced.
"Are you coming to Tric tonight?" Jenny asked, walking down the isle towards her. Lauren's shoulders slumped at the thought of putting on a big show of happiness. She knew that she had to, as captain, but she really would have preferred to stay home and mope.
"You know it." She said with as much excitement as she could muster. It obviously wasn't much and her words came out sounding flat. Jenny cocked an eyebrow and sat down beside her.
"You know, if you need to talk, I'm here. I know this weekend was pretty shitty, with Tyler and Charity and Lila and everything." Jenny said softly. Lauren only nodded, staring straight ahead. She and Jenny had been friends for a long time now and Jenny knew when to push her and when not to. Lauren didn't want to think about what next year would bring, with Jenny going off to college. Jenny gave her a long look before she stood up and returned to her seat.
Lauren wished that Jenny hadn't mentioned Tyler's name. Her feelings for him were all over the place. She still liked him, she still felt as much for him as she had two days ago, if not more. Yet, there was a part of her that wanted to hate him so badly, but she just couldn't. After Charity had told her that she had broken off her short fling with Tyler, Lauren had gone to talk to him. He had looked so broken hearted. It was like a slap in the face. He hadn't looked a tenth that upset when she had broken things off with him and yet here he was, nearly in tears, over a relationship that had spanned hours. She had tried to will herself to go and talk to him, to offer him some sympathy, but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. So she'd simply turned and walked away. She quickly brushed away the tears that came at the memory.
"Are you okay?" Charity asked, sitting down in the seat that Jenny had vacated only moments before. Lauren had been so caught up in thought that she hadn't seen Charity coming down the isle toward her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. What's up?" She asked, trying to gain composure.
"I just wanted to make sure that we were really okay. I mean, after everything that happened, I just, well I hope that we can try to be friends still. I know that you said everything was cool with us, I'm just hoping that wasn't just for the sake of the competition." Charity said hopefully. A part of Lauren wanted to be cruel and tell her where she could stick her friendship, but she didn't.
"Part of it was for the competition, but I'd like to try to be friends, eventually. Maybe even sisters, one day." Lauren said with a smile. Charity nodded slowly. Lauren was sure it wasn't the answer she was expecting, but Lauren wasn't one to trust easily and definitely not after having that trust broken, repeatedly.
"Are you coming out to Tric tonight?" She asked Charity, as the bus pulled back into the school's parking lot.
"Wouldn't miss it. Derek's coming too." She replied with a grin. Lauren laughed and shook her head at Charity.
"So you guys worked things out?" Lauren asked, knowing the answer.
"Yeah, he tried to be stubborn, but I'm irresistible, what can I say?" Charity stated, giggling. Lauren was envious of Charity sometimes. Nothing ever seemed to seriously faze her. She could do something disastrous and not even blink an eye. It was almost like she lived in a bubble. Lauren wished she could be so unaffected by things. Lauren tried to stay unemotional and detached, only because she felt things with such intensity when she didn't.
As they got off the bus, Lauren stood to the side to wait for her mom. Peyton was the last one off the bus.
"Took you long enough." Lauren joked, as she went to retrieve their bags. Her mom didn't respond. Lauren followed her gaze and saw Charity, talking with her mom and their dad.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Lauren asked, after they had loaded their things into the car. Her mom quickly brushed away a tear.
"Mom, please!" Lauren pleaded. She knew her mom was a very private person, but she had also never let Lauren see her hurting this badly.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?" Her mom replied hoarsely as they drove. Lauren stared out the window as they drove through town. Whatever happened, had to have been pretty bad to have affected her mother this way. As they pulled up to their house, she saw her dad sitting on the front porch, waiting for them. Her mother apparently didn't see him, because she got out of the car and opened the trunk and began carrying their things up to the house.
"Lucas?" Her mother asked softly, dropping their bags on the front lawn. Lauren thought that her mother almost looked like she was going to turn and run.
"I think we need to talk." Lucas stated, walking towards them. Lauren thought that this seemed like her cue to exit.
"I'm going to go and get ready to head to Tric." She mumbled as she picked up their bags and took them inside. She sincerely hoped that whatever her dad had done to hurt her mother, that he would make it right.