My first real chapter, in almost a year. It did take a little longer the finish than I anticipated, but life tends to get in the way of my fiction.
Before diving into this chapter...be warned. You remember in the beginning when I said Jamie wouldn't be the golden boy he is in every other story, he is making some choices that you may, or may not agree with.
& as we go forward there is going to be a lot of heavier topics, more serious topics. I will always try to add more comedy from time to time, as I always do, but these topics are more "real life" so to speak.
Happy reading :)
"Do you have basketball practice tonight"?
"Yep".
"You gonna stop by after"?
He shrugged. "I don't know, probably not".
Sasha bit down on her lip and crawled up behind Jamie—who sat at the foot of her bed, slipping his shoes on—after just getting dressed. She slid her arms around his waist and kissed him gently on the back of his neck. "Don't I always make it worth your while"?
If rolling his eyes was a sport, Jamie would have a good medal. "I guess".
Sasha felt Jamie slip from her arms, as he stood up. "Where are you going—it's four in the morning—you could come back to bed".
"I have to get in a workout before school—and I have to shower, and I have to stop and pay my electric bill on the way there," Jamie said, slightly irritated. "And—we aren't a couple, we agreed from the start—just sex, no strings, getting in bed, cuddling—that's pretty coupley—to me".
"Coupley—is that even a word"?
"Probably not" Jamie admitted as he tugged his hoodie over his head. "I doubt it—but I told you from the start I don't want a relationship—not with you or anyone else".
"Madison screwed you up—didn't she"?
Jamie sighed. "Can we not talk about her—please"?
"I'll just add that to the list," Sasha said, crossing her arms. "You don't want to talk about anything—in fact, that's what we don't do. We don't talk. We don't—anything. You come, we screw, you leave".
"And if you have a problem with it then let me know because I simply don't care," Jamie told her. "This is what we both agreed on—in fact, I believe it was your idea, we hooked up one time—and you approached me two weeks later".
"Because you were screwing every girl in school," Sasha said. "If you're gonna be a whore, at least do it right, that's how you get sexually transmitted diseases".
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you"? Jamie asked. "Being a whore, I mean".
"I like sex, but don't like relationships" Sasha replied.
"Then why do you keep trying to have one with me"?
Sasha, who had been balancing herself on her knees, finally crashed back onto her bed and shrugged. "You can go now".
Jamie didn't even question it, he turned around, and made his way out the door of her parents three-story mansion.
"Haley"?
Months and months had passed, and still, yet, Nathan had not become accustomed to waking up without his wife by his side. He struggled to get out of the bed—due to the slight exhaustion but managed to do so in a matter of seconds. It didn't take long for him to find his way out of his bedroom, and on the hunt for Haley.
Although it wasn't much of a hunt, he knew exactly where to find her—in the nursery.
"Hey," he said walking in.
"Shh," Haley said, as she sat in the rocking chair. "She just fell asleep".
Nathan looked at the sleeping infant in his wife's arms, and he smiled. "Then maybe you should come to bed, get some sleep".
"Oh—I'm okay," Haley said. "She likes it when I hold her".
"I think you like it when you hold her," Nathan told his wife.
"I just like watching her sleep," Haley said.
"Hales, she's fine—I promise, but you need sleep".
Haley nodded. "You're right—I can just bring her with me".
Nathan sighed. "Haley, I know you love her, I do, too, but you can't be with her every waking second. You're a good mom, great mom, but no matter what you do it isn't going to make up for—".
Haley glanced up at him because even though he didn't finish his sentence, she knew what he was thinking.
"No matter I do, it won't make up for the babies we lost," Haley said. "It won't bring the twins back".
Nathan pressed his lips together. "I know none of this has been easy on you—".
"You mean, giving birth to our babies when I was only nineteen weeks pregnant"? Haley asked. "And then getting pregnant just a short time after that, before I had time to even grieve them, and being terrified to even move the whole time I was pregnant with Carolina—no it hasn't been easy. My body has carried five children, and I only have three here with me—".
Nathan walked over towards his crying wife, and he knelt, by the rocking chair, looking up at her.
"I am scared to leave her alone—for two seconds".
"Then I'll hold her while she sleeps, and you go get some sleep".
"You won't put her down"?
"No—I promise," Nathan said. "She can go watch the news with me".
Haley glanced down, at her newborn baby daughter, and kissed her on top of the head. "Mommy is just going to go take a nap," she said softly before looking at Nathan. "You promise—"?
"Yes".
Haley passed her daughter to her father and despite every inch of her telling her to stay, and never let her go, she forced herself up on her feet, and made her way out the room, leaving the two alone.
"I worry about your mommy, you know"? Nathan said, in a small quiet voice as he sat down in the rocking chair. "I haven't seen her like this since your grandma Lydia passed away—it was hard losing your brothers, I don't think we expected you so soon after—actually, your mommy didn't want any more children. The heartbreak—it was too much on her, she made your daddy get a vasectomy—but we made you just one week before".
Nathan chuckled as he looked down to see his baby daughter staring at him, her blue eyes piercing. "I'm talking to you like you're an old friend at a bar," he said. "Your mommy—she's having a hard time—and will for a while, but she wouldn't have made it through it at all if you hadn't come along. But, you—my sweet girl, you are your mommy's saving grace, that's where your name comes from, my Carolina Grace".
"Good morning".
Lucas smiled at the sweet, beautiful sound of the voice in his ear—as he felt Brooke wrapping her arms around him. He could feel her lips pressing softly to different areas of his neck, periodically, as she ran her left hand, down the opening of his shirt, trailing her dark red manicured hands lightly through his skin.
Brooke lightly squealed, before she giggled softly, when Lucas spun the chair, he was sitting in, around and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, pulling her into his as much as he possibly could before he kissed her.
"Oh, crap".
Brooke scoffed. "I'll put that on the list of things I never thought I'd hear someone say when they kissed me," she said.
Lucas chuckled. "Not what I was referring to—I'll put that on my mother's grave," he said, shrugging. "Did you say morning—it's the morning"? He asked reaching for his phone.
"Yeah, it's almost fiv—".
"Five twenty-seven," he said, leaning back into his chair, running his hands down his tired face. "I stayed up all night again".
Brooke nodded. "I'm really starting to wonder why we bought that big California king bed when I spend most nights by myself in it".
Lucas sighed. "I'm so sorry".
Brooke leaned down and kissed him, for just a minute. "You can make it up to me—tonight"? She asked. "Over—and over again".
"Or—I could make it up to you right now"? Lucas asked, smiling.
Before he had the chance to kiss her Brooke stood up, providing Lucas with a small pout as he sat there—shirt now over half unbuttoned, some of her handy work, but she could do nothing but laugh.
"I have to get ready," Brooke said as she tied her night robe, tightly around her slim figure. "I have a meeting this morning—about my new line".
"Oh, come on—it's a video conference, you can just get your top half ready and that won't know any difference".
"If it helps I promise not to wear any underwear," Brooke said as she made her way towards the door.
"Tease".
"But, whatever it is that you're writing in that computer—wrap it up, because you promised to get the kids up and ready for school," Brooke said. "I laid all their clothes out, at the end of each of their bed's—you have to start getting Jude up about twenty minutes before he actually has to be up, and Sawyer has a doctor's appointment at two, so you will have to pick her up early from school—but then she has to go back to school for cheerleading practice".
Lucas chuckled. "I never would have envisioned my daughter being a cheerleader".
"Well, I'm sure no one ever envisioned you being with someone who is so far out of your league—but here we are".
Lucas looked up, with one eyebrow arched, before grabbing a crumpled up piece of paper and lunging it at Brooke. She squealed slightly and ducked.
"Go get ready for your meeting," Lucas said, smiling, and pointing.
"I like it when your bossy" Brooke said, before turning around and making her way out of the room altogether.
Lucas smiled, as he turned around back towards his computer and began to type, and couldn't seem to drop the smile on his face as he did so.
"You just missed Lily".
Keith looked up as he walked through the door to find Deb sitting on the couch, holding Keith's eight-month grandson, smiling at him as he played with the necklace around her neck. He glanced at the clock, then back down at the baby. "She was early, she isn't supposed to drop him off for another thirty minutes—I had her lunch money".
Deb chuckled. "I think she is fine on money, you give her more than enough—and she is a mom, she has her own place, a job—".
"And she is trying to finish high school".
"You need to let her learn to fly a little, Keith," Deb said. "Learn to juggle life and her financial responsibilities, it's the only way she is going to learn".
"Exactly, how much do you charge her a day to babysit, when she is in school or has to work"? Keith asked as he sat down on the couch, smirking.
Deb looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "That's different".
"How, so"?
Deb pressed her lips together before letting out a long breath. "Okay, maybe it's not, but hell, it's not like I'm doing anything else. Plus, I enjoy his company. It reminds me of when Nathan was a baby, also the last time he liked me".
Keith smiled when the sweet boy grabbed his grandfather's finger, holding on as tightly as his tiny hands could. "Maybe I do need to let her learn to do things on her own—I just can't, I missed so much, it feels like it's my only way to make up for all the time we lost".
"That wasn't your fault".
"No, it was yours".
Deb looked up to see Keith grinning ear to ear. "Okay, I'll take that, but at least give your brother a little credit".
"With pleasure," Keith said. "I wasn't there to buy her, her first bike, or take her to dance recital's or buy all of her Girl Scout cookies—now is the time most teenagers are preparing for the real world, and she got a heavy dose of it, too soon, before she was ready, and she is doing by herself, I know she made a choice to have sex and get pregnant, and then she made a choice to keep him, but—she shouldn't have to do it alone—it reminds me of—".
"Karen"?
Keith nodded. "She is so much like her mom, she gets up every morning and goes to school and goes to work, and she doesn't ask me for anything, but I want to give to her, I want to be there for her so that at the end of the day she doesn't sit and worry".
"You're a good man, Keith Scott—you know that"? Deb asked smiling. "You got big shoes to feel with a name like that," she said, lowering her voice to speak to the small baby. "Don't you, Keith James Scott"?
"Don't even say it, I already know, I'm late" Peyton said, as she rushed into red bedroom records, to find Chris sitting next to the pool table. "Where are they—have they left? Where did they go? You didn't just let them leave did you"?
Chris scoffed. "Nothing gets past you, does it"? He asked, rolling his eyes. "They are in the studio, setting up"
Peyton all but glanced to see a band, in her studio, adjusting their instruments to each of their likings. She felt a slight sigh of relief, and she smiled, before rushing over to her desk, lying the many things in her hands, from her purse and keys to the folders she was carrying, down on it.
"You've been late a lot".
Peyton glanced up at him. "I have a life outside of this, Chris".
Chris nodded. "So does Chris Keller, but Chris Keller is still on time for important meetings, like this one—it took us months, months to get them in here," he said.
"I know," she said.
"Do you? Because you're acting like you don't, showing up forty-five minutes late" Chris said. "This band is on every studio's radar from North Carolina to L.A, they didn't even want to be signed, they just wanted to play—play for their passion not for money, they didn't want to end up as another marketing aspect, because they know their talent. But, we—I convinced them to come in, I promised them that we don't do things like bigger record studios and all we were interested in sharing their music with everyone, and then you show up, late—what is more, important than this"?
"I had an—meeting".
"With who"?
Peyton looked across her desk at Chris. "It doesn't matter, because—You're right," she said. "So, why don't you take care of them"?
Chris looked at her, dazed and confused. "Wait—what"?
Peyton smiled, she was sure over the years he had become accustomed to her sarcasm, but in this instance it was unnecessary.
"No, Chris I'm serious, you pursued them, you had more than one sit down with them, you've spent months texting them and going to their shows—this is your band," Peyton said. "I have some stuff to catch up on anyways".
Chris looked hesitant but nodded when he took the folder she was handing him, before walking into the studio leaving Peyton alone. She crashed into her seat behind her desk.
"Andre".
Andre laughed when Lily smacked him on the shoulder, after scaring her as she stood at her locker.
"It's not funny," Lily said, swatting at him once more, this time with her book bag. "My bladder isn't what it used to be".
That didn't help Andre's laughing fit anymore, in fact, it worsened things. He was laughing more, and a little harder than before.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Good morning to you too, ass".
Andre wrapped his arms around Lily and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm sorry," he said. "It—it's not funny—speaking of a weak bladder by the way, how is my boy this morning"?
"Good Segway," Lily said. "I can owe myself if I get too scared or laugh too hard, so let's talk about the cause of that".
This time, they both laughed.
"He is good, he missed you this morning," Lily said.
"I still can't believe I was his first word," Andre said.
Lily rolled her eyes, once more. "Oh, hush, mama is just around the corner. I can feel it".
"Keep dreaming".
"It was actually, probably, a good thing you didn't come over last night".
"Ouch".
Lily ignored his comment as she began digging her books out of her locker. "Guess who came over to my house last night"?
"Chuck"?
Lily swatted him, with the heaviest book she could find. "You're not funny," she said, before turning to fully face him, and looked around before nearly whispering. "Maddie".
"Maddie"? He asked. "Wait—what"? He asked. "Does Jamie—"?
"No, I haven't told him, I don't know if I should—or if I want to for that matter".
"That's his wife, I think he deserves to know she is in town".
"Oh, he will—she is moving back".
Andre was starting to feel like a broken record. "Wait—what"? He asked, to which this time Lily simply nodded. "We haven't heard or seen her in two years—".
"It's not been that long" Lily corrected him. "She left a month after she and Jamie got married, but she didn't break contact until—it was after KJ was born, I do know that—he will be nine months—".
"In three days," Andre said without missing a beat. "So, a year and a half, I was close enough".
"It doesn't matter, it's not our place to tell Jamie".
"Lils, he is one of my best friends".
"I think you sometimes forget that you and Chuck haven't spoken since I found out I was pregnant," Lily said. "He is your only best friend, but this is between him and his wife, it's not our business—so keep your mouth shut for the day, okay"?
Andre sighed but nodded. "Okay, I won't say anything—wait, if she is moving back, where is she"?
"She said something about finally putting her past behind her—".
"Maddie"?
Madison didn't know to smile or not, instead, she carefully looked through the glass to see Lauren sitting on the other side, with the phone pressed to her ear, as she herself was doing the same.
"Hi".
Lauren pressed her lips together as if she was thinking what to say—as if she hadn't pictured this moment a thousand different times. But, she never thought it would really happen, she thought she would never see the young woman across from her again.
"I can't believe you're here".
"I can't either," Madison said. "I never thought—I never wanted to see you again".
"I know, Maddie, what I did was unforgivable, but I was only trying to protect you".
"I know that I knew that then, that wasn't what made me so—angry, I could have accepted everything, but you lied to me. My whole life was a lie leading up to that point".
"I know, I couldn't imagine what you have gone through".
"What I have gone through? I got to meet my family, my real family, I have a dad—and grandparents, I have so many aunts and uncles and cousins that I don't even know what to do with" Madison said smiling. "I was so angry with you, but my Papi, my dad—he talked to me one night, he wanted to thank you".
"What"?
"He said that if you hadn't done what you did then he might never have found me, I could have been sent to a foster home—but you kept me safe" Madison said. "You made sure I had clothes and food—you lied to me, but you were protecting me, you didn't know they weren't my real parents either, and you didn't want me to be sent away. He was so grateful for you, not to allow me to be thrown in the government's system, or tossed to the side, you treated me better than anyone could have—and I guess I needed to see it from his perspective—thank you, Lauren".
"I'm going to go change her diaper".
Nathan looked up at his wife, who was once again, cradling their newborn daughter. "I can do that," he said.
"No, it's okay, I got it," she said, as she began her journey up the stairs.
"She's not getting any better"? Lucas asked, as he took a sip of the drink in his hand.
"If anything, Luke, she is getting worse," Nathan said. "I honestly thought once the baby was born, things would get better—but they haven't. I don't know what to do".
Lucas sighed, as he swirled the coffee around inside his mug, because he didn't have an answer, and it killed him.
"I can't go to work, because I'm scared to leave her, and she won't leave the house, except for doctors' appointments," Nathan said. "A woman at the pediatrician's office was looking at Carolina, and Haley flipped, I have seen new moms get overprotective, we live in a world infested with germs, but this woman was across the room and all she did was tell us she was cute. Haley went off, told her not to touch her—that's not Haley, that's not my wife, with Lydia and Jamie she was letting everyone see them and hold them".
"Yeah, but Nate, she hadn't buried two kids then, either" Lucas said.
"She wasn't supposed to get pregnant again, we had sex one time between the time she gave birth to the twins and my vasectomy, one time—and she was pregnant. I couldn't get her pregnant for months when we were trying, then we stop trying and I get her pregnant twice. I don't regret our daughter, at all".
"I know that".
"But, I just wish—things were different. They are only so little for so long, and she rarely even lets me hold her, I was lucky—this morning she rested and left me alone with her, do you know that's the first time I have ever been alone with her since she was born"?
"I don't think it has to do with you".
"I know it doesn't, it's Haley, she is scared," Nathan said. "It's Jamie's senior year, and she hasn't been to a game all season, not when she was pregnant and not since we brought the baby home, she won't hire a sitter—".
"I'm assuming a nanny is out of the question"?
Nathan scoffed. "It's not even in the story, brother".
Lucas chuckled, but his face dropped quickly. "Have you considered—talking to her about therapy? I mean it helped when Lydia passed away, didn't it"?
"I'm sure she would be more than open to it, but it would require leaving the house," Nathan said.
"What about a house visit"?
"That would require someone, unfamiliar—with unfamiliar germs in the house, by the way, her words not mine," Nathan said. "I tried that after the incident at the doctor's office".
"What about—a video therapy session of some sort"?
"That would require the baby to be exposed to the harmful rays of technology," Nathan said. "Like, I said, she doesn't put her down, I got lucky this morning, and I'm pretty sure it was pure exhaustion".
"Phone call"?
"She could drop the phone on the baby's head".
"You could hold the phone and put it on speaker".
"It could be too loud and damage the baby's hearing," Nathan said. "Before you go on let me save you some time, anything you are thinking of I have thought of, more than once, and that was over a doctor's appointment for the baby, this is for her, so it's not even a thinking option".
Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Mom compared to it separation anxiety—".
"That's downplaying it, a lot," Lucas said.
"All I know is, I share a house with a woman who looks like my wife, talks like my wife—sounds like her, has her eyes—but isn't the woman I have spent the last nearly twenty years with," Nathan said. "She is a broken shell of a remainder of what's left of my wife. That's it, and I don't know how to help her".
Before Lucas could answer him, not that he particularly had an answer, the house phone began ringing. He watched as his brother crossed the room quickly, and glanced down at the cordless. "It's Lydia's school".
"Uh-oh," Lucas said, half smiling.
"Hello—yes, this is her father".
"What's going on"? Haley asked as she walked back into the room, with her daughter nestled closely to her.
"Lydia's school," Lucas said.
Nathan pressed the end call and laid the phone down, biting his lip—almost awkwardly.
"What is it"? Haley asked.
Nathan scratched the back of his head. "You have to go get Lydia".
"Me"? Haley asked. "I have the baby".
"I'll stay with the baby".
"She's going to be hungry soon and you know she doesn't like a bottle and I don't see your nipples leaking any kind of liquid".
"No, they haven't done that since our trip to Panama," Lucas said. "Ow".
Nathan rolled his eyes after smacking his brother in the back of the head, who was currently rubbing his now sore spot.
"What is going on Nathan"? Haley asked.
Nathan sighed. "Lydia—she started her period".
Lucas looked between Haley and Nathan, and began sipping on his coffee—because, what was he supposed to say in this situation?
"She started her period"? Haley asked.
"She's eleven, she's too young for that—right"? Nathan asked.
"Well, I was twelve," Haley said, shrugging. "Taylor was nine, some kids just start puberty earlier than other's".
"Comparing our daughter to Taylor is not going to help matters," Nathan said.
"I didn't compare her to Taylor, I just said Taylor was younger".
"Sawyer's older, has she even started her period"? Nathan asked, looking at his brother.
"Oh, this is not a conversation I want to be apart of," Lucas said, sitting back folding his arms. "And not to sound like a bad dad, but I don't know".
"What do you mean you don't know"? Haley asked.
"When she's at my house she has Brooke, when she is at her mom's she has, well her mom," Lucas said. "Hell, I'm not even sure she is a girl most of the time".
Nathan sighed. "What are we supposed to do"?
"Well, I have to go, nurse, this little one and put her down for a nap, so I'll take care of one daughter and you take care of the other".
Nathan felt his jaw fall to the floor, literally. "I'm not a woman, I don't know what to do".
"Take her to the local drug store and buy her some—famine supplies, just remember it's going to be just as awkward for her as it is for you".
"I doubt that," Nathan said.
"I know, I know—I'm late, I'm late".
Brooke looked up from her the table she was dining at to see Peyton rushing in, her hands full—her wardrobe a mess, just like her life seemed to be.
"It's brunch—I don't think it matters if you're late," Brooke said, as she continued to sip out of her glass. "Sit down, relax, have a mimosa".
Peyton crashed in the seat across from her friend, pushing her scraggly hair out of her face, after sitting everything down at the table.
"Not that I don't enjoy your company, but what the hell is all this"? Brooke asked, pointing to the stack of folders Peyton had brought with her.
"I was late to work this morning so I'm behind on some paperwork, thought I would catch up on it here," Peyton said. "And then I have a few forms in here for you to sign, too".
"What on earth do you need me to sign"? Brooke asked.
"Oh, it's not a big deal, just some forms—for Sawyer".
"Such as".
"Just papers stating that in the case of my death, you'll take responsibility as a guardian" Peyton said as she took a sip out of her drink.
Brooke blinked once, then again. "How incredibly morbid of you," she said. "Not to mention, Sawyer has a dad—".
"Okay, and what happens if something happens to me and then Lucas"? Peyton asked. "This will give you a guarantee—".
"Peyton—".
"No, I'm serious, if something ever happened to me, I need to know that she would be taken care of," Peyton said. "You never know, I mean your husband literally dropped dead in your living room—".
"It was the foyer," Brooke said.
"A man who everyone, himself and his doctors included, were convinced to be in perfect health—and he wasn't," Peyton said. "Isn't it better to be safe than sorry"?
"Okay, now we went from talking about will's to my deceased husband, I feel like I'm on the Katie Couric show".
"I just got thinking—Karen had a will so that Luke and I had custody of Lily—".
"Karen was also deathly ill," Brooke said, before glancing up. "Unless—are you—sick"?
There was really no easy way for her to ask that question to her best friend.
"Do I look sick"? Peyton asked folding her arms.
Brooke looked her friend over and shrugged. "A little chaotic, but—you look fine".
"Then I'm fine," Peyton said. "It's just a precaution—I lost both my mother's before I even graduated high school, if something like that ever happened to Sawyer, I just want to know she will be taken care of".
"Even if you didn't have a will, you know I would take care of her—I'd fight the whole damn White House before I let anyone else lay a finger on her head".
Peyton picked up a pen. "Then how about you save us both the trouble"?
"If I sign this, can we talk about something a little more uplifting"?
"It's all unicorns and pony's the rest of our meal," Peyton said.
Brooke jerked the pen out of her friend's hand, and quickly signed the paper in front of her. She watched as Peyton shoved it in her purse and despite all efforts, she couldn't seem to force herself to smile, and she tried, but her stomach felt slightly uneasy.
"So, about those unicorns and pony's," Peyton said, picking up her glass with the orange liquid in it. "How did your meeting go this morning"?
Brooke, who had come to brunch ready to dish all the details, seemed to have trouble gathering up the words to even speak. But, she did manage to muster up a simple "it went fine".
"Fine"? Peyton asked. "Just fine".
"Well, after years of hard work, I will officially be getting back into fashion, again".
"I didn't know you ever left".
"I didn't—I mean, what got me started. I'm starting a line in women's fashion—Breyton's closet".
Peyton smiled. "I'm so proud of you," she said. "I want to hear more, but I have to run to the bathroom, when I get back I want to hear every little detail".
Brooke pressed her lips together, and nodded, only slightly, before watching her friend walk away. But, instead of simply sitting there she reached across the table and pulled the folders over to her, and began browsing through them—becoming even more concerned than she already was.
"I can't believe you drug me along for this" Lucas groaned, as he walked through the store with his brother. "I have to pick Sawyer up from school soon".
"Good thing you're already out then," Nathan said.
"Felix, Oscar, do you two mind acting like this is affecting me a little more than you"? Lydia asked as she walked a decent space ahead of them, with her father's hoodie wrapped tightly around her waist—for all too obvious reasons.
"Sorry," Nathan said.
Lydia turned around to face them, causing the two to come to a full stop. "Don't worry, to make up for this, when the time comes I'll take you both to shop for viagra".
Lucas watched as his brother turned a bright shade of red, as Lydia turned back around and began walking once again.
"Oh, my god," Nathan said, running his fingers through his head. "I don't know what's more disturbing that my daughter knows I have a penis or that she now knows what it does".
Lucas followed in behind his brother and muttered. "I feel like it's this little freak show scenario we are currently finding ourselves in".
The two turned the same corner Lydia had to find the preteen standing next to, none other than her brother.
"Jamie"? Nathan asked as he came face to face with his son. "What the hell are you doing here—shouldn't you be in school"?
"Yeah, that's the question I'd be asking my son, not curious as to why he is in the—lady section".
Lydia scoffed. "Smooth".
Lucas let his head fall back—because no way was he going to be able to get through this one alive, before glancing down at his nephew's hand, who was holding a box of condoms.
Jamie shrugged. "Free period," he said, tucking the box out of sight. "Wait, what are you three doing here—together"?
"Lydia—had—she—erm," Nathan said.
"The school nurse kept calling it 'a visit from my special friend," Lydia said, crossing her arms. "But, if you ask me she feels more like a superficial bitch".
"Lydia Bob," Nathan said, scolding his daughter.
"You're telling me I can have an incident in the girl's bathroom that can only be compared to a scene from Carrie, but I can't cuss"? Lydia asked. "Where's the logic in that"?
"Don't look at me" Lucas told his brother, who had diverted his eyes toward him. "I actually agree with her on that one".
"So, what do I get"? Lydia asked, crossing her arms as she looked at the many—many, possible options in front of her. "What about these—mom has these"?
Nathan grabbed the pack of adult diapers out of his daughter's hand. "Your mom just had a baby".
"So, when you have a baby, the mom and the baby come home wearing diapers"? Lydia asked. "I'm never getting pregnant".
"Let's thank god for that" Nathan said.
"How exactly does that work"? Lydia asked.
"How does what work"? Nathan asked, stressfully running his fingers through his hair.
"Mom—she had a baby, how"?
Lucas smacked his nephew in the stomach after he immediately burst out in laughter.
"This day just gets better and better," Nathan said.
"Why don't you ask your mom when you get home"? Lucas asked.
"Go ahead, she will just tell her it's all my fault," Nathan said. "Your mom had a moment of weakness—don't worry, it's not happened again since".
"Wait—-what"? Lucas asked.
"Luke, look at me—do I look—happy to you, at all"? Nathan asked.
"I mean, she just had a baby so I assumed—not that I think about your sex life—but, even when she was pregnant"?
"Nope," Nathan said. "Nada, she was too scared to move for nine months, do you honestly think I was getting anywhere"?
"You and Haley haven't had sex in—".
"Eleven months—but who's counting"? Nathan said.
"Sex"? Lydia asked. "Is that how you have a baby"?
"Yes," Jamie said. "I need this conversation to end before you start talking about your sex life again," he told his dad.
"Oh".
"I thought you knew all this"? Lucas asked.
"I knew what sex was but I didn't know that's how you got pregnant," Lydia said.
"Didn't you tell the twins about two years ago"?
"I'd like to think I have evolved since my nine-year-old self" Lydia said shrugging.
"She probably doesn't remember—gets it from her mom's side," Nathan said.
"What are these"?
All three of the Scott men glanced down at the box in her hand.
"It's—like a—plug," Lucas said, scratching the side of his face, looking around—uncomfortably.
"A plug"? Lydia asked. "The box says tampon".
"That's the technical name," Nathan said, shuffling his feet.
"But—where does it go"?
"Oh, Jesus Christ" Nathan said running his hands around the back of his neck. "It's like a blood bath in here today".
Lydia scoffed. "You're telling me".
"For the love of God," Jamie said, taking the box, and putting it back, before grabbing a small pack. "Here—these are what Maddie used when she first started, they are lightweight, and don't have wings—the wings drove her crazy—".
"Wings"? Lydia asked.
"Don't ask, you'll thank me later" Jamie said. "And here is this, she carried them around in her purse—".
"Baby wipes"?
"They aren't baby wipes, they keep the area—clean, anyways, there—Now let's get out of this little nightmare in CVS".
"Maybe she's not home".
Brooke rolled her eye, at even the thought, because she knew better—Peyton knew better.
"You're right," Brooke said, sarcastically. "Maybe she and the baby are out swimming with sharks".
"Now, you're just being ridiculous".
"I'm being ridiculous, the woman has all but pulled a bubble boy on her newborn baby daughter, and you're suggesting that she went out," Brooke said. "And I'm the one being ridiculous"?
"I wouldn't make that bubble boy comment to her if I was you," Peyton said.
"You're right, I wouldn't want to give her any ideas".
Peyton threw her hands up in defeat. "I meant you probably don't want to hurt her feelings, her being hormonal and all, but we can go with yours".
Brooke turned around to face Peyton and folded her arms. "But, am I wrong"?
Peyton sighed. "I wish the world were that simple".
Brooke turned back around and began knocking on the door—again. But, this time, a few minutes later it opened.
Haley didn't smile, but she didn't look unhappy to see them either. "Hey," she said, out of breath. "What are you all doing here"?
"Well, let's see—we lost our friend Haley—months ago," Brooke said. "Have you seen her by any chance"?
Haley halfway smiled. "I know—it's been hectic".
"It's not the same going out to eat without you," Peyton told her.
"I know, but I have Carolina".
"Did they make a ban where babies and children can't go to restaurants now"? Brooke asked. "Because, if so I need to show it, Davis and Jude, I would love to go to my favorite Italian restaurant just once without being asked if they have chicken nuggets".
Brooke, walked past Haley, inside her friend's home— and couldn't hide her thoughts, just with the expression on her face.
"I haven't had a chance to clean," Haley said, as she began picking up some burping cloths off the back of the chair.
"You mean since the exact moment when Adam met Eve"? Brooke asked as she looked around.
Peyton sighed as she walked in, shutting the door behind her. "Brooke" she scolded her best friend. "Ignore her, you can hardly tell".
"Please, this looks like an episode of hoarders," Brooke said.
Haley pushed a lost strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. "I'm always with the baby—and Nathan tries, it's not so easy with a newborn".
"I've had a newborn, I've had two—at the same time, my house never looked like this".
Haley didn't respond, instead, she just walked away with the mountain of dirty items in her arms.
"Too harsh"? Brooke asked looking at Peyton. "I just meant—".
"That you brought your twins home and she didn't"? Peyton asked, lowering her voice.
Brooke immediately covered her mouth. "That's not what I meant—I—didn't mean it like that".
"I know, and so does Haley, but you still might need to go talk to her".
Brooke ran her fingers through her long hair before finding her way to the laundry room, where Haley was filling up the washer with dirty items.
"I think it goes without saying that I didn't mean to come off as an insensitive bitch" Brooke said. "I just have a natural habit for it, apparently".
"I know—it's not your fault," Haley said, closing the lid. "I could never blame you—no matter how hard I tried".
"What"?
Haley barely looked at her friend, but her face was drenched in guilt, as she opened her laundry detergent and began pouring some into the washer. "Brooke, I couldn't even look at you for weeks," she said. "Months, actually. The doctors told me there was no reason, that it happened—sometimes it just happens, it was a freak occurrence, one day I had two healthy babies growing inside of me, and the next day—I didn't. The doctors did everything they could, but I still lost them, I still came home—empty. You were the first person to stop by and see me after, and you brought Jude and Davis with you, I watched you with them—and I hated you. I hated you because you had two healthy boys, and I didn't. I would never wish harm on you or your boys, but I hated the fact that you had what I was supposed to have".
Brooke walked over and took the laundry detergent out of her friend's hand. "I think that's enough," she said, as she sat it down, turning to look straight at Haley. "If you need to hate me, to feel better—then you do that, I couldn't imagine the pain you feel".
"I don't hate you," Haley said. "And it's not like directing my pain, my heartbreak on to anything else is going to make it go away. I know that everything is a mess around me from my life to my house, I know that I'm not acting like myself and that I'm worrying everyone, but I can't think about that, because all I can think about is my daughter. Brooke, I'm physically ill right now just being in a different room as she is, it terrifies me".
Brooke pushed Haley's hair out of her face, as the new mother cried, the tears soaking into the skin on her face. "Then go be with her, Peyton and I will tidy up, and take care of anything that you need".
"I couldn't ask you two to that".
"Well, it's a good thing you're not asking," Peyton said.
Brooke and Haley looked up to see her standing in the doorway neither one of them sure of how long she had been there.
"Go be with your baby, and try to get some rest, we got this" Peyton told her.
Haley bit down on her lip but nodded, before slipping out of the room.
Brooke sighed as she leaned against the dryer she was standing in front of. "I feel like the worst person in the world," she said. "I've done a lot of insensitive things in my life, but that—really took the cake".
"It's not your fault any more than it's hers—and instead of sitting in here feeling sorry for yourself, what do you say we help our friend"?
Brooke nodded. "But, I'm not doing the dishes".
"I didn't think you would," Peyton said wrapping an arm around her best friend. "But, there is a stain on the couch—could be spit up, could be poop, but it has your name all over it," she said, handing Brooke a rag with a smile across her face.
"I hate you".
"That's good—but work a little harder on that offense," Lucas told his nephew out of breath. "It's not going to do you any good to work that damn hard to get the ball if you can't keep the damn thing".
Jamie stood across from him, bouncing the ball, he shrugged. "I don't see you with the ball," he said.
"You're right," Lucas said, sarcastically. "You're the best—you beat a middle-aged man with a heart condition, bravo—what happens when you get in college? What happens when you're up against someone bigger than you, better than you come along".
"Thanks for the pep talk".
"I didn't ask for this, you did," Lucas said. "You wanted me to train you, personally, so that's what I'm doing. We are out here for an hour sometimes two, every day, even the days you—we have basketball practice".
"I know," Jamie said, looking down. "Again"?
"I just said I'm a middle-aged man with a heart condition—I need to take five," Lucas said, bending over, balancing himself on his knees with his palms—breathing heavily. "I can't get the girl of my dreams and then die a short time later, the universe is cruel—but don't let it be that cruel".
Jamie laughed before the two made their way to the edge of the river court, and each picked up their own sports drink, as Lucas sat down on the edge of the table.
"So," Lucas said, pressing his lips together and looking up at his nephew, who was still standing. "I guess I ought to be thankful that you're being safe".
Jamie looked down at Lucas as he closed the lid on his drink. "You saw that, huh"? He asked.
"You're lucky your dad didn't notice you were buying condoms," Lucas said. "You're even luckier that he didn't see that they were magnum, you're already better at basketball than he ever was—I don't think we should kill his ego altogether".
"He was already traumatized having to even take Lydia down that aisle, I could have been buying dildo's in bulk, and he wouldn't have noticed," Jamie said, sitting next to his uncle.
Lucas nodded. "That's true," he said, before glancing over at his nephew, and then back at the river court. "Do I even want to ask who those are being used with"?
Jamie held his sports drink tightly in his hand, and he shrugged. "Sometimes Sasha," he said. "And sometimes Chloe—sometimes whoever I meet at a party".
"Jamie".
"What"?
"You're eighteen, I don't think I need to give you a lecture on the—effects, that can come with multiple partners".
Jamie shrugged. "I use condoms, and I get tested, frequently, just to be safe".
"Jamie".
"What"? He asked. "I'm being safe, and—I like sex, I like sex, a lot, actually, what's wrong with having sex"?
"Well, nothing," Lucas said. "Except—you're married".
Jamie groaned, letting his head fall back.
"If you were a single teenager, I would sit here and talk to you, I'd listen to your stories, I might still push a little on the being safe portion, but overall I would tell you to enjoy life," Lucas said. "But, you're not single, you have a wife".
"If I have a wife—then where the hell is she"? Jamie asked. "I had a wife—I don't have anything, anymore. Not a marriage, and not a wife. She—she abandon me, I didn't just step out of our marriage, I didn't just decide cheating was the thing I wanted to do, because it sounded fun" he said, sarcastically. "One day, we talked on the phone twelve times, the next I didn't hear from her at all, I assumed she got busy or lost track of time, or was with her family, or out of cell phone range—it could have been several things, then day two and day three passed me by, and I was running out of excuses why she couldn't pick up the phone and send me a text telling me what was going on".
Jamie gripped the drink in his hand tightly, as the anger that came with reliving the experience played over in his head, as it had done for months.
"I was her husband, I am her husband, I deserved something, a reason—if she got caught up her family I deserved to know, if she wanted out of the marriage I deserved that, too," Jamie said. "But, I didn't get anything, I got weeks of unanswered phone calls and texts, emails, letters—everything. I deserved a reason, an answer, an excuse—something, anything, but I got nothing. So, one night, six—maybe seven weeks later, something like that I went to a party, I got drunk—no that's not the right word, I got plastered. If you had asked me my name I wouldn't have known it, I had drunk from time to time over the years, but I never drank like that—probably never will again".
"From the sounds of it, that's refreshing to hear," Lucas said.
"The next morning, when I woke up, I wasn't alone," Jamie said, looking down. "I was at Sasha's—I felt guilty, I felt sick to my stomach with guilt. I wanted to tell her, I needed to tell her—but after a week, again, of trying to get in contact with her I finally came to the realization that she didn't care about our marriage, so why should I? I went to another party, hooked up with a girl there, then another, and another, and another. I know it sounds bad, but once I hit ten—I quit even keeping up with my body count, and I'm not going to apologize for the way that I chose to heal myself after she broke me. I felt bad, at first, because yes she is my wife, and I would have spent ten years waiting on her, twenty, thirty—however long, I would have sat here patiently waiting for her, but how was I supposed to do that when my wife couldn't even pick up the phone and call me"?
Lucas sighed, he knew he was supposed to have an answer, but he didn't. He couldn't even pretend that he did, and he couldn't even understand the heartache his nephew felt.
"I moved on, I'm moving on, and I'm not going to apologize for that—would I have preferred to be divorced first, yes" Jamie admitted. "But, how can I even do that when I don't have a number that she will respond to, I don't have an address except for a few hotels here and there—but as soon as I do I'll be divorced".
Lucas looked down at the ground, until his nephew take a shaky breath, and looked up to see him fighting the urge to cry—fighting the tears that were swelling up in his eyes.
"I didn't ever want to be with anyone else, she was it for me since I was nine years old, uncle Luke," Jamie said. "I wanted to give her the world, but she walked away without even flinching—so I'm not going to feel guilty about moving on".
Lucas patted him on the knee and nodded. "Well, I guess that's that, then".
Jamie nodded.
"Okay, let's finish this so I can get home to a freshly burnt meal".
"I still can't believe you have a baby".
Lily smiled, as she watched Madison hold her baby son, playing with the infant.
"Got the stretch marks and everything to prove it," Lily told her. "I always thought you would get pregnant before me".
Madison chuckled. "I think everyone did—I honestly thought I'd be like Haley, and graduate high school pregnant".
"There is still time".
The girls, the women, they laughed, together, as Madison sat KJ on the floor, who began to crawl around.
"I doubt there is that much time—I'm sure Jamie will be a lot harder to win over than you were," Madison said, as she sat back on Lily's couch.
"That's an understatement" the two heard and looked to see Andre walking through the door. "I got everything on your list," he told Lily as he made his way across the apartment, and sat the many bags down on the kitchen table. "Your very precise, overly thorough list".
Madison looked up at one of the boys she grew up with, and gave him a weak smile. "Hey," she said softly, standing up. "Am I allowed to hug you or are you going to throw me across the room"?
"I missed you, too Maddie," he said.
The two hugged, briefly, and Madison knew she had, at the very least two of her best friends back.
"Da-da," KJ said, crawling to Andre's ankle and reaching up for him.
"I think it's so cute—you two have this perfect little family," Madison said, sitting back down next to Lily as Andre picked KJ up.
"If sleep deprivation is cute, then it's freaking adorable," Lily said, groaning.
"So—does he know—that you're back"? Andre asked, and he didn't have to be specific on names, either.
Madison shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to him, yet".
"You probably should," Andre said. "He needs to find out that you're back from you, not someone or anyone else, it's bad enough you cut him out like that, you don't need to make it worse".
"It's a little more complicated than that" Madison said.
"I'm not saying it isn't—but he is your husband, and regardless of your reasoning you haven't spoken to him in months, the last thing he needs is to find out you came back and didn't tell him," Andre said.
"I'm going to talk to him, I promise".
"When"?
Madison sighed. "Soon".
Lucas shut the door to his house, and his eyes grew wide instantly. "Brooke"? He yelled. "Is everything okay"?
He ran and knew immediately where to run to—the kitchen, which was covered in black smoke, and she stood wearing an apron.
"Oh, my god" Lucas said, grabbing the skillet that was on fire.
"I threw water on it, but it made it worse somehow".
Lucas grabbed a nearby dish rag and wet it under the facet before tossing it over the skillet, smothering the fire down. It wasn't long, seconds later, that the fire was out.
Brooke stood with her hands on her hips, starring at the skillet. "Well—we can't eat that now, you put a dirty dishrag on it," she said.
Lucas scoffed. "You were still going to feed that to people—you can't even tell what it is".
"It was chicken—I think".
Lucas ran his fingers through his hair as he tossed the skillet into the sink. "Well, I don't think Gordon Ramsey would approve".
Brook sighed. "What's wrong with me that I can cook a simple dinner"? She asked. "All I want is to feed my family, and somehow every night I about take out the whole town".
"Maybe you should stick to what you know," Lucas said, handing her the cordless phone. "Call in dinner".
"Chinese or pizza"? She asked, letting out a long breath.
"Whatever doesn't get the fire department down here—again," Lucas said. "They are starting to know us by name".
"Where are you going"?
"To take a shower, I've been at the river court with Jamie for the past three hours—I smell like ass".
Twenty minutes later Lucas found himself grasping through his bedroom, hair wet with a towel draped around his waist, and Brooke sitting on the bed, sketching.
"Pizza should be delivered soon," Brooke told him.
Lucas smiled. "Okay," he said.
"Don't get too excited. I didn't get pineapples on it".
Lucas groaned. "I love pineapples on pizza".
"They don't go on pizzas".
"Says you".
"Says everyone—pizza has cheese, cheese comes from cows, would you pineapples in a warm glass of milk"? Brooke asked, him irritated.
"It's hard to argue with that logic," Lucas said, rolling his eyes.
Brooke smiled, as she sat her pencil down, and then looked up at Lucas. "I need to talk to you about something," she said. "Well, about Peyton".
Lucas nodded. "I hope this isn't some kind of weird foreplay".
Brooke chuckled before her smile dropped together. "I'm worried about her, really worried about her".
Lucas looked at her, confused. "What do you mean"? He asked. "A better question, why"?
"She had me sign part of her will today, basically saying that if anything happens, I'll take responsibility for Sawyer".
"And that's a bad thing"? Lucas asked. "Sweetie, that's a good thing—a lot of people want wills filled out just in case".
"I know, I have one—but—this was different Luke, you discuss things, then you call a lawyer, and you set a time to go in and sign a few papers, you don't bring documents to sign about your death over mimosas and a forty-five dollar salad," Brooke said. "And it wasn't just me signing for Sawyer, she had documents in her purse—who she was leaving Tric, too—all her belongings and assets, she had everything divided, she had filed on Sawyer's saving account—the whole works".
Lucas sat down on the edge of the bed, looking over at Brooke. "She had me sign something for Sawyer a few days ago, I didn't think anything of it—she mentioned mom did it for Lily and thought it was smart for her to be prepared".
"Your mom was deathly ill," Brooke said. "Peyton never worried with this kind of stuff, and now suddenly she is taking papers to you and me to sign, so what's changed? Where did this sense of urgency"?
Lucas looked at her and pressed his lips together. "It's like she is getting her life in order—as if she won't be here anymore".
Brooke bit down on her lip. "I'm worried, Luke".
Lucas nodded. "Now, I am, too".
"I can't believe Brooke and Peyton cleaned out the house," Nathan said, as he closed the refrigerator door.
Haley, who sat at the counter, holding her daughter close, nodded.
"It was nice of them," Nathan said.
Haley, once again, nodded.
Nathan looked at his wife, and his baby daughter and he smiled. "What did you girls do today"? He asked.
Haley shrugged. "You know, I actually think it's getting late, I'll go give her a bath," she said standing up. "Is Lydia—"?
"She's okay," Nathan said nodding. "Me and Jamie and Luke helped her, Jamie actually proved to be more helpful than I ever could have imagined".
"You want to take a bath," Haley said, in a small baby voice talking to her daughter—completely ignoring her husband as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Never-mind—I guess," Nathan said, shrugging as he stood in the kitchen, all alone.
"Jamie"? Sasha asked, after opening the door to reveal the excruciatingly handsome basketball player. "What are you doing here"?
Jamie looked down to see Sasha standing there, in a small pair of shorts, and a tight tank top, with her hair sitting on top of her head, and freshly washed, clear face—indicating that she was getting ready to go to bed.
"If you're here for the same thing you got this morning—four times, I can give you the phone numbers of all the other cheerleader sluts" Sasha said, crossing her arms. "Maybe one of those will be more to your liking".
Jamie caught the door with his hand before she slammed it in his face. "I'm not here for sex," he said.
Sasha rolled her eyes, opening the door the rest of the way. "Then what the hell do you want"?
"If I'm being blunt about it—you," Jamie said. "I want you".
Sasha crossed her arms, and looked at him, as he leaned against the door frame. "You just said you weren't here for sex".
Jamie chuckled, lightly. "I don't mean sexually," he said, his voice low. "I got upset this morning, over you having feelings for me—".
"That I never even admitted to, by the way".
Jamie nodded. "I wasn't upset about your feelings for me, if you have them, I was upset—over my feelings for you," he said, before turning around and walking to the edge of the porch, putting his hands on his hips, dropping his head. "I was talking to my uncle earlier about getting over Maddie and moving on—none of which I would have been able to do without you".
Sasha bit down on her lip, as she looked at him from the doorway. "Okay"?
"Ever since we were kids—you have always been this superficial bitch" Jamie said, halfway chuckling.
"Well, that's romantic".
Jamie turned around and smiled, looking at her. "Until I got to know you these past couple months," he said. "I know we both said it was just sex—but you were the one who would monitor my drinking at parties so I didn't go off the edge, you listened to me talk—ramble, for hours on end, you talked to me about your parents—".
"Or the lack thereof".
"Sasha, you basically saved me from myself, I was in self-destruction mode, and you saved me—so it was only natural that I devolved feelings for you, an attachment," Jamie told her.
"Okay, Mr. Bridgerton" Sasha said, the two laughing a little.
"But—it scared me" Jamie admitted. "I've had sex with you, and god knows how many other women recently—".
"You're really good at this whole sweeping a girl off her feet thing".
Jamie sighed but had to smile, just a little. "Maddie is the only girl I have ever loved—she was my first—everything," he said. "My first love, my first kiss—I lost my virginity to her for god sake. She was everything to me".
"You act like I wasn't there with a front-row seat since grade school," Sasha said.
Jamie inched back towards her, leaning against the large door frame. "Having sex—meaningless sex, with whoever the hell I wanted to screw didn't bother me—in the slightest" he said, before interlacing his fingers with hers, in each of her hands. "But, having an emotional attachment with someone, was something else altogether".
This time Sasha didn't make a joke, instead, she looked up at him, and closed her eyes as she felt his lips press softly against her skin, on one of her hands that he was holding.
"If I admitted it, then that means my marriage is truly over, but—it's been over," Jamie said. "I think part of me wasn't ready to fully accept that, but it's true".
"So—now what"? Sasha asked him.
Jamie cleared his throat and smiled down at her. "I was thinking—you could let me take you out".
"Like—a date"?
"Unless you don't want to".
Sasha saw him smile, she knew he was way too confident in this moment, and part of her wanted to say no just because of that, but they both knew she wouldn't. She couldn't.
"A date," Sasha said. "Like dinner and a movie and you'd bring me home and kiss me, something straight out of a nineties rom-com"?
"I mean, you do look a lot like Drew Barrymore," Jamie said.
Sasha wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. "I have had a crush on you since we were kids, for the first half of the time we went to school together you never even noticed me," she said. "Then when you did it was because of Madison, and the fact that she hated me, and I hated her, now here you are—asking me on a date—and it's like that moment when the shoe fit Cinderella but didn't fit her ugly stepsisters—all I ever wanted was you to notice me, and now you have, and we have spent months— participating in—extra circular activities, and you haven't even kissed me, now I'm just supposed to believe that—".
Sasha stopped talking when Jamie bent down, and tucked one hand beneath her, lifting her up, closing the large height gap the two shared. She let out a long, heavy breathe when she felt her back up against the door to her house, and immediately closed her eyes.
Jamie pressed his lips to hers, and the two kissed. He held her in hand and balanced himself by placing his palm of the other against the door. He felt Sasha wrap her arms tightly around his neck, and the two kissed and kissed—as if their life depended on it.
Author's note: the very first thing I want to say about this chapter is looks can be very deceiving, just remember that. I'm not going to tell what that is in regards to or about, just remember that.
It has actually been a lot longer than eight months, there might have been some confusion in that area. That is just the amount time that they have not spoken with Madison, in all reality it's closer to some amount of time between 16 months and 19, give or take.
Speaking of Madison I'm going to Segway right into Jamie, I wanted to write this storyline to the best of my ability. I didn't want anyone to hate Madison or hate Jamie, but this is a storyline that I have thought about since the start. Not every couple will have a Naley ever after, some couples just aren't ready for marriage. That doesn't mean to give up hope on the couple, and that doesn't mean there is hope for the couple, just that they married before they were ready.
Since I mentioned Naley, one of my most heartbreaking storylines...ever. You saw the changes that came when Haley's mom passed away, so the way that she is dealing...well, she isn't. You'll see breaks in her character, and unfamiliar parts of her, fear for one. Haley is going through something very traumatic, and it will take time to heal, if she heals.
The rest, I can't give too much away. But, leave a review and let me know what you think, until next time!