As soon as Kristine heard the confession that came out of her mothers mouth, she froze. She had been making her way over to see her mom, because Brooke didn't usually come out in town, tending to spend most of her time in the house, away from all the places where she could be seen, but then she heard what her mom said, and she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. She looked at Nathan for a brief moment before turning her gaze on her mother.
Even though she felt everyone's eyes on her, all she could do was turn around and flee, taking Sean's hand as she did. She wasn't even aware of taking Sean's hand and pulling him through the crowd with her until she noticed that he was beside her when she broke through on the other side. She glanced at him. "Can you get me out of here?" she asked and he nodded. "Meet me in the front in a couple of minutes," she said, then disappeared again into the crowd.
Shaking his head, Sean wasn't sure why he followed her instructions, except that he was intrigued by her. Audrey had never talked to him like that, and he wouldn't have listened to her if she did, but he wasn't thinking about Audrey. He was focused on the girl who he had been dancing with for a while. He knew that he should leave without her, because he knew she was bound to be in an emotionally needy state, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
So when Kristine left Tric a few moments later, she found Sean sitting in his car right in front, and she got in with a relieved sigh, clutching something in her arms underneath her jacket. "Just drive," she said when he looked at her, as if waiting for her to tell him where they were going. He did, and once they were out of sight of the club, she took the jacket off of her lap, revealing a full bottle of Bacardi.
Seeing the bottle surprised Sean more than he would have expected. Not really because he didn't expect it of her, but more because he had never been able to steal from the bar. He had always had to sneak his alcohol in. So how the hell had she stolen a whole bottle from the bar, under the watchful eye of the bartenders? She ignored his shock, and took a deep pull from the bottle, taking a second for it to go down before taking another swig.
When she lowered the bottle a second time, she looked over at him. "You have a beach house?" she asked, and he nodded, stillamazed by her. Audrey had always been okay with drinking, if he didn't specifically tell her he was giving it to her. She always knew, but she preferred it to be unspoken. It was clear that Kristine never drank, by the way her face twisted with each drink, but she was adamant about getting drunk. "Let's go there," her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Turning at the next light, Sean drove out towards the beach, and his beach house, the car ride silent except for the sound of her drinking. She was trying not to think about what had just happened. She hoped that if she drank enough it would just wash the information away. She knew that was unrealistic, though, so she was trying to figure out what else she could do. She was coming up with a blank. She had never seen this coming.
When her mom had moved them to Tree Hill, she had known that Brooke had grown up in Tree Hill, and that she had gone to high school here, but Kristine had always been under the impression-thanks to Brooke-that Brooke had met her father outside of Tree Hill, and her father just hadn't wanted to be involved. Now she knew that was all a lie, and she was at a loss for what to do about it. She hated that Brooke had kept this from her. That was unacceptable.
Once the car was parked in front of Sean's beach house, Kristine got out of the car, stumbling a bit, because the bottle that she kept clutched in her hand was already nearly half empty, and Sean felt a strange urge to take care of her, to make sure she was okay. He didn't even care if he got anything out of it, he just wanted her safe. He grabbed her jacket, which she had left behind, and hurried after her as she bypassed the house and headed straight for the sand.
Plopping down in the sand, she kicked off her shoes, a habit that Audrey also had, and dug her feet into the sand, taking another swig from the bottle. She wasn't even paying attention to him, until he tried to take the bottle from her. She fought him for a minute, but he overpowered her, wrestling it away. "What the hell are you doing? Give that back to me now!" she demanded, as he took a drink, then tossed the bottle into the water. He was already drunk himself, but he knew she didn't need to drink anymore.
Scowling at him, she childishly stuck her tongue out, and crossed her arms, pouting. He couldn't help but laugh. She was drunk enough to not realize how silly she was being, but not drunk enough to forget why she was getting drunk in the first place. "Hey, you can't use alcohol to forget your problems. Believe me, I know just how much it doesn't work," he told her, looking out at the water for a minute.
With his gaze toward the waves, he didn't see her move until she had thrust herself at him, crashing her lips into his. He tried to push her away, but she pulled back for a moment, looking up at him with vunerable eyes. "Please. I want to do this," she said. If he threw away the booze, he could at least help her forget. He stared at her for a minute, but he was a red-blooded teenaged guy, and he was drunk, so he couldn't say no after that.
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Only two or three hours later, Sean woke up to the sounds of sobbing. He sat up slowly, noticing Kristine sitting a few feet away crying into her knees. He wasn't used to this kind of reaction. He was a little baffled, and felt that strange urge to protect her. "Hey, hey, what's the matter? I thought you wanted to do that. Are you upset about what you found out tonight?" he asked, moving closer to her.
Wiping her tears, she didn't even try to pretend they weren't there. "I'm so sorry. I just screwed up things for you and Audrey. I didn't mean to, I just, I don't know, I thought it would make everything better, or something. It was stupid, and I'm so sorry," she said, surprising him, because he hadn't thought about Audrey since they left Tric, and for a moment, he had to wonder what she was talking about.
Instead of correcting her, he just shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "No, it's not okay. Really. You guys are a good couple, when you're not being a jackass. You have to fix things with her. I'll never feel right about myself if you guys don't get back together because of me," she insisted. "She never has to know. I won't tell her, and you won't have to worry about me telling her, I promise," she assured him.
That wasn't what he cared about. For a reason he didn't understand, what was bothering him was the fact that she thought he was a jackass. He wanted to prove to her he wasn't, or at least he didn't have to be. If she wanted him to get back with Audrey, he was a bit disappointed, but he could do it. "Alright, sure, don't worry about it. This never happened, okay," he gestured between the two of them, indicating what they did. "Just don't cry," he added.
Pasting on a smile that wasn't completely forced, Kristine realized that she really did have feelings for Sean, but she didn't want to cause problems between Sean and Audrey. She knew they were in love anyway. They wouldn't have been together for so long if they weren't. She wished things could be different, but they just weren't, and she was going to have to accept that. If only her heart would be as logical as her head.
Maybe if she had been anyone else, he would have just left her then, and let her deal with whatever she was feeling on her own, but for some reason, he just couldn't leave her, not when he knew what a hard time she must be having now. "Hey, so I know we don't know each other that well, and maybe this is crazy considering what just happened, but maybe we can still be friends. You can talk to me, you know, if you want to," he was surprised to find he was nervous about her response.
Apparantly, she was just as surprised, if the way her eyes widened said anything. She just stared at him for a moment, then she shook her head, as if in awe. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, then before he could answer, she held her hand up. "You know what,. it really doesn't matter," she trailed off, and stared at the water for so long, that he thought she wasn't going to say anything. "Yeah," she finally said, looking at him.
For a minute he just stared at her, unable to believe she had agreed to talking to him. He wondered if he had heard her wrong, and he cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. She found the words coming out of her mouth as if they were from someone else. "Yeah, sure, I'll talk to you. I mean, yeah, we don't know each other well, but maybe that's the point," she said, wondering where that had come from.
Instead of letting herself dwell on it, she just started talking. "Ever since I was little, my mom would drink, when I was in bed asleep at night, and she wasn't working on her company, which she did during all daylight hours, when she wasn't with whatever man she was with at the moment, she would spend her nights drinking and crying, and she used to get really drunk, and then come into my room at night, when she thought I was sleeping, and tell me stories about her past," she paused.
It felt freeing to tell someone this, because she had never breathed a word of her mother's drinking to anyone before, not even her mother. "I don't know how many times it happened when I didn't wake up, but I heard so many stories, stories about her best friend, Peyton, and stories about her and Peyton and Peyton's boyfriend, Nathan. She told me about the dreaded love triangle of her junior year, between her and Lucas and Peyton after Peyton and Nathan had broken up, and she told me Nathan had found his soulmate in Haley," she just realized that Haley was now her step-mother.
Shaking herself out of the present she focused on the past, because it needed to be explained first. "She told me about all the friends she regretted leaving, but she said she didn't regret the way things happened, because she had gotten me out of it, even if she had lost my father. I never understood what she meant by that, except, I always thought that she must mean that he didn't want me, so he had left her because of me," she stared at the waves hitting the shore lost in the painful memories.
Running a hand through her hair, she forced herself to continue. "I finally understand now. She regretted leaving Tree Hill, but she had to, because she was pregnant, and she was too chicken to tell Nathan. Damn her, for lying to me all these years. I have a brother, and a father, and a stepmom, and she never told me the truth. How the hell could she keep this from me, and then go and blurt it out at the club tonight? I should have known the truth," she broke off.
Suddenly, she was choking on tears, unable to hold them back any longer, and she felt Sean's arms around her, holding her tightly as she cried into his chest. It felt so good, she couldn't even push him away, though she knew she should. He whispered soothing things into her hair, letting her cry out all her tears as he comforted her, and eventually, she cried herself to sleep in his arms.
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By the time the sun crested over the horizon, Kristine was awake again, but she didn't move away from Sean this time. She was enjoying the safety she felt in his arms. She remembered everything that had happened, but she didn't feel as worried about it anymore. She felt like she could take on anything if he supported her. She knew that she had to forget those feelings, but for now she wanted to bask in it.
When she felt Sean stir under her, she knew he was awake, but neither of them said anything for a long while, neither of them wanting to end the moment by acknowledging that they knew the other one was awake. It wasn't until the sun began to climb higher in the sky that Kristine realized she just couldn't sit here and do nothing anymore. She had to do something. She just had to figure out what that was going to be.
After taking one last moment to soak in the feeling of safety, she pulled away from Sean and sat up, deciding the first thing she would do would be to talk to her father. If he wanted her, she would live with him, and if he didn't, well, she guessed she would just have to deal with that if it came to that. She wasn't sure she could live with Brooke and all the lies anymore, though, even if the drinking had stopped, the lies never had, and she couldn't stand that.
What bothered her the most was the way Brooke had betrayed everyone she had been close to. She had betrayed Peyton, by sleeping with her ex-boyfriend, even if Peyton and Nathan hadn't been together at the time, there are some bonds that aren't meant to be strained. She supposed her mother would argue that Peyton was now with Lucas, and that the bond of their friendship had already been tested, but Kristine figured why cause more strain on something that had already been strained enough.
It wasn't only the blonde that Brooke had betrayed, either. Brooke had betrayed Nathan, by taking Kristine away from him without telling him about her, or even giving him the chance to decide if he wanted her or not. She had also betrayed her friendship with Haley, because although they may not have been married-Kristine wasn't sure when she had been conveived-when it had happened, Brooke had been the one to help Nathan and Haley get their act together.
Trying not to dwell on any of that right now, Kristine stood, straightening her clothes and wishing she could take a shower. As if reading her mind, Sean spoke up. "There is a bathroom in the beach house," he gestured to the house behind them. "You can use it. I promise not to try anything," he held his hands up in surrender when she studied him skeptically. He laughed at her trepidition, his trademark smirk on his face.
Just to probe she wasn't scared of him-well, she was, but not in the way he was thinking-she ignored his laughter and headed towards the house, waiting silently for him to follow and unlock the door when she realized it was locked. He kept that smirk on his face, and in a way, she was glad, because it reminded her that he wasn't always as nice as he had been to her last night. It gave her a reason to stay away from him.
Inside, the beach house looked even nicer than it did from the outside, and it looked pretty great from the outside. She had grown up in nice houses, once her moms company had taken off, but she couldn't help but admire his place, and it was only their beach house. She wondered what the house he lived in looked like, and then tried to convince herself that she was never going to see it. She didn't even want to see it.
As she tried to believe that lie, she went to one of the bathrooms upstairs and found a towel on the rack, locking the door before she started dressing, no matter what he had said. She showered, letting the massaging showerhead work out all her knots in her shoulders and back. It felt good to have the hot water pounding down on her, and she lingered in there longer than was necessary, but it was better than facing the real world.
Stepping out of the shower, she toweled off, wondering what she was going to say to her dad, now that she knew who he was. She hadn't really thought about that part of it, really. She had been more focused on everything but that, and now she was going to have to step up and face it, on her own, and she didn't know how he was going to react to her. Was he going to want her, now that he knew about her, or would he prefer to keep his perfect family just that, perfect? She was scared of the answer.
On the one hand, if Nathan did want to be involved in her life, what would Haley think? Would Haley hate her, because she was her husbands daughter, with another woman? What was this going to mean for Nathan and Haley. From what she could remember of Brooke's stories, the two were perfect for each other, even then, and if they had a child now, they had to love each other even more. Would Haley resent Kristine, for coming in and possibly ruining their happiness?
Considering the other option though which would probably include Kristine living full time with her mother, acting as if nothing had happened if Nathan didn't want her, Kristine wasn't sure which she would prefer? Would it be better to live in a house with a father and his wife who might hate you, or a mother who had lied to you your whole life? She was leaning toward the former, but she really wasn't sure.
None of this factored James into the eqation, though. What would her half-brother think of her? Would he be glad to have a sibling, or would he rather have nothing to do with Kristine? She wasn't even sure how she felt about having a brother. She wondered if James even knew yet, or if Nathan and Haley had yet to tell him. He hadn't been around last night when Brooke had made her announcement, so Kristine couldn't be sure.
Slipping back into her clothes, she towel-dried her hair as she left the bathroom, searching for Sean. She found him in what appeared to be his room in the house, his hair wet and water droplets sliding down his revealed chest. She stared at him in shock for a full minute before realizing that he must have taken a shower, and she was staring, which wasn't really helping her plan to make him think she didn't like him.
Fortunately, his gaze wasn't on her, so he didn't notice her staring, she hoped. He hadn't even noticed her there, as far as she knew. She cleared her throat to get his attention, and followed his gaze to a picture of him and Audrey on the nightstand next to his bed. She tried not to let that get to her as she looked back at him. "Are you ready to go then?" she asked as he grabbed a shirt and threw it on.
Nodding, he grabbed the towel from her and threw it in the hamper as he followed her out of the house. She went to his car, and got in, trying to convince herself she was ready for this as he got in as well and started the car. She must not have been doing that good of a job, because he glanced at her as he stopped at a redlight. "Are you sure you really want to do this?" he asked her, and she hesitated before nodding. "Then why do you look like I'm leading you to the chopping block?" he cocked an eyebrow.
Blowing out a sigh, she realized he was probably right. "It's just, I've always thought I've known exactly how things were. I knew pretty much where I stood with my mom all my life, and I thought I knew where I stood with my dad. I've always had a sense of who I am, and now it just got thrown up in there, and I guess I'm scared to find out where all the pieces are going to fall," she wondered why she was telling him this, if he cared.
Eyes on the road again, he spoke when he was sure she was finished. "Listen, you're still you, no matter who your father is. You are Kristine Davis, or Kristine Scott, if you choose to change your name. Only you can decide who you are, Kristine, and only you can change it, if you want to. Nothing anyone else says, or does, is going to change you, unless you allow it to," he said, wondering why he cared enough to tell her that.
Those words really did touch her, and she was surprised by his wisdom. He pulled over, and she realized that they were at Nathan's house. Swallowing the sudden sense of dread, she looked over at him. "Thanks, Sean, really. You really are a good guy, you know, when you're not putting on a show for everyone else. Audrey's a lucky girl. I hope she appreciates that," she said, before opening the door and slipping out of the car.
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After leaving Lucas's house, Kristine decided to take her chances, and head over to Nathan and Haley's house. She gathered her courage and knocked on the door. Haley opened the door a few seconds later, and she just stared at the teenager for a minute. Kristine fidgeted on the porch, wondering if Haley was just going to shut the door in her face, before Haley smiled and drew her close for a hug. "Come in," she stepped back and opened the door wider.
Surprised by the hug, Kristine stepped into the house and followed Haley into the living room. Haley gestured to the couch and then took a seat on the loveseat opposire of the couch once Kristine sat down. She told Kristine that she had just got off the phone with Nathan, and Nathan was on his way home. Then silence descended over the two of them, and Kristine just had to break it. "Why don't you hate me?" she blurted out.
The words startled both of them, but once they were out, Kristine couldn't take them back. Haley sent her a smile, but it quickly dropped. "Last night, you wouldn't have asked that question. I really came down on Nathan and I blamed you, but it wasn't your fault. It's not Nathan's either. Both of you guys are the victims here, and you don't deserve my hatred. Besides, I could never hate someone who's a part of Nathan," she said.
This actually made Kristine feel better. That was one person who could hate her right now, that didn't. She only had to get through two more. She raised her hand to her mouth, and had to bring it back down again before she began chewing on her nails. "Thanks, Haley, that really means a lot to me. I don't know how I'm going to live with my mom anymore. I don't think I can trust her after this," she said, running her fingers through her hair.
An idea brightened Haley's eyes, and she knew she should talk to Nathan about it, but she had been considering it all night, and after what Kristine just said, she decided this could possibly be the best thing. "I think you should move in with us," she declared, and then saw the look on Kristine's face. "I mean, I haven't talked to Nathan yet, but if you want to, I think it would be cool to get to know you, and I'm sure Nathan will feel the same way," she added.
It surprised Kristine that Haley made this suggestion, especially without talking to Nathan, but if this would work out, she thought she might prefer living with them as opposed to living with her mom. She still didn't know how she was feeling toward her mom, and she did want to get to know her father. She found herself nodding, smiling back at Haley, thinking that this meeting, at least, had gone a lot smoother than she had thought it would go.
Before Kristine could formulate her response into words, the front door opened and Nathan entered the house. Haley called out to him, and he entered the living room a few moments later, his eyes taking in the scene before him. "What's going on here?" he asked, interest peaked in his tone, as he wondered if this was good or bad. He wasn't sure what their reaction to each other was going to be, and he didn't want either of them to say something to hurt the other.
Both of them smiled at him, though, so he had a feeling the interaction was going well. Well, Haley smiled at him. The corners of Kristine's mouth twisted up for a moment, but then she was staring at him as if wary of what he was going to say. Haley spoke up before either father or daughter could. "So, I was thinking Kristine should move in with us, if she wants to," she added the last part because Kristine really hadn't gotten the chance to answer.
While Nathan and Haley turned their gazes to Kristine, Kristine turned her gaze to Nathan. She didn't want to say what she thought of the idea until Nathan had given his opinion, because she didn't want to differ say yes and then have him say it was a bad idea. Haley turned her gaze to her husband, almost as if reading Kristine's mind. He just stood there for a minute, then he shrugged. "I think it's a great idea, if you'd like to," he said, and Haley looked at Kristine again.
Smiling warmly, Haley took her husband's hand, glad that he agreed with her, and didn't get upset that she had asked Kristine to move in with them before consulting him. She was also glad that they could fight, and he could spend the night in the beach house, and then still come in and stand on the same side of a discussion. "So, what do you say? We'd love to have you here, but like Nathan said, only if you want to be here," she said.
Just as Kristine opened her mouth to say yes, another voice broke into the conversation. "You're inviting her to live with us? That's just great. Was anyone going to ask my opnion, or do you just want to give her my room? I live here too, you know," James shouted from the doorway of the living room, and as they all turned to look at him, he stormed away, and the front door slammed shut a few seconds later.
Now Kristine wasn't sure what to say. Both Haley and Nathan were still staring after their son, and wasn't sure she could really do something that would cause tension between James and his parents, even if Nathan was her father, too. She still wanted to move in with them, but now she needed time to think. "I need to think about it," she said, softer than James's earlier harsh tone, and then she scurried past them and out the front door, closing it much softer than the slam of moments ago.
As Nathan stared in the direction of the front door, wondering why both of his kids had run away from him in just moments, he sank onto the couch, wondering how he had turned into Dan, with both of his children, who had different mothers, mad at him. Haley sat next to him, knowing what was going through his mind, and laid her head on his chest, using her fingers to draw abstract designs across his chest. She didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.
Hours later, he still hadn't heard from either James or Kristine, and he was worried about his son. Kristine could go back home, for all he knew, but James, James lived here, and he wasn't in the house. Haley was getting ready to call the police, but he managed to stop her. There was a knock on the door, and Haley and Nathan both walked to the door. Haley got there first, and opened the door to reveal Audrey and Logan.