1Hey guys! Here's chapter 10 written by Cath (catc20) who did a great job! As have all of the writers. Sorry that we kept you guys waiting so long but things are crazy right now! Please read and review!
Cure My Tragedy Chapter Ten
The sound of a baby crying woke Peyton out of the few short hours of slumber she so badly needed. She hadn't slept in months and as she passed by a mirror on the way to the nursery she could see the effects it was having on her. Her hair seemed thinner, her eyes were sunken with dark circles beneath them, and her skin was so pale. That was the price she paid to have this child and she wouldn't have it any other way.
Once she reached the nursery she spotted the blonde haired, blue eyed little boy screaming his heart out. Quickly she swooped him into her arms and he instantly quieted.
"Shhh…I've got you now." She soothed the baby back to sleep and instead of placing him back into the crib she walked over to the rocking chair, Haley had given her as a baby shower gift, sitting with him in her arms. Slowly she began to rock and just stare at her beautiful boy.
"There you are." A somber Jake entered the nursery.
Peyton looked up surprised as reality came crashing back. Looking down the baby she had felt so vividly in her arms was gone and her heart broke all over again.
Jake approached her slowly, kneeling in front of her. "Pey, you can't keep coming in here like this. Every morning I wake up and find you asleep in this chair. It's not healthy and I think it's time to put his stuff away.
Peyton stared at Jake, unsure of how to act. "I can't…Not yet." Her voice was so fragile that Jake could only nod in response.
Looking at his expression of pity she knew she had to get the focus off of her. "Go get some rest, You have that big interview with Nathan's company tomorrow for the new Chicago branch and I know how important it is to you.
He kissed her forehead and walked to the nursery door, giving her one parting glance before leaving her and her memories alone - the way that he knew she preferred it.
In the silence, Peyton retreated again to the image of her perfect little boy. The entire nursery had been waiting for him to come home too. She'd spent days painting the mural of a young boy playing near the ocean and then she had spent weeks finding the perfect crib and matching furniture. Haley had supplied the one of a kind rocking chair as a baby shower gift and Brooke supplied mounds of little blue, yellow, white, and green outfits. It was all ready…but he never came home.
The day haunted her every waking hour and sleep had been her only refuge. In her slumber she could retreat to a life she should have had with her son and no one, not even God himself, could take that away from her.
She was awake now, though, and her heart ached in her chest. She replayed that fateful day's events in her head again and asked herself the same question she did every single night…How could it have happened?
Flashback…
Peyton walked into her doctor's office feeling huge but nonetheless beautiful. She had never been one to be into the way she dressed or looked, even if people called her pretty. But when she was pregnant she actually felt her beauty in a way only a mother-to-be could understand.
She didn't know how she was going to cope with wearing maternity clothes but thanks to Gwen Stefani popping out her first child almost 9 years ago, there was now a hot rocker edge maternity line from the musical icon, in addition to an incredible baby line called "Rock-a-baby".
Looking at her watch she sighed. She hated how they made you wait in these places and it had already been twenty minutes since her scheduled time. She was anxious to see her "little hellion", as she had taken to calling him, on the screen, head first ready to be born.
It wasn't until her fifth month that she really became attached. Her first sonogram didn't turn her into a pile of goo like most mothers and for awhile she was scared she was just missing the mother gene. Then one day she had taken a small spill on the kitchen floor of her downtown Chicago loft and in that moment all she could think about was her baby's safety. After that day he had started to kick like crazy inside her, and Peyton knew that was his way of telling her that he was there to stay and he was going to be feisty, just like his mom.
One night Metallica, of all things, randomly came on the radio and he kicked through the entire song, thus the reason she began calling him her "Little Hellion". It had taken Haley hours on the phone to convince Peyton not to write that nickname on the birth certificate.
So, after a lot of thought Peyton finally decided on a name that embodied two of her favorite bands of all time and at the same time would sound normal to anyone else's ears - Travis Dash Sawyer.
"Ms. Sawyer?" A way too cheery nurse finally announced her name and helped her out of her chair.
Before she knew it, her belly was exposed and covered with cold gel, while her doctor made small talk and busied herself getting the ultrasound ready.
"So, has our boy been kicking you much in the last week?"
Peyton had to think for a minute. "Actually he's been quiet the last day or so.
In an instant a cloud of worry came over her doctor's face, but still Peyton didn't let herself truly understand what her words could have meant.
Soon the screen flickered on and an image of an at least seven pound baby boy appeared. You could see his entire body including his fingers and toes…he was perfect.
A brilliant smile came to Peyton's face at the sight of her son. She couldn't believe she could love someone so much. Lost in her own world, she didn't notice the look in her doctor's eyes. What once had been worry in her eyes had been replaced by frantic fear.
Within a matter of seconds two nurses filed in the room and attached another device to the ultrasound machine.
"What are you doing?" Peyton tried to sit up but was quickly pushed back down.
Doctor Holmsten looked at her and spoke as calmly as possible, "We're trying to wake him up. So just lay back down and we're going to use this device to transmit a loud buzzing into your womb."
Peyton nodded mutely and the seconds ticked by excruciatingly slow. She could barely remember when the doctor turned off the machine and the nurses had left, but she did remember the words that would haunt her for all eternity.
Her baby was dead…he was stillborn.
Haley and Brooke had flown in immediately to be by her side, along with Jake, for the delivery. She had still believed in God, or at least a spiritual being, after losing both her mothers, but she didn't anymore.
No God could ever make a women go through hours of labor to deliver her dead child. They had been kind enough to move her off the maternity ward for the actual delivery. Apparently, hearing the cries of healthy babies would have been too traumatizing. She had mocked them when they told her that. How could anything be more traumatizing than what she was going through then? Nothing could have made it hurt more or less. It was a raw unbelievable pain that even months later she would feel inside her every fiber.
She didn't cry the entire delivery, too numb to really accept it. It was so quiet, no one making a noise around her, even when her little boy came in the world. People usually equate silence as something comforting, but in that room it only meant an unjustifiable tragedy. Immediately his cause of death was known-the cord that he had relied on and sustained his life from for nearly nine months was wrapped around his neck. In a twisted form of irony, her womb had literally turned into her child's tomb.
After cleaning him off they had handed the beautiful baby boy with wisps of blonde hair to Haley. She held him in her arms and begged Peyton to hold him.
The doctor advised her that she would regret it forever if she didn't hold her baby or at least take a photo, but Peyton still refused. Instead, she watched Haley and Brooke take turns holding her baby…her Travis.
A few days later Peyton returned home to discover that Brooke had taken care of all the funeral arrangements. Everyone was going to be there, including Brooke and Haley's perfect healthy children. Maybe it was grief or resentment, or a little of both, but she couldn't watch her son being lowered into the ground with all those people around her.
Weeks went by and Peyton stayed in bed for most of the time. She became haunted by dreams of her son and her arms ached to hold him, but it was too late. Everything was always too late when it came to her.
One night she did find a way to at least see her child. She may not of held him, but as she watched him in other people's arms she had memorized every single detail of him. So around three am, about six week later, she drew him…over and over.
Jake awoke the next day and found her in the nursery surrounded by breathtaking portraits of Travis. She had even begun to paint over the entire mural and began a new one. The new one would slowly transform itself into the image of a baby boy, in a soft blue blanket in the sky, held by two blonde haired angels smiling down at him. They were her mothers and Travis's Grandmothers and in her heart Peyton knew they were with him.
When she finished the mural after three weeks, she collapsed to the ground and finally cried. She cried for her child and for everything else that she had lost in life.
End of flashback
Today marked three months since Travis's passing and still every morning she awoke in his nursery. It was her only salvation in the grief that had taken hold of her and showed no signs of letting up.
Jake had been great, but she knew they were only together for comfort. She loved Jake, but he wasn't the same boy she fell in love with ten years ago and she definitely wasn't the same girl he fell in love with. In all honesty, there was only one boy who truly ever knew her and it wasn't Jake.
She wondered if Jake could ever admit they had outgrown their love. When she moved to Chicago they had just sort of fell into a routine that a pregnant women yearns for even if she won't admit it. The bigger she got the more anxious she was and Jake was there through it all even though he wasn't the baby's father. In reality she knew her child was just a replacement for Jenny. After another year of searching he still had no leads and Travis had filled that void. Like Jenny he was not biologically Jake's, but it seemed as if Jake was on a mission to prove that it didn't matter. If he couldn't do it with Jenny, Travis was the next best outlet. Now there was no Travis and in her gut she had a feeling there would soon be no Jake as well.
What Jake truly needed was Jack and Emma, but things in that department had become increasingly hostile. Jake had lost his job six months ago and could hardly afford child support so Lucas had taken on the financial care of the twins. She knew that it killed Jake, but still he couldn't get out of his slump. He saw the twins here and there, but still it was still Lucas they had begun to depend on.
Peyton looked over at the picture on her night stand with everyone circled around her big pregnant belly at her baby shower. There was Brooke so happy, so carefree, and it was at the expense of so many. Brooke had destroyed Jake and gotten the family she had always wanted…with Lucas. It didn't matter how many people she hurt in the process to achieve her goal.
Then there was Haley and Nathan. They were all smiles and so in love, but what angered Peyton was that lately you couldn't find a trace of that on Haley's face - all because of Nathan. The rumors were swirling about Nathan's violent behavior and dominating ways, but still Haley stayed. She was becoming another Deb Scott and no one could stop it. Not that Haley really reached out to her anymore; she mostly reached out to Brooke.
Those two had become close senior year when they lived together, but now it was a whole other level. They were more like sisters and there was no room for a third. They always tried to include her, but it was obvious neither Brooke nor Haley had ever forgotten Peyton's action toward them senior year. Rationally she knew that it was her own fault for those two seeking a friendship from one another, but it still aggravated her at times. Sure, they had been there for her lately, but she knew it was only out of pity.
Sighing, she closed her eyes, and focused back on thoughts of her son, willing dreams of him to find her once again.
…
Haley sat fully clothed in her massive marble tub with the phone clutched in her trembling hands as she dialed the familiar number.
Before the phone fully rang once it was answered. "Haley? Are you alright?" Brooke's frantic voice questioned her on the other end of the line.
There was nothing but silence and tears for a full minute, but Brooke was patient and knew she would talk when she was ready.
"It happened again." Haley finally spoke, so softly that Brooke had to strain to hear her.
Tears welled in Brooke's eyes at just the thought of what her best friend was going through. "Haley get on a plane now. You can't stay there anymore. It's not safe for you or Lynn."
Haley shook her head even though she knew Brooke couldn't see her. "I…I can't leave him," she choked out as tears spilled down her face.
Brooke sighed and sat down in the middle of the kitchen floor. "Where is he?"
"Asleep…finally."
"Haley, did he hit you again?" Brooke softly prodded.
Haley took a deep breath. "No, but I was terrified he was going to. He always so angry Brooke and all he does anymore is drink and pop pills."
"Hales, you have to get away."
"He needs me Brooke. I know he gets bad, but then the next day he'll plead with me about how sorry he is and that he just hasn't felt himself.
Brooke scoffed. "That's the understatement of the century."
"Brooke…please." Haley begged.
"Alright, I'm sorry, but has he seen a doctor? I mean he's been claiming something's wrong forever, but won't do a damn thing about it. How the hell are we suppose to believe him if he won't seek help?"
"I don't know, but he needs me so much Brooke."
Brooke felt her head start to pound. "Lynn needs you more than he does and she needs you to be in one piece and to protect her."
"He'd never touch her, Brooke." Haley protested.
"Haley he doesn't have to. You don't think watching him scream at you and shove you around isn't harming her?"
Haley let another sob escape and Brooke's heart sank. "Oh Tutorgirl, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you more. I just love you so much and I can't stand what he's doing to you."
Haley sniffed and a small smile came to her face at the sound of her familiar nickname. "I know Tigger, I just can't imagine really leaving him."
"Just promise me if he tries anything again you'll get yourself on a plane and come here."
"I promise." Haley vowed, but Brooke knew it was hollow. They had been having this same conversation for months and it terrified Brooke to imagine what would finally get Haley to wake up.
Lucas strolled into the kitchen swiping an apple off the counter before he stopped in his tracks. There was Brooke in a pink terry cloth robe on the floor staring off into space.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
Still she remained silent.
Slowly he lowered to the ground and sat beside her with his back to the cabinets.
"You know I love you Cheery, but how long are we going to be staying on this floor?" He tried to joke, however, it was painfully obvious it wasn't the time.
After a few more moments of silence she spoke. "There is something I need to tell you and I've wanted to for so long, but…I promised I wouldn't.
He took her right hand and cradled it in both of his. "Brooke, you're scaring me. You know you can tell me anything."
Brooke took a deep breath. Was she doing the right thing? She knew telling Lucas was a big risk and his relationship with his brother would become even more strained if that was even possible, but she was helpless. Haley was in over her head and telling Luke was maybe the only solution left. Luke and Haley were able to get through to one another when no one else could. She just prayed everyone could survive this fall out.
"It's about Haley…" She slowly started.
"What about her?" His eyes fixed on her face searching for a hint of what she was about to tell him.
Tears filled Brooke's eyes. "Nathan has…he has become violent with her Luke."
Lucas felt rage shoot through his body. "What do you mean violent? And how long have you known?" He asked harshly through clenched teeth trying to control his anger.
"It been escalating for over a year I guess. She called me crying about six months ago and told me everything."
Lucas threw her hand back into her lap and stood. "I can't believe you would keep something like this from me…you know what Haley means to me!" His voice boomed causing her to yell out in shock.
Standing up she stood a good distance away from him knowing that the fire in his eyes was not going to die down anytime soon. "She made me promise Luke and I just found out the other day he hit her. She swore it was the first time but did say that he has shoved her around." Brooke quietly revealed with her eyes cast down at the floor.
Lucas paced the kitchen trying to gather his emotions. "That son of a bitch…I'm going to kill him!" He raged and made his way to the front door.
Brooke ran and grabbed his arm trying to hold him back. "You can't go there like this, it will only make things worse. Please…let's just sit down and try to think of a game plan."
Lucas twisted around and looked at her with contempt. "I don't need your help and Haley sure as hell doesn't." Grabbing his jacket he stormed out the door and into his car without even a second glance.
Brooke sunk to her knees, tears flowing down her face. For the first time she saw a flash of Dan in him and she wondered if he sensed it as well.
Emma came running in the room seconds later. "Momma? What's wrong? Where is Daddy Luke?
Smiling at her daughter, Brooke pulled her into a big hug. "Saving your Aunt Haley, baby," she whispered as she stroked her daughter's long brunette locks.
…
Many hours and a plane ride later, Lucas rolled into his brother's driveway in his rented black Escalade, still not sure what was about to go down. All he knew was he had to get Haley and Lynn out now and nothing his brother could do was going to stop him.
On the outside everything looked normal. The lawn was immaculate with a girl's pink bike on the edge of it and bright flowers lined the walkway. Slowly he crept to the massive front door and looked through the glass, but saw nothing. He wondered if anyone was even home, but the sound of something crashing proved him wrong.
Digging in his pocket he produced the key his dear brother had given him just a few short years back and opened the door as quietly as possible.
Turning the corner he made his way to the kitchen area. There she was- barefoot in jeans and simple black halter-top cleaning up broken pieces of glass on the floor. As she bent over her shirt rose and he spotted the blue number 23 on her lower back.
For a moment Lucas lost himself in the memory of a young version of him and Haley in his mother's café fighting over that very tattoo. He remembered being so angry and scared that she was setting self up for a fall, but when she spoke of her love for his brother two things became very clear to him. One, that she knew what she was doing and two, that their friendship would never be the same.
Before Nathan, Lucas was the only man in Haley's life and he hated to ever admit it, but he had enjoyed it that way. No matter what, she was always there for him and vice versa. He never thought the day would come when she'd feel torn between him and another man, especially his brother.
It did happen though, and it hurt more than he could explain. Nathan had a part of Haley that he could never touch upon. He would be who she would trust with her heart and who would be by her side through everything from then on. She would envision her future with Nathan and want to spend almost every waking hour in his arms. His and Haley's relationship would come second from that day on.
Not that he had time, what with fighting through the love triangle from hell back then, but still…seeing Haley run to Nathan when she used to run to him was a heartbreak that no other girl could have caused him except her.
The only thing that had ever eased his mind was that Nathan would take care of her. When Haley left on tour that first time Lucas got to witness first hand how much Nathan loved her and the pain her absence had caused. They'd become true brothers during that time and helped each other cope with Haley's absence. When Haley came back it was as if Nathan could finally live again and Lucas couldn't have been happier for the two. They were so in love and gave everyone such hope that true love conquers all.
Now here Lucas stood staring at his best friend that was undoubtedly going through hell, and all because of his brother. His brother, who he had trusted Haley to had thrown that trust back in his face. Sure, things had been tense ever since their knock down drag out almost two years ago, but still that bond in taking care of Haley had remained.
In a million years Lucas never imagined his brother would ever purposely hurt Haley. She and Lynn were his life and losing her would be losing his very reason to breathe. Yet here Lucas sat, determined to take his wife and child away from his brother and if Lucas had it his way he'd never get them back.
"Hales?"
Haley jumped up and whipped around, placing her hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Lucas…oh my God! What are you doing here?"
He could have rattled out a million excuses, but he could never lie with Haley, she knew him better than anyone. "Brooke told me everything."
Walking over to the trash she ignored him, not ready to face his onslaught of questions.
"Haley you can't ignore me."
She motioned for him to have a seat at the kitchen table and silently went about fixing two steaming cups of coffee before joining him.
"Lucas you don't know how much I love him." She spoke with such conviction that it left no room for doubt.
"Hales, I know you do, but that prick lost his right to you the second he laid a finger on you."
Haley looked down, ashamed that it had even come to this. "It's like he's a different person sometimes, Luke. I mean it was like a year ago he woke up and had this entirely new personality."
Lucas reached across the table and took her hand in his. "I don't know what's going on, but I do know you have to get out…you and Lynn both."
Haley bit her lip trying to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. "Lucas you have to believe me…something has changed him and I need to help him get through whatever it is.
Lucas stood so quickly his chair flew out behind him. "BULLSHIT! Nothing justifies laying a hand on you and if he is going through something than he can figure it out by himself."
Haley knew he was right, but to actual leave the love of her life was a fear greater than anything he could ever do to her.
The phone rang and both made no move to answer. They were locked in a silent battle just waiting for the other to back down.
Soon the answer machine clicked on; "Mrs. Scott this is Judy Driggers from Dr. Reed's office we have your test results in and they were conclusive to what you already figured. So give us a call to set up your next appointment. Thank you." Beep.
Lucas looked at her worried. "What results? Are you alright? Haley say something damn it!"
"Lucas, SHUT UP!" She screamed and stormed out of the room. Everything was getting to her and she needed to breathe.
He wouldn't back down though, and followed her to her master suite she shared with Nathan. From the doorway he watched her retrieve two pink suitcases that Lucas recognized as Lynn's.
Her hands traced over her daughter's initials and Lucas could tell she was convincing herself of what she had to do.
She turned around and faced him again. "I need you to do me a favor."
"Anything." He agreed without a moment's hesitation.
"Lynn went to visit Deb last week and I was going to pick her up in a day or so, but things have changed. Can you fly there and bring her back to Chicago with you?"
"You know I will, but what about you Hales?"
Haley brought the suitcases to his feet. "These are some extra things of Lynn's I know she will need since I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. I have my own bags packed…I have for weeks. I guess I just needed that extra push."
Lucas pulled her into his arms and held onto to her tight. "Just come with me now…please. Brooke and I will take care of everything."
Haley let some tears fall and for a brief moment got lost in the safety of her best friend's arms before slowly pulling away. "I promise I'm coming…I just have to tell him something first."
Lucas watched as she placed a hand protectively over her abdomen and suddenly he knew what she meant by final push. He pulled her to him, once more, and this time she began to sob, tired of keeping it together for so long.
Lucas didn't know what was going to happen in the next nine months, but he knew one thing for sure - this baby was a gift and with Brooke by his side they'd get Haley through it all.