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Lissa had finally got Kyle to come with her and together they hurried over to Jamie's. He was waiting for them in his room and told them, blushing, that Patricia was going to arrive any second.
Lissa sat down, grinning to herself, and Kyle shot Jamie an amused look. "You like her?"
Jamie didn't respond since Patricia entered the room that moment. She threw them a smile and sat down next to them.
Jamie raised his eyebrows and said: "So what is this about, Lissa? What did you want to talk about?"
Kyle shot his sister a grim look. Lissa ignored it. "Nothing really", she said lightly. "Just… wanted to apologize for the way I behaved earlier."
Patricia frowned. "What was even going on? Has it something to do with Jamie's uncle?"
Lissa felt Kyle's look on her cheek. "Nah, I guess it was just everything. School starts soon enough, doesn't it?"
Jamie grimaced. "Yeah. Hey, you're going to be a Senior!"
Lissa and Kyle looked at each other. "So what", Kyle snapped. "Can we just not talk about it until school actually starts? What about some basketball?"
They played basketball rather often. In fact, it was their only real activity during the holidays.
Shrugging, they stood up and Jamie took his basketball. Lissa left the room and was about to step down the staircase when she heard voices coming from the hallway under her.
"What are you doing here?" That was Haley's voice.
To Lissa's surprise, her mother answered. "I… could you…"
"Of course. Come on in." Haley's voice was soft and gentle and Lissa didn't catch the next sentences.
A moment later a door was shut and another one was opened and Nathan Scott said: "What's Brooke doing here?"
"She wants to talk to him" Haley responded.
"To Lucas?" Nathan sounded shocked. "But…"
"Let's go out, talk to Peyton, OK? She shouldn't be here right now. She's in the garden. C'mon."
Behind Lissa, Patricia, Kyle and Jamie were coming out of Jamie's room. "What's wrong?" Kyle asked.
Lissa shot him a frustrated look. "Mom's down there", she said muffled so only Kyle could catch the words.
"Why?" He whispered back.
But Lissa knew that he knew it. She nodded slightly and watched horrified as Jamie's face became hard. "Why", he said loudly to Patricia and Jamie, "don't we go down and say your uncle hello?"
While Jamie's face lightened up, Lissa put a hand onto her brother's shoulder. "Cut it out", she hissed. "Not now. They don't know."
"Well, why don't we tell them." Lissa hated it when Kyle was like this. Sarcastic. Bitter.
"Because we don't. And now shut up." She raised her voice. "Let's go."
They walked down the stairs and were about to step outside. But now it was inevitable for them to hear the raised voices coming from the living room. They all froze within a second as they heard Brooke shouting: "I just wanted to make things clear between us!"
Lissa didn't dare to look at her friends when a man's voice replied, very loud: "You don't need to do that. I already know. How could you not tell me about… them? Why did you think you had the right to hide that from me?"
"The right?" Lissa winced when she heard her mother sound so desperate and angry at the same time. "The right, Lucas? I had every right to hide the two most important things in my life from you, you who abandoned every single one of us."
"I can't abandon someone I don't know about!" Lucas roared back.
Lissa felt tears rush into her eyes. She wanted to leave this house, leave her two fighting parents and her friends who didn't even know about it all. But she found she couldn't. She stood stock-still and listened as her mom said: "You abandoned me. You abandoned me and you knew me. You knew about me. I told you I was pregnant and you didn't care."
"Because I thought you were lying", Lucas shouted back.
For a moment it was silent.
When Brooke spoke again, her voice was quieter and calm. "But you didn't think that when Peyton said she was pregnant. Well, I guess you made yourself clear. Now I will make something clear: Stay away from me and my family. You have no right to bother them and I don't want you to make them feel guilty for your leaving. Don't you dare."
Lissa wiped a tear from her cheek.
From the corner of her eyes she could see Kyle move and, turning around, she watched him open the front door and leave the house.
Patricia and Jamie stared, open-mouthed, at her, with widened eyes and pale faces. Lissa put a finger to her mouth and beckoned them to follow her outside as she heard the footsteps of her mother from inside the living room. She was going to come out any moment.
They left the house and hid in the garden. Brooke came out only a moment later and walked passed them without noticing. Lissa wanted to hug her but she stayed hidden, waited for Brooke to be out of sight.
Then she felt her knees buckle and she sank to the grass slowly. Patricia and Jamie fell down next to her.
"I don't understand", Patricia whispered. "Does anyone of you understand?"
Lissa threw Jamie a look but he kept his eyes locked on the ground. She doubted he knew something. Because if he did, then his parents and Brooke would too. He was as confused as Patricia and as she, Lissa, should be.
"Listen", she said quietly. "I think there's something I didn't tell you. Lucas… I mean, he's my dad." She tried to lift her head, to look confident, but she failed miserably. She couldn't, and didn't want to, be proud of him. Because was there even something to be proud of? She didn't know, and how could she? She didn't know him even the slightest bit. And that certainly wasn't her fault.
"What?" Patricia squeaked. "I mean…" Lissa could tell Patricia was thinking of a way to say the right thing. "I mean, do you… think that is… good?"
In spite of herself, Lissa had to smile at her friend's uncertainty. "Nah. I don't know. I mean I always knew it but I wasn't supposed to tell you. I'm sorry."
She looked at Jamie and instead of the expected confusion he simply asked: "Are you angry at him?"
She could have lied. She could have said that she wasn't, that she wanted all of them to be a big happy family.
But she didn't.
"Yes", she admitted. "I am. And I don't really want to have anything to do with him. You remember that girl from the River Court? I think… I think she's his daughter." To her surprise, it was harder than expected to say that.
"So what?" Patricia said.
"So I guess he has enough to his hands already", Lissa replied calmly. "He doesn't need me and I hope you noticed that I have been fine on my own the past, let me think, seventeen years." Her voice was suddenly hard.
"But what about Kyle?" Jamie asked quietly. Lissa froze. Kyle. She hoped he was alright.
"He's going to be OK", she said, and, trying to convince herself: "He doesn't care about him."
Jamie and Patricia looked at each other but didn't say anything.
Lissa sighed to herself. She had to find Kyle and talk to Brooke. She wanted to get away from this house where Lucas Scott was probably smiling to himself about managing to bring Brooke tears once again.
She was wrong.
* * *
Penelope heard approached the living room and glanced inside. Lucas sat on the couch and was hiding his face in his hands.
"Dad?" she said carefully.
He looked up and she saw that his face was flushed and his eyes slightly swollen. "Is everything OK?"
He shrugged and beckoned her to sit down next to her. She sat down and leaned against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, for… dragging you here. I don't think it was that good an idea after all." He smiled sadly.
Penelope didn't know, and didn't want to know, what was wrong. Maybe they could move back home now!
"We didn't sell the house, you know", she began, "maybe we could just go back."
"Yeah, maybe", he said slowly, half-heartly. "But we came here because of your mom, you know? So let's just give it a shot."
Penelope didn't say yes, but she didn't protest either. Lucas sighed and stood up.
"Listen. We'll be fine. I just… I think I have to do something."
Penelope didn't object.
Lucas went into his bedroom and started his computer.
He wanted to write.
I hope you liked it. Please review! Thanks! (:
