First of all, I hope everyone had a very happy New Year! I apologize for my lack of updating my stories lately... it's been a very crazy few months in the real world.
No Breyton in this chapter - sorry guys - It's a Peyton centric chapter, it's building foundations and it needed to be done... after all, why is Peyton in Tree Hill?
This chapter goes out to a very good friend of mine who just passed away... I'll always miss you.
"Thanks for the ride Hales, the Comet should be here tomorrow…" Peyton said stepping out of the Range Rover and shutting the door as Haley clicked the window down. Peyton smiled at the little boy who owned her heart asleep in the backseat.
"You know it's no problem Peyton. We are just so happy you're here, and I know your dad is too. Give him a big hug for me and tell him I'll see him tomorrow?" Haley said back, trying to keep her voice in a whisper so as to not wake her sleeping boy.
"I will tell him. He will love to be able to spend time with you guys with me around too…" Peyton said back with a slight smile.
"I'm sorry about Brooke, Peyton… she's not normally like that. I know she's been under a lot of stress lately…." Haley said fidgeting with her fingers on the steering wheel.
"Hey… don't worry about it. Maybe she will come around…" Haley added with a nod and slight smile. She knew she would getting on Brooke Davis's case to see what was going on with her.
"Maybe…" Peyton said with one last look to Jamie in the backseat. "I better get inside to my dad… I will see you tomorrow Hales, thanks for the lift." Peyton added with a tap to the side of the car and headed for the front door of the house.
Turning the key in the lock with a sigh, she quietly made her way through the house hoping her dad had fallen asleep.
"Hey kiddo, how was the opening?" Larry Sawyer said from the living room.
"Hey daddy, I didn't know you were still up. You should be in bed, resting. It's not good for you to wait up… you know what they said…."
"Peyton, please, relax…. I'm fine! How did it go? Did you meet the infamous Brooke Davis?" Larry said over his shoulder as he watched Peyton from the kitchen grabbing two waters from the fridge.
"Pfffft. I met her alright, she's nothing like Hales described. She's just so high and mighty acting you know, like Brooke-freakin-Davis bow down to God or something…" Peyton rambled on and on reliving her encounter with Brooke taking a large gulp of her water.
"Whoa…. Sounds like you had quite the introduction there then…" Larry added taking the water from his daughter as she plopped down on the couch next to him.
"Something like that…" Peyton said not looking at him as she shrugged her heels off to the side of the couch.
"Peyton, I'm glad you came back here for me… I appreciate it more than you'll ever know." Larry said grabbing her hands, Peyton could feel her eyes welling but she was never one for crying or breaking down unless pushed to the absolute brink. She tended to internalize and then break completely, its how she operated. It was the only way.
Peyton cleared her throat and willed herself to answer, "I know daddy. Hales and Nate and Jamie plan on seeing you tomorrow I think. I'll call Rake Boy too to see what he's up to." Peyton added with a chuckle.
"That'd be great Peyton…I'm gonna head to bed now. I will see you in the morning." Larry stood up from the couch and kissed Peyton's forehead before ascending the steps, slowly.
Peyton was finally left with her thoughts which hadn't happened much in the past few days.
She glanced around the living room; she had to admit this house was quite homey. Comfortable even.
Peyton hated being tied down to a place, it made her nervous. She thought of herself as kind of a gypsy, traveling from place-to-place in her ultimate love (besides Jamie), her Mercury Comet. She often landed on friends couches along the way, taking up photography jobs here and there. She even interned for a big music label for a while. But she never stayed; she didn't have a place to call home.
She never had a steady high school, and essentially grew up alone – or a stable relationship. College was the place she had stayed the longest and formed the most lasting relationships from, but she still had that urge to run.
Since retiring from being a dredging boat captain, her father had finally settled in Tree Hill, North Carolina – a place he'd ended up many times before on his journeys. Tree hill just happened to be the place where Lucas, Nathan, and Haley all called home too.
Peyton walked around looking at the pictures on the walls, all photographs Peyton had taken at some point in her career. Her dad loved her photography. Her fingers traced one of the earlier photographs, a car sitting at a red light. "People Always Leave" she had called it, and she couldn't help but get angry at herself for how true the statement is.
Her eyes welled again as she thought back to the phone call from her father just 4 days earlier.
Cancer.
It was terminal.
She didn't know how much time he had; she just knew she needed to make every minute count. She needed to do something to make him proud of her.
Slowly wiping the tears that continued to fall from her eyes, she forced her eyes away from the frame and cleared her throat again as she headed upstairs to the red bedroom he had prepared for her – in case she had ever decided to come to Tree Hill.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about much of a whirlwind the past few days had been.
Once she had talked to her dad, she immediately called Haley and told her she was moving to Tree Hill.
She'd been sharing a crappy apartment with a girl she barely knew in lower D.C. where she had been doing a lot of free-lance work. Without a thought, Haley, Nathan, and Jamie were picking up a U-Haul and heading her direction, no questions asked. Sometimes, she didn't know how she lived apart from them for so long. She loved her time with them and would drop everything in a heartbeat to help them if they needed it.
But the other part of her was constantly screaming to keep her distance, which was a constant losing battle.
Her mind drifted back to that fiery brunette she had met earlier, god, why was she getting under her skin so much? She usually never put any second thought into encounters like that…
Just as she felt her eyes getting heavy and almost succumbed to sleep, she heard her phone buzz from her bedside table.
Pizzeria downtown tomorrow around 6? Let me know if you need me to pick up you and your dad or if the Comet comes in before then. I know you can't live without your precious ;)
Peyton couldn't help but smile at Haley's text, her dad loved their little family. Since he'd been retired and they'd been out of college, Larry had dinner with the Scott family once a week or so. He had come to visit during college so many times, he felt very comfortable with the Scott brothers and Haley.
Peyton wasn't taking the news she received well, and Haley knew that… but she was giving Peyton time to deal with it and work her feelings out on her own. After all, Larry was all Peyton had…
She finally responded to the text.
Sure. We will be there. Dare I ask who's going?
She received a reply almost immediately.
Skills. Mouth. Me. Nate. Jamie. Luke….. and Brooke.
Peyton returned her phone to the table with a sigh.
THIS should be interesting….
Read and review pretty please!