Do you love me enough to let me go?
To let me follow through
To let me fall for you, my love
-Switchfoot
xxxx
In one swift motion, James Baker watched the orange basketball sail through the air and swish into the net with ease. A smile crossed his face as he bent down to retrieve the ball but someone's foot trapped the ball and he looked up to see his girlfriend Sophia Davis smiling down at him. "Think you got game huh Baker? Well guess what basketball is in my genes, not yours!"
"Just because basketball runs in your family doesn't mean you got game," he joked as he watched Sophia pick up the ball and launch it at the net. A cocky smile graced her face as the ball swished into the net effortlessly.
"Wanna rethink that Baker?" she teased as she chucked the ball at Jamie. "Besides my dad, I mean sperm donor, plays in the NBA and my awesome Uncle Lucas was a pretty decent player back in the day. Then there was Grandpa Dan and Keith. Should I go on?"
"Okay, Okay. It's in your blood. I get it," Jamie surrendered with a slight smile. That was something he always liked about Sophia. She loved to joke about things in a light way but she was proud of who she was despite the twisted family history she had.
Jamie set the basketball down and took a seat on the picnic table beside the rivercourt. "So what's on your mind Davis?"
"What makes you think that something is on my mind?"
"You're forgetting that I know you better than anyone except maybe your mom and Lucas. I know when something is up so if you wanna tell me, I'd be glad to listen," he offered with a warm smile.
"Fine," she let out a heavy sigh. "Last night I learned something. Something life altering."
"Which is?"
"I have a sister."
"You have a sister. How? I mean how does that even work?"
"You remember Sawyer? That really bitch girl from school?"
Jamie let the comment about Sawyer being bitchy slide. He just nodded his head instead.
"Well apparently she's my sister."
Jamie's eyes widened with surprise as Sophia spoke the words harshly. "How? How is that even possible? I mean she's like the same age as you."
Sophia nodded, "I know right. Nathan, my biological father knocked up Peyton after he moved to LA and she got pregnant not even that long after my mom found out she was pregnant with me. We are seven months apart."
"God my head hurts," Jamie laughed as he tried to decipher all that Sophia was telling him. "So let me get this straight. Nathan knocked your mom up and left. Then he knocked Peyton up and they had Sawyer but he stuck around and now the three of them are back in Tree Hill?"
"That about sums it up," she giggled as Jamie shook his head.
"And I thought your family couldn't get any more twisted. It's like the reenactment of Dan/Karen/Deb/Keith."
"I know it's kind of weird actually. It's like my mom is grandma Karen, my dad is Dan, Uncle Lucas is Keith and Peyton is Deb."
"And you and Sawyer are Nathan and Lucas."
"As long as I get to be Lucas because I hate Nathan," she laughed as James gave her a playful shove. "God its like history is repeating itself all over again."
"So how are you accepting all of this? I mean you finding out that after 16 years, Sawyer Scott, the bane of your existence is your long lost half-sister?"
"It's hard to accept, considering that neither of us knew about the other. Quite honestly I don't like her and although she is my sister for now nothing is going to change. She is still Sawyer Scott, the queen bitch and just because she's my sister doesn't mean I have to act like she is."
"Are you mad at your mom for not telling you?"
Sophia let out a small chuckle. "That's the thing. She actually didn't lie. She was just as clueless as I was. It wasn't until she ran into Nathan and Peyton at the grocery store yesterday evening that she knew."
"So how'd you find out?"
"Seriously Jamie? What is this, like 20 questions?"
"I was just asking." Jamie threw his hands up defensively in the air.
"I know and I was just kidding. And I overheard Peyton and mom talking about us and Peyton asking my mom when they were gonna tell us so I asked them point blank what they had to tell us."
"How did Sawyer act? Last question I promise," he laughed, enjoying the fact that Sophia hated being bombarded with questions but felt obligated to answer them.
"She came unglued on her mom for not telling her because unlike my mom, Peyton knew. She was just protecting her daughter I guess. I don't really know. It's not any of my business."
Jamie opened his mouth to say something but Sophia leaned in and kissed him before he could speak. She grinned when they broke apart. "You talk way too damn much."
"So wanna play a game to 21? Loser has to do dishes at the next family dinner," Sophia smiled as she picked up the ball and made a beeline for the court.
Jamie smiled and followed his girlfriend onto the court, picking her up and twirling her around as he gave her a passionate kiss, completely forgetting about the game. God, he loved that girl. Everything about her was perfect. Right from her long straight brown hair, to her intoxicating dimples and soulful blue eyes. She was like an addiction. James Baker was completely and hopelessly in love with Sophia Davis. Unbeknownst to the two teenage lovers, somebody was watching with a vindictive and spiteful smirk from the opposite side of the court. Sawyer Scott always got what she wanted and she wanted James Baker. She wanted what she couldn't have but it was only a matter of time before he fell victim to her deadly trap and fell into her arms instead of that brunette bimbo she was now forced to acknowledge as her sister. She would make damn sure of that.
Haley James was sitting on the couch with her hands clasped together, deeply consumed in thought when her son entered the house with his girlfriend. She could hear the two of them laughing as they went into the kitchen to grab a drink and it brought a smile to her lips. She loved Sophia like a daughter and there was no doubt in her mind that Sophia was the one for Jamie. She hoped that one day she could call Sophia her daughter, she just hoped that they wouldn't get so wrapped up in young love and end up like her and Julian did, with shattered hearts and thousands of miles separating them apart.
"Hey mom." Jamie stopped in his tracks when he saw his mother sitting on the couch. She looked worried and he could tell that something was bothering her.
"What's up?"
"I've got some news," she spoke with a slight smile.
"I'll let you two talk. I have to meet Uncle Lucas at the diner in a few minutes anyways," Sophia smiled as she glanced at her watch. She gave Jamie a quick kiss and waved goodbye to Haley before disappearing out the door.
"So…" Jamie motioned for him mother to share her news with him. "Did something bad happen?"
Haley shook her head quickly, "Nothing bad has happened Jamie."
"Well then what is it?"
"Your father is coming to town for a while. He took some time off work and is going to spend a few months with you here in Tree Hill."
Jamie's eyes lit up at the mention of his father returning to Tree Hill. They hadn't seen each other since last summer which was at least 5 months ago. "When is he coming and where is he staying?"
"Slow down Jamie. One question at a time," Haley chuckled. "He's staying here at the house, in the guest bedroom of course and he will be here tomorrow by the sounds of it. He said he booked a flight for Tree Hill early tomorrow morning."
"Yes!" Jamie screamed as he threw his arms around his mother. "Thank you for letting him stay here with us. I know it isn't easy for you."
"Well I know how much it means to you Jamie and I just want to make you happy," Haley smiled as she let go of Jamie.
"Thanks mom."
"Of course," Haley smiled lightly. Having Julian around would be hard because she still had unresolved feelings for him but Jamie rarely ever got to see his father and it would mean more than anything for him to have his father around again. It would be like they were a temporary family, even if it wouldn't last. The thought of it was nice. As Jamie left to go have a shower and change his clothes, Haley flashbacked to the time when she and Julian had ended things once and for all, 9 years ago. That day was one that she would never forget as long as she lived.
FLASHBACK
It was late again when he finally stumbled home, smelling like smoke and whiskey. Haley glanced at the clock and the neon numbers blinked out 3:13 AM. She heard him stumbled up the stairs and click the bathroom door shut quietly as if he were trying to make his presence unknown. He stripped his clothes off and slipped into the bed next to Haley, who was pretending to sleep. "Hales, you awake?" he asked in a soft voice. At least he wasn't drunk.
"I am now," she grumbled with a blatant irritation in her voice, pretending she'd just awoken from her slumber.
He tried to slip his arm around her waist but she wriggled out of his grasp and pulled the covers up tighter around her body as she tried to drift off into a peaceful sleep.
"Come on Hales, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong Julian? What's wrong? I can't believe you even have the nerve to ask me that. This is the fourth time this week you've come home after 3 AM from the bar, three of those nights drunk and you expect me to just act as if nothing is wrong!" Haley shouted as she turned to face her husband with anger burning in her usually soft brown eyes.
"Hales keep your voice down. We don't want to wake Jamie," Julian whispered as he put a hand over her lips to muffle her words.
"Go to hell Julian," she whispered harshly as she turned back onto her side.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled as he hung his head shamefully. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Well sometimes sorry isn't good enough Julian. You can't take back any of your mistakes. Do you have any idea how hard it is to put a 7 year old to bed at night and try to explain to him where his father is when he asks why daddy is never home to tuck him in? No you don't," Haley grumbled bitterly. "And the sad thing is that I can't even explain to him where his father is. How the hell do you tell a 7 year old that his father would rather get shitfaced in a bar than spend the evening with his wife and son?
"Julian this has got to stop because I can't keep living like this," Haley sighed ruefully when Julian didn't respond.
"I know you can't Haley and you deserve better," he whispered honestly. "I'm holding you back and I'm sorry for that."
"Well if you'd pull your head out of your ass and see that maybe your family is more important than work and drinking with colleagues…"
"I said I was sorry a thousand times Haley. What else do you want me to say? What can I say to make things better?" Julian snapped harshly.
"Quite honestly there is nothing you can say Julian. It won't change how I feel. The man I loved is gone and I'm starting to get the strange feeling that he's not coming back."
"Haley…"
"Just go to sleep Julian," she growled as she turned on her side and covered her ear with her pillow to block out any of Julian's words.
THE NEXT MORNING
"Haley we need to talk," Julian mumbled as he got home from work. It was a surprise to see him home this early. It was only 7 o'clock and Haley had just finished supper with Jamie. She'd sent Jamie to the park with Brooke, Lucas, and Sophia for a little while so she could mark some papers.
"Wow, you're home early. That's a shock." She rolled her eyes, set her pen down and looked up from the paper she'd been marking. "So what do you need to talk about?"
Julian joined her at the kitchen table and let out a heavy sigh. "I thought about what you said last night Hales and everything is true. Maybe I'm not that guy for you anymore. Maybe I'm just holding you back and I love you so much Haley but you deserve better. You deserve a man that is going to cater to your every need and be there for you even in the toughest of times but I don't think I'm that guy for you. I'd love to be but I'm just not. We're young and foolish Haley and we rushed into this way too fast and I think that we need to go off into the world and see some things for ourselves before we settle down. It just doesn't feel right you know?"
Haley's vision blurred as tears clouded her eyes, threatening to fall and her body felt weak and numb. He couldn't be doing this could he? He wouldn't leave her. She loved Julian and although he was becoming an ass she knew that they'd just hit the seven year itch and soon everything would be back on track. But now this? Her head was pounding with thoughts as she tried to decipher what all he was saying. It seemed like a blur, like a nasty dream. "W-what are you saying?" she managed to choke out as she bit her bottom lip, a form of security blanket that always helped her feel at ease in stressful situations.
"I want a divorce."
As soon as the words left Julian's lips, Haley realized that they were indeed real. This wasn't a nasty dream, this was reality. Julian, her one true love, the father of her son, and her happily ever after was leaving her. Sure their marriage had been on the rocks for quite some time now but they could work this out couldn't they? He couldn't just throw it all away.
"Haley…" Julian whispered, waving a hand in front of her teary eyed face.
"Don't Haley me!" she snapped. "I gave you everything Julian. We created this beautiful life together and you're going to throw it all away to chase some stupid dream? You're going to just leave me and Jamie here while you jet off around the world and accomplish your dreams? Well guess what Julian, my stupidity got me pregnant at 18 and I never got to become the singer I wanted to be. I had the chance and one simple mistake blew it all. But guess what? That simple mistake turned out to be the best thing in my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. I wouldn't give up being a mother to sing professionally and I can't believe your giving up your parenting duties to make movies Julian. Is it really worth it in the end? Once you realize what you've lost, it's going to bite you right in the ass!"
"I'm not leaving Jamie okay Haley? I'm still his father and although I'll be in LA, he can spend every summer with me and I will make an effort to come visit as often as I can. It's not just about me Haley, it's about you too. I can see that I'm not making you happy and we are kidding ourselves Haley. I love you and I always will but somewhere along the line I think that we fell out of love with each other."
The truth was sad and harsh but nonetheless it was the truth. Haley couldn't deny that she didn't feel that same spark she'd felt with Julian when she was younger and maybe it would be better in the end if they did this.
"I'll bring the divorce papers by tomorrow."
Haley nodded her head as the tears fell from her eyes. How were they supposed to tell Jamie?
THE NEXT DAY
Haley fumbled with the pen in her hand as she approached the signature line on the divorce papers.
"Do I sign as Haley James or Haley Baker?" she asked, turning to Julian.
"James, I think."
Haley nodded and forced herself to lift her hand to the paper and scribble her old signature across the page, replacing the name Baker with James.
"We are doing the right thing, right?" she questioned once Julian picked up the divorce papers and shoved them into his bag.
"We are," Julian nodded. "I'll mail them tomorrow and be gone by the end of the week."
"Goodbye Julian," she whispered painfully as he turned to leave.
"Bye Hales. I'll always love you but…"
"Sometimes love just isn't enough," she finished for him. "I know Julian. It's okay, you go out there and show the world what you've got."
The moment she heard that door click shut, Haley felt her whole world crash down around her. In the blink of an eye, the beautiful and perfect life she'd created had crumbled down. Everything she'd worked for was gone and she had nobody to blame but herself. She had driven Julian away. She had caused Julian to break up with her. She had created her own downfall.
END FLASHBACK
Brooke Davis tapped her foot mipatiently against the floor of the small diner as she waited for her coffee to go. She grabbed the coffee and turned around, only to crash into a hard muscular wall. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled. "I'm always so klutzy and I need to watch where I'm going next time," she chuckled awkwardly.
"It's alright Brooke, you were always klutzy in High School, even though you were a cheerleader," a voice chuckled, causing Brooke to freeze on the spot. She looked up and sure enough towering over her was Nathan Scott.
She turned to leave the café, Nathan still standing behind with coffee dripping from his shirt.
"Brooke wait!" he called after her, pushing the door open and following her into the street.
"What do you want Nathan? Don't you think you've already done enough? Just leave me the hell alone!" she hissed coldly, trying to yank her arm free from Nathan's grasp.
"Can I please just talk to you?" he asked quietly, his voice sounding sincere.
"Why Nathan? Why now?"
"I just wanna know some things okay? I'm not asking for forgiveness. It's just that Peyton's made me realize some things and I miss you Brooke. I miss you and I regret my decisions every day even if I don't show it. I may act like I don't care but I do Brooke."
"You've got five minutes," she growled, opening the door to the diner and making her way to a table at the back.
"Before you speak, I wanna know something Nathan. Why did you stick around with Peyton but you wouldn't stay with Sophia and I? If I remember correctly when I told you that I was pregnant with Sophia you said you wouldn't be Dan but it sure as hell looks like you turned into him."
"Honestly, I did it because I didn't want you to give up on your dream Brooke. I didn't want you following me to LA. I wanted you to live out the life I knew you had the potential to do. But that's not the only reason. When I met her, Peyton wasn't strong. She needed me and I knew she couldn't do it without me. You're strong Brooke. You never needed me and besides you had Lucas. I knew that Lucas would soon replace me so I let go. It looks like you've done a good job with Sophia and I hope that you and Luke are happy."
"I'm not with Lucas. Haven't been since High School," she mumbled quietly as she looked down at her coffee.
Nathan was shocked. He definitely thought that Brooke and Lucas would've been together. "Really? Because I thought the two of you would've been together by now…"
"We are just friends," Brooke snapped.
"Do you think we could ever be friends Brooke? I wanna get to know my daughter…"
"Fuck you Nathan," she growled, unable to believe that he had the nerve to even ask. "You left us 16 years ago and you never cared then so why would you care now? If you couldn't make an effort back then, you sure as hell can't now. If Sophia wanted you in her life, she would've approached you by now but she doesn't so quite prying. As for us Nathan," she motioned in between them. "We will never be friends again."
"Brooke…"
"I have to go Nathan. I hope you have a nice life. I hope it was really worth it in the end. And you know what the sad thing is? That our daughters both have to suffer from your fucking mistakes." With that she sent him a cold glare, turned on her heel and marched out of the diner.
"Leave her alone or I will come un-fucking-glued on you," a voice growled and Nathan turned to see a girl that looked like a clone of Brooke, glaring at him.
"Well, look who we have here?" Nathan smirked as he motioned for Sophia to sit.
"Don't get ahead of yourself asshole. You let a great thing go and it's too bad that your head is so far up your ass that you can't even realize it. I never needed you in my life. I have my Uncle Lucas and he is a way better man than you'll ever be. He may not be with my mother right now but someday he will. Someday he will have completely taken your place and you'll be the one that's laughing," Sophia sneered, as she sent Nathan another glare.
"You have balls kid. You're definitely mine," Nathan's lips curved into a small smile.
"Of course, I'm yours. Biologically I mean. My mom is not a whore, despite what you think. But theoretically I'm not yours. I have a father and you will never be him so how about you fuck off and leave both my mother and I alone. We've dealt with your shit for years and we are both done with it!"
Sophia sent Nathan one last disgusted look before heading towards the door.
"Sophia…"
She turned around and looked at Nathan expectantly. "It doesn't matter what you think, I regret letting you go every day."
"You disgust me," she hissed icily as she turned her back on Nathan and walked out the door.
AN: So I didn't have lots of time to include all of the things I wanted to in this chapter but next one will defs have some BRUCAS and more Jeyton. Naley will also start to happen soon and Julian will be officially in the story next chapter. I had a lot of reviews that didn't want Brulian romance so I thought I'd make a poll and see what you guys want. There will defs be some one- sided Brulian and a very strong Brulian friendship that will hint towards a relationship but not extend beyond that point if that's what readers want. The poll won't be up for long because I need to make my choice soon so get in your votes while you can! Chapter title belongs to Switchfoot just in case anyone was wondering. Please review and lemme know what ya think!