My Saving Grace
Chapter 19 Unexpected Miracles
Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are those that we never expected.
It had only been a few days in Tree Hill. Riley spent most of her time in her room listening to music and thinking about Owen. It was hard for her to get back in the swing of things, and Lucas was giving her the space that she needed. He knew that she would come to him when she was ready.
Lucas and Dan had been spending more time together. He was actually surprised at the man that his father had become. He was much happier than Lucas ever remembered him being when he was younger. He was glad that he was getting to know his father. He was glad that he had taken Riley's advice and given him a chance.
As for Peyton and her pregnancy everything was going perfectly. She and Lucas had an appointment to see the doctor in a few days, and he couldn't be more excited. He had to admit that he had lost faith that they would actually have a baby together. He thought that Jason had taken that away from them too, but they beat the odds. That was something they had become very good at.
Preston had lost a lot too the day Owen died. He had been one of his first friends when Preston moved to Tree Hill. Peyton and Lucas were focusing most of their attention on Riley so Julie decided to focus all of her attention on him.
They were holding hands and walking down the streets of Tree Hill. "You know today has been a really good day." He told her as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
His simple touch brought a smile to her face. "I thought that you might need something to take your mind off things."
"Yeah well you were right. I wish that I could go back in time and stop things from happening."
"I know that this doesn't make since now, but I've always believed that things happen for a reason."
"I've heard that before, but so many things in my life have happened that I don't understand. I mean I lost my sisters, my mom was a liar, my father was an abuser and a killer, and now I lost a really good friend. And poor Riley has lost so much too. This isn't fair."
She stopped walking and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry that all these bad things keep happening to you. But you have a great mom and dad now, a great sister, and a pretty good girlfriend."
"You're right. I'm so lucky to have you in my life." He leaned down and kissed her. He was so thankful that God had sent him Julie because he didn't know what he would do without her.
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Riley was upstairs in her room. She heard a knock on the door. Brooke walked in. "Hey." She had a bag full of things.
"Hey," Riley took out her headphones.
"I bought you all the things that you asked for."
"Thanks," she was nervous. "I didn't really feel like getting out of the house."
"I could stay if you want me too. I don't have anything planned."
"Don't worry about me Brooke. I'm going to be fine."
"Are you sure?" Brooke was very worried about her.
"I'm positive." She sighed. She didn't really know if she was positive or not, and that is what scared her.
Brooke gave her a hug. "I'm always here for you if you need me."
"I know. Thank you so much. I'll call you." Riley half way smiled.
Brooke nodded and walked out of the room. It broke her heart to see her so crushed and broken. She missed Riley's beautiful smile and the shine that always use to feel her eyes. Being around Riley wasn't the same anymore, and it was painfully sad.
Riley just stared at the contents that were in the bag that Brooke brought her. She pulled out the magazines and chocolate. Riley loved chocolate.
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Brooke walked downstairs, and Peyton walked in the door carrying groceries. "Brooke, what are you doing here?"
Brooke was a little caught off guard. She wasn't expecting to see Peyton. "Oh I um I came to see Riley. I thought she could use a friend."
"Yeah that she could," Peyton was struggling with the bags.
"Oh here sorry let me help with that." Brooke grabbed the bags and carried them into the kitchen.
"Did she seem like she was doing a little better? Luke and I are trying to give her her space."
"I think she's going to be okay Peyton. She's strong and I think she has a lot to live for, and I think she knows that now." Brooke smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm good," Peyton was glowing from head to toe. "I can't wait to have a baby in the house."
"Yeah," Brooke bit her bottom lip. "This house we'll be full in no time."
"According to the doctors I shouldn't be pregnant right now so I doubt I'll have anymore after this one." She rubbed her stomach. "But one more is plenty for me."
"Yeah," Brooke sighed.
"Is there something wrong, Brook?" Peyton could sense that Brooke was hiding something from her.
"No," Brooke shrugged. "Nothing is wrong. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Because you're acting kind of weird," Peyton noticed.
"I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm running off of like three hours. That's not good for me obviously."
"Well you should probably get some rest B. Davis."
"I think you're right P. Scott. Make sure you tell Riley to call me."
"Okay I will."
"Take care of her okay." Brooke said before she walked out of the house.
Peyton shook her head. There was definitely something going on with Brooke, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was. To be honest she never really knew what was going on with Brooke. She was most definitely not an open book, but that was why they were best friends.
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An hour after Brooke left Peyton heard a knock at the door. When she answered it she was surprised to see Owen's mother Claudia standing on the other side. "Hi."
"Hi, I need to speak to Riley." She looked nervous, and Peyton could tell that she had been crying. She was also holding a box.
Peyton nodded, "Come in. I'll go get her."
"Could I go get her?" Claudia stopped her.
"Um sure," Peyton agreed reluctantly. "Her bedroom is the first on the right."
"Thank you."
Peyton wasn't sure what she wanted, and she hoped that she didn't upset Riley anymore than she already was.
Claudia made her way to Riley's room and knocked on the door. "Come in," Riley said, and Claudia walked in. "What are you doing here?" Riley stood up from the bed and hid the box that she had just been looking at.
"I know that I am months too late. I should have met you a long time ago. I regret that now."
"Yeah," Riley had no sympathy for the woman standing in front of her. She had been a horrible mother.
"I should have been a better mother. We don't realize what we have until it is gone, and I am going to regret that forever, but at least I know that my son died happy."
"What?"
Claudia sat her box on the bed. "You made Owen happier than he had ever been in his entire life."
"How do you know that?"
Claudia opened the box and pulled out a letter. There were a lot more things in the box, but the letter was the first thing she handed Riley. "Owen wrote this to me about two weeks before his death. He didn't write me much, and I didn't write him either. When he did write it was to tell me how he wished that we would take him with him on our trips, but the last letter was nothing like that."
Riley opened the letter.
She began to read.
Hey Mom,
I know that you don't have too much time to talk on the phone that is why I write you whenever I can. I know that isn't very much, and it makes me sad. I wish that we were closer because we're lucky that we have each other. I've met this girl, Riley, God mom she is the most amazing person I have ever met, but she lost her mom not so long ago and I can tell that it hurts her everyday. They were so close, and I'm afraid that if you were to die tomorrow I might not miss you because I never knew what it was like to have you in my life. I want to miss you mom. I know I've never asked you before, but I really want you to come home. I want you to be apart of my life. I don't want us to have any regrets when it all ends. I love you mom at least I know that I could if you were around. I want to have memories of you. I know that dad won't come because he will say he is too busy, but I need you by my side now.
I want you to meet Riley. She is everything to me. I couldn't imagine my life without her. That is why I am going to ask her to marry me one day. I hope you don't mind I took grandma's ring from the jewelry box. I just want to make sure I have it where I can find it. You never know when I'll feel like being romantic. I want you to know that I did a good job raising myself, but I would like you to be around at least until I graduate high school. We will never get the moments that we lost back, but Riley has showed me that you can enjoy the ones you do get, and you can take advantage of every single second you have together. I know that if I were to die tomorrow I would die happy because Riley was in my life. Love is the greatest thing that God has ever given me. She made me whole. Could you say the same thing?
I know this was a depressing note, but I'm counting on you mom. I need you.
Love Owen.
Riley dropped the note on the bed. Tears were running down her face.
"You made him happy." Claudia was also crying. "He loved you." She pointed at the box. "There are tons of things in here that Owen kept from the time you guys spent together. There are letters that he wrote about you or to you, but never sent. There are pictures, and there are memories, and I think you should keep this. You gave my son everything he ever needed."
Riley looked in the box. She couldn't believe all the things that he had kept.
"Here," Claudia handed her a small box. "He wanted you to have this."
Riley opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "I can't."
"He wouldn't want it any other way." Claudia smiled and walked to the door. "Live your life the way you want to live it Riley because you never know when it is going to end. The sad thing is I had made plans to come home to be with my son. I was going to surprise him, but I missed out."
Claudia walked out of the room. Riley's heart broke even more in that moment. She finally saw that Claudia did love her son. She was just sad that it was too late for her to show him.
Later that night Riley found her dad in what was going to be the nursery. He was tinkering with a crib. He hadn't got very far, but he did have nine months so he figured he had plenty of time.
"Already working on the crib?" She walked in.
"Hey," he smiled. It was good to see her out of her room. "Yeah I thought I would get a head start."
She looked at all the pieces lying on the floor. "Yeah it looks like you need it."
"Thanks for the encouragement."
She sat down in the chair next to him.
"I haven't put a crib together since you were born. That was a long time ago."
"What is it like when you see your little baby for the first time?"
Lucas looked at her and smiled, "It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I know the first time I saw you my heart melted. You were the most beautiful little thing I had ever seen. Holding your child makes all the bad things go away even if it is only for a few moments. It is the best feeling in the world."
"I sure hope so." Riley had tears in her eyes.
Lucas looked up at her as he heard her voice break. "Riley, honey what's wrong?"
She was shaking and a tiny tear escaped her eye.
"Sweetheart," he rubbed her shoulders. "I know it's hard, but everything is going to be okay. We're gonna get through this together." He was trying to sound reassuring.
"Do you promise?"
"Yes honey I promise."
"Because I'm gonna really need you now daddy," she looked up at him. "I'm not sorry that this happened."
"What's going on?" He finally realized that she wasn't talking about losing Owen. There was something else going on.
"I didn't plan for this, and I thought that we were safe. I knew that I had been feeling sick, but I thought it was the pain from losing Owen."
"Oh God," Lucas knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Daddy," he held her tight. "I'm pregnant." She finally told him.
"It's okay baby girl. I promise everything is going to be okay."
She looked up at him, "I'm keeping this baby daddy." She was not about to give up her baby. He or she was apart of her and Owen, and he or she would be a reminder of the love that they shared.
Lucas gave his daughter a loving hug, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
His response surprised her. She thought that he would be mad and upset with her, but he just hugged her and promised her that everything would be okay.
The next day Peyton had made a big breakfast. Riley walked downstairs. "What's all this?"
"I thought you might be hungry." Peyton smiled. Lucas had told her that Riley was pregnant, and she thought food would help.
"Dad told you didn't he?"
"Yeah." Peyton didn't know how to feel.
"Are you mad?"
Peyton walked over to Riley and hugged her. "Of course I'm not mad. Things happen Riley, and to be honest with you this is probably the best thing that could have happened to you."
"This changes my whole life. I'm only sixteen."
"Yeah babies are big deals, but you aren't going to have to do this alone. You are going to have us there every step of the way."
"I can't believe you guys aren't upset with me."
"You know maybe you should have waited until you were older to make the kind of commitment that you made, but if you would have waited it never would have happened, and you would be standing here right now wondering what if." Peyton smiled. "I don't condone having sex at sixteen, but you already made your decision, and I'm not going to punish you or be upset with you because you followed your heart. Sometimes that is all you can do."
"If Owen was alive dad probably would have killed him." Riley joked. It was hard, but it was the truth.
"Yeah well I think your dad is handling it very well."
"Yeah," Riley shrugged. "He really has been my rock through all of this. I'm really scared Peyton."
"I know." Peyton hugged her. "And it is going to be hard and confusing at times, but we'll get through it. You are the strongest girl I know so I know you'll be okay."
Preston walked into the room to see them hugging. "Whoa what happened?"
Riley touched her stomach. Lucas walked in. "I'm pregnant Preston."
Fear filled his eyes for some reason. "Oh." He didn't know how to feel either.
He looked at Lucas. "Your life is going to suck for the next nine months Preston." He laughed.
"What? Why? I didn't do anything wrong."
"We're going to have two pregnant hormonal women in this house. It is going to be tough buddy."
Preston was surprised about how well Lucas was taking his daughter being pregnant.
"We'll manage," he smiled.
"We better get you guys to the doctor."
Lucas had called and made an appointment for Riley to see the doctor too. He wanted to make sure that she was really pregnant. She had only taken two tests that said she was. Sometimes they could be wrong.
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Preston and Julie were at the river court sitting on the benches. "I can't believe your sister is pregnant."
"I know me either."
"She's so young, and she's alone."
"She is young, but she isn't alone. She has all of us to help her." Preston smiled.
"I want to wait until I get married to have sex. I don't want to risk the chance of me getting pregnant."
Preston nodded his head. He didn't want to wait. He had never wanted to wait. He wanted to be close to Julie one day, and he didn't want to wait until they were married. What if they never got married?
"Are you okay with that?" Julie asked.
"Yeah," he agreed, but he was hoping he could get her to crack. He knew that sex was a big deal and there was always a chance that she could get pregnant but he didn't care. If she got pregnant they would handle it then.
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At the hospital Peyton and Lucas saw the sonogram of their little boy or little girl. It was way too early to tell the sex, but at least it had a heartbeat. That was all that mattered.
Lucas went in with Riley. The doctor had confirmed that she was pregnant, and they decided to do an ultrasound.
Tears rolled down both of their faces when they heard the baby's heartbeat. She couldn't believe that she was having a baby.
Owen was right. Their story didn't have to end. In fact it was just beginning. Fairytales always end happy, but in every great story there is always a few bumps in the road.
Okay so this chapter was really hard to write, but I think it has to be one of my favorite. It was about regret and disappointment.
There is one more chapter left of this story. I'm really excited about it. I'm kind of sad that it is ending.
I can't wait to hear what you guys think. Thanks so much for all the reviews. You guys motivated me to post this chapter faster.
Let Me Know What Ya Thought! Were you expecting her to be pregnant?