Frozen in Ink
Chapter 6- A Promise Made, Isn't a Promise Kept
"And it rains in bedroom everything is wrong.
It rains when you're here and rains when you're gone.
Cause I was there when you said forever and always."
-Taylor Swift (Forever & Always)
The sun shines through the curtains, it's blinding to wake up to a shinny day when everything is so gray around you. Brooke Davis tucked her dark brown hair back behind her ear and snuggled her head back into the pillow. The swirl of orange and yellow couldn't brighten up her mood, unless well the call came. The very important call that Brooke had been waiting for at least two weeks. It made her nervous and all the drama surrounding Peyton, Nathan and Haley's marriage, and Lucas with Lindsey was driving her crazy. She seemed to be happy to be single and content. Sometimes there was nights when she was lonely but having a family, having a baby, could fix it. She didn't need a man to heal her. She needed an unconditional love, and that like she told Peyton, didn't have to come from a boy. The sound of a loud gag and the toilet flushing filled her ears and she rushed to the bathroom in the hallway finding Peyton bent over the toilet vomiting. "You okay P. Sawyer?" Peyton smiled weakly tucking her curly blonde hair behind her ears. "I think…" And Peyton began to vomit again. Brooke went over to her side and pulled her hair up and stroked her back. This was going to be a long morning. Hell it was going to be a lot of long mornings
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"Mrs. James-Scott you do realize that once we serve the papers you can't come back from that. You have to be completely sure." The middle age blonde sat in front of Haley in a pants suit and smiled a sympathetic smile. Haley nodded. "Ms. Banks I think I just want to know my options. It's a lot to swallow you know?" Haley had taken off the first two blocks of school this morning to meet with the lawyer and talk about her options. She was setting the motion into place. She was starting the process of dissolving her marriage from the love of her life. "Believe me Haley, do you mind if I call you Haley?" Haley shook her head. "Haley, I've been through this myself and I know how overwhelming it is. Especially if you're not sure. But if you have children, it's going to be even more difficult." Haley sat back into the chair and looked into her lap. She didn't think about how this would affect Jamie. This would destroy him. "My husband and I we have a son, his name is Jamie. He's almost five." The woman handed her a folder full of papers. "Go home, eat some ice cream, and fill this paperwork out. But maybe try talking to Mr. Scott and your son. I understand this is hard. Just come back to me when you're ready. This doesn't have to happen over night." Haley smiled a weak smile and walked out of the office holding the packet of papers close to her chest. If it had to be an ending she didn't want it to be like this.
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When you're young, you want to jump on the life train. You want to go to work, have your own money, your own house, your own life. Most kids in high school feel that way, until reality comes in and you're shoved out into the world. Lucas Scott was the exact same way, ready to get married, have kids, and live a fairytale ending. But after an ending like high school and college graduation there's a new beginning. After a breakup things are at an end but where you go from there is a new start. That lie you grew up with called a happy ending doesn't exist. Life is full of new beginnings. Lucas Scott learned that the hard way. He proposed to Peyton but she said someday and that was an end or was suppose to be for the epic Lucas/Peyton love story. He married Lindsey, a fresh start, a happily ever after or at least in theory. His heart was conflicted. Some things are never really over. He realized that as his wife stood in a few feet from him, crying and cursing about not being able to find a household item. She was home. A start, an ending. "Lindsey?" He called out to her. "WHAT!" She yelled turning around eyes blood shot, tears streaming out. "I'm glad your home." Lindsey laughed bitterly. "Okay Lucas." He was confused, she came home, crying and cursing, and he had no idea what was going on in that head of hers. He couldn't read her, he could see her pain, but he couldn't read it. He didn't know his wife. He didn't know her as well as Peyton. They both knew it. "I have to get to work." He said shuffling his feet. Lucas stepped toward her, he tried to kiss her but she stepped away out of his reach. "Yeah, well I have work to do too." She said bitterly sniffling. Lucas walked out the door leaving the bitter woman behind. Leaving another part of his life story behind him.
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She picked up the phone, fingers shaking, and vomit sitting in throat. Peyton spent most of the morning throwing up, and now her body and mind were totally worn out. She sat crossed legged on the bathroom floor scrolling the numbers in her phonebook until finally finding her OBGYN number. "Good Afternoon, Doctor Harper's Office. Please hold." Peyton let out a gush of air and heard a click. The cheery receptionist had flashed over. After about five minutes, she heard a sound coming from the receiver. "Doctor Harper's office, Caroline speaking. How may I help you?" Peyton wanted to snap at her about leaving someone on the phone for so damn long but instead in a fake cheeriness said, "I'd like to make an appointment as soon as possible, and it's kind of an emergency." "Okay, your name?" Caroline said. "Peyton Sawyer." The blonde said annoyed at how long this phone call was taking. "And can I ask what this appointment is about?" Peyton's hormones were getting to her now, she was completely annoyed. "Well I think I might be pregnant… and I um am going out of town tomorrow for work." She lied. She hoped this would get her in today. "Can you hold for a second so I can check the appointment book Ms. Sawyer?" "Sure." After a few minutes of what seemed like forever the receptionist came back on the line. "Okay Ms. Sawyer, It looks like I can squeeze you in for four? Is that okay?" "Perfect. Thanks." Peyton hung up the phone. She wiped her mouth and felt the nausea build back up in her stomach. "Great." She huffed and then leaning back over the toilet she threw up again.
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Haley arrived home that afternoon after school. She placed her bag down on the couch and took her heels off. "James Lucas Scott!" She said calling out to her son. Nathan and Jamie appeared in front of her. Nathan was holding Jamie upside down, ticking his belly and both boys were laughing. "Oh Hi, Nathan. I didn't know you'd be here I thought Skills was staying with Jamie." "He was but I relieved him. I needed to talk to you about something anyway." Nathan placed Jamie on the ground. "Go on and play in your room Jamie." Haley said to her son. Jamie shot his father two thumbs up and ran off to his room. "So, what's up Nathan?" Haley sat down of the couch propping her feet up and pulling a pillow up to her chest. Nathan sat across from her in the recliner. "Well Jamie came to me with something and he didn't know how to tell you so…" "Well is everything okay?! Did he do something?" Haley said freaking out. "No Hales. Everything's fine. He just wants to join a Rec league basketball team. He wasn't sure how to bring it up because of our issues and my connection to the game so..." Haley exhaled loudly. "God Nathan, you scared me. I think that's great. If it's something Jamie wants to do then I totally support him." Haley smiled softly. "Great." Nathan grinned. "Jim-Jam!" He yelled. His son came running down the stairs to hear the exciting news which he already heard because he was sitting on the staircase. He was going to get to play basketball and that made all three Scotts very happy.
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Brooke set down her colored pencil, completing the sketch that she had been busily working on. Today things at the Clothes Over Bros store were slow and Brooke had nothing better than to let all of the anxious energy about the adoption agency calling then working on her passion, clothes. Brooke smiled looking at the dress she just designed and the feeling of accomplishment washed over her. Her cell phones begin to ring and "Swim" by Jack's Mannequin came out of the device. "Hello?" Brooke said not recognizing the number. "Hi, is this Brooke Davis?" Brooke adjusted the phone on her ear. "Yep this is she." "Hi, this is Marley Kittson from Better Hands Adoption, Is this a good time?" Brooke smiled, the call had finally come. "This is a perfect time Marley. Thanks for calling." "No problem Brooke, I just got finished looking over your application and I would love to meet with you." Brooke smiled, this day just got fifteen times better. "Well, I'm not the busy now. But really I own my own business so anytime great for you is great for me." The woman on the other side of the phone laughed softly. "Well Ms. Davis, you seem very excited. So much so, that I actually don't mind meeting with you in the next hour. How about you come down to the office then?" "Thanks so much!" Brooke said in a giggly voice and the two hung up. Brooke packed up her sketches and art supplies and closed the store early.
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Peyton sat on the cold hard doctor's office table with the paper gown crunching up over her naked body. She shifted uncomfortably waiting for the doctor to come in. There was a sharp knock and the doctor then came in. Doctor Harper was a man in his mid-forties his hair was beginning to thin but Peyton noticed he was always smiling. If she was a guy and has his job she'd probably smiling too. All he did all day was look at women's vaginas. "How are we doing today, Peyton?" He said shutting the door behind him. "Well, I've been throwing up a lot which is why I came in." Doctor Harper looked down at the file in his hand. "Ahh I see, to confirm pregnancy. You took a home pregnancy test correct?" The blonde nodded. "Okay, we can do a blood test or I can do a vaginal exam." Peyton pondered which one would be more degrading, the exam, of course. Or she could go through a blood test which would hurt and also take a little longer to get the results. "If I do the blood test won't you have to do the exam anyway?" Her clothes were already off of her and she was stuck between wanting to know and wanting to wait forever to find out. "Yes, Ms. Sawyer. It'll probably be better to just go ahead and do both anyway." Peyton shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever, Doctor Harp." Peyton said sticking her arm out and already wincing. "Alrighty then, I'll send a nurse in." And with that the doctor walked out closing the door behind him, leaving Peyton alone.
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He walked into the backdoor, and it was dark. He ran his fingers in his hair and closed the door behind him. "Lindsey!" Lucas called out to his wife. Lucas tipped toed into the living room, where he found Lindsey watching the news. "Hey." He whispered to her back. She didn't turn around, still looking at the TV she said, "Hi, Luke." He wanted to know what happened in New York, what made her turn from upset to cold. Luke sat down beside her on the old worn couch and saw her scoot away dragging the wool blanket with her. "Lindsey…" He said softly. "Do you get some weird pleasure out of saying my name? Or are you just trying to remember that I'm the one you married not Peyton?" Lindsey scoffed and kept her blue eyes on the television. "No, I'm saying your name because I know something is on your mind. Let's talk about it baby." Lindsey turned around and looked at him on the verge of tears. She was tired of crying, being in love wasn't supposed to be this hard but letting go was. "Okay, Lucas. Let me talk." She said turning and looking him directly in the eye.
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Nathan opened the door to his brother's house and heard Lindsey crying and Lucas was whispering in an angry tone. Lindsey must have told Lucas that she and Nathan had slept together. Great he was really screwed. So Nathan shut the door quietly and walked toward the river court. When he finally found his way there one of the players from the Ravens was there working on his free throws. "Hey Q." Nathan said holding up his hand in greeting. "If it isn't washed up Nathan Scott." Quentin Fields said shaking his head. "Well thanks man." Nathan said stepping closer now arriving on the blacktop. "I see you found me and Luke's old high school hang out." Quentin shot the ball into the hoop and laughed. "I see it's pretty empty besides a washed up Scott and the next star in Tree Hill basketball. I hope I don't end up like you." Nathan shook his head and they intonated a one on one game. Secretly Nathan hoped the same thing.
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Marley Kittson set the file down and smiled at the young brunette in front of her. "Brooke, you seem like a very smart and seem like a person who could financially provide for a baby but sometimes Ms. Davis that's not enough for an adoption." Brooke frowned and searched the woman who was a few years older eyes. "I don't understand. What are you saying?" "For women to adopt alone well the chance of actually getting picked up a birth mother is rather thin. Especially since most of these women want their children to have two parents, a mom and a dad." Brooke nodded understanding. "And you are rather young. How old are you?" "I'm twenty-two almost twenty-three. What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Brooke said getting upset. "To me personally, nothing. But I'm just telling you that I know how badly you want to be a mother. I completely understand. But to get picked right now is very slim. You do have other options you know?" Marley said smiling a slight smile. Brooke hopped this woman wouldn't go into fertility procedures and sperm donations. "I know you said you wanted a baby but maybe you could try fostering a child. I know this girl she's fifteen, names Sam. I think…I really think someone like you could be good for her Brooke." Brooke thought for a moment. "I don't know… I mean…god." Marley bobbed her red curls. "I understand, just call me, all right." The two stood up to shake hands. Brooke turned around to exit the office and turned around. "I like your top by the way." Brooke said smiling. "Oh, thanks. It's actually yours." The two giggled and Brooke walked out of the office.
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Peyton removed her legs from the sir-ups and sat back up closing her legs. "Well Peyton, I'd say your about 4 weeks along. Just keep resting and we can make an appointment for you to come in about twelve weeks. Make sure you're careful, this is the time that most women miscarry, all right Peyton?" Peyton nodded her head, her curls bouncing up and down. Doctor Harper laughed whole heartily and smiled. "Go ahead and dress, I'll see you soon." The doctor walked out the door and Peyton walked over to the plastic chair where her purse and other belongings were lying. She pulled the paper slip off of her and put on her polka dot boy legged underwear and then her bra. She slipped her jeans on and buttoned them. She looked down at her stomach before putting her t-shirt on. It was flat. There was no sign that anything was growing inside of her except that gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was just like butterflies and nausea all rolled into one. Peyton shook her head and slipped her t-shirt on and then her ballet flats that Brooke bought her for Christmas last year. She felt tears well up in her eyes and couldn't help but think that she didn't want any of this. For a split second she even thought of aborting the baby growing inside of her. But she quickly felt herself regretting the thought and picked up her purse and walked of the exam room. She walked over to the receptionist table and handed the woman her insurance card. "How you doing?" The woman said smiling cheerily. The voice was the same one from the phone call and Peyton looked over to her right breast where her name tag read "Caroline" in gold lettering. "Um fine…" Peyton spat out. "Um I need to make an appointment for twelve weeks." Caroline nodded and pushed her ash blonde hair behind her ear. "How 'bout that Monday at One?" Peyton took out her check book and wrote out the twenty dollar fee for her co-pay. "That's fine." She said stamping the check with the practice name on the for line. The receptionist handed Peyton a card that had her appointment written on it and took Peyton's check from her. "Have a nice night, Ms. Sawyer." Caroline said nodding and closed the glass screen in front of her. Peyton walked out of the office and into her car. She turned the keys in the ignition of the Comet and cried.
TBC
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A/N: Surprise, surprise, Nathan slept with Lindsey too! That was actually a little surprise to me too, since I didn't know it happened until after I wrote it. That's always funny when you're writing and something like that happens. Ha-ha. Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. It was rather long, but personally when I'm a reader [and also a writer] I like longer chapters. If it was in a novel of course it would be short, but this is a story DUH! Boy do I have a surprise for you in the next chapter and an also welcomed ending in the world of Lucas Scott. Oh a damn I just gave you guys spoilers and I promised I wouldn't! Ha-ha. Also I don't know if Sam is going to come in Brooke's world or not. Maybe you guys should decide. I also know that the word VAGINA bothers some people. Sorry but it's uh kind of something that they examine when you go to an OBGYN. Ha-ha. [I know that was very immature of me, to laugh at the word] Comments please.
-Kelsey