A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Just warning you now that this is a really long chapter. Jamie is in this chapter. I didn't change the age difference between him and Sawyer. The only character's age I changed is Sam. So, Jamie is 5 years older than Sawyer and Sam.
Chapter 5
It's Friday night and Peyton is cooking dinner earlier than usual because Lucas and Sawyer have to be at the gym at 6:30 for the 7:00 basketball game.
"Thank you for helping me," Peyton says as Sawyer takes the lasagna out of the oven.
"I don't mind," Sawyer says. She sits down at the kitchen table and taps her fingers nervously against the wood tabletop. "Look, I know I'm grounded, but tonight's the first game…"
Lucas looks up from his salad and smirks. "Yeah, I know. I am the Coach."
"Everyone's gonna go out and celebrate after you win," Sawyer says, trying to butter her dad up. Her voice is slightly whiny. She looks at her parents, smiling hopefully, with pleading eyes.
"I think you've learned your lesson," Lucas says, smiling slightly.
"Thank you!" Sawyer says gratefully. She gets up and hugs her dad.
"Do you think they're gonna have something to celebrate?" Peyton asks, looking at Lucas.
"The team's good, but our best player isn't a team player. He's selfish. And he has a bad attitude," Lucas says.
Sawyer frowns slightly, knowing he's talking about Eric. "Eric's not that bad," Sawyer says defensively.
"No, Sawyer, he's a jerk. I didn't even want him on the team this year. The only reason he's on the team is because Nathan thinks he can help him," Lucas says firmly.
Peyton looks at Sawyer, raising her brow. "Why are you defending him? Are you friends?"
"No," Sawyer says quickly. "I mean, yeah, I'm friends with all the basketball players. Look, I know Eric and he can be a jerk, but he can also be pretty okay."
Brooke, Julian and Sam walk into Tree Hill High gymnasium. They join Peyton, Haley and Jamie in the bleachers.
"Hey, what's going on?" Brooke says as she sits down next to Haley.
"Oh, we're just about to beat some Farmer ass," Haley says, smiling. The Ravens are playing the Farmers.
Peyton looks at Sam. "Hey. You must be Sam. I'm Peyton." Peyton holds out her hand, shaking Sam's. "This is Haley and that's Jamie."
Haley smiles. "Hi, Sam."
"Hey," Sam says, sitting next to Jamie. Sawyer's talked about him so she knows that he plays basketball at Duke. "College boy, right?"
Jamie smirks, amused by the nickname. "Orphan girl, right?"
"Sam," Sam says, helping herself to a handful of Jamie's popcorn.
"Jamie," Jamie says.
"I know. What are you doing here?" Sam asks curiously.
"I wanted to come to the first game of the season. It's not a bad drive, so I came home after practice," Jamie replies.
"Wouldn't you rather be at a frat party than hanging out with your family on a Friday night?" Sam asks.
"I'm not in a frat. And I can't stay out until 2:00 am partying every weekend. I have to focus on basketball right now," Jamie replies. He's a senior so it's his last year before the NBA draft.
"Dude, chill out. If you're as good as everyone says you are, you're gonna be fine even if you go to a party and have a little fun," Sam says, smirking.
"And you think you can show me a good time?" Jamie asks, raising his brow.
After the game, Sam and Jamie wait outside the girl's locker room for Sawyer. Sawyer walks out. She's changed out of her cheerleading uniform and is wearing a black tank top and dark wash skinny jeans. "Jamie, what are you doing here?" Sawyer asks, smiling. She hugs him. "I've missed you," Sawyer says.
"I've missed you, too. So Sam says tonight's gonna be epic," Jamie says.
"Hell yeah," Sawyer says, leading the way to her car. When they get in the car, Sam finds a song on Sawyer's iPod and turns the volume up.
Jamie groans. "What is this?" He asks.
"Death cab," Sawyer replies without looking at her iPod.
"We just won. Why are you listening to emo shit?" Jamie asks.
"Uh, because it's good," Sawyer says.
"It's depressing," Jamie says, grabbing the iPod from Sam's hands.
"Hey!" Sam protests.
Jamie just laughs as he scrolls through the songs, finally changing it to Ludacris.
When Lucas walks out of the boy's locker room, Peyton is waiting for him. She smiles. "Good game."
Lucas looks at her appreciatively. She's wearing his old Ravens jersey. "Good everything. You look hot."
"This old thing?" Peyton says, laughing.
"Yeah, but you'd look even hotter if I took it off," Lucas says. He puts his arm around Peyton, pulling her closer, and kisses her softly. "I think we should go home and have fun while Sawyer's out having fun," Lucas murmurs into Peyton's blonde curls.
Jamie, Sawyer and Sam walk into Eric's parent's beach house.
"Hey. You came," Jeff says, looking at Sam.
Sam crosses her arms in front of her. "Yeah, so what?"
Jeff smirks. "So I didn't think you would since you've been avoiding me all week."
"And you still didn't get the hint. I guess I have to spell it out for you. I don't want to talk to you," Sam says. She's been avoiding him ever since he saw the bruises on her shoulders.
"Come on. Just give me five minutes," Jeff insists.
Jamie steps forward, putting himself in between Jeff and Sam. "Hey, she said she doesn't want to talk to you."
Jeff looks at Sam, raising his eyebrows.
Sam looks at the two boys glaring at each other. They look like they're about to come to blows. She rolls her eyes. "Okay…five minutes," she agrees reluctantly, not wanting them to get in a fight.
Jamie looks like he wants to stop them, but Sawyer puts a hand on his arm. "Let her go. She's fine. He's harmless. And I need someone to play beer pong with me," Sawyer says, pulling him to the beer pong table.
"Let's go somewhere we can talk," Jeff says, grabbing Sam's hand. They go upstairs to one of the bedrooms and sit down on the bed. "Sam, I like you. You can talk to me."
"I know. I like, you, too, but I don't want to talk about this," Sam says, knowing what he wants to talk about.
"Why are you letting someone hurt you?" Jeff asks.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Sam says.
"So explain it to me," Jeff says.
"My last foster home wasn't so good. My foster dad gave me the bruises," Sam admits, looking down. Usually, if she says anything at all, she just says her foster homes weren't so good, but doesn't go into detail.
Jeff frowns. "Your last foster dad? So you're not living with him anymore?"
"No," Sam says, shaking her head.
"Okay," Jeff says, not knowing what to say.
"So what do we do now?" Sam asks. She wouldn't be surprised if she scared him off.
"What do we do now?" Jeff repeats, smiling. "Well, we can dance or we can play beer pong or we can talk. The sky is the limit."
One of the basketball players, Mike, sees Jamie and Sawyer playing beer pong together. He smirks at Eric. "Hey, man. Looks like you have some competition."
Eric shakes his head. "No. Sawyer and I are good," Eric says. But, he stares, jealous, as his girlfriend laughs with another guy.
"Then why is your girlfriend flirting with another guy in your house?" Mike asks.
"She's not flirting, Mike. She's talking to him," Eric says angrily. "When she's with me, we're not gonna be talking." He smirks slightly.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Mike says.
Angry, Eric gets his cell phone out of his pocket and opens the picture Sawyer e-mailed him. "Here. You happy now?"
Mike grabs the phone. "Hey, guys, come over here!" He calls to the other basketball players.
"Mike, give that back, man. I don't want everyone looking at pictures of my girlfriend," Eric says angrily, but it's too late. His phone is being passed from basketball player to basketball player.
Jamie sees Sam and Jeff come downstairs. He looks at his watch and frowns. It's been more than five minutes. Jeff's hand is on Sam's lower back as they walk across the room. Jamie stalks after them.
"Hey, man, time's up," Jamie says firmly.
Sam smirks. "I gave him an extension."
"One minute you don't want to talk to him and the next you're attached at the hip. What's going on?" Jamie asks.
"Nothing's going on," Sam replies.
"We're cool," Jeff says, smiling at Jamie.
Jamie glares at Jeff. "No, we're not. And, from what I saw earlier, you guys aren't either."
"Can I borrow you for a minute?" Sam asks, grabbing Jamie's arm and pulling him to a corner. "What are you doing?" Sam demands, embarrassed.
"What? Jamie asks innocently. "I saw how you were when that guy tried to talk to you."
Sam sighs, knowing Jamie's not going to leave her and Jeff alone until she explains. "My last foster home wasn't so good. My foster dad was drunk and he grabbed me really hard. Last time I hung out with Jeff, he saw the bruises. I've been avoiding him because I didn't want to talk about it. Jeff's nice to me. You don't need to be on guard dog duty, okay?"
Jamie swallows. "Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's okay," Sam says quietly.
"No, it's not," Jamie says, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He wishes he could get his hands on Sam's foster dad. "When I was little, my dad got in a fight the night of the NBA draft. Instead of playing in the NBA, he was in a wheelchair. He started drinking. He never hit me, but I remember being scared of him. I was lucky. He stopped drinking. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you."
Sawyer watches, rolling her eyes, as Jamie goes into protective mode when he sees Sam and Jeff. She's grateful that he hasn't met Eric yet. She sees Eric with the other basketball players and joins them. "Hey," Sawyer says, smiling. "What's that?" She asks, noticing the phone everyone is trying to get a look at.
"Sawyer, that's not what it looks like," Eric says as Sawyer grabs the phone.
Sawyer looks at the picture, horrified. "So you're not showing all your friends this picture?" Sawyer says sarcastically.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for everyone to see it," Eric says.
"Not as sorry as I am. You're an asshole, you know that," Sawyer says angrily. Embarrassed, she stalks off, wanting to get out of there as fast as she can. She finds Jamie and Sam. "Hey, you ready?" Sawyer asks. She doesn't wait for an answer. She starts walking to the door. Jamie and Sam exchange a confused glance and go after her.
"Hey, wait up. Where are you going? Come on, you can't drive. You've been drinking," Jamie says as they catch up with Sawyer.
"Sawyer, what's wrong?" Sam asks.
"I just want to get out of here," Sawyer replies.
"Okay. We don't have to stay here. We can go for a walk on the beach," Sam suggests.
Sawyer ignores their pleas, continuing to her car. She doesn't want to go for a walk on the beach. She doesn't want to risk running into anyone who saw the picture. She just wants to go home and be alone. She's never been so embarrassed in her life. She digs around in her bag for her keys.
"Sawyer, I'm serious! Give me the keys," Jamie says.
"You want the damn key? Here! You can have it!" Sawyer takes her house key off her keychain and throws it. When Jamie looks for the key in the grass, Sawyer uses her car key to unlock the car. Sawyer gets in the drivers seat. Sam hurries to get in the passenger seat, hoping she can talk Sawyer out of driving.
By the time Jamie finds the key, they're already in the car. Angry, he realizes Sawyer tricked him. He's not stupid, but he's too trusting. He watches helplessly as they drive away. "Damn it!" He yells, kicking the ground.
"Sawyer, what happened?" Sam asks.
"Eric happened," Sawyer mutters.
"Whatever he did, he's not worth it. You shouldn't be driving," Sam says.
"I e-mailed him a picture of me. I…wasn't wearing much," Sawyer says, blushing furiously. "I didn't think anyone would see it. It was just for him. Sam, he showed everyone."
Sam winces. "I'm sorry."
After they've been driving for about ten minutes, Sawyer sees a cop behind her. She's so scared she starts shaking. "I played beer pong. If he stops me, I'm gonna get a DUI. My parents are gonna kill me," Sawyer says.
When the white and blue lights start flashing, they know the cop is pulling them over. Brooke and Julian are going to kick me out, Sam thinks. They'll probably kick me out for drinking whether I was the one driving or not. It doesn't matter if I take the fall for driving.
"I'll say I was driving. I won't tell. I promise. Switch seats with me," Sam says, unbuckling her seatbelt.
Sawyer hesitates. "Sam, I can't do that to you," she says uncertainly.
"It's okay. Just switch seats with me," Sam says.
"Okay," Sawyer agrees, unbuckling her seatbelt as well. "You didn't play beer pong. You didn't have as much to drink. And you said Brooke and Julian don't even care what you do. They're not really your parents," Sawyer says, trying to rationalize letting Sam take the fall. Sawyer and Sam awkwardly climb over the armrest so that Sam is in the drivers seat.
Lucas and Peyton are sitting up in bed reading when the phone rings. Peyton answers it. "Hello?" As she listens, her smile fades. After a few seconds, she hangs up. She gets out of bed and grabs her purse, starting for the door.
"Peyton, what's wrong?" Lucas asks.
"Sawyer. She's in jail. We have to go," Peyton replies.
"What?" Lucas yells, getting up and grabbing his car keys.
"I don't know, Lucas. She just said that she's in jail and we have to go get her," Peyton says, upset.
"She was grounded, Peyton. If we hadn't let her go out, this wouldn't have happened," Lucas says as he starts the car.
"We don't even know what this is yet," Peyton mutters.
Lucas sighs. "Now I know how my mom felt when I called her from jail."
"Karen was a great mom and you were arrested. This isn't our fault," Peyton says, trying to convince herself as well as Lucas.
"No, you're right. It's Sawyer's," Lucas says angrily.
When they get to jail, Lucas walks up to the desk. "I'm here for my daughter, Sawyer Scott. I need someone to tell me what's happening."
When Julian and Brooke get home from the game, Julian pours two glasses of wine and they sit down on the couch.
"Did you have fun tonight?" Julian asks.
Brooke smiles. "Yeah, it was a good night. I haven't seen Jamie in awhile. I think Sam's happy."
"She likes being with you," Julian says.
"No, she likes being with us," Brooke corrects.
"You know what would make this night even better?" Julian asks, flashing his signature smirk.
Brooke smiles. "I have a few ideas." After she sets her wineglass down on the coffee table, she turns around, straddling Julian. Julian kisses her deeply. They're making out when the phone rings. Julian ends the kiss so they can answer it. Brooke looks at him, kinking her brow. "Don't," Brooke says, not wanting to stop.
Julian laughs. "We have to get it. What if it's Sam?"
Brooke answers the phone. "What?" She demands, annoyed. She slams the phone down a few seconds later, frowning. "Unbelievable!"
"What's wrong?" Julian asks, concerned.
"Our foster child is in jail. We have to go get her," Brooke mutters.
"For what?" Julian asks as he gets up.
"I don't know. She didn't say," Brooke says, walking out to the car.
When they get there, Brooke joins Lucas and Peyton while Julian arranges for Sam's bail.
"Peyton, what happened?" Brooke asks.
"They were drinking and Sam drove," Peyton replies.
"They're lucky they just got arrested. They could have died," Lucas mutters.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I had no idea Sam was this bad," Brooke says, feeling guilty for introducing Sawyer to Sam.
"Oh, Brooke, honey, you tried, but you can't help someone if they're not willing to be helped," Peyton says.
"I thought we were getting little orphan Annie and, instead of singing and dancing, we have drinking and driving," Brooke says, frustrated. "It doesn't feel like she's trying at all. I just don't think this is gonna work."
Sam and Sawyer walk out from the holding cell in time to hear everything Brooke says. Sawyer looks at Sam, feeling guilty for letting her take the fall. She never thought Brooke and Julian would kick Sam out. "We have to tell them that I was driving," Sawyer says quietly.
"Don't. Look, they're gonna kick me out for drinking whether or not I was driving. It's okay. I'm used to it," Sam says, trying not to cry.
"Sam, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Sawyer says.
"It's okay. If it's not this, it'll be something else. I screw up once and I'm gone," Sam says.
Lucas is the first to notice Sawyer and Sam. He glares at Sam. "Were you drinking tonight?" He asks quietly. Sam looks at him, not knowing what to say. "Were you? Were you drinking before you drove my daughter's car with my daughter in the car?" Lucas demands.
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Sam says.
"I want you to stay away from Sawyer," Lucas says angrily.
"Dad, stop!" Sawyer yells, feeling worse every minute.
Lucas looks at Sawyer and shakes his head slightly. "No, you stop! This is incredibly bad judgment. You know better than to get in the car with someone who has been drinking."
"You could've called us," Peyton adds.
"I'm sorry," Sawyer says. She looks at her dad. "You can be mad at me. That's fine. But who my friends are is none of your business."
"That's where you're wrong. It is my business. Say goodbye to Sam, Sawyer," Lucas says firmly.
Sawyer looks back at Sam apologetically as Lucas ushers her to the door.
"We should get Sam home," Julian says quietly.
When Lucas, Peyton and Sawyer get home, Jamie is waiting on the front porch.
"Are you alright?" Jamie asks, looking at Sawyer.
Sawyer nods. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Lucas looks back and forth between Jamie and Sawyer, frowning. "Wait a minute, you knew she was drinking?"
"I'm really sorry, Uncle Lucas," Jamie says.
Lucas laughs disbelievingly. "I like to think that you'll protect her, but I guess I was wrong."
"Dad, that's not fair," Sawyer protests.
"I think you should go," Lucas says, looking at Jamie.
After Jamie leaves, Lucas ushers Sawyer into the house. "Why don't you go sleep it off? We'll deal with this tomorrow," Lucas says.
Brooke and Julian don't say anything to Sam on the way home. When they walk in, Sam starts for her room, but Brooke stops her. "Don't," Brooke says sternly. Sam stops, reluctantly turning to face them. "Drinking and driving! What the hell? I let you hang out with my niece, I take you in and you make me look like an idiot!" Brooke yells.
"Maybe I'm the idiot," Sam says, feeling stupid for believing Brooke and Julian might be different from her other foster parents.
"Sam, I don't think you understand what this means. You got a DWI and you're not even twenty-one. This is going to haunt you for the rest of your life," Julian says.
"Dude, chill out. It's fine," Sam says, pretending like she doesn't care.
Brooke stares at Sam in disbelief. "Just go to your room," she says angrily.
Sam doesn't cry until she's alone in her room. She starts shoving her things into her backpack. She wants to leave before Brooke and Julian kick her out.
In the living room, Brooke and Julian sit down on the couch.
"So what do you want to do?" Julian asks.
"I don't know if we can help her anymore," Brooke says, upset.
"Brooke, she made one mistake," Julian says.
Jamie walks in without knocking. "Hey, Aunt Brooke. Julian," Jamie says as he sits down next to Brooke.
"Hey," Julian says.
"Jamie, what are you doing here? Brooke asks, looking at the clock on the cable box. "It's late."
"I know. I'm sorry," Jamie says apologetically. "Can I talk to Sam?"
Brooke bites her lip, looking torn. She can never say no to Jamie, but she knows she shouldn't let him talk to Sam. "I don't know, buddy."
"You're mad at Sam, huh?" Jamie says.
Brooke nods. "Yeah, I am," she says firmly. "I can't trust her. She's bad."
"She's not bad," Jamie says defensively. "Everyone drinks in high school." He shrugs. "I did."
"I don't know, Jamie. She was drinking and driving. She could have hurt someone. She could have hurt Sawyer," Brooke says.
Confused, Jamie stares at Brooke. "Sam didn't drive. Sawyer did," Jamie says.
"Jamie, are you sure?" Brooke asks, shocked.
Jamie nods. "Yeah."
"Thank you for coming over to check on her. We need to talk to Sam tonight. You can come back and see her tomorrow," Brooke says.
"Okay. Bye, guys," Jamie says as he gets up and walks to the door.
Brooke looks at Julian. "I was really hard on her," Brooke says, feeling guilty.
"We should probably go apologize," Julian says.
They knock on Sam's door and open it. When they walk into Sam's room, Sam is packing.
"What are you doing?" Brooke asks.
"Packing. Look, I heard you talking to Peyton and Lucas. I get it, okay? It's happened before. I know what happens next," Sam replies, looking down.
"Sam, I'm sorry," Brooke says.
"It's okay. I'm used to people giving up on me," Sam says. She looks up at Brooke, tears in her eyes. "It happens all the time. My mom gave me up when I was four. Like I said, I'm used to people giving up on me. Thanks anyway." Sam grabs her backpack and takes a step toward the door.
"Sam…" Brooke says tearfully, grabbing Sam's arm to stop her from leaving. "I know what it feels like to have parents who give up on you. I had one who ignored me and one who resented me. And, sometimes I feel like I'd have been better off if I'd never had parents at all. I don't want to make the same mistakes out parents did. I don't want you to leave."
Sam stares at Brooke, shocked. "Okay."
"Sam, did you cover for Sawyer?" Julian asks.
"I told her not to tell," Sam says, surprised.
"She didn't. Jamie did," Julian says.
"Why did you take the fall for her?" Brooke asks.
"I figured you were gonna kick me out for drinking whether or not I was driving, so I did it for Sawyer," Sam explains. She shrugs. "She was scared."
"We'e not going to ask you to leave," Brooke says. She waits for an answer, but Sam isn't even looking at her. "Okay?"
Sam finally looks up. She still has tears in her eyes. "Okay," she says, nodding.
A/N: Tell me what you think. Let me know if you want more Jamie. Oh, and, I hope I made it clear that Sawyer felt bad about Sam taking the fall for her. I'm definitely not trying to make either Sawyer or Sam look bad. They're both going to get into their fair share of trouble. They're just different.