A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 50
Karen walked through the hallway of the high school lost in thought, transported back to a time when her only concern had been cheerleading and Dan. It was difficult to process the idea that she was in the same hallway for her son, not his father. Once a year the Tree Hill Teachers welcomed parents to their classrooms for an annual parent teacher conference.
Normally, Karen relished these days, as there was nothing a proud parent loved more than teachers with glowing reviews. Stopping outside of her son's history class, she paused, seeing that the door was closed with another parent in the room. Karen leaned against the block wall, wandering how bad this session would be. From what she'd heard from four of Luke's teachers, this year was shaping up to be very different than the other time's she'd visited. Karen knew that her son was having a hard time adjusting to the new things in his life, but she was shocked to hear that his grades were dismal.
Her book loving son was apparently reading everything but the books assigned for his English class. His math teacher was confused as to why Lucas sailed through last year and this year he seemed totally lost. His physics teacher went so far as to ask Karen if there was trouble at home. She frowned at that question, knowing that the teachers in Tree Hill were bigger gossip mongers than their students. Karen knew that they'd love to know that she and her son were struggling after years of being the model mother/son pair.
Hearing the door open, she straightened up wanting to project a good image for her son's history teacher. Instead, she ran smack into Dan's large chest.
"Karen," he stiffly noted, reverting back to his cordial public relationship with Karen. It was hard sneaking around, he thought. The warmth that he and Karen had managed to re-capture was forced beneath a veneer of indifference anytime another person was around them. It was as if they were two different people when they were alone at the beach house together. A smile crossed his face at the memories of their time together. Being so close to Karen, those memories seemed to take on a life of their own.
Karen shyly acknowledged his greeting, forcing the smile that was threatening to erupt off her face. Things were going so well between them and she was happier than she'd been in a long time. While she loved Keith, there was no passion there. It was the main reason she'd broken things off with him. But with Dan, it was like an electric current kept passing between them. A current that refused to be dead and buried.
The history teacher walked up to where they both stood, staring at one another with hidden intent. "I'm Mr. Cumbler," the older man said, trying to rush through his last few parents so he could get to the gym for the Raven's game. It was getting late in the day and he didn't want to get caught with straggling parents.
"Karen Roe," she introduced herself, knowing that this teacher was new to the high school. He stared blankly at her, mentally calculating the students he had with the last name Roe. Dan saw the confusion on the man's face and interjected "Lucas Scott is her son." Karen smiled at him gratefully, always finding it a bit awkward that she and her son had different last names. The teacher looked at Dan a moment before replying. "Scott? As in Dan and Nathan Scott?" He'd just finished up with Dan, giving the father good news about his son's academic progress.
Karen flushed a bit under the man's stare. She wasn't going to let anyone make her ashamed of past. "Yes, Dan is Luke's father."
Mr. Cumbler smiled and ushered them both over the chairs in front of his desk. "Well, we might as well get started. I'm sure you don't want to miss your son....sons' game," he hastily corrected himself, sitting behind the ancient oak desk that had been old when Dan and Karen were still in school. Dan hesitated, not sure that Karen would welcome him participating in their son's life to this degree. While they'd managed family dinners, basketball games, and forbidden midnight sex, there was something more intimate about sharing the small daily details of their son's life together.
She smiled up at him and motioned to the other chair. "You might as well stay and share the dreadful news," she retorted, looking over at the teacher expectantly. "I'm sure Mr. Cumbler has bad news to give me....us," she corrected, unused to sharing such information with Dan. It was hard for her to break the single parent role that she'd perfected over the years. But Lucas was Dan's son and he did have a right to know what Lucas was doing in school. She flushed at bit, realizing that part of her was just happy that Dan actually cared enough to stay.
The teacher had the grace not to pontificate about Luke's academic progress, and tried to find a better way to break the news to her. "I'm a little concerned about Lucas's grades over the last two months," he slowly began, pulling out his grade book as a reference. "He started the first few weeks very strong, with great test scores and excellent homework assignments. Now...it's like he's a completely different person." The teacher looked up at Dan and Karen for an answer. He watched as the parent's sent each other cryptic glances and continued. "I have no doubt that the boy is smart, but he's completely unfocused and disorganized."
Dan was a bit shocked at the news. From what little information he'd managed to get out of Keith, he knew that Lucas was a confirmed bookworm and had always gotten great grades compared to Nathan. Now as Nathan appeared to be doing better, his oldest son was failing. "I think Luke is going through a lot of changes," he offered, not sure how to explain that family turmoil was most likely the culprit for his son's dismal performance. At least most of the teachers at school knew about the Scott Family Dysfunction.
Karen nodded and then looked the teacher in the eye. "I can promise you that this issue will be addressed and you'll be seeing a much better result in the coming weeks."
Brooke grabbed her cheerleading bag off her bed and gingerly moved through the new doors to her suite. In the two weeks she'd bounced from Haley's house to Nate's and back, someone had called workmen in to replace the doors that Nate and Lucas shattered the night J.J. attacked her. Not that the doors made her feel safer, she thought as she walked down the marble staircase. She had less than 20 minutes to get to the gym and make sure that the spirit squad had decorated the gym correctly. The Ravens were playing their arch rivals tonight and she wanted to make sure that every aspect of the gym was conducive to a Raven's victory.
"Brookie," her stepfather called out, walking out of his study into the foray behind where she stood, searching her Coach purse for her car keys. She dropped the bag, partly from frustration and partly from fear. Trey always found a way to make her uncomfortable, especially when they were alone in the large house. Her mother was off on another shopping trip to New York City, and as hard as Brooke had tried, her mother insisted that she start spending some of the week in her home. Some home, Brooke thought. She lived in complete fear of being harassed or raped.
Taking in the long legs in the short cheerleading skirt, Trey let out a low wolf whistle at his stepdaughter's appearance.
Her anger grew and Brooke spun around giving the man a nasty look. "Has anyone ever told you that leering at your teenage step-daughter is a bit skeevy?" she challenged, tired of letting this man rule her life through fear and insinuation.
Trey moved closer, reaching out so that his hand could run up her tan thigh. "Actually, I was told the younger the bird, the more tender the meat," he replied, as his hand slid under her cheer skirt. Brooke's heart lurched; fear paralyzing her mind for a moment, before she jerked away from his lecherous hands. Shaking her head, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "You're sick," she spat out, before slamming the door to her house and practically sprinting to her car.
Two blocks later, she stopped at a red light and leaned over and threw up in the passenger side floor board. A car horn went off, forcing her to sit up and drive. It was the only thing she could do really. Just sit up and go on. She couldn't fight her mother and Trey. All she could do was tread water and pray to god she could stay above the waves that threatened to crash over her.
The game was close, with the Ravens pulling away by a few baskets, only to be down a few baskets moments later. Dan watched as Lucas made a bad pass, practically giving the ball to the other team. Whitey stood on the sideline, screaming at the boy, telling him he'd better find his head or else his butt would find the bench. Dan thought that was the message of the day. Confused adults trying to figure out why the young ones were lost. Now, Dan could see some of his son's problems on the court. The bad plays, the forgotten formations and passes....Lucas was definitely struggling and not just in school.
Karen was still angry about the parent -teacher conference. She spent half of the game muttering things that Dan could only half understand. He leaned closer to her, discerning her words from the roar of the crowd around them. "If it's any consolation, you do get used to being told that your son sucks at school," Dan offered, realizing that he was just making her angrier.
"He's never had trouble with school. I swear it's the two b's. Before basketball and Brooke, he was a stellar student," she confided to Dan. He considered her words, noting that she'd managed to lay a substantial part of the blame on his son's girlfriend.
"Or maybe it's the intrusion of his father and brother into his life that's sent him into a downward spiral?" Dan suggested, realizing that it was more than likely true. By trying to be a part of his son's life, he was causing chaos. He looked down, knowing that his best intentions often led to his children's pain. His obsession with Nathan's basketball career, Luke's abandonment issues, Daniel.
He glanced over at the baseline of the court to where the cheerleaders were chanting words of encouragement to the team. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Brooke. "There's something wrong with her," he pointed out to Karen. "She looks like a starving orphan." Karen followed his eyes and noticed for the first time that her uniform was very loose on her thin frame, her hip bones protruding from the low skirt.
She stubbornly refused to feel guilty. Sure, she could have fed the girl or invited her to more meals at the Café. Karen didn't hate her son's girlfriend, she just feared her. Feared the place she seemed to have in Luke's life, knowing that in some way she'd been replaced by Brooke as her son's confident. "Maybe she's just on one of those crash diets," Karen replied, not wanting to agree that the girl looked too skinny to be healthy.
"I called her father last week," Dan admitted, as they watched Nathan sink another three pointer.
Karen looked up at him in shock. "I thought you'd decided to not get involved."
He shook his head, knowing that things were moving too fast to not get involved. "I think Brooke's moved in with us, at least part time, " he clarified. "Nathan said that she couldn't stay at home and that she was bouncing around all her friend's houses so she'd have a place to sleep."
Karen looked back at the girl, re-evaluating the situation. Everything around Brooke seemed like a train wreck waiting to happen and Karen didn't feel guilty about trying to shield her son from the impact. He had enough problems without adding his girlfriend's screwed up home life to the situation. "I can't worry about other people's kids, Dan. I have enough problems just dealing with Lucas," she explained, her expression softening when she realized that Dan was dealing it. "Brooke's always been your concern, hasn't she?"
Ignoring the cheering crowd and the noise, Dan considered her words. He'd barely managed to raise Nathan in the days after Deb's death. It was as if he'd spent years in some kind of emotional coma, where he moved and talked and worked, but wasn't really aware of much. But somehow, he knew that Brooke wasn't being cared for. He'd known enough to send extra food for Nate's lunches and to make sure she got home safely at night. "I've done what I could for her," he admitted. "I've not always been aware of what's going on in Nate's life, let alone hers." And it was that unknown factor that worried him. Still, who was Dan to interfere in another family? He'd screwed up Lucas and mangled his own life to criticize others. He'd left a brief message for Brooke's dad, hoping that he'd check up on his daughter.
He realized that Karen was going to bitch at their son and he wanted to soften the blow, hoping that he could start making a difference in his oldest son's life. "Try not to lose it when you talk to him, Karen. Let him go to the after game party tonight and then find some way to discuss his grades without bringing up Brooke," he advised, knowing that Karen tended to ground first and talk later. Watching as Lucas missed another shot, Dan knew that they had to find a way to jolt their son back to reality. And soon.
The crowd thinned after the game, thrilled that their Raven's had managed to pull out a last minute victory. Lucas pushed open the locker room door, preoccupied by the ass chewing he'd received from his coach. Seeing his mother waiting for him, he winced knowing that he was doomed from the glare of death on her face. The ever present Dan hovered around, looking as pained as Lucas felt at the coming confrontation.
He walked toward them, wishing that Brooke was with him, knowing that he felt stronger whenever she was around. Brooke understood how uncomfortable he was around Dan and she was a source of support that he rarely felt whenever his mother was around.
"I spoke to your teachers today," she greeted, attempting to not yell at him, per Dan's advice. At what point she'd begun to listen to Dan rather than her own instincts was unknown. He looked down at his feet, realizing that this confrontation was unavoidable. She'd have found out about his academic troubles when his report card was sent home, so there was no point lying about it.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked, avoiding her glare by glancing around the large gym for his girlfriend. Part of him was embarrassed about the grades; another part of him just didn't care anymore. So many things in his life were out of control and he couldn't seem to work up the interest in saving his grades in light of all his other problems.
Dan shook his head at the boy's tone. He was nearly baiting his mother. "I think she wants to hear that you are concerned about your grades and that you're going to work extra hard to bring them back up," Dan suggested, trying to give his son a way out.
Lucas gave his father a withering glance. "Nice of you to notice me, Dan. If it weren't for you abandoning me, I might not have to work double time to get a scholarship for college." Karen watched as her son's words hit Dan with the force his son intended. She wanted to reach out and take his hand in support, but realized the gesture would hardly make the situation better.
"Lucas, this isn't about Dan or the past. It's about your failing grades. I expect that you'll be at the Café after practice so that you can put in a full night's worth of homework," she said, using her patient mother tone. "If you can show a marked improvement in the next few weeks, I'll let you stay on the basketball team. If your grades continue to decline, you're off the team."
Lucas face grew red at her words, his fists clenching as his desire to hit someone grew. "I bet you are grounding me again," he muttered, realizing that it was impossible to fight with his mother. She had the ultimate power over his life and she'd make him do anything she wanted, including being part of a Dan study fest after school.
Karen ignored his snarky tone. "You aren't grounded but I do expect you to study 4 hours a night until your grades are better. I've got the phone numbers of all your teachers and I'll be in contact with them so I can monitor your homework progress."
His lip curled at that idea, it was more humiliating that anything he'd suffered before. "Whatever. I'm going to find my girlfriend." He said as he walked off toward the lobby of the gym. Karen watched him leave, before turning to Dan. "I think that went well," she softly said, laughing at the lame joke. Dan slid an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, not caring that there were people milling about. He pulled her closer to him and nuzzled her ear for a moment. "It will be okay, Kar. He'll shape up." Karen inhaled his strong scent, one that always made her feel strong, and safe and protected. She wanted to stay in his arms forever.
Dan leaned back and took in the contentment in her eyes. He got an idea and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward his navigator. "I have the best idea for tonight."
51 is hugest chapter yet. Big stuff happens. Huge!
*Peyton and Brooke throw down (in a totally suburban way)
*Dan and Karen get a surprise
*Brooke and Lucas take some drastic measures
AN: I usually don't like to discuss the psychology behind my stories, but I just wanted to take a moment to mention a few things about Brooke and Lucas. I don't tend to mention this, but I have a master's in counseling psychology and have worked with situations similar to those in the story (though not nearly as dramatic and dysfunctional). I know everyone wants Brooke to get out of her house and to get "fixed", however, the process is not nearly that easy. She's a kid who has no one in her life except Lucas and she's at that wonderful stage in life where she's in lurve. She doesn't want to do something that will take Lucas away. She's not rational, she's panicked. It's not the best state to make decisions in. And yes, she's medicating with booze and drugs to avoid the pain and reality. For those who are fed up with her, please give the story some time. I know the story seems long, but it's really only been going on for a few months.
Luke is acting out of anger and confusion. His father is a huge part of his life and he's mentally had three or so months (my time line is a mystery to me at times, but this is crystal clear) to adjust to Dan being around. Yes, Karen is a problem right now. But Luke has issues that he's going to have to work through. It's a messy problem and it tends to get worse over time. However, there is resolution. Of course, you'll have to read it and see what you think. But there's a method to the madness. Luke and Brooke are descending right now. There are levels to dysfunction, just as there are levels to finding a way out. In my mind, this is a story about two people who come together because of bad circumstances. The question is, can love born in despair end up in a good place. It's a metaphor that I see with Dan and Karen, as well. They are making stupid decisions. But part of life is stupid decisions, and the adults aren't immune. Without bad decisions, there is no story. At least for me!
Brooke wouldn't just decide she's okay and live happily ever after. She wouldn't make the move to tell anyone how bad things are in life. She's living the life of a perfect, rich cheerleader. That doesn't include rape and parental chaos. She also doesn't have a history of good results when she's trusted someone with her secrets. It's a process and while I think it works out realistically according to what I've seen, I'll let the readers decide if they want to kill me when the final chapter is posted. Just remember that I love these characters to death (or in Peyton's case, literally to death) and I want to take care of them.
That said, I love comments and feedback. I just want to explain why people are doing things and the best way to do that is to read the story. I love the passionate opinions people have and I know that some are frustrated (especially with the adults). But they are all part of the story. If Dan and Karen weren't together, Lucas might be a bit more rational and able to help Brooke. Or worse, hanging out with Peyton. It's a road of failure and love. Thanks!!!