"Okay, stand up nice and tall." Lucas said as he took out his camera. Lily looked at him with a smile. She was wearing a yellow shirt with white polka dots and the sleeves were a little ruffled. Over the shirt she had a flower overall dress, which was blue with white, yellow and pink flowers. The dress showed most of shirt. Lucas had fixed her hair by pulling half of it up and he put a coral bow in her hair. He smiled as he looked down at her feet and chuckled. She was wearing white converse. He finished taking pictures and then walked into the living room. He had already made Lily's lunch. He grabbed her backpack and lunch box. He walked back to her and handed her the backpack and lunch box. Her backpack was pink with white dots on it and her lunch box matched. He smiled as she held his hand. "Ready?" He asked.
"Yeah!" Lily said with a huge smile. He smiled as they walked out to the car. He helped her into the car and then they drove to the preschool. It was 7:45 when they pulled up to the school. They got out and walked inside. The preschool was very nice inside with a playground next to it. As they walked into the class the teacher walked up to greet them.
"Hi, I am Miss Glenda Farrell, but you can call me Miss Glenda." Glenda said with a smile as she handed Lucas a cup of coffee.
"Thanks." Lucas said as he took it. "I'm Luc…" He started to say as she cut him off.
"Lucas Scott, the new head coach of the varsity Tree Hill Ravens." Glenda said as Lucas looked at her.
"Oh god. Glenda!" He said as the two hugged. "How have you been?" He asked. Glenda smiled at him and then got down on Lily's level.
"You can put your things over there." Glenda pointed as Lily walked over there. "I've been really good. I moved back to Tree Hill after graduating college." She said with a smile.
"That's great. Yeah, we just moved back too." He said as she nodded.
"Awesome!" She said as Lily walked back. As Lily stood by Lucas she saw Jamie was at a table with other kids. She walked over to him and sat down at the table. "So, parents can stay if they would like but you don't have to. I understand if it is hard to let go." She said as Lucas looked to see where Lily was. He saw that she was completely fine and he sighed. He was hoping that putting Lily in preschool was just a terrible idea and that she would want to come home with him. He walked out to his car and got in. He then drove to the high school. He parked and walked inside. It was almost time for class to start but he went to Haley's class anyways. As he walked into the class, Haley looked up at him.
"Oh. My. God. This book is better than the last one." Haley said as she put it down.
"Really?" He asked as he sat down in one of the desk.
"Yeah, it is incredible, and I'm only in the second chapter." She said with a smile.
"Thanks." He said.
"So how did it go?" She asked.
"It was really hard to be honest." He said. "I got there and she just left me. Just like that. It seemed like she didn't even care that I left." He sighed.
"Luke, of course she does. But she also is very outgoing." She said as he nodded.
"I can't believe that Glenda Farrell from current events is our kids teacher." He said.
"I know!" She said as the bell rang. The continued talking as the students walked into the classroom. As Lucas left he walked into Quentin Fields.
"Coach." Quentin said as Lucas looked at him.
"What are you doing in third period?" Lucas asked.
"It's my study hall." Quentin replied.
"Okay, come by my office." Lucas said as Quentin nodded. Lucas then walked to his office. His first plan was to pick which JV player would be moving up to varsity after one of the players moved. He got into his office and sat down. As he pulled up the junior varsity roster Coach Adams walked into the office.
"Lucas, you wanted to talk to me." Adams said as he sat down.
"Yeah…you have an excess of players on your team. Right?" Lucas said.
"Yeah, we had a lot of freshmen last year and most stuck around." Adams said.
"Who are your top three players?" Lucas asked. "Weston Hyde moved last week and I'm down a player." He said.
"Well that's easy." Adams said. "The first and most obvious choice is Jace Jagielski. My next two which if we are being honest don't even compare to Jagielski is Roger Adams and Austin Bates." He said.
"Roger Adams, isn't he your son?" Lucas asked as he pulled up the stats on him.
"Yeah, he's a good player but Jace is your guy." Adams said.
"Jagielski, huh." Lucas said as he looked up Jace's information. As he looked at it he nodded. "You're team will still survive?" He asked.
"Yep. Jace is a great player. He deserves to be on varsity." Adams said.
"Alright. I'll send Jace the good news." Lucas said as Adams got up.
"Alright. See you later." Adams said as Lucas nodded. Adams left his office as Lucas looked up Jace's schedule. He noticed that his next period was his study hall. Haley was his study hall teacher so he sent her email telling her to send Jace to his office. Lucas then started to work on some game plans. As he worked on the plans he heard a slight knock on the door. He looked up and saw Jace standing there. Jace looked almost identical to Jake but he had blonde hair and blue eyes, while Jake has brown hair and brown eyes. Lucas then motioned for him to come in. Jace opened the door and walked in.
"Coach Scott you wanted to see me?" Jace said as Lucas motioned toward the chair. Jace sat down as Lucas closed his book.
"I think you should call your parents." Lucas said as Jace's eyes grew big.
"Coach I don't know what you're talking." Jace said as Lucas smiled.
"Jace, you're on varsity." Lucas said as Jace's complete attitude changed. "You should call your parents and let them know. They are gonna be proud." He said.
"Thanks Coach Scott!" Jace said excitedly.
"Well, today at practice is shirt verse skins. I am bringing you on as my three point shooter. I was looking at your stats." Lucas said. "You're good, but don't get cocky. You are the only sophomore on the team, don't let it go to your head." He said as Jace nodded.
"Yes sir." Jace said. "Is that all coach? I have a test next class." He said.
"Yeah that's it." Lucas said. "Oh wait…how is Jake?" He asked.
"He's good." Jace said. "He actually has full custody of Jenny now. Nicki is out of the picture after being caught with drugs. He is in the process of moving back to Tree Hill. He wants Jenny to grow up in his hometown, but also around her family." He said as Lucas nodded. "It is gonna be really cool to see Jenny every day." He said.
"How old is she now?" Lucas asked.
"She's seven." Jace said.
"Wow." Lucas said.
"Yeah. I can't believe it either." Jace said as he started getting up. "See you at practice?" He said.
"Yep." Lucas said as Jace left. Lucas continued to work and then Quentin came into the office.
"Coach Scott." Quentin said as Lucas looked up.
"Hey Q sit down." Lucas said as Quentin sat. "So, I pulled up a player from JV to take Weston's place." He said as Quentin nodded.
"Jagielski?" Quentin asked.
"Actually, yeah." Lucas said.
"He's better than some of your current guys." Quentin said.
"Well, we have different plays and I need you to go over them with him." Lucas said.
"Can do." Quentin said as he got up.
"Hey Q." Lucas said as Quentin looked back at him. "I'm proud of you. Very proud. You have come a long way." He said.
"Thanks Coach Scott." Quentin said as he left. Lucas smiled and then continued to work.
Brooke looked up at the clock and then back at her drawing. She didn't want to be late picking Lily up from preschool. As she was drawing Millie walked into the store.
"Hi Brooke!" Millie said as she set down the mail. "How are the new designs coming?" She asked.
"Almost….d…done!" Brooke said as she finished the designs with a smile. She got up and then walked to the safe in the back and set them in it. She locked it and then walked back into the main area.
"So you are finished?" Millie asked with a smile.
"Yep!" Brooke said as she started straightening most of the clothes. Millie watched her and Brooke stopped. "What's up?" She asked.
"I just think it is amazing that you are so helpful." Millie said as Brooke smiled.
"Thanks." Brooke said as an alarm on her phone went off. "Well, I gotta go." Brooke said as Millie nodded. Brooke walked out to her car and got in. She drove to the preschool and parked. She saw Jamie leaving with Carrie. She stopped and said hi and then went inside. She walked into the classroom and saw Lily was coloring with a couple other girls. She smiled as Glenda walked up to her.
"Brooke?" Glenda said as Brooke looked at Glenda.
"Oh my gosh! Glenda!" Brooke said as they hugged. "How are you?" She said.
"I'm good and you." Glenda said.
"Great!" Brooke said with a soft smile. "So which one is yours?" She asked as she looked at her.
"None, sadly." Glenda said as she sighed. Brooke then looked at her. "Oh, I am the preschool teacher." She said with a smile.
"Oh okay!" Brooke said.
"You are here for Lily Scott, correct?" Glenda said.
"Yeah, just helping out an old friend." Brooke said as Glenda nodded.
"Do you know if her father is going to be dropping her off on Thursday or picking her up?" Glenda asked.
"Uh, I don't know about Thursday morning but Thursday afternoon I will be picking her up. Why?" Brooke asked.
"Well today, Lily was in reading time and I just have a couple questions." Glenda said.
"Such as?" Brooke asked.
"Does she know how to read?" Glenda asked.
"Yes." Brooke said as she thought about the mass text Lucas had sent out when Lily read her first book.
"Oh, well does she get stuck on her words? Does she not know how to form them?" Glenda asked.
"Well she is four." Brooke said. "Some words will be difficult for her to form or pronounce." She said as she started to get defensive of Lily. Brooke was a little upset about what Glenda was saying.
"I just think that she might learn differently." Glenda said as Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Because she doesn't fit into your stupid box." Brooke said as she looked over at Lily. "Lily, are you ready?" She asked as Lily walked over with her backpack, lunch and drawing.
"Yes." Lily said as Brooke grabbed Lily's hand.
"Good day." Brooke said to Glenda as the two left. Brooke helped Lily into the back seat and then got in. They drove to the pier and she parked. Brooke helped her out and they walked to get ice cream. "What kind do you like?" She asked.
"Strawberry!" Lily said as Brooke smiled.
"One strawberry cone." Brooke said as the guy made it and then handed it to her. "Thanks." She said as the two girls walked to a table and sat down.
"Thank you." Lily said as she started to eat it.
"So how was preschool?" Brooke asked as she looked at the little girl. Lily was sitting on her legs that where in the seat.
"It was fun!" Lily said with a sweet voice. "We played games inside and outside. We also read and colored." She said as Brooke smiled.
"So how was reading?" Brooke asked.
"Good." Lily said as she shrugged. Brooke laughed a little as they continued to talk. After Lily finished her ice cream it was almost three. They gathered their things and then walked back to the car. "Brooke." She said as Brooke started the car.
"Yes sweetheart?" Brooke said.
"Where are we going?" Lily asked.
"To the high school where your daddy works." Brooke said.
"Oh." Lily said with a sigh.
"Why?" Brooke said.
"I like being with you." Lily said. "Girl time." She said as Brooke smiled. She also loved being around Lily.
"Well, how about we go to the park for an hour." Brooke said as Lily smiled.
"Yeah!" Lily said as Brooke giggled. She then drove to the park. As they got out there were many different kids from the preschool there. One of the kids was Madison Landry. As Lily went and played Brooke sat down next to Madison's mom.
"Which is yours?" Mrs. Landry asked. Brooke thought about how to answer this question and then smiled.
"That one." Brooke said as she pointed Lily out. "Her name is Lily."
"Oh you are Lily's mom?" Kate said as she looked at Brooke. Brooke was a little nervous to answer the question.
"Her dad is my best friend." Brooke said. "Why?"
"Well, since we have left the school it had been none stop talk of how much fun Lily and Madison had together today. Madison is mine." Kate said as Brooke nodded. "Can I have Lily's father information?" She asked.
"Oh sure!" Brooke said as she started giving it to her.
"They will definitely have to have a play date." Kate said with a smile. "Do you know if she is involved in any activities?" She asked.
"Well typically on Tuesdays she would be in basketball. Wednesday she has dance and then Thursdays she will be in art." Brooke said as Kate smiled even bigger.
"Then the girls will become great friends then!" Kate said as Brooke nodded. She was really enjoying being around Lily more than her work. Kate then got up and left with Madison. Brooke let Lily play for a little longer and then called her over.
"Ready to go see your daddy?" Brooke asked as Lily smiled really big.
"Yeah!" Lily said as she jumped. Brooke laughed as the two walked to the car. They got in and she drove to the high school. At the time they arrived there was only about 45 minutes left in the practice. They walked in together and Lucas smiled as he saw the two walked in. He walked up to them and told Lily to sit down on the bleachers. He thanked Brooke and watched her leave. As he turned around most of his players and even the coaches were staring. It was very obvious that Lucas had strong feelings for her.
"Um…get back to practice." Lucas said as the players continued their drills. He looked over at Lily and smiled. He hadn't seen her since he dropped her off. To him he felt like it had been days. Practice continued and by the end of it Lily was playing on the bleachers. Lucas ended practice and walked over to Lily. He smiled as he picked her up. "Ready to go home?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She said as he kissed her cheek. He then set her down and she grabbed her backpack and lunch box. He reached for her hand and they started to head out to the car. He helped her into her seat and then got in his. He started to drive home and he smiled to himself.
"So did you life preschool?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She said super happy.
"Make any friends?" He asked.
"I played with two girls all day." She said as he nodded.
"That's fun. Do you remember their names?" He asked.
"Madison and Callie." She said.
"Did you play with Jamie?" He asked.
"Yeah, we sit at the same table." She said.
"How many are at each table?" He asked.
"Four." She replied. He nodded as they pulled into the driveway. They got out and walked inside. This was the first time that they had both been home since they left this morning. Lucas walked into the kitchen to start dinner.
"Lily, come here." He called out but no reply. He again called her name out and didn't hear a reply. He stopped what he was doing and walked down the hall. He walked into her room and found Lily playing in her room. "Lily, did you hear me calling you?" He asked.
"Yes." She said as he was caught off guard.
"Why didn't you listen?" He asked.
"I didn't want to." She said as she continued to play with her Barbie doll. He looked at her and then groaned.
"That is not what we do in this house." He said as she nodded.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"It's okay." He said. "But come on." He said as he reached out for her hand. She got up and carried her doll with her. They walked into the kitchen together and he pointed to her chair. She got in it and there were two books on her place mat.
"What's this?" She asked.
"You're homework." He said. "You are supposed to read two books after preschool each day." He said as she sighed. He laughed a bit as she opened the book. She began to read aloud and every couple words Lucas would correct her. She finished her first book as Lucas set down their plates. He had made spaghetti and meatballs. They ate and talked. He was very happy that Lily loved preschool. As they finished eating Lily started walking to her room. "Hey hold on there." He said as he heard her groan. He had never experienced this with Lily. She normally listened very well. "We have to read the other book." He said as she stomped her foot.
"I don't want to." She demanded as he sighed. He took a deep breath and got down on her level.
"Lily, I know you don't like it but your gonna get better." He said as she whined. He really didn't want to get on to her right now but she was leaving him no choice. "Lily you can either read your book right now or you can read it after you get done with time out." He said as she made a face at him. "Okay, after time out it is." He said as he stood up and grabbed her hand.
"I'm sorry. I wanna read." She said as they walked into his room.
"I'm sorry Lily. I asked you more than once to read the book." He said as he pointed at the corner of the wall in his room that was by his desk. She started to cry as she stood in the corner. He then walked out of the room. He went into the living room and sat down. He started to read the newspaper and could hear muffled crying coming from his room. As he continued to read the article the crying had stopped. He looked at the time on the clock and continued to read. As he finished the article he folded the newspaper and got up. He walked into his bedroom and sat down on his bed. "Ready to read now?" He asked. She nodded and he motioned for her walked over to him. He grabbed the book off his bed and picked her up. He set her down on his lap and she hugged him. He smiled and then opened up the book. "We've read this book together before." He said as he looked at her. "Can you read the name?" He asked.
"Biscuit!" Lily said with a smile. He nodded and they started to read the book. Lucas had bought Lily four Biscuit books and she really enjoyed them. Since then He would read the books to her almost every night. As they finished reading Lucas smiled again.
"Time to take a bath." He said as they walked to the bathroom. He helped her take a bath and then dried her off. He then helped her into her pjs and brushed her hair. As he walked back to the bathroom to put the brush back his phone rang. "Hello?" He said into his phone. He listened to the voice on the other side and realized that he had forgotten about his list of errands he needed to complete. He buried himself into his job today that he didn't take care of any of them. He sighed as he hung up and walked into Lily's room. "Lily daddy has to run some errands. Can you put on a pair of shoes?" He asked. He watched as the child walked to the closet. He smiled and walked to the fridge. He grabbed the list of errands and read them to himself. '1. Pick up dry cleaners. 2. Pick up vitamins from the drug store. 3. Get oil changed. 4. Make bank deposit. 5. Pay bills. 6. Return already late books to the library.' He crossed the bank off since it was closed and the oil change since he had Lily. He finished making his new list when Lily walked into the kitchen. "Ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said as he walked back to her room. He grabbed her favorite blanket and her teddy bear. He walked back to his daughter with a smile.
"Now we are ready." He said as she smiled and grabbed her teddy bear. He smiled as he held her hand. They walked out to the car. They got in and Lucas started driving.
-"Daddy where are we going?" She asked.
"To the pharmacy, the utility company, the library, and the dry cleaners." He said as she groaned a little. He hated taking Lily with him on errands because she would get very bored. As they drove he was listening to her talk. He pulled into the pharmacy parking lot. He parked and they walked in together. He was holding her hand as they walked in. He grabbed a basket and walked down the isle he needed. As he was reading the different bottles, Lily kept knocking things over. He finally found the victims for him and then some for Lily. He picked up what she was knocking over and then picked her up. He walked to the line and held her the entire time. He paid and then walked put to the car. He put Lily in the back and she got into her seat. He got into his seat and started to drive to the next location. As he was driving he could feel Lily kicking his chair. "Lily stop kicking." He said as he felt the kicking continue. "Did you hear me?" He asked.
"Yes." She said back as he groaned.
"Then stop." He said.
"No." She said with a little attitude. He cleared his throat as he pulled up to the red light.
"Lily stop kicking my chair or I will turn the car around." He said sternly.
"No." She said as he let out a deep breath. He then pulled over into a parking lot. He got out of the car and slammed his door. He yelled as he stood outside of his car. He was so frustrated with Lily but also himself. A part of him was still missing Lindsey and the other part hated that part for missing her. He finally calmed down and opened Lily's door. She had watched him and was a little scared. He bent down and looked at her.
"This is how it's going to go. We are going to finish the errands on my list and then we are going home. When we get home it's bedtime. Not play time. Not snack time. Not dessert time. It's bed time." He said sternly. "Understand?" He asked.
"Yes sir." She said as he kissed her cheek. He then closed the car door and opened his. He got in and continued running his errands. They finally finished and he sighed as he pulled into the garage. They both got out and Lily started to walk inside. He watched her walk inside and he sighed again. He was upset that he was so quick to get angry with her. He walked inside and down the hall to her room. She was already in bed with her blanket over her head. He walked into her room and sat down on her bed.
"Sweetie." He said as he started to rub her back.
"Yes?" She said quietly. He smiled as he removed the blanket from her head.
"Can I read you a book before bed?" He asked.
"No. It's bed time." She stated as he sighed. He sometimes hated how she would take what he said so seriously.
"Okay sweetie." He said as he stood up and tucked her in. He put her teddy bear next to her and kissed her goodnight. He then turned on her nightlight and he walked to his room. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. He then sat down at his computer and started editing his book. There weren't very many edits he had to make. He then started to email different publishers. He finished emailing them and then grabbed a book from his shelf. He walked over to his bed and sat down on it. His back was against his headboard and his legs were lying straight out. He started reading his book and looked at the clock. It was only 8:30. He continued to read his book and got up to check his the locks. He locked the house and then went back to his room. He sat back down and continued to read his book. Time started to pass and he turned his lamp off. He then laid down and was about to fall asleep when he heard little foot steps come up to his door. He heard his door open and then a light tap on his back. He sat up and turned his light on. It was now 11. He looked at Lily and he saw that there were tears streaming down her face. "Honey what's wrong?" He asked as he picked her up and set her down next to him.
"I had a bad dream." She said as she wiped her face.
"Aw princess. What was it about?" He asked as he wiped her tears.
"The monsters came back." She said as he smiled.
"Well the monsters are gone now. I am here." He said as he wrapped his arm around her. "Want me to go check your room?" He asked as he started to get up but he stopped when he felt her hand tightly grip his shirt. He sat back down and he looked at her. "How about you can sleep in my room tonight." He said as she nodded. He smiled as he got up and went to her room. He grabbed her blanket and teddy bear. He then turned off her light and shut the door. He walked into his room and saw Lily had made herself comfortable. He smiled as he sat down on the bed. He then tucked her in and laid down on the side of the bed that was by the door. He turned the light off and felt Lily get closer. He smiled as he started to rub her back. "Sweetie, you're fine." He said as he continued to talk to her. He heard her breathing her lighter and softer. He smiled as she finally fell asleep. He then quickly fell asleep after her.
Hope y'all like this chapter! Let me know! -M