A loud banging hit the door of the small two bedroom house. "POLICE OPEN UP," was heard throughout the house. Shuffling of drawers and loud footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Again with the banging and screaming from police. A young boy terrified sits in the closet he was locked in earlier that day. He pressed his face against the door so he could see through the slits of the closet door. He couldn't make out faces as he watched people shuffle around the house. Soon there was a loud bang and the small child closed his eyes tight. He covered his ears as he hid deeper into the closet. Soon there was yelling that he could still hear. He got to the corner of the closet behind the clothes and told himself he would be okay. He sat down with his back in the corner. He kept his eyes closed tight and his hands over his ears. His eyes hurt from having them closed so tightly. Soon the closet door was quickly opened. Clothes started getting pushed from side to side.
"I'll be good! I promise!" The young boy shouted as the clothes moved in front of him. A comforting hand touched his arms in front of his face. He yelled, "No! I'll be good!" The hand moved his arms down and the boy opened his eyes. Two cops stood in front of the small boy. One male and one female cop. The female cop reached for the boy's hand, and he grabbed it. They led the little boy out of the closet. The cops looked over the dirty boy. He had bruises on his arms and legs. He had a black eye and dirty hair. His clothes were dirty too. The cops led the boy out of the bedroom and into the living room, where more cops were taking notes. Although the cops were asking questions the small boy didn't hear a thing. He continued following the cops outside, where his father was cuffed and sitting on the sidewalk. His nose was bleeding. The boy looked at his dad as he was led to a man in a pair of khaki pants and blue polo shirt. The boy was hugged but didn't take eyes off his dad.
"Kieran!" Clark shouted as the boy was still looking at the man. He was being pushed into a car. "Kieran! I love you!" He shouted again.
"Dad!" Kieran shouted back. "DAD!" He screamed. Tears started streaming down the young boy's face. "DAD HELP ME!" He screamed again as Harrison helped him into the car. He continued to scream as the car drove off. Tears were streaming down the young boy's face.
Kieran woke up from his dream in a deep sweat. He sat straight up in his bed as he continued to breathe heavily. He sat there as he realized it was just a dream. The dream. He looked at the clock next to his bed. It was almost time to get up. He got out of bed and noticed that his sheets were wet from his sweat. He striped his bed and walked out of his room with his sheets in his hands. He walked down the stairs and could hear his whole family in the kitchen. He walked into the laundry room and put his sheets in the pile of things to be washed. He walked into the kitchen still sweating. His brothers and dad were finishing their breakfast as he sat down in a chair by the kitchen island. Brooke looked up from her coffee at her sweaty son.
"Why are you so sweaty?" Brooke asked as Kieran ate the food she had set down in front of him. He shrugged and continued to eat. She sighed as she looked over at her husband.
"Do you think you can wash my sheets today?" Kieran asked. "If not, I'll just wash them when I get home." He said as Brooke nodded.
"I can wash those for you sweetie." She said as he smiled at his mom. As Brooke started to make more coffee her younger boys came over and hugged her goodbye. They walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Lucas put his dish in the sink and then turned to his teenage son. He walked over to him and felt his forehead.
"Do you feel okay?" Lucas asked as Kieran nodded. "Well you don't have a temperature, but if you start feeling sick come by my classroom, okay?" He said as Kieran nodded again. Since the adoption any time Kieran got in big trouble, he typically made himself sick by staying up worrying about what would happen to him. It had been almost three years since he had worried himself sick, but his parents always thought about it. Brooke walked out of the kitchen and came back in with Kieran's keys. She put them next to his plate of food and he looked at them.
"I thought I was grounded from my car." Kieran said.
"You're still grounded from it, but your sister pointed out that it was unfair to her because she would now have to take the bus." Brooke said as Kieran looked at Lily. She smiled and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
"Really?" He asked as he grabbed his keys with a smile.
"Yes but listen." She said as he looked at his mom. "To school, the body shop and home." She stated as he nodded. "No, I need to hear that you understand. Having a car is a privilege, Kieran." She said.
"Yes ma'am. To school, the body shop and home." He said as she nodded. He finished eating his food and then put his plate in the sink. He walked up the stairs and to his room.
Keith had a huge smile on his face as he walked into the middle school. He was going to ask Dylan to eat with him at lunch. He rehearsed it all morning in the mirror. He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans with his black vans. He put his backpack in his locker and grabbed his notebook for class. English was his first class of the day. He had his brother and cousin in this class with him, but more importantly he sat next to Dylan in this class. Keith walked into his class and saw Davis was already talking to Dylan. Keith sat down in his seat next to Dylan and watched as Davis talked to her. Soon the class started and he missed his chance. The teacher announced independent reading since many students did not do the reading. Keith saw this as his chance. He looked over at Dylan and she smiled back at him. Her blonde hair was wavy today. She had a cute pink dress on with a blue jean jacket and white converse.
"Dylan, can I ask you something?" Keith said with a smile as she nodded. "Do you want to eat lunch with me today?" He asked. She looked at him and then over her shoulder at Davis sitting next to Lydia and Sawyer.
"Umm…" Dylan said and then looked back at Keith. He had an anxious look to him which she found dearing. "Sure!" She said as he lit up.
"Really?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She said as the teacher shushed them. "Meet in front of the cafeteria doors?" She asked.
"Or I could meet you at your locker, and walk you." He said as he remembered Lily saying that girls like to be treated like princesses.
"Oh that would be really sweet!" She said in a hushed voice. He smiled to himself as he looked down at his book.
Lily walked through the doors of the high school. She was wearing a pair of white wash jeans with holes in them, a pink skin tight long sleeve shirt and white vans. She had barely enough time to fix her hair so she had done two french braids in the car on the way to school. Kieran was walking next to her as they talked. Lucas had just gotten out of a staff meeting and saw his kids walking together and smiled. He headed towards his classroom, and Kieran walked towards his group of friends. She walked down the hall and to her locker where Spencer was already standing at her locker. Lily smiled as she walked up to Spencer.
"So did your dad come to his senses?" Lily asked as she opened her locker.
"Nope!" Spencer said as Lily laughed. "I'm grounded because I'm a brat." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"That's what your dad said?" Lily asked with a laugh.
"Yep!" Spencer said with an eye roll as her older brother Peter walked by them. "The worst part is my dad has to go to some conference so I have to stay with Peter, because I'm too immature to stay home alone." She mocked her dad and Lily laughed.
"Oh yeah, real mature with that eye roll." Lily laughed as Spencer pushed her. "How long is your dad gone?" She asked.
"All week, back next Monday." Spencer said as they started walking to their first class. "And I'm grounded that whole time. Can you believe that?" She asked as they walked into their class.
"Were you that rude to his girlfriend?" Lily asked as they sat down.
"We are not calling her that." Spencer said quickly. "He's still married to my mom. I don't know what he is thinking by "dating," he's old, and a jerk." She said as their first period teacher, Peter Walker, walked into the classroom. They were watching a film that day on World War II. Lily and Spencer had been talking about Spencer's dad for a while and Peter walked over. He crouched down to get to his sister's level. He was in between their desks. He's known Lily since the first sleepover Spencer had. Lily and Spencer met in their after preschool activities and had been friends ever since. Lily and Spencer were six when they became best friends. Peter played for the Ravens when he was a student and really got to know Lucas and the Scotts through that. He loved Lily like a sister and always had a special place for her in his heart. Peter is the youngest teacher at Tree Hill and relates more with his students, already making him one of most favorite teachers in the school.
"You know there will be a quiz about this video." Peter said, making both girls stop talking. He laughed to himself and then turned to face his sister. "I don't know what you said to dad's girlfriend but whatever it was it made him pretty mad, but just get over it. Dad's always been a jerk. You know that." He said as she nodded. "Also, I don't really care that you're grounded. I'm not your dad, I'm not going to follow through with it." He said as she smiled at him. "But if you two keep talking, I will. Plus give you detention." He said as they both nodded. He got up and walked back to his desk. Lily looked at Spencer and they both laughed. Peter rolled his eyes as he went back to reading a book about history.
"Told you he's still cool." Lily said as Spencer rolled her eyes.
Davis made his way to the cafeteria for lunch. He was walking with Lydia and Sawyer. He was wearing an identical outfit to what Keith wore today, something the boys don't typically do. He walked past Dylan standing at her locker.
"Keith!" Dylan said as she watched Davis walk past her. He continued walking but she went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "You're just going to walk past me? I thought we were getting lunch together. I even waited by my locker." She said as Davis tried to explain that he wasn't Keith but she didn't give him the chance. She grabbed his hand and started to walk towards the cafeteria. Lydia and Sawyer looked at each other as they saw Keith turn the corner with his lunch in his hand. He had a huge smile on his face. He stopped by his friends and looked around the hallway. It was just the three of them standing there. Keith smiled at his friends and then started looking at the locker numbers. He was confused that Dylan was standing by locker 308. He looked around the hall and even walked to the end of the hall and looked down the next sixth grade hall. He sighed as the girls watched him.
"Are you coming to lunch Keith?" Sawyer asked.
"No, I'm going to wait for Dylan to come to her locker. I told her I would wait here." Keith sighed and then sat down in the hallway. Sawyer and Lydia looked at each other. It was no secret that Sawyer had always found the boys cute. She grew up with them. Lydia walked away to join her friends but Sawyer sat down next to Keith and smiled at him. The two sat there eating their lunches. "Why didn't Dylan meet me at her locker?" He asked, bummed out.
"Uhh…" Sawyer said as she looked at her sandwich. "She did."
"What?" He asked.
"Well she got you and Davis confused. Davis walked by her and she stopped him. They went to lunch together." She said as he sighed.
"Really?" He asked. "Davis wouldn't do that to me." He said with a bit of anger.
"I think she just got you two mixed up." Sawyer said. "A lot of us get you guys mixed up. It doesn't help that you two dressed alike today either." She said as he shrugged.
"Whatever. It's not my fault I'm a twin." He said as he ate the sandwich his dad had made him.
Kieran walked from his class to the typical table he sat at with his friends. His dad had packed him lunch, like he did for each of his children everyday, and he set the brown paper bag on the table. Soon his friends were joining him for lunch. One by one his friends sat down. They were talking but Kieran was in his own world. Knowing him for so long Charlie and Jenny let Kieran be, but Sam was annoyed her boyfriend wasn't responding to her.
"Why didn't you text me back last night?" Sam asked as she snapped her fingers in front of Kieran's face. He looked up at her as he chewed his food. Charlie, Parker and Jenny watched Sam snap her fingers in Kieran's face again.
"I don't have my phone." Kieran replied. "I'm grounded." He said as she rolled her eyes.
"Why are you grounded?" Sam asked as Kieran lost focus. He was looking back down at his food. Sam noticed this and snapped her fingers in his face yet again. He looked at her, but this time he was angry.
"What the fuck do you want?" Kieran asked as his friends all looked a different way. He snapped his fingers in Sam's face and looked at her. "It's annoying isn't it! I'm not a fucking dog." He said as she pushed his hands out of her face.
"Well why won't you respond to me?" She asked as he groaned.
"Because I don't want to." He said as she scoffed. "I have a lot on my mind." He said as she rolled her eyes.
"What is on your mind now. I thought we were fine." She said as he laughed.
"You are not on my mind. You are so far away from my thoughts that I can't remember a thing about you." He said out of anger and she got mad.
"Why are you being like this. I just want to know why you got grounded." She said as he sighed.
"Because I skipped school on Friday to go see Clark get out of prison." He said angrily. He got up and threw his lunch back into the paper bag. He walked away from his friends and inside the school building. He walked with his head down and came to his dad's classroom door. His dad was reading a book at his desk. Kieran opened the door and Lucas looked up from his book. "Can I eat in here, please?" He asked as Lucas nodded his head. One thing Lucas made sure of his kids knew was that his door is always open. Kieran walked into the classroom and sat down at a desk in the front row. Lucas knew his kids better than the back of his hand. He could tell just by Kieran's body language that he didn't want to talk. Lucas went back to reading his book until the chapter was done. It had been about fifteen minutes. He looked at his son.
"Wanna talk about it?" Lucas asked as Kieran shook his head. "Well something big must be going on for you to want to eat lunch in silence in my classroom." He said as Kieran nodded his head. "Oh so there is something." He said as he watched his son nod his head again. Lucas set his book down and stood up. He walked to the other side of his desk and was now standing in front of the teenager. He leaned against the desk and watched as Kieran peeled an orange that Lucas had packed him. "Are you going to talk, or just have me play this little guessing game?" He asked as Kieran laughed a bit but didn't respond. "Are you mad?" He asked as Kieran shrugged.
"Yeah." Kieran said.
"At mom and me grounding you?" Lucas asked.
"No. I did something really stupid I get it." Kieran said as he ate his orange. Lucas shook his head at his teenage son. Getting his kids to talk to him was like pulling teeth. The older they got the more they stopped talking about their feelings.
"Well…can you help me out?" Lucas asked as he looked at his watch. "There's only 10 minutes left of lunch Key." He said as Kieran drank his water.
"I had that dream again." Kieran finally said as Lucas nodded his head.
"That explains you being so sweaty this morning." Lucas said. "Same thing happened?" He asked.
"Yeah it was like an out of body experience, but still like it was happening to me." Kieran said as Lucas nodded. "I woke up drenched in sweat. I think I might have been crying too."
"Do you want me to make an appointment with your old therapist?" Lucas asked as Kieran shook his head. "Okay, but if you have the dream again, we are going to go see her, okay?" He said as Kieran nodded. He was still eating some snack items Lucas packed him. "I realized this morning that in all the anger I had last night I didn't really give you a chance to talk to us about it." He said as Kieran nodded. "I'm sorry son. That isn't fair to you. And you know that is not how I or your mother parent. We should have talked about it instead of sending you to your room. We were both just taken back by what Nathan and your grandfather did without our knowledge." He said as Kieran shook his head.
"I mean I get it though. It was really stupid of me to do. It's not like Clark could have done anything but if there's a restraining order, I guess I can get in trouble for going near him too?" He questioned as he looked at his dad.
"Yeah, sorta. It's complicated." Lucas said as Kieran ate his chips. "You said it was stupid. The act of doing it, or the whole thing?" He questioned.
"Going without you or mom knowing." Kieran said. "If I got the chance to go again…" He said as he thought about it. "I'd still do it." He said as Lucas' face changed.
"Why?" Lucas asked as the bell rang. Kieran got up but Lucas shook his head. "No, sit back down." He said as Kieran looked at the door. "I will write you a pass. This is important, and I don't have a class. It's my free period." He said as Kieran sat back down.
"But it's history with Mrs. Collins." Kieran said as Lucas shrugged.
"Don't you hate that class?" Lucas asked as Kieran nodded with a smile. Normally Lucas would send Kieran on his way but getting Kieran to open up about anything is very hard. "So you would still do it? Even though mom and I got mad at you, you're grounded for a month and have to clean up at the body shop, for free I might add. Oh and babysit on Saturday night for your parent's friends." He said as Kieran sighed. He enjoyed babysitting his brothers because it was easy, but when it was all the kids he hated it.
"Yeah I would. I mean I would go about it differently to avoid all these punishments, but I still would have gone." Kieran said.
"Why?" Lucas asked. He was back to leaning against his desk and standing directly in front of the desk Kieran was still sitting in. Kieran sat there and looked down at his hands and then at his dad's face. Something about Lucas had always been so calming to him. They might fight more than Kieran wishes, but something about the warmth that Lucas always had about him made Kieran feel safe and loved. Something he was sorely missing as a child.
"Did you ever wonder about Dan? What would it have been like to live with him? Be accepted by him? Loved by him?" Kieran asked as Lucas nodded.
"All the time." Lucas said. "I actually did live with him for a short time." He said. "My mom was pissed. But I had my reasons…" He said and looked at his son. It clicked in his head when he thought about his time with Dan.
"I needed to see him." Kieran said. "I hadn't seen him since I was barely six. I think the day I got taken away was the last day I saw him. Ever. Well until last Friday." He said as Lucas listened to his son. "I couldn't remember what he looked like. How tall he is. If we looked alike. The only thing I could remember was all the bad things that happened. I just wanted to see him. I'm sorry." He said as Lucas motioned for him to stand up. Kieran did and Lucas wrapped his arms around him.
"It's okay." Lucas said as he continued to hug his son. He let Kieran go and looked at his son. "I think I might talk to mom about this." He said as Kieran nodded.
"Can I get a pass to history?" Kieran asked as Lucas nodded. Lucas pulled out the pass booklet that the teachers use and wrote Kieran a pass to his class. He tore it off and handed it to him. "Thanks!" He said.
"Thank you for opening up to me about the dream, and just where you are mentally." Lucas said as Kieran smiled and walked out of his dad's classroom. The hall was empty and quiet. He walked to his history class and opened the door. Tina Collins was in the middle of a powerpoint about The Great Divide.
"Oh Mr. Scott, how nice of you to finally join us." Mrs. Collins said as Kieran put his note on the table next to where she was standing. He walked to his desk next to Jenny and sat down. "Am I supposed to believe this note?" She asked as Kieran rolled his eyes. He doesn't know what he did to make this teacher hate him, but since freshman year Mrs. Collins has had it out for Kieran. Most likely because she has been a teacher at Tree Hill since his parents were students. She never liked the Scotts.
"Yes?" Kieran questioned.
"It comes from Coach Scott's desk. How do I know that it's real? You could have swiped it off his desk." Mrs. Collins said back to him. Kieran shrugged.
"Call him." He said as Mrs. Collins kept her eyes on him as she walked to her desk. She called the phone in Lucas' classroom but he had left his classroom to get coffee from the teacher's lounge.
"Just what I suspected." Mrs. Collins said as Kieran shook his head. He leaned forward and told Jenny to text his dad. Mrs. Collins placed a note on Kieran's desk stating he had detention after school. Kieran shook his head and started to take notes. Soon there was a knock on the door. It was Lucas. Mrs. Collins opened the door and had a private conversation with him in the hall. When she walked back into the classroom she walked over to Kieran's desk to grab the note. Kieran had already picked it up and handed it to her. He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. He shook his head and looked at Jenny. He mouthed "thank you" and she smiled at him.
Brooke looked up from her sketch for the next line in Great Scott. Peyton had just walked through the front door ready to get lunch like they did everyday. Brooke smiled as Peyton walked up to her counter.
"Ready for lunch?" Peyton asked as Brooke finished the sketch and placed it in her file.
"Yeah!" Brooke said as she walked with Peyton out the front door. They walked across the street to Karen's Cafe where Haley was already waiting for them. They walked inside and joined Haley at their typical table. Haley looked at Brooke and half smiled.
"I'm sorry." Haley said as Brooke shrugged.
"Did he give you any reason as to why he did it?" Brooke asked as Peyton was lost.
"Did what? Who? What's going on?" Peyton asked as both women looked at her.
"Nathan checked Kieran out on Friday and took him to the prison to see Clark get out." Brooke said as Peyton's mouth dropped and her eyes widened. She turned to Haley.
"No! Why!" Peyton said as Haley shook her head.
"I have no idea. I am furious." Haley said. "It wasn't his place to check him out." She said.
"It wasn't his place to get involved, period." Brooke said as Peyton nodded. Haley shrugged. "What do you think he was right?" She asked.
"I didn't say that. But Nathan loves Kieran so much. They are so close. It wasn't his place to take him out of school, but you know Nathan would get involved somehow, some way." Haley said as Brooke shook her head.
"No he shouldn't." Brooke said. "The amount of PTSD Kieran has from his childhood, the amount of things that he has blocked from his memory. Just seeing Clark could have triggered it all back. He has spent countless hours, days, months, and even years working through his trauma! In an afternoon your husband could have undone all of it." She said as Haley nodded.
"I told him that." Haley said.
"Then why are you sitting here saying that it's alright Nathan got involved." Brooke stated as Peyton interved.
"I don't think Haley is saying that Brooke. I think she is just stating the fact that Nathan's love for his nephew is greater than the consequences that came with his actions." Peyton said as Brooke shook her head.
"I don't care what type of bond they have. This was not right." Brooke said. "What Nathan did was completely unacceptable." She said.
"I agree." Haley said as Brooke looked at her. They ordered their food and sat in silence for a minute. No one really knew what to say. Brooke looked down at her phone and then back at her friends.
"Did Nathan say anything about it?" Brooke asked. "Like how Kieran was doing afterwards?" She asked. "I'm just worried about him."
"Well…" Haley said as Brooke and Peyton leaned in. "He said that Kieran didn't seem to be affected by it, but that he was shocked to see his uncle had been released too." She said, "He actually asked Nathan to look into when Jason got released. He was upset that he never heard from him."
"That is because Lucas and I made that choice. We did not want Kieran to have any contact with Jason." Brooke said.
"Why?" Peyton asked.
"We have our reasons." Brooke said as she sighed. "Jason should have been charged with murder but the jury found him not guilty. He went to prison on armed robbery and grand theft auto. The person who's car they stole ended up dying that night from the beating that Jason's partner caused him. I don't want that type of person around my son." She said as they both nodded.
"I didn't know that." Haley said. "Nathan had looked into it…" She started to say as Brooke's anger grew.
"Why!" Brooke said angrily.
"I don't know. He said Kieran asked him to look into it." Haley said but before she could finish her sentence Brooke was angrily going on a tangent.
"Brooke! Brooke! Brooke!" Peyton said as she calmed her down.
"I told Nathan that he needed to stop. I also told him that he will not say a thing to Kieran about anything that he learned." Haley said as Brooke nodded and let a big sigh out.
"I just worry about him all the time." Brooke said. "I wasn't there to protect him when he was younger. I will die protecting him now." She said as both girls put their hands on her hands. She smiled at them as her phone started to ring. She looked at it and it was Lucas. She excused herself from the table and walked out. She answered it. "Hi Honey!" She said.
"Hey pretty girl. How's your day?" Lucas asked.
"It's alright." She sighed. "I am at lunch with Peyton and Haley. Have you talked to Nathan since last night?" She asked.
"No. I don't know what to say to him. I'm furious." He said as she agreed. "Has Haley said anything about it?" He asked.
"Yeah we were talking about it when you called." She said.
"What did she say? Did she know about it?" He asked.
"No, she was just as surprised and furious as us." She said, "I got mad at her at first but after talking to her, it's obvious that she had no idea what was going on either. She said that Kieran asked Nathan about Jason and that he looked into it."
"Did he see that Jason spent nearly four years trying to contact us?" He asked.
"Yes." She said.
"And you told her to tell Nathan to not say a word right?" He asked.
"Yes, I told them what had happened in Jason's case and why we don't want there to be a relationship." She said as she looked inside. Their food was being delivered.
"Good, good. When are you heading home?" He asked.
"After lunch I was going to head home, why?" She asked.
"Kieran ate lunch in my classroom today." He said. "Before you start to worry if he is sick, he's not. But he did have that dream again last night, which explains why he was sweaty this morning. I was just going to remind you of his sheets." He said.
"Oh god. Did he really?" She sighed.
"Yeah, but we talked about it. We even talked about why he did it. He said that he will talk to you when he gets home. I was thinking maybe we could give him back his phone or something." He said as she sighed.
"I'll think about it. While it hurts my heart to hear he had that dream and is having a hard day; I just can't think about letting him out of his punishment." She said.
"Not his whole punishment. I think cleaning the Body Shop will be a pretty challenging time for him. Maybe not give him all his electronics but at least his phone." He said as she sighed.
"Again I will think about it. I don't agree with you." She said as he clicked his tongue. He then heard his phone buzz. It was a text from Jenny telling him that Mrs. Collins is giving Kieran a very hard time after coming in late.
"Okay, well I have to go." He said. "I love you."
"I love you too!" She said and then hung up. She walked back inside and sat down with her friends. They were talking about the middle school dance coming up. They were both asked to chaperone.
The bell rang for the last passing period of the day at the high school. Lily, Jamie and Spencer told each other to meet at their lockers so they can walk through the club event together. Lily was the first one at her locker. She was putting some books she didn't need to take home and put her homework folder in her backpack. She was soon joined by Jamie.
"Hey!" Jamie said as he smiled at his cousin. She smiled back as she watched him put some things into his locker.
"How was your school day?" Lily asked.
"It was alright." He said with a sigh.
"Just alright?" She asked.
"Yeah a lot is going on at home." He said. "My parents were arguing this morning, so it just kinda threw off my day. I don't really know why they are arguing this time." He sighed.
"I do." She said as Spencer walked up to them.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"Know what?" Spencer asked.
"Why my parents are arguing…again." He said as Lily was about to say the reason.
"Oh probably because your dad checked out Kieran and took him to see Clark get out of prison." Spencer said as Lily bit her lip.
"What?" Jamie asked. "Why would he do that?" He asked as both girls shrugged.
"I don't know but my dad is really mad at your dad." Lily said as they started walking to the gym. The high school had booths set up all throughout the gym and into the courtyard next to the gym. They walked inside the gym and it was crowded. The bleachers had been pushed back to make more room. They started walking down a row and were quickly stopped by Tanner.
"Hey! I've been looking for you all day!" Tanner smiled as Jamie and Spencer walked away. "Were you not getting my texts?" He asked as Lily pulled her phone out of her backpack. She had three text from him.
"I'm sorry! I don't pull my phone out in class." Lily said as Tanner nodded his head.
"Well now that your friends left you…" He said as Lily looked forward and saw Jamie and Spencer walking ahead of them but occasionally looking back at them. "Can I walk around with you?" He asked as she smiled. He smiled at her and reached for her hand. They walked from booth to booth listening to different clubs. Lily stopped at the drama and theater booth. She started to talk to a girl named Sarah.
"Hi I'm Sarah! I'm a senior. Are you thinking of joining the drama club?" Sarah asked.
"Hi I'm Lily!" Lily said. "What productions are you putting on this year?" She asked.
"Well our winter musical will be 'Mamma Mia!' and the spring musical will be Grease." Sarah answered as she handed Lily an audition sheet. She didn't recognize a single name on the list. "You should audition! It's this Friday. Even if you don't get a leading role, there are a ton of dancing roles, and backstage!" She said as Lily nodded. She wrote down her phone number and then they started walking again.
"Did you get a chance to ask your parents if you can come over to my house for dinner this week?" Tanner asked.
"No, there was a lot of stuff going on in my house once my parents got home last night." Lily said as he nodded.
"I'm sure having four kids running around the house something is always happening." He said as she laughed.
"Always something!" She said as he smirked.
"Are you typically the troublemaker?" He asked as she laughed.
"No!" She laughed. "I have one hot headed older brother and two little brothers that want to be just like the eldest. They are all in trouble a lot more than me." She said as they walked by the debate booth. Kieran smiled at them and continued to talk to Spencer who was only signing up to have a reason to gawk at Kieran for an hour every other day.
"So you don't do anything bad? Ever?" He asked as she shook her head.
"I've done my fair share of bad things." She said as he smirked at her.
"Like?" He asked as she shrugged.
"I don't think I can say…" She said as he rolled his eyes.
"Why not?" He asked. "Did you do something recently?" He asked as she looked away. "Ahhh so you did. Okay okay we won't talk about it." He said as they continued to walk around. They walked outside. They stopped in front of the newspaper booth, The Caw. Lucas was the teacher that oversaw the school news department since he had the most writing experience. They put out more online articles and only had a monthly newspaper come out at the end of month highlighting the events that went on during the month.
"Are you guys interested in writing for The Caw?" Lucas asked as Lily shook her head. "Oh come on! Writing news can be so fun! Think about all the events that our town puts on. We do a great job of getting students a front row seat to a real reporting job. And if reporting isn't what you want to do, we need photographers, editors, videographers. We are actually getting a great set up with some local stations and it should be a great year!" He said as Tanner nodded. He had joined The Caw last year and this year scored a position with Mavin McFadden.
"Lily you have too!" Tanner said. "Last year was so fun!" He said as she rolled her eyes.
"Bye!" Lily said as Tanner shrugged and followed Lily.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Seriously?" She asked as she motioned to Lucas. Lucas watched this and was surprised. He didn't realize that he was now uncool to Lily. He laughed to himself and then smiled. He felt accomplished.
"Lily, your dad is awesome!" He said and she rolled her eyes again. "No, I'm serious! I think I might go to college for Journalism now. He lets us have so much freedom with what we write. Like I know one day I can't write about whatever but it's so fun now! This year I'm only covering sports. I'm excited."
"If your dad worked at the school, would you want to then join the school activity he sponsors?" She asked.
"My dad? No." He said. "But your dad, duh! He's a published writer. Do you know how much dedication it takes to have a series of books? That's years." He said.
"I know. I lived through it." She said.
"Not the way he did. He talks about getting rejected. He talks about how hard it is to get your foot in the door. He brings in friends, authors, and other people that have helped him along the way. I loved The Caw so much last year that I'm taking your dad's creative writing." He said as she looked at him. They were now standing by the blue spirit rock.
"Hmm I never thought of it that way." She said.
"You should really think about joining!" He said as the bell rang for them to leave. "I am going to go to Riply's if you and Spencer want to go." He asked as he noticed Lily looking for Spencer. Lily looked at him with a smile.
"Spence too?" She asked.
"Yeah my friends and I always go." He said as Spencer caught up with them.
"What are y'all talking about?" Spencer asked.
"Wanna go to Riply's?" Tanner asked as she nodded.
"Duh!" Spencer said.
"Uhhh I have homework…" Lily said as Spencer smiled at Tanner and then grabbed her best friend's arm and walked away from him.
"Are you dumb?" Spencer asked.
"What?" Lily asked.
"Are. You. Dumb." Spencer said slowly. "Who cares if you have homework. High school isn't just about school." She said.
"Well the school in High School makes it pretty confusing." Lily said as Spencer pushed her.
"We're going." Spencer said as Lily looked over her shoulder at Tanner. He awkwardly waved at them while students were leaving the school.
"Fine…" Lily said as they walked back over to Tanner. They then left with him.
The bell rang for the end of the day at the middle school. Keith and Sawyer were walking to their lockers. Keith stopped at his locker as Davis walked up to his locker next to his brother.
"Hi Keith!" Davis said with a smile on his face. He had a great day at school. Keith looked at Davis and then slammed his locker shut causing a teacher to turn and look at the sixth grader.
"Excuse me. We do not slam lockers in this school, Mr…." Mr. Kipple said, waiting for Keith to identify himself.
"Scott. Keith Scott." Keith said as Davis stood at their lockers.
"Ahh yes. The next round of Scotts are in middle school." Mr. Kipple said. "Lucas or Nathan?" He asked.
"Lucas." Keith said.
"Ahh the younger brother of Lily and Kieran." Mr. Kipple said as Keith nodded.
"Can I go?" Keith asked as Mr. Kipple moved aside.
"I hope to not see you in detention like I saw your brother many times." Mr. Kipple said as Keith nodded. Keith walked by him and Davis trailed after Keith.
"Hey! Wait up!" Davis said as he finally caught up to Keith.
"Can you leave me alone?" Keith asked.
"What did I do?" Davis asked as they stood waiting for their bus to pull up.
"Really?" Keith asked.
"Yes really." Davis said.
"Why did you pretend to be at lunch?" Keith asked.
"I didn't." Davis said.
"Well, did you correct Dylan and tell her that you were Davis?" Keith asked.
"No." Davis said as Keith made a face. "I like her and wanted to eat lunch with her." He said as their bus pulled up.
"Well then you should have asked her yourself. As Davis." Keith said as they both walked to the bus. They both got on the bus and had assigned seating. Davis and Keith sat down next to each other.
"I didn't get a chance to correct her." Davis said as Keith rolled his eyes.
"Lunch is 30 minutes. You didn't have a chance to correct her or you didn't want to because you're you." Keith said as Davis pushed him. Keith then pushed Davis back. The bus driver noticed this and cleared his throat.
"Do you two need to get off my bus?" He asked.
"No." They both said in unison. The bus driver pulled away from the school. Both of the boys stayed quiet the whole way home.
Kieran sighed as he pulled up to the old body shop. Some of the structure was still standing but not much. There was a clean up crew already working. Kieran got out of his car and walked up to the crew. A man walked up to Kieran.
"You Luke's son?" Tony asked.
"Yes sir." Kieran said as Tony looked the teenager up and down.
"Here." Tony said as he handed Kieran a hard hat with gloves and goggles inside of it. "Put these on." He said as Kieran nodded. "Do you have a change of shoes?" He asked as he looked at Kieran's white nikes.
"In my jeep." Kieran said as Tony nodded.
"Go change them and then you can help clean out the back room." Tony said as Kieran ran back to his jeep to change his shoes. He closed his jeep and then walked back. Tony walked him to the back room.
"Your dad said that I get you for an hour each day for the next month. Two hours on saturday." Tony said as Kieran nodded. "Must have really pissed your dad off." He said as Kieran laughed a bit.
"Yeah I make some stupid choices sometimes." Kieran said as Tony nodded.
"Your dad did too." Tony said.
"Really?" Kieran asked.
"Oh yeah!" Tony said. "Believe it or not I've known your dad since he was just a little kid running into his mom's cafe with a basketball in his hand every day." He said as Kieran smiled. "I used to come to this body shop every week to talk to Keith." He said as Kieran nodded.
"This is my first time ever being here." Kieran said as Tony sighed.
"I'm not surprised. It was a huge loss to the community when Keith died. I can't even imagine what it was like for Lucas." Tony said as he pointed to the door to a closet. "There is a safe behind that door. I need you to move it out of the building, to the front." He said.
"By myself?" Kieran asked.
"Yep. Your dad wanted you to do some hard labor I guess." Tony said with a laugh. "Still gets me that little Lucas is a father to four." He laughed again. "If you need some wheels to move it use…uhh…this." He said as he looked for a dolley. He saw it and walked over to it and wheeled it back to Kieran.
"What's in the safe?" Kieran asked.
"I don't know. I didn't even know Keith had a safe here. After the safe, move the desk out and that's all you gotta do today." Tony said as Kieran nodded. Tony walked away and Kieran started working. He looked at the safe and sighed. He started to move it onto the dolley but it wouldn't budge. He then moved to the desk and it was much easier to arrange it on the dolley. As he did this the drawers popped open and everything spilled onto the floor. He sighed as he moved the desk outside. He walked back to the room he was working in and started cleaning up the papers, as he did this he noticed a key on the floor. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. He continued to clean up the papers and came across a picture. The desk, like most of the things Keith bought in that room, was fireproof. The picture was of Karen and Keith outside of the body shop when it first opened. Karen was holding a baby which Kieran recognized from pictures he had seen of Lucas as a baby. He smiled and placed the picture aside to bring home to his dad. The picture had fallen out of a photo album. Kieran opened it and it was the first time he saw pictures of Keith and Karen together when they were young. He smiled as he flipped through the album. He came across an envelope at the end. It was addressed to Lucas. He then closed the album. He was sitting on the ground when Tony walked in.
"Tired already?" Tony asked as he saw the album. "Where did you find that?" He asked.
"In the desk." Kieran said as he stood up. "Can I have it?" He asked as Tony nodded.
"Yes of course. Anything you find you can keep. This is your family's place." Tony said. Kieran smiled and set it aside. He started to try and move the safe as Tony watched with a smile. "If you can't get it moved in the next twenty minutes I will help you." He said. Kieran stood up straight and sighed with frustration. He was breaking a sweat trying to move it. He finally got it to inch a little bit. He finally got it to the dolley and put it on it. He started to wheel it to where he placed the desk. Drenched in sweat for the second time for the day. He looked at the safe and then questioned the key he picked up earlier. He pulled it out and then placed it in the safe. He turned it and it opened. He sat there for a minute as he pulled out random papers, files, and other things. As he did this he came across a strange little square entitled To: Karen, From: Keith. He laughed as he looked at this. He stood up and walked over to Tony.
"Hey Tony…" Kieran said as Tony turned and looked at the sweaty kid.
"Looks like you finished moving that safe." Tony laughed.
"Yeah…I got it opened too." Kieran said as Tony was surprised.
"What was inside?" Tony asked.
"Oh just some old papers, and stuff." Kieran said and then showed him the cassette. "And this…what is it?" He asked as Tony and his team all laughed.
"That's a cassette tape." Tony said as Kieran looked at him confused. "Wow." He laughed. "It's how us old people listened to music."
"Like a cd player? My dad talks about all his CDs." Kieran said as Tony shook his head.
"No, in something like this." Tony said as he motioned for Kieran to follow him. He walked to his truck and pulled out an old boombox. "This is a boombox. It's how we listened to music." He said as Kieran looked at it.
"Where do you put it in?" Kieran asked as Tony pointed to the cassette input. "Where can I get one of these?" He asked.
"Oh gosh kid. I have no clue." Tony said as Kieran looked a bit disappointed. Tony half smiled. "I have one at home, this is just my work one. It doesn't have the best sound anymore and I've dropped it a few times, but you can take this one." He said with a smile.
"Really?" Kieran asked with a smile.
"Yeah." Tony said.
"Thank you so much!" Kieran said.
"No problem. See you tomorrow. Let me know what songs are on that cassette." Tony laughed as he watched Kieran run off to his jeep with the cassette and boombox in hand. He placed them in his jeep and then got in it. He drove towards his house. He pulled into the garage and turned his car off. Both his parents were home. He got out and carried his findings inside with him. Brooke was putting the finishing touches to dinner while Lucas was outside shooting hoops with the boys. Brooke turned and saw her dirty teenage son carrying some things in his hands.
"What do you have there?" Brooke asked as Kieran turned to his mom. He had some dirt on his face and his clothes were covered in dust. "How about you keep a change of clothes in your car from now on. You might have ruined that shirt." She said as he looked down at his dirty clothes. He didn't realize how dirty he had gotten. He nodded and then set the things down on the kitchen counter.
"I found some things. Tony said anything I find, I can have." Kieran said as Brooke smiled. "I found this old album filled with pictures of Keith, and there's some of Karen and dad too." He said as Brooke grabbed the album. She started flipping through the album and smiled at the pictures. "I thought dad might like to have that, and there's a letter at the back of the book. I don't recognize the handwriting though." He said as Brooke flipped to the page with the envelope and stopped. She smiled as she set the book down and was now holding the letter.
"It's Karen's handwriting." She said with a soft smile. "Your dad is going to love this." She said as he smiled.
"I also found this." He said as he handed his mom the cassette. "It plays music." He said.
"I know what it is." She laughed. "How do you know?" She asked.
"Tony told me. He also gave me this uhhh…" He said as he looked at the boombox.
"Boombox." She told her son.
"Yeah a boombox. It plays those things." He said as she laughed.
"That's really cool sweetie." She said, "Why don't you take your new boombox and cassette upstairs and shower before dinner." She said as he nodded. He ran up the stairs with his things. The family went about their nightly routines as Lucas grabbed the album from the kitchen. He walked to his office and started looking at the pictures. He had the letter in his hand and finally opened it. He smiled as he thought about his mom. He let out a breath and started to read the letter.
Lucas,
I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't know how. I know life is going to be hard. You've lost so much this year and for me to be on that list is crushing. In time I know you will overcome and lead a happy life. My love for you will never go away. I will be watching you from up above. I love you so much. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I know you will treat her as your own and when the day comes you will tell her all about her mother and father. Be patient with her. She is going to learn how amazing her parents were and at the same time how cruel the world can be. I've left letters for her in a box in the desk drawer at Keith's Body Shop. Letters to be opened on her birthdays, graduation day, wedding day and just any time she is missing me. The letters talk about my life, your life, Keith's life, lessons I would have instilled in her, things I want her to know. You will know when the time is right to give them to her. I hope you are happy. I hope you are married, with a family. I hope you and Brooke are happy. I love you so much my son. I am sorry I didn't tell you I was sick. I'm sorry I had to leave you. I'm sorry that you are being robbed of having a sister, and starting a life as a young father. Keith and I are so proud of the man you are becoming and I know you will raise our daughter the best you can. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for loving her. Thank you for raising my daughter.
I love you forever,
Mom
Tears streamed down Lucas' face as he read the letter. He wished his mom would have told him that she was sick. He went through so many years thinking that he put her in that hospital bed the day he pulled the trigger. He dropped the letter and wiped his face. He thought about the possibility of what the letters had inside them. He thought about whether they made it through the fire. He got up and walked to the staircase. His children should all be asleep by now, but knowing his teenagers they were both most likely awake. He walked up the stairs and checked on his younger boys. They were both asleep. He noticed that Lily's room was dark and figured she was sleeping. He came to Kieran's door and could see a light shining through the door crack. He opened the door to see his son asleep at his desk. He smiled and then softly woke Kieran up.
"I imagine your bed might be more relaxing." Lucas said as a sleepy Kieran nodded and laid moved to the bed.
"Good night…" Kieran said as he started to doze off.
"Just one question." Lucas said as Kieran opened one of his eyes and looked at his dad. "Did you find anything else?" He asked.
"What?" Kieran asked, confused.
"At the body shop. Did you find any other letters?" Lucas asked.
"No. Just that cassette and the album." Kieran said as Lucas sighed. "Why?"
"No reason…" Lucas sighed. Kieran could tell Lucas was hiding something but was too tired to care. "Get some sleep son. I love you."
"Love you too dad." Kieran said as he drifted back to sleep. Lucas sat there for a moment as he thought about the lost letters. He sighed and then tucked Kieran in. He turned the light off on the desk and walked out. He walked to Lily's room and found her asleep. He smiled to himself as he thought about the moment she came into the world. He reached for the blanket at the end of Lily's bed and tucked her in. He kissed her forehead and walked to the door, as he shut the door he heard Lily say "Love you dad." He said it back and smiled as he walked down the stairs.
Thanks to the people who review it! I love reading them! -M