Jamie wasn't sure how it happened, or why it happened—all he knew was it happened. It had been six, almost seven hours since he found Madison on his front porch—and now, there she was, fast asleep in his bed, in nothing but the old t-shirt he had been wearing when she first arrived. He sat in the chair, across the room staring out the double doors that led to his balcony-ultimately thinking about walking out and jumping, it felt like he had a better chance with pavement below than he had with the decisions he had made that night.
The eighteen-year-old leaned forward, finishing what was left of his beer as if it was going to fix all of his problems when he knew better.
Jamie had spent months, and months—over a year, completely and utterly pissed off at his wife. Even the thought of seeing her made his stomach turn, but then he did—he saw her, and all his anger vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.
Madison had that effect on him, he had almost forgotten what it was like to kiss her, hold her—be with her in ways that still made him weak—almost, Madison was many things, but forgettable wasn't one of them. Maybe he had tried to convince himself that he had forgotten what it was like—or maybe he tried to convince himself that he was just that angry with her, maybe it made him feel that all the decisions he had made up until now were justified.
Jamie threw the bottle in his hand up, tossing that last bit of the bitter liquid down his throat, sat the empty bottle down as he stood up, and walked across the room, over to his bed. He threw one leg over Madison, balancing on his knees, hovering over his wife, kissing her neck—softly, as she lay on her side. He kissed her neck again, and again until he found himself carefully sucking on that spot—her sweet spot between the column of her neck, and her collarbone.
"Mhmmm" Jamie heard Madison moan, before stretching out onto her back and looking up at him. "Hi".
"Hi," Jamie said, laying himself down on top of her, propping his head up with the palm of his hand.
Madison intertwined her fingers with the necklace he was wearing, nervously. "I have to admit" she began softly "that's—this, isn't how I pictured coming over here going".
Jamie cleared his throat, and it almost echoed in the quiet of his bedroom. "That makes two of us," he told her. "And I've thought about it—a lot, over the past year and a half, and the more time went on, the worse it got in my head. I had speeches and two-year-old tantrums, but—never thought—I don't know what I thought, I don't think it matters anymore, all that matters is that you're here—in the flesh and all, literally" he said, whispering the last part in her ear, as he slipped his hand under the covers she was laying beneath.
Madison gasped, she wasn't sure if it was the shock of a hand touching her, which she hadn't felt in all that time they were apart, or if it was the small chill on his hand that she felt on her bare skin—perhaps it was both, but her entire softened, in only passing seconds, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, securing them tightly with her hands on the back of his neck.
"I missed this," she said. "I missed you, I missed all of it—you, us, this town—your family, Brooke—I missed everything".
Jamie had questions he wanted to ask, things he wanted answered, but in this precise, he just didn't care. He couldn't. He had Madison—he had his wife, lying, wrapped up in his arms, and that's all he could care about.
So, he kissed her. And he found that he couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop.
There were so many things that should be going through his head, so many things he should be feeling—anger, guilt—just to name a few, but he wasn't. All he was feeling in this particular moment was—love, and relief—the woman he never thought he would see again, was lying beneath him, and for now, that was all he needed.
Madison—was all he needed, he made the decision, and maybe it was the wrong one, that everything else, all the conversations had to wait—because right now, all he cared about was being with his wife.
So, he was, all night long.
"You see those right there in the road, yeah them yellow things" Lucas griped at his brother, as he sat in the passenger seat. "That's how you tell which side of the road you are supposed to be on".
Nathan glared at his brother.
"Oh, that's what I'd do—take my eyes completely off the road" Lucas scoffed double double-checking his seatbelt. "I mean—what possessed you to get a sports car? I mean every decade you have another kid, you're always going to have car seats in the back, why in the hell would you get a car that gets as high as your blood pressure"?
"Do you ever shut up"?
"Not when I'm facing death-no, no I do not," Lucas said. "Oh, thank God, we made it".
Nathan rolled his eyes as he parked and shut the car off, though he wasn't surprised when his brother beat him into exiting the car. "You know, you really need to audition for one of those daytime soap operas," he told his brother as they both walked away from the vehicle. "As dramatic as you are we should make some damn money off of it".
Lucas rolled his eyes as he opened the door. "Jluke" he yelled, walking into his nephew's house.
"You know," Lydia said, standing in the darkly lit hallway, causing both of them to jump and make a sound that could have been confused as a scream—though neither would admit to it. "You could be a little quieter".
"No wonder your dad has problems with his bladder" Lucas shot back at his niece. "He probably holds it all night so he doesn't run into little Wednesday Adam's lurking around the big giant mansion".
"Where is your brother"? Nathan asked his daughter.
"And the rest of the ting ting's"? Lucas piped in, probably just to have the last word.
"Sawyer is asleep, Davis is eating, I think Jude joined a cult because I haven't seen him, and Jamie is in the shower—probably trying to wash the stench off him, not sure he ever went to bed," she said folding her arms. "Noises were coming from his room—all night long".
Lucas looked at his brother, Nathan sighed before asking "What kind of noises"?
"The kind that doesn't come from yours and mom's room anymore," Lydia said before heading towards the kitchen.
"That child needs to run a country one day," Lucas said. "Not this country—but a country".
Nathan scoffed.
"Dad".
The two looked up to see Jamie—fully clothed thank god, but his hair was wet.
"I—didn't think you would be here this early," Jamie said, making his way down the steps.
"Obviously," Lucas said. "Debbie Gallagher was just telling us about it".
"I thought you postponed your date"? Nathan asked his son.
Jamie glanced over his shoulder up the stairs before ushering both his father and uncle— as far away from the staircase as possible. "I did," he said.
"It doesn't sound like it," Nathan told him. "Your life is your life, but you were the one who offered to watch the kids—".
"Something came up," Jamie told him.
"Obviously" Lucas scoffed.
"Jamie have you seen my—".
The three Scott men turned around to see Madison coming down the stairs, now the haste and conversation-ending urgency added up, way too quickly in the older men's heads.
"Maddie," Nathan said, smiling, though it was forced, and not because he wasn't over the moon at just the sight of his daughter-in-law.
"I didn't know you were here," Madison said walking over and hugging Nathan, and Lucas.
"We just got here," Lucas said. "When did you get back"?
"Erm—a couple of days ago, something like that," Madison said, in an attempt to brush it off. "Lily didn't tell you"?
"Please, I'd be lucky if I walked up to her house wet and she'd tell me if it was raining".
"I'm gonna put on a pot of coffee," Madison said half smiling before walking towards the kitchen.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that—" Lucas began.
"Don't" Jamie interrupted him. "Ok, I don't need some lecture right now".
"I think that is exactly what you need" Nathan interjected. "Yesterday you had a date with Sasha-".
"Yes, I know," Jamie said as the three walked out on the porch. "But, then Maddie shows up and I—don't know what came over me, I just wasn't mad anymore".
"Well, she is taking it a lot better than Brooke took it when she found out I just kissed Peyton in high school," Lucas said. "Did you tell her about all the naked cheerleaders you've had in this house or just the one"?
"I'm going to tell her".
Nathan shook his head. "You should have told her before jumping into bed with her. I honestly don't care what your reasons were for doing what you did, or her reasons for what she has done, that is between you two, but you should have been honest with her. I mean, honestly, Jamie what the hell was you thinking"? He asked. "That's the point you wasn't—at some point and time you loved that girl enough to stand and exchange rings and vows, and now you don't even have enough respect for her to tell her the truth".
Normally Lucas would step in with a joke, or a sarcastic comment, but he felt, given the situation this wasn't the right moment. He sighed and looked at his nephew. "Your dad's right," he said, plainly.
"Yesterday, you were ready to get up and move on with your life, she's back, and now that's changed," Nathan said. "I'm not judging you for that, I know what it's like for your wife to disappear and then reappear, even if I had done what you have done, I would have still had the common courtesy of telling my wife. If you thought for a second that you were going to want to work on your marriage, you shouldn't have done it in the first place".
"I never said I wanted to work on my marriage," Jamie told him. "She still left, she—".
"I don't care, Jamie," Nathan told him before his son could get another word in. "And if you didn't want to work on your marriage why so much as kiss her, let alone anything else. She deserved to know what was going through your head".
"That's the thing, Jamie, if you don't know, or if you do, tell her" Nathan nearly screamed. "That girl deserves the truth, no matter how bad and ugly it might be, because I promise you this, if you do decide you want to work on your marriage, you might have just flushed it down the toilet".
Jamie watched as his dad stormed inside, to get the kids he imagined.
"You know, I hate agreeing with your dad," Lucas said.
"I know, I screwed up," Jamie said. "I didn't know what I was feeling, or what I was thinking, and honestly, I still don't".
"And that's understandable," Lucas told him. "That's the part we understand, you still don't know why she left or any of that, but that's a conversation that you two should have had before having sex".
"Is it such a sin that I just wanted my wife"? Jamie asked. "That I just wanted to be with my wife, that for a minute I didn't think"?
"I'm the last person that wants to say this to you, but Jamie you've been having a lot of these impulsive moments here recently".
Jamie ran his hands down, over his face. "What do I do"?
"Jake".
The sound of glass breaking scared Peyton more than the sight of her husband, who was standing in the kitchen—smiling until he looked down at the coffee mug she had broken.
"Why can't you enjoy surprises like the rest of the population"? He asked as he ducked away, and back with a broom in his hand.
"Because I'm not like the rest of the population," she told him, as they both began to clean up the sudden mess in the kitchen.
Jake chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's why I married you," he said. "Well, that and a few other reasons".
Peyton looked over at her husband, as they were both kneeling on the floor cleaning up the mess, and she kissed him.
"I had a meeting canceled, and thought I could go home early and surprise my wife—and I'm still trying to decide if it was worth it or not".
"Well, if I wasn't meeting Brooke for breakfast I could show you just how worth it, it is" Peyton said.
"I'm sure she would understand if you canceled on her".
Peyton bit down on her lip. "Oh, I'm sure she would, but I'm hungry, and the only thing the little vermin haven't eaten in this house is crackers".
Jake cocked his head to the side. "Did you just refer to children as—vermin"?
"If you had been here last night, you would understand why," she told him as they both stood up.
Jake laughed. "Then what about dinner—I can cook".
Peyton smiled as her husband leaned his body into hers, pushing her against the kitchen counter—making canceling on Brooke just that much more tempting.
"I do have something to show," Peyton said reaching for her purse that sat not too far away. She reached inside pulled a small card out, and handed it to him.
"Your license"? He asked. "I mean, I am still shocked you've never had them taken away the way you drive but still this—".
"The name Jake—".
Jake looked down, and when he looked back up, he was smiling, uncontrollably. "You have my last name".
Peyton nodded. "I thought it was time".
"You said—".
"I know what I said," she told him. "I never wanted to not be Peyton Sawyer, I never even took Lucas' name, well I mean not, at work, everything like that I was still Peyton Sawyer. But, this—it's different".
Jake smiled. "I'm just curious, why the change of heart"?
Peyton shrugged. "I remember the day I went to change my last name to Scott, I stood in that line forever at the DMV, I got the papers and I went down there—I finally made it up there. I had two people left in front of me, but I just left, it didn't feel right. But, this—it feels right. I didn't hesitate. I always went by Scott, with our friends and family, when we put it on a Christmas Card it was always from the 'Scott' family, but I was always Sawyer" she said. "This time, I won't be. I am not Peyton Sawyer anymore. I didn't hyphenate it, I dropped the name altogether. I am your wife, and I'm proud of that. I don't have some feeling of impending doom over my head—".
Jake kissed her, he didn't need an explanation, maybe at first he wanted one, but this was more than just her name. He knew what that meant to her, but this was their life together.
"I love you so much," he told her. "I didn't care what your name was".
"I know you didn't, but I think I did," Peyton said. "I think I knew, even when I didn't want to believe it that my marriage with Lucas would never work. I mean, maybe not on the surface but I knew, I didn't want to admit it, but with this—with us, I don't have any feelings like that. I know this is it for me, you are it for me".
Jake smiled, but now he was feeling uneasy. He knew his wife, and this—was not his wife. He gulped hard, and watched as she began to gather her things to leave.
And in an instant, he knew something was wrong, although he didn't know what it was, there was something off about his wife, there was something different, and he worried.
Haley hung the bag over the stroller, adjusting it so it wouldn't fall, and she looked at her sleeping infant inside. She walked to the door, opening it—and she hesitated. She looked outside, then back down at her daughter.
'It's just a walk' she told herself.
The sound of Haley's heartbeat was ringing loudly in her ears. She could feel the sweat of her palms against the stroller handle, she knew this was ridiculous, or at least it felt ridiculous. The sound of the light breeze outside startled her, as a small leaf blew across the ground outside her house, she could feel the air coming in through the foyer.
It wasn't cold, in fact, it was almost hot, but still, she stood there—frozen, looking outside.
Despite all her fears that were boiling up, Haley took a deep breath, and walked outside, shutting the door behind her, before she could talk herself out of it. One foot, slowly, in front of the other, she made her way down her driveway, and onto the sidewalk, where she began her walk with her baby sound asleep in the stroller.
"Haley".
The newborn baby's mother looked over to see a car driving along the side of the sidewalk, and Brooke Davis inside.
"Whatchya doin"? Brooke asked tilting her head to the side, maintaining her vehicle's speed with the same pace that Haley was.
Confused. "Going for a walk" Haley answered her, simply.
Brooke glanced back at the road, then back at her friend. "I'm going to meet Peyton for breakfast—you want to come"?
"I don't have her car seat".
Haley tried to avoid eye contact, for two reasons, because she wasn't that far from her house—and because the way Brooke was driving was making her anxious. There were no other cars around, and she was driving very slowly, but Haley could only think of everything that could go wrong.
What if she slid onto the sidewalk? What if there was something wrong with her car and it blew up? What if the baby was starting to inhale the fumes from the car that was beside her?
Brooke drove past her—slightly confusing Haley, at first, she knew she wouldn't just drive off without saying goodbye. But, she watched, less confused as her friend parallel parked the car beside the sidewalk just a few feet in front of Haley, and got out.
"I can walk with you—we are just meeting at Karen's. It's not but a ten-minute walk" Brooke said, joining her friend side by side.
Haley gulped. "Ok".
Brooke was honestly stunned by her friend's reaction. But, she didn't say anything, instead she smiled. "Lucas wrote a book about me," she said, as she looked down at Carolina, though not mention anything.
"You act as if you didn't see that coming".
"I feel like I should be flattered, right"? Brooke asked.
Haley glanced over at her. "You're not"? She asked. "If Nathan wrote something about me-".
"We would all be flattered if Nathan Scott sat down and wrote more than a paragraph about you," Brooke said.
Haley rolled her eyes.
"But, he also wrote a book about Peyton, Lindsey was his editor, I want to stand out".
"You're Brooke Davis, I'm sure you do that on your own".
Brooke smiled. "Yeah, I know".
Haley chuckled, and Brooke grinned ear to ear. "It's good to see you smile again".
Haley let out a shaky breath, despite the small laugh that had escaped her mouth, she still wasn't ready to talk—not about that. "Do you really care that Lucas wrote a book about Peyton or that Lindsey was his editor—or are you just trying to get my mind off of—whatever it's on"?
Brooke pressed her lips together. "Busted"?
"I'm fine. I don't need you to tip-toe around me, I promise that I'm fine".
Brooke stopped, causing Haley to stop. "But, the thing is you're not fine, you haven't been fine in a while, and I don't think you woke up after all this time just completely fine one morning, in fact, I would bet every dime I have ever made on it," she said. "But, no one expects you to, no one expects you to be fine. But, you are outside, you and Carolina are outside, and you're trying, and—I'm proud of you, and I'm also here for you in case you forgot".
Haley looked up above them, she saw the sky, the birds flying overhead, and she breathed it all in. "Where would I be without you Brooke Davis"?
"Oh, sitting in a stuffy office working 9-5, and dressing utterly unspeakable I am sure".
Annnnd I am back!
It's been a long time. So much has been going on, I never meant to abandon this story, as much as I love it, and there is still a story to tell in it. I want this story to have an ending.
This was a small chapter, and it's been so long since I last visited these characters, I have been catching up reading my own story, just trying to make sure I don't have any holes or lines that don't make sense from previous chapters, and hopefully that won't be the case, but I can't make promises until I have officially finished reading it all.
I am trying to make slow strides but fast strides to get the story where I want it to be, and as always leave a review. Let me know what you think, what you want to see in upcoming chapters.
Until next time, and hopefully, it won't be as long as a wait!
Happy new year!