December 14th 2012
The clock struck 2:30 AM as Livvie Locke drove the familiar yet haunting roads of Port Charles, her grip on the steering wheel betraying a mix of determination and apprehension. Beside her, Lucas, her nine-year-old son, was a bundle of energy and questions, his excitement undimmed by the late hour.
"Mom, why are all the buildings so old here? Are we going to see any cool stuff?" Lucas's questions floated in the car, but Livvie's mind was elsewhere.
Each passing streetlight cast fleeting shadows in the car, reminding Livvie of her tumultuous past in this town. She remembered the intense confrontations with Lucy, the passionate yet complicated relationship with Jack, and the dark, twisted romance with Caleb. & lastly; she thought of Kevin, she thought of how badly she'd disappointed him and now she'd never be able to make it up to him.
When she left Port Charles; she promised herself that she'd never return; it hurt too much being there and being reminded of all the rotten and evil things she'd done to everyone, to her friends. "I don't know, Lucas. It's an old town." She explained as she continued down the road.
As they neared their destination, Livvie's thoughts were consumed by Jack. Would he still be here? What would happen if he discovered Lucas was his son? The weight of this possibility lay heavy on her heart.
In the back of her mind, Livvie couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. She glanced in the rearview mirror, half-expecting to see a familiar sinister face, but it was just the empty road behind them.
"Mom, are you okay?" Lucas asked following her gaze from the rearview mirror to the backseat. Livvie shook her head attempt to force out the most believable smile as she nodded. "Yea, I am fine. It's just, it has been a long time since I have been back here." She sighed glancing out the window at an old cottage; the one she and Jack had once lived in. The Cottage where they'd conceived Lucas.
"You know I used to live there." She pointed out at the old, dilapidated cottage; a realization that kind of broke her heart as she thought of all the great memories she and Jack had made there; but with the sweet, came the sour as there were also a lot of bad memories in that house.
"Livvie! No! Livvie! Pleas, let me out!" Livvie closed her eyes as she replayed locking Tess in the chest, nearly suffocating her. "You're bad Livvie, Livvie, bad!" She was bad. She was rotten to the core and she had no excuse for any of it.
Shaken by the memory, Livvie took a deep breath and forced her focus back to the present, to Lucas, who was observing her with a mix of curiosity and concern.
"It's just an old house, honey," she said, her voice tinged with a melancholy she couldn't hide. "Lots of memories, not all of them good."
Lucas nodded, sensing the gravity in her tone. "Did you live there with my dad?" he asked innocently.
Livvie took a deep breath; she'd hadn't really talked too much about Jack to Lucas; and he'd grown much more curious about his father over the years; and he was getting rather insistant about knowing him. "Yea, a long time ago." She simply said; she'd like to say that she didn't keep Jack away for our own selfish reasons but that'd be a lie.
The truth was that Jack didn't trust her; and for good reason but the moment that he found out that she was pregnant, he'd yank their son away from her so fast; and the whole town would be cheering him on for it so she lied about Lucas and kept him for herself.
As they continued through the town, Livvie's mind raced. She wondered about the life she had left behind, about Alison, Chris, and the others. Would they even recognize her after all these years? And then there was Jack. The thought of facing him, of explaining Lucas, filled her with a dread she couldn't shake.
She was soon turning down a familiar street. "Mom, I can't believe how much snow there is; It never snowed this much in Jonesborough." Livvie laughed. "Well it's another state, silly." She chuckled as she continued down the street; eventually pulling into an old familiar house. "This is it." She quietly said as they both climbed out of the car. "This is Grandpa Kevin's house, isn't it?" Lucas asked as she nodded.
"Yes, this is Grandpa Kevin's house," Livvie confirmed, her voice barely above a whisper as she took in the sight of the old house bathed in the glow of the streetlights, its windows dark and unwelcoming.
Lucas's eyes widened as he gazed at the large, imposing structure. "It's big," he remarked, a mix of awe and apprehension in his voice.
Livvie nodded, her hand resting on the small of Lucas's back, guiding him towards the house. The snow crunched under their feet, a sharp contrast to the silent, heavy air around them. She retrieved the key from her pocket, its cold metal a stark reminder of the reality of her return.
The door creaked open, revealing a hallway frozen in time. Dust motes danced in the shaft of light from the door, and the familiar scent of the house, a blend of old wood and memories, enveloped them.
Lucas clung to Livvie's hand as they stepped inside, his eyes scanning the shadows that clung to the corners. "It's kind of spooky," he whispered.
Livvie gave a small, strained smile. "It's just because it's been empty for so long. We'll make it warm and bright soon."
"How come we didn't come back sooner, when Grandpa Kevin was in the hospital?" Livvie took a deep, rugged breath. It was true, that would always be one of her biggest regrets in life, not showing up when her old man needed her, the truth was that she was ashamed for being gone for so long; and was only coming back in order to settle his estate with Lucy, who she was less than thrilled about seeing.
"It's complicated, bub." Livvie guided Lucas through the dark hallway, her steps echoing softly on the hard wood floor. The walls, adorned with photographs and paintings, seemed to watch them, silent witnesses to the history that Livvie had left behind.
"I know it's complicated, but I just..." Lucas trailed off, his young mind trying to understand the complexities of the adult world.
Livvie stopped and knelt down to his level, looking into his eyes. "Sometimes, life takes us on paths we didn't expect, Lucas. And sometimes, those paths are really hard to walk back on." Her voice was gentle yet tinged with a sadness that she couldn't quite hide.
Lucas nodded, his expression thoughtful. "But we're here now, right? That's what matters."
She smiled at him, her heart swelling with love for her son. "Yes, we're here now. And we're going to make the best of it."
"I know there's a breaker box somewhere around here." Livvie sighed letting out a cough from all the dust. "Seriously, Lucy; couldn't you have hired a fucking house keeper!" Livvie growled, sounding more like her old self. "Mom!" Lucas shot towards her as she held her hands up. "I know. I know. I have to add to the swear jar."
"Ahh! I got it." She said reaching the breaker box in the corner leading into the kitchen, opening it and turning each switch on, the house coming to life with light. "Oh shit." Livvie turned to see how truly bad the state of the house was; Cobwebs were set against every corner, dust layered on every surface, and the furniture looked like it hadn't been touched in years. The house, once a home filled with warmth and life, now felt like a forgotten relic.
"Wow, this place really needs a cleanup," Lucas said, his voice echoing slightly in the empty space.
Livvie nodded, her eyes scanning the room, taking in the magnitude of the task ahead. "We've got our work cut out for us," she groaned, sweeping her hand around the air. As they ventured deeper into the house, Livvie's memories continued to flood back. Every room they entered held echoes of her past - laughter, tears, love, and loss. She could almost hear Kevin's voice in the study, see Jack's smile in the living room, feel the tension of her encounters with Lucy.
Lucas, meanwhile, was exploring with the curiosity and fearlessness of a child, opening drawers and looking behind doors, piecing together images of the family he never knew.
"Mom, look at this!" Lucas called out from the study, holding up an old photograph of Livvie and Kevin. "Oh, wow!" She exclaimed kneeling down, taking the photo from him. "This was taken on Christmas one year, see; you can see the Christmas Tree." She said, taking a moment to remember that moment with her father; they didn't have that many good moments but there was love between them, no matter how often they, usually her stabbed each other in the back.
"Whose this?" Lucas asked holding up a picture of Kevin and Lucy with Livvie and..Jack. "That's Lucy. I've showed you pictures of Lucy.." She explained doing her best to ignore Jack's appearance. "I don't mean her! Whose he? Is he my father?" Livvie glanced down for a moment before staring back at Lucas with a soft smile but on the inside, she was dying; how could she have been so stupid; there had to be all kinds of images of Jack around that place.