Chapter 772: Leighton
Monday, March 27th, Evening
The day he had been eventful. After dropping his children off at the school, he took his wife to the airport to send her back to work. He spent most of the day wandering around Tree Hill, seeing what has and hasn't changed. After stopping by a local lunch counter, he got lunch and ate by the river. Once he finished lunch, it was time to pick up his kids. Back at Beaulieu Manor, they had dinner with the family; he helped them with their homework.
After helping Nomi and Ellis with their homework, Keith Scott slipped on his jacket, grabbed the keys to a car, and left. The sky was that mix of the setting sun's blues, purples, and oranges. They lived outside the city limits of Tree Hill, but it was still fun and darker. The horizon was lit up with the various local cities and towns; Keith remembered these halos were called light pollution.
Keith drove to the back entrance of Leighton, his childhood home and the house he was renting from his dad. It had been closed while he was deployed to Europe, and they only began to open it up. Keith parked by the carriage house and got out of the car.
He looked around and let the memories flow: the hours spent in the gardens, the bike trails, and the half-court. Keith grabbed his keys, went up the kitchen porch, and left himself in. The house smelt of cleaner and the house was being prepared for occupation.
Keith walked through the kitchen and remembered all the ruined meals his mom would cook. The meals were over the table with his sisters, parents, and later his wife and kids. As he passed the kitchen table, he ran his fingers over the head of the table.
Taking the backstairs, he looked at the hall that connected the kitchen wing with the main house. Down the hall was his dad's old office, which was now his. Shaking his head, Keith turned towards the master bedroom, which had been closed for years. They lived in the front of the house, with Nomi and Ellis having the front two bedrooms. Keith and Izzy stayed in his old bedroom, which also happened to be Candi's old bedroom.
Keith walked by the old nursery room, where Sawyer originally had her bedroom. Walking down the hall, he entered the bedroom he called his own. Walking over to the bed and rested his hand on Izzy's pillow. He looked over the bedroom and sighed.
The room spoke of Izzy; she chose the furniture and the decorations. Keith walked over to his dresser and looked at the pictures on it. He picked up one of them. He looked it over and smiled. Huck took it on Keith's last trip to the Outer Banks before he deployed. Near the end of the trip, Huck and Chase came out for a few days.
Keith looked at him and Izzy on the beach, the Atlantic waves lapping on the shore. They were dressed for the beach and smiling; both also wore sunglasses. Keith smiled at the picture and replaced it on his dresser.
Walking to the window, Keith rested the palm of his hands on the window sill. He looked out the window at the front lawn. The kitchen front lawn had a small fountain that was off right now. Keith pressed his forehead against the glass and felt the cold.
He glanced at his dresser, and several more framed pictures were on it. Keith didn't want to look at those pictures, not right now.
Part of the problem is Leighton had no life in it. Keith had lived in this house most of his life. The house was never this quiet, this dead. When they moved in here, it was his parents, the twins, and their parents. Soon after, his young aunt, Angela, would spend much time here. Eventually, when Keith was in high school, his sisters Candi and Sawyer joined them. Now, it was his house, and it was dead. Izzy lives mainly in Washington, DC, and since he was in Europe, Nomi and Ellis stayed at Beaulieu.
Keith shook his head and felt the cold glass across his forehead. Finally, he pushed off the window and looked at the framed pictures. He returned to his dresser and picked up one of them. He smiled at the picture.
The picture he held was from three years ago, and it was of him and his sisters. They were all dressed up; even Kay wore a dress. The picture had been taken after Kay had her shoulder surgery, as her fight arm was immobilized and in a sling. Keith smiled; he missed seeing most of his sister and was surprised that Kay was the only one not in town when he returned.
Keith laughed, and he put the picture back on his dresser. Kay didn't like coming back to Tree Hill, especially after the car accident that injured her shoulder. So, with the WNBA starting soon, Kay was probably getting ready for the season.
The next thing he did was reach for another picture. This picture was one of his two kids; tucked in the corner was a small wallet size of his first child, who died young from SIDS. The picture was of an eight-year-old Nomi and a three-year-old Ellis standing in the formal gardens of Leighton.
It had to be taken on a holiday. They were in their Summer clothes, and it was before Nomi favored wearing her hair shorter. Nomi had a bit of a loose curl at the ends of her hair. There was something about his daughter; she reminded him of his mom.
Keith smiled, his son Ellis, the baby. He was rough on Izzy when she was pregnant with him, and Ellis was an emergency C-section baby. Ellis was always a small child, and Keith always noted that Ellis looked like Izzy. Where most dads would force their sons into sports, Keith didn't. He wanted Ellis to choose his path but was also worried because Ellis was so small. The good thing is Ellis was only six, and there was time for him to find his path.
Putting the picture back on his dresser, he looked at the other two images. One of these images he looked at caused him to shake his head. Keith wasn't ready to face that picture and stuff he knew was about to come. So, it was time to push it off.
Keith grabbed the other picture and walked over to his bed. Sitting down, Keith looked down at the picture. Carefully, in the dim light, he studied the image.
The image was taken on a Family Day at the Readiness Center. Their training tank sat in the background, looking menacing. Keith and Jermaine Garrison stood in front of the tank, being goofy, and smiling, each holding up a thumbs up.
Shaking his head, Keith closed his eyes. Keeping his eyes closed tightly, he pressed his forehead against the picture. Suddenly, his body started to shake, and he couldn't take it anymore. The picture frame hit the floor. In a flash, he was out of the bedroom, to the balcony, down the exterior stairs, and into the gardens. The night was chilly, but Keith was covered in sweat and unable to catch his breath. Looking around Leighton's formal gardens, he had no idea what the hell had happened, and it scared him.
