Chapter: 653 02:00
Sunday, March 13th, Early Morning
(Jamlyn)
It was relatively easy to get the spare key at Jamlyn. The whole house was asleep. Brett, Baylee, and Avril piled into Avril's car and headed out. Jamlyn was a bit of a distance from Deb Lee's house. Brett secretly hoped her step-great-grandma was asleep and they could get in and out quickly and quietly.
Once Avril parked her car, they got out and stealthily walked up the driveway. They reached the door, and Brett unlocked it as quietly as she could. Once the door was open, Brett turned off the alarm and slowly moved to the den.
At the desk, they opened a drawer, and Baylee held up her smartphone, using it as a flashlight. Brett started going through the keys, looking at the labels.
"I thought you said it would be easy," Baylee said.
"Shh!" Avril said.
"She keeps all her keys here. But they aren't labeled," Brett said.
"Well, hurry up," Baylee said.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Brett said.
"Well, hurry up," Baylee said.
The room lights came on, and the three young women froze. They slowly turned their attention to the door to see Deb Lee standing there dressed in a robe.
"What are you young ladies doing?" Deb asked.
"Umm," Baylee said.
"Good night, Miss Deb," Avril said.
"Nanny Deb," Brett said.
Deb held up a set of keys. "Looking for these?" she asked.
"Umm," Baylee said.
"Why would you say that, Miss Deb?" Avril asked.
"We were…." Brett started to say.
"Can it, Brett Angela," Deb said, "I'm not a fool, and I know what you're planning."
"Umm," Baylee said.
"I don't think…." Avril started to say.
"Zip it, Avril," Deb said, "I'm thinking you don't want your parents to find out. Especially you, Brett."
"Umm," Baylee said.
Avril hung her head sheepishly. Brett looked at Deb defiantly. "Y'all want to throw a party. I get that; you wouldn't be the first Tree Hill basketball player to do it. What pisses me off is you sneaking in here at two in the morning to steal the keys to the beach house," Deb said.
"Umm!" Baylee said.
"Please don't tell my mom," Avril said.
"All you had to do was ask, and I would've just given them to you," Deb said.
"Umm!" Baylee said.
"Yes, Miss Deb," Avril said.
"Get out of here," Deb said.
"Umm!" Baylee said.
"That means you too, Baylee," Deb said.
"Yes, Miss Deb," Avril said, grabbed Baylee and Brett, and started to leave. Deb stopped Brett at the door.
"I'm most disappointed in you, Brett Angela," Deb said.
"Yes, Nanny Deb," Brett said.
"Loo, you're going to do what you're going to do; just remember, one slip up, and your life is forever changed," Deb said.
Brett nodded, "Yes, Nanny Deb," she said.
"Don't yes me, it happened to me," Deb said.
"Nanny deb, I'm not going to screw up my ride to ND. I want out of this crazy town," Brett said.
"Just remember that," Deb said.
"I will," Brett said.
Deb took a deep breath and handed Brett the keys. "Be careful, and don't destroy the place," Deb said.
"Yes, Nanny Deb," Brett said.
"Now get out of here; it's late," Deb said.
"Yes, Nanny Deb," Brett said and left the house as she walked down the driveway. The two other young women looked at Brett, wondering, to which Brett held up the keys. Baylee smiled and clapped her hands; Avril punched the air. Brett nodded and looked at her friends.
"Let's go," Brett said.
(Beaulieu Manor)
The front door opened loudly as Lucas stumbled in. He quietly closed the door and walked up the few stairs to the foyer. Slowly, Lucas picked up his head and saw Brooke standing at the top of the stairs.
"Hello, Brooke," Lucas said in a slow, slightly slurred speech.
"Lucas, do you know what time it is?" Brooke asked.
"I don't know," Lucas said and shrugged, "Early morning."
"Two in the morning," Brooke said.
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," Lucas said.
"How much have you had to drink?" Brooke asked.
"Two," Lucas said.
"Yeah, right," Brooke said.
"One at the school with Kiera and I stopped by to see Rerun," Lucas said.
Brooke shook her head and walked over to Lucas. She slipped his arm over her shoulder and started to head to the stairs. Lucas looked down at Brooke.
"Thank you for taking so good care of me," Lucas said.
"Someone has, too, since you don't," Brooke said.
"I'm sorry," Lucas said.
"Why are you celebrating so hard?" Brooke asked.
"It was Kiera and I's last ride," Lucas said.
"You still have two years," Brooke said.
After climbing up the stairs, and led Lucas to his bedroom. Brooke helped lay Lucas down and took off his shoes. She wrapped him up in a blanket.
"I don't think it will happen again," Lucas said.
"One day at a time," Brooke said.
"Why do you take such good care of me?" Lucas asked.
"A promise I made, what seems like a long time ago," Brooke said. She noticed Lucas was sleeping. Brooke left the room with a nod, shutting the light off and closing the door behind her. Brooke sighed and headed down toward the main room.
(Beaulieu Manor)
The lack of sleep bothered her. Things were getting worse, and not knowing didn't help. Izzy threw off the covers and climbed out of bed. This was an extra bedroom when she was in high school, meaning it held no significance to her. Slipping on her robe, she looked around.
A dim light leaked out from under the door. The gallery lights never went off, but after a particular hour, they were dimmed. It had always been this way, but her mom had the older fixtures replaced with LEDs. Izzy sighed and slipped her feet into her slippers.
Izzy left the room and walked down the gallery. She took the familiar path to the all too familiar door. Izzy reached out and touched the door; it was the same one from when it was her room. There were a few chips and scars from her childhood.
It was no accident that her mom put Nomi in this room. In a cute way, it was trying to connect the two. Izzy wanted Nomi to stand on her own, but this was her mom's house.
Finally, Izzy opened the bedroom door. She steps through the dark room. Izzy knew his room backward and forward. She closed the door behind her to keep the light from the gallery from flooding in. This returned the room to be fully bathed in the darkness. The darkness slowly faded as the light leaked into the room from under the door.
Izzy's eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could see her ten-year-old daughter curled up in bed. Nomi, properly Naomi, was Izzy's rainbow baby. Izzy watched Nomi grow and started to look like Izzy did when she was the same age, but Nomi seemed to have her dad's personality.
After a long sigh, Izzy walked over to the bed. Slowly, Izzy climbed onto the bed and curled up with her daughter. Izzy brushed a stray lock of hair and closed her eyes.
(Beaulieu Manor)
Making her way down the gallery from Fallon's room to her room, Keni stopped at her door. Resting her hand on the doorknob, Keni took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Keni loved Sawyer as one of her sisters. Sawyer was always there; some of her earliest memories included Sawyer. On the other hand, Sawyer was a bundle of energy, and sometimes it was too much. Sawyer also seemed to have gotten worse over the last three years. It didn't help that Sawyer missed playing basketball. Keni needed to focus her strength; cause Sawyer was in a mood. Keni wondered if Sawyer had ADD and today just overstimulated her.
With a shrug, Keni opened her bedroom door and walked into the darkened room. Sawyer seemed to have put her smartphone down. Keni closed the door behind her and let her eyes adjust to the room's darkness. Once, she saw that Sawyer was on her side, curled up, sleeping. Keni hoped Sawyer wouldn't hog the covers.
Taking one last breath, Keni walked to her bed. She turned down her covers and slid into her bed. Pulling the covers over herself, Keni fluffed her pillow. Keni finally got comfortable.
"I'm sorry," Sawyer said.
"For what?" Keni asked.
"For being me," Sawyer said.
"What does that mean, Sawyer?" Keni asked.
"Being all over the place and just being a general pain," Sawyer said.
Keni yawned, "That's part of your charm," she said, "Who were you texting?"
"Kier," Sawyer said.
"Kier? Kier Hammels?" Keni asked.
"Yes," Sawyer said.
"Jackin's friend?" Keni asked.
"Yes," Sawyer said.
'He doesn't seem like your type," Keni said.
"I don't have a type," Sawyer said.
"Let's sleep and talk about it after breakfast," Keni said.
"Okay, after breakfast," Sawyer said.
"Deal," Keni said, and they got comfortable falling asleep.
(Beaulieu Manor)
Grant trundled out of the bathroom and climbed into bed. He fixed his pillows and rolled on his side to look at Fallon. Still sitting up, she looked at him.
"I ran into your sister in the bathroom," Grant said.
"Oh, which one?" Fallon asked.
"Izzy," Grant said.
"Okay, good, because Keni stopped to see me," Fallon said.
"So, we have an infestation of sisters," Grant said.
"No, Chase and Trin aren't here," Fallon said.
"How do you keep track?" Grant asked.
"It's easy," Fallon said, "What did you and the Virgin Izzy talk about?"
"How I think your sister Chase doesn't like me," Grant said.
"Okay, what brought that up?" Fallon asked.
"She went cold after we went to the concession stand," Grant said.
"What happened?" Fallon asked.
"It was going fine until I mentioned she looked like a skater I used to follow," Grant said.
"Oh god, you didn't," Fallon said.
"I did and didn't know," Grant said.
Fallon patted Grant's leg. "Don't worry about Chase's daddy issues; I'll talk to her," she said.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to ruin your relationship," Grant said.
"No need to worry," Fallon said.
"Are you sure?" Grant asked.
"Yes," Fallon said and slid down into a laying position, "Now, let's get some sleep."
"Okay, good night," Grant said.
"Good night," Fallon said as they got comfortable and fell asleep.
(Beaulieu Manor)
The ride from Seaview Manor to Beaulieu Manor on a mountain bike was rough in daylight, but he had to be careful in the dark of night. Luckily, Gareth had lights on his bike, so he was clearly seen. He rode down the main entrance of Beaulieu and over the outer bridge. He headed to the East Range and found a place to lay his bike down.
Standing in the Privy Gardens, he looked up at the facade of the building. There were lights on in several of the windows. The bedrooms in the East Range were only on the outer wall; Gareth counted the windows and rested on one set of darkened windows.
Gareth sighed and saw his breath come out like steam. Over the past three years, he spent many hours in that room with Sawyer and Keni. Sometimes LK would join them. It was all innocent, mainly watching videos or listening to music. Since he moved to Tree Hill when he was three, Sawyer, Keni, and LK were his first friends. They had been constants in his life.
It sucked, but Gareth knew he caught feelings for Sawyer. Gareth remembered the first time he saw Sawyer in the driveway of her parent's house, Leighton. The green-eyed, curly-haired blonde girl captivated Gareth. He thought she looked like a young angel. Gareth couldn't take his eyes off her, and she taught him how to paint.
In the early morning darkness, Gareth's nose was filled with the beautiful scent of the gardens. A chilly wind started to nip at the tip of his nose. Shaking his head, Gareth couldn't believe he was standing in one of Beaulieu's gardens.
Conversely, Gareth found himself in the gardens of Beaulieu Manor early in the morning. It's cold, and this was where Sawyer lived. The windows he looked up at were Sawyer's bedroom windows. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't kill his feelings, so he ended up here, cold, staring at dark windows. Gareth shook his head and walked towards his bike.
(Rerun's Bar and Grill)
After the last patron walked out the front door, Rerun closed and locked it. He walked back to the bar and looked over the barroom and its near emptiness.
Rerun sighed and started to list what he had to do before he could go upstairs and get some sleep. He could look in on his sleeping son and kiss him good night. But right now, Rerun was tired, and his feet were hurting.
He walked over to the corner of the bar and reached for the remote controls. One by one, he shut off each TV. As the dull roar of the TVs went away, as he shut them off, an eerie vacuum filled the bar. Once they were all off, Rerun removed his apron and went behind the bar.
Rerun turned on the small radio behind the bar. The music started working through his ears, and he smiled. He knew the song very well. Livin La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin, Rerun moved his head with the beat as he started to put the bottles in the lock cabinets.
As he filled one cabinet, he would lock it. Rerun would move to the next one and repeat the process. There were six cabinets of bottles, plus two refrigerators for cans and bottles of beer. So, once he finished with the bottles, Rerun stood up and started to stretch out his back.
Rerun took up a rag and spray bottle and started to wipe down the bar. He took pride in the bar and wanted it shiny and unstained. So, he carefully wiped down the wooden surface.
Once he finished with the bar, he started the count out. The song on the radio was now Mister Jones by the Counting Crows. It was a slow count; the receipts looked like it was a good night. This made Rerun smile as he locked the money up in the bar safe.
(Absolution)
The DJ announced Last Call a while ago, and the harsh house lights came on. The once-dark ex-church was bright, and many of the children of the night shielded their eyes. A ritual of disappointment and agony that seemed to happen nightly.
Ellie stood to the side and watched the tide of ghouls leave from the doors at the liturgical west. Shaking her head, she looked at the choir loft and saw the dark angel standing there, half cast in shadows. A hood covered the angel's face, but the black angel wings were clearly visible.
The black wings reminded Ellie of her first Halloween in high school. Ellie went as Elizabeth Bennett, but Angela was the angel of death. Ellie remembered seeing a picture of her mom as the same thing. Eventually, when she returned to high school, still frail and pale, Ellie donned those same wings.
She had felt those cold fingers of death. But this angel, the dark angel, seemed inviting.
"Careful what you wish for," Eleni said, looking at Ellie.
"Oh, why do you say that?" Ellie asked.
"Ellie, like many people who walk through these doors, they are looking for something," Eleni said.
"So, you say," Ellie said.
"Yes, I do," Eleni said.
"What does it all mean?" Ellie asked.
"Just be aware some gifts come with a price," Eleni said.
"So, I have heard," Ellie said.
Eleni nodded, "No, matter what, one thing must happen," she said.
"And that is?" Ellie asked.
"You have to leave; it's closing time," Eleni said.
"Alright," Ellie said and walked away, eventually leaving the once church.
(Beaulieu Manor)
As Brooke did one more lap around the East Range, she came upon one of the rooms that connected the clock Tower to the East Range. There were mainly guest rooms here, which were rarely used. Brooke nodded; the last time was probably when Izzy and Keith had their recommitment ceremony here. Brooke sighed and looked down the length of this room, which became a music room.
Brooke noticed someone entering the room from the corner of her eye. She looked at the ladened figure and sighed.
"Tucker?" Brooke asked.
"Mom?" Tucker asked, stopped, and turned to face Brooke.
"Welcome home," Brooke said.
"Mom, what are you doing up?" Tucker asked.
"I was waiting for Lucas to get home," Brooke said.
"Lucas was out this late? What happened?" Tucker asked.
"We won the state championship," Brooke said.
"How drunk was Lucas?" Tucker asked.
"Not very; he's been reducing his drinking," Brooke said.
"Yeah, it was roughly three years ago," Tucker said.
"That it was," Brooke said, "So, how has the tour been?"
"It was, well, good, especially the last few days when Alix came up to visit. I have a lot of footage to edit," Tucker said.
"Well, will I get to see you?" Brooke asked.
"Yes, Mom," Tucker said.
"I missed you, Tucker," Brooke said.
"I missed you too, Mom," Tucker said, "I'd like to get some sleep."
"Okay, breakfast is at the usual time," Brooke said.
"Okay, Mom," Tucker said.
"Good night," Brooke said.
"Good night, Mom," Tucker said and headed towards the Clock Tower Apartment. Brooke nodded, satisfied, and headed towards her suite of rooms.
(Jared Residence)
Alix looked up from her smartphone to the door of the bedroom. Her older sister, Katrina "Kat" Jared, stood at the door. Kat was known professionally by her maiden name, one that an unmarried Alix still used, Hartmann. The older blonde leaned against the door frame and looked at Alix.
"Thanks for letting me stay the night," Alix said.
"No problem, it's better than waking Opa up," Kat said.
Alix nodded, "True, and I don't think he expected me back until tomorrow," she said.
Kat snickered, "Yeah, that's what he expects," she said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alix asked.
"I think Opa is wondering when you and Tucker are going to make it official," Kat said.
Alix shook her head, "Why?" she asked.
Kat shrugged, "I guess Opa doesn't want you alone," she said.
"I still have you," Alix said.
"True," Kat said, "But you and Tucker are cute together."
"Not everyone has to run off and get married young," Alix said.
"I was only a few years younger than you when Arne and I married," Kat said.
"Still," Alix said.
"Don't worry about it, Opa can want what he wants, but it's your life," Kat said.
"Thanks," Alix said.
"So, how is the new music coming along?" Kat asked.
"Good," Alix said, "How about you? Trying to get Arne to accept your ideas still?"
Kat nodded, "I'm trying, but I do get to do the vocal arranging," she said.
Alix nodded, "That's good," she said.
"Yeah," Kat said.
Alix nodded, "Well, I need to sleep," she said.
Kat nodded, "I'll see you in the morning," she said.
Good night, Katrina," Alix said.
"Night, Alix," Kat said, pushed off the door jam, and left the door. Alix got up, closed the door, and returned to bed.