BOOK 1/3 of The Rekindling Hearts series.
[ description ]
⤷ Peyton and Chad were supposed to be high school sweethearts but life took a turn. Peyton ended up with lucas & Chad ended up in LA. They promised each other they would do everything...
"I don't think you're supposed to be in the boys bathroom." Chad spoke softly.
Rachel shook her head as she went and sat across from him, "I don't really care. Everyone's looking for you— specifically the doctor."
"Why?"
"You had a girl." Rachel slightly smiled, trying to ease his pain.
"I don't want to see her." He sounded so cold. The way his tone just changed, "If it's not about Peyton, I don't want to hear it."
"Chad, your daughter needs you." Rachel couldn't believe how cold-hearted he was being.
"And I need Peyton!" He raised his voice, "I guess sometimes life sucks, doesn't it?"
And with that, Rachel left the bathroom. Chad continued to sit there.
• • •
After Rachel told Ashely what happened, Ashely went and got the baby herself. She thought she would step in as aunt ash and take care of her niece until Chad figured it out. Eventually everyone else showed and all they could do was sit in the waiting room until the doctor said they could see Peyton.
Lucas went off somewhere. It was obvious he was going through something but it had nothing to do with Peyton. Brooke being curious, followed him. He went outside and just stood there with his hands on his hips, breathing in the fresh air.
"Want to tell me what's going on, Luke?" Brooke approached him from behind.
Lucas just sighed, "I didn't want to say anything because of all this but I've been trying to keep it together for Chad's sake.. you may have noticed Teressa never made it to the wedding. . . "
"Yeah, why is that?" Brooke crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows.
Luke sighed once again, "She died Brooke. Apparently there was an accident so she was called on scene. She was collateral damage. Didn't even see it coming. It was a slow death because she drowned." Lucas finally let out the tears he's been holding back since he found out about Peyton.
Brooke immediately wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a hug. She didn't know what to say, she just cried with him— for many reasons.
While Brooke and Lucas cried together, the doctor finally said Peyton was able to have visitors. Though no one had yet told Chad, he left the bathroom on his own. Once he made his way to the room, his eyes immediately landed on Peyton.
• • •
Hours had passed and Chad was left alone with sleeping Peyton. It was six in the morning. She hasn't woken up since after the c-section. Chad hadn't seen the baby yet either. He's been thinking about it but he still wasn't sure.
All Chad's been doing is talking to Peyton, holding her hand, kissing her hand, and telling her how much he loves her. He realized that if Peyton never wakes up, the only thing he'll have to remind him of her is their baby. Pushing the kid away isn't going to make anything better. It'll just send him down a rabbit hole. So after contemplating with that thought, he finally got up from Peyton's side and went to go get their kid. Not just for him, but for Peyton too. Even though she's sleep, he still wanted her to get to know their little girl.
Once he had her in his arms, he carried her back to the room. He sat in the same exact chair and just began humming for a few. He went and talked to Peyton a little more as he rocked the baby to sleep. As he rocked back and forth, he realized this little girl still didn't have a name.
He chuckled lightly, "I realized we never gave her a name." He thought for a second before continuing, "How does penelope sound? After Brooke's middle name. Then rose after Ashely's middle name? Penelope rose Donovan."
"I like it." Peyton croaked out.
Chad immediately shot his head up then got up to kiss Peyton's forehead. He was a bit shocked. He didn't know what to say really except . . "I'll go get the doctor."
Peyton spoke softly, "Not yet. I just want . . .I just want to lay here for a moment with you and penelope."
Chad slowly nodded as he sat back down, handing penelope over to her mom. Chad thought it was a miracle that she woke up. He also thought that the universe was listening so they delivered because it knew he couldn't do it alone.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
