Home Sweet Home

Morning in a Memory

Peyton had been woken up by Sawyers small hand tapping her on the cheek. "Momma? Can we go now? I wanna be home soon." She said, face to face with Peyton. "Mm. What time is it Bug?" She turned over to check her phone. The screen lit up and she was greeted with six thirty am glaring back at her. "Please momma? I miss everyone." She said quietly, putting her head down. Peyton sighed, how could she possibly say no to that. She reached over to give Lucas a small shake. "Luke. You ready to hit the road again?" He squinted in her direction. "What time-" "It's half to seven. Sawyer decided she wanted to start early today." She grinned in her daughters direction. "Please Daddy?" She asked, crawling up onto his chest. "Alright, alright. Let's get ready and grab some breakfast first." He said, and Sawyer rolled down back onto the blankets. "Come on bug. We'll get you washed and ready to go." She said grabbing Sawyer's Barbie suitcase, and heading over to the bathroom with her.

After a short shower, Sawyer sat perched on the closed seat of the toilet, while Peyton worked through her wet curls. Tying them into a half pony. She had picked out her favorite red plaid sundress, and Peyton helped tie her converse back up. "We'll be there soon right?" Sawyer asked as Peyton pulled her own hair up off her neck. "We've got a little more time left, but I promise we'll be there soon." She said. Turning off the light they entered the room once more, finding Lucas had already put the bags in the car. "I'm just going to return the key to the desk and we can find somewhere to eat." Peyton said. "Sure thing. Come on Sawy, let's get you in the truck." She smiled and took his hand to cross the parking lot.  No one was in the office when Peyton entered and the bell rang, so she placed the card on the desk, and headed back to the truck.

Driving through the once familiar town, they had passed the high-school they had crashed a prom at seventeen, the old gazebo that she had sat with Brooke...and Chris Keller at one point, the old vintage store they had bought their dresses at before finding a diner open 24/7. The sun was just starting to rise when they took a booth and looked at the menu. Peyton's stomach turned at the thought of solid food once more, and she settled on a tea and an orange juice. "Okay, Peyt. You're starting to worry me a little here." Lucas said, cutting up Sawyer's pancakes. She sighed, and sipped on the herbal tea. "Luke, it's fine. I promise. I'm just feeling sick still, but it's nothing serious. Probably just a bug." She said, giving him a reassuring look.  He didn't look convinced, as his piercing blue stare held her gaze. "Let it go Luke, seriously. I'm fine! Enjoy your breakfast." She said, gesturing toward his plate. "You too, Bug." Sawyer looked up from the coloring sheet in front of her, red crayon poised in her hand. "Okay." She said, turning her attention to the plate and picking at her breakfast.

They had left a generous tip and were back on the road. "You know, I was thinking we just for go the stop in Memphis and just drive straight on through to Birmingham instead of Lexington. A stop in Augusta if needed and then straight through to Tree Hill. It'll just cut off a few hours." She said suddenly. "Sounds like someone else is eager to get home?" He let out a chuckle. "Oh come on Luke, you can't pretend you're not excited to see everyone too. I mean we haven't seen any of the kids in four, almost five years. They're growing so much. We have so much catching up to do that you just can't do over the phone." He could understand that much. "You're right. I'll have a lot of catching up on the Rivercourt with Jamie and Nathan." "Ha! See? We had all
Of the reasons in the world to come back. So of course I'm excited to get there as quick as possible." She said. "Me too!" Sawyer said from the backseat. "Alright. We'll cut some hours off by avoiding the stops. Let's get there as quick as we can manage without breaking the laws of the road."

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Thanks for reading y'all! Happy Thanksgiving to all my American Readers, and because I'm so thankful for y'all, I'm giving you not one - but TWO chapters today!
As always, reviews are much appreciated ❤️