Prologue

We were happy. Or at least we were most of the time. I was in Los Angeles working at a record comapny interning and Lucas was in New York working on publishing his novel. We saw each other as much as we could. Although it was hard being away from each other so much, we vowed to make it work.

I'll never forget the night I got the phone call. We had been dating for close to four years. Three of which were spent away from each other on opposite coasts. I got the call on March 14th...

Chapter One

"Hello?" I answer breathlessly. I had just got home from work to the phone ringing insistently.

"Peyton? You sound out of breath?" I smile broadly at the sound on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, I just got home from work. What's up?"

"We need to talk." My smile immediatly fades. I can tell something is wrong, but nothing could prepare me for what was about to come out of his mouth.

"Lucas, what is it?" I ask softly.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't keep doing this long distance relationship thing. It's too hard. I just...it doesn't seem fair to either one of us." he blurts out.

I feel the tears immediately forming in my eyes. After almost four years together, he's just willing to throw it all away?

"Fine. I can quit, I can move to New York with you. We can make this work-"

"No, Peyton. I'm not going to let you do that. I'm sorry...for everything."

Without realizing it, I hang up the phone and dial the one number that's as familiar to me as my own name.

"This is Brooke."

I choke out a sob. I try and speak, but it just comes out as more sobs.

"Peyton?! Peyton, are you okay? Peyton, answer me!" Brooke pleads.

"He's gone." I whisper through my tears.

"I'm coming over. Don't move." Brooke hangs up with me, runs to her car, and speeds over to my house. When she gets there, she sees me trashing my apartment.

"Peyton, what happened?" Brooke asks softly.

"He said he couldn't do this anymore. That the distance was too hard. That it wasn't fair to either one of us." I choke out.

"He was just here. He was here a week ago, and nothing was wrong. You guys were happy." Brooke says in disbelief.

I run into my bedroom and start throwing everything that reminds me of Lucas into a garbage bag. Pictures, letters, emails that I printed out, everything. I make my way out to the trash can but Brooke stops me. "Don't do that. I'll take care of it." she offers. Suddenly, I just collapse into her arms sobbing uncontrollably. She strokes my hair just repeating "It's gonna be okay. You'll be okay. I'm here."

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Two months later, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I will never feel normal again. I've lost the best thing in my life, and I don't know exactly how to handle that. I've also been violently ill for the past week and a half. I haven't had a period since me and Lucas broke things off, and I just chalked it up to stress.

Me and Brooke are sitting in my apartment having a quiet dinner when I bring up my missed periods. She nearly chokes on her food. "What?!" she asks. "I'm sure it's just stress. Just my body fucking with me." I assure her. "Come on." she says grabbing her keys and purse. "Where are we going?" I ask. "To the drugstore. We're getting you a pregnancy test."

We go to the local CVS and Brooke buys just about every brand of pregnancy test there is. The guy at the cash register looks at us both like we're crazy. Which probably isn't too far from the truth.

When we get back to my house, Brooke hands me one of the tests. "Go pee" she orders me.

I take the test thinking how ridiculous this whole thing is, when suddenly I see two lines pop up. I grab the test and read the instructions again. "No, no, no, no, no. This can't be right." I whisper to nobody in particular. "Brooke! Get me another test!" I yell. I go through fifteen tests all with the same result; positive.

I'm sitting on the couch trying very hard not to lose it. "How am I going to do this? How the hell am I going to raise a baby knowing that it's father wants nothing to do with them or me? How the hell could this happen?"

My thoughts trail back to the last night that me and Lucas spent together, a week before the phone call that changed everything.

"Lucas, please." I moan.

He kisses his way down my body, driving me crazy. He knows exactly what spots to touch and kiss to make my beg.

I run my hands through his hair. He reaches into his bag for a condom, but I stop him.

You really want to try?" he whispers softly.

I smile. "Yeah, I do."

We make love with reckless abandon, forgetting the whole world and just focusing on us, never knowing that a child would actually be concieved that night.

Brooke stil has her hands over her mouth. "If you guys were trying to get pregnant, why would he break things off?" she asks quietly. "Maybe he realized that it was too much for him to handle. So he decided to be a chickenshit." I answer. "Peyton, are you going to tell him?"

"No."

She sighs, but takes me into her arms. "We'll get through this together."

I make the decision the next day to leave Los Angeles. I'm going to keep this baby and L.A. is no place to raise a baby, in my opinion. I want my child to grow up in the same place that I did, and experience all the great things I did in my childhood. I quit my job, terminate the lease on my apartment, and get on a plane headed to my new home...Tree Hill, North Carolina.