Okay so I know I already have one story already out there, but I promise I'll keep updating that on a regular basis. I just came up with this idea and wanted to see if it worked.

Summary: This is definitely an AU. Some things will be the same, but not very many. I don't want to give too much away. If there is something I need to explain let me know. Oh and it is eventually Leyton. And Lucas isn't a very nice person in the beginning of this.

A Safe Place to Cry

Ch.1 The Life I Lead

When you are young and in love everything seems so simple. You feel as if you have the world in the palms of your hands. Nothing can bring you down…well nothing except for yourself.

Lucas Scott had everything at the age of 19. His first novel was published, and he was madly in love with his high school sweetheart, Lindsay Strauss.

In his eyes Lindsay was perfect. He had known he wanted to be with her from the moment he laid eyes on her. It came to no surprise when he proposed to her at the age of twenty. They were married soon after in front of their family and friends.

Within a year of the marriage they had gotten pregnant and Lindsay had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Riley Hannah Scott.

By the time Riley was three years old her parent's marriage had begin to fall apart. Lucas was spending most of is time writing, and he was always away on book signings. He rarely had time for his family, and the worst part was he didn't even try to make time for them. He did absolutely nothing to fix his marriage. He actually always managed to make it worse.

Things took a turn for the worse when Lindsay found out Lucas had been cheating on her with numerous women for almost a year of their marriage. She filed for divorce and immediately left for LA with her five year old daughter.

At first Lucas tried his best to stay in touch with his little girl, but over the years he became more successful, and other things seemed to matter more to him.

He continued to write best-selling novels, and he made a name for himself as America's playboy. He had a new woman every nigh, but there would always be something missing.

Love had always been important to him, but that was no longer the case.

He found himself waking up next to a beautiful brunette woman, whose name had escaped his mind. He actually had no recollection of the night before, but that did not seem to bother him.

She rubbed her hand up and down his chest once she found that he was awake, "Hey Mister," she kissed his lips. "You were very satisfying last night. You were probably the best I've ever had."

Lucas flashed his cocky grin, "That's what they all say." He was very proud of himself, and all of his prospects.

"What? Who are they?" She questioned suddenly feeling sleazier than ever. She should have known that the Lucas Scott was nothing more than a player.

"It doesn't matter," he pushed her off of him and made his way to his bathroom.

She sat up in the bed, "You treated this as a one night stand, didn't you?"

"I always do baby," he flashed his killer smile once again, "Show yourself out please." He walked into the bathroom and got in the shower.

By the time he finished his shower the woman had gathered her things and left. Apart of him felt bad, but then his ego kicked in, and he didn't care. He continued to get ready. He thought about all the things he had to do that day. He always seemed to be busy, but most the time he made his assistants take care of it.

Lucas searched his apartment for his cell phone. He was surprised that it hadn't been going off non stop all morning. It usually did, and most of the time it was attached to his ear. He finally gave up remembering that it could have possibly fallen out at one of the clubs he had gone too. He would just have his assistant take care of getting him a new one.

He grabbed his things and was surprised when he heard his door being bombarded with knocks. It couldn't possibly be the one night stand girl. They never came back after he ditched them. It wasn't their style, and it was not his style to do the same woman twice. He had standards to live up to.

He finally made his way to the door and was shocked to find his mom standing on the other side. "Mom, what are you doing here?" It wasn't like she lived right next door. She still lived in Tree Hill, North Carolina. That was where Lucas had grown up and met Lindsay. It was way too small for Lucas' taste. He preferred New York City. It was much more his pace.

Karen looked at her son. He could tell that she had been crying. She wasn't a woman that could hide her emotions. "Mom, what happened? Why are you in New York?"

"I've been trying to call you since last night. Where the hell is your phone?"

"I lost it last night. Why are you here?" He was beginning to worry. That was something he did very often.

"Lindsay," was all she could say before the tears began to flow faster and faster down her face.

Lucas grabbed a hold of her face trying to get her to calm down and explain things to him. "What happened to Lindsay?"

Karen was shaking, "She was in a car accident last night. It's bad Lucas. It is really bad."

All he could think about was, "Riley."

"She's fine, but I think that you need to come to LA with me right now."

"Mom I have a day. I have a really big day."

She walked away from him throwing her hands up in the air. "Who are you? What kind of man have you become? I come here to tell you that your ex wife is in critical condition and all you can think about is yourself." She pointed her finger at him, "I don't care what kind of day you have. You are coming with me to LA whether you like it or not."

Karen had always been able to make Lucas do things that he didn't want to do. It was her specialty as a mother. She loved her son with all of her heart, but his behavior was not her favorite. Although he was very accomplished she wasn't as proud of him as she knew she should be. He had constantly found ways to disappoint her. At least he was going with her to LA.

When they arrived at the hospital after hours of being on a plane, Lucas was exhausted. He knew his day was about to get a lot more tiring. He was about to see his ex wife and his daughter under conditions that were not the best. He hadn't seen Riley since she was twelve, and the visit hadn't gone too good. Lucas loved his daughter, but he wasn't sure that his daughter loved him.

When Lucas and Karen walked into the ICU waiting room Riley saw them immediately. She was sitting alone, and Lucas noticed how upset and fragile she looked. She had gotten a lot taller, and she had absolutely gorgeous long brown hair that flowed down her back. She had his piercing blue eyes, but everything else was all her mom. Lucas was sure that all the boys were after her, but he wasn't so sure that he was happy about that. He realized that he had really missed out on his little girl's life.

Riley ran into Karen's arms completely ignoring Lucas. He could feel her eyes throwing daggers into his back. She definitely hated him.

"Hi sweetheart, how's is your mother?" Karen asked brushing Riley's hair out of her face.

She shrugged, "I don't know they really haven't told me anything. Will you please find out if she's okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Karen walked out of the waiting room.

Riley just glared at Lucas. "Hi honey," he went to hug her, but she pulled away.

"Too little too late," she walked back to the chair she had been sitting in before. Lucas felt his heart fall into his chest, but he knew that he had brought all of this on himself.

Lucas had made himself comfy in a chair across the room from Riley. She had made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with her estranged father.

Karen came back into the waiting room. Riley stood up, "How's my mom?"

"She wants to see you," Karen looked at Lucas.

"Me."

"Him," Riley was disgusted.

"Yeah," Karen shook her head.

Lucas walked into Lindsay's room. She looked nothing like he remembered her. Her face had been brutally smashed in the accident. Her beautiful eyes were black, and her entire face was swollen.

She opened her eyes to see Lucas standing next to her bed. "Lindsay."

She shook her head slightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"I wish you weren't. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have been in such a hurry. If I would have waited two seconds everything would be fine."

"Don't blame yourself. You're gonna be okay."

She shook her head again, "Did you not talk to the doctors? There is nothing they can do for me, Lucas. I'm dying."

The words hit him like a ton of bricks. "No, no you're not."

"Yes I am Luke. They tried everything they could, but I'm not gonna make it through this."

"You have to be okay. I refuse to let you die." He couldn't believe that this was happening to her. She was an amazing woman and didn't deserve to die.

"I don't think even you can change my fate. I'm dying, and you have to take care of Riley."

Lucas' eyes grew larger than his face. "She hates me."

"Yeah well she's a teenager. She hates everyone."

"But I'm first on her list."

"Luke things will get better. You're her father. She needs you now. She's gonna need you to be there for her."

"I can't."

"Yes you can, but I have one condition."

"What?"

"I don't want my daughter living in New York. I want her to grow up in Tree Hill like we did. I was in the process of moving us back there."

"Lindsay I have a life in New York."

"Please Lucas, this is my one last wish. I want you to be apart of her life more than anything, but I know you're going to need help, and I don't want her apart of the world you live in now."

Lucas nodded his head, "Fine I'll see what I can do. If not she can live with my mom for a while."

"She's gonna need you Lucas. She's always needed you."

He held her hand, "I'm so sorry. I should have been better to you. Things should have ended different for us."

"Don't live your life wondering about the what ifs, but live your life fixing what's broken. You can do this Lucas. I believe in you. I have always believed in you."

Lindsay lived for two more days, but that Monday her life came to an end at three in the morning.

Lucas knew that he had to be strong for his daughter because she really was going to need him. He just wasn't sure that she was going to want him to be there for her. Only time would tell.

Okay so there's the first chapter.

Should I continue?