Chapter 1: The Ex-Girlfriend

My name is Nathan Scott and the day I met Haley James changed my whole world. She was a patient of my mom who is a doctor. My mom talked about her constantly because she knew Haley and her mother Lydia for 10 years. I didn't meet Haley until we were 19. It was 9 months after my girlfriend broke up with me because she was going to rehab in New York City. She didn't want a long-distance relationship and she said that she would never love me the same way I loved her. I was very depressed because Peyton was the only girl I ever wanted.

Peyton and I met when we were two years old. Her mother was a famous model but gave it up because she couldn't find any modeling gigs after Peyton was born. Her father was an alcoholic and beat her mother almost yday. When Peyton was five, tragedy struck in her family. One morning, Peyton woke up to screaming and glass breaking. She tiptoed downstairs and peeped into the kitchen. Her mom and dad were in the kitchen throwing things at each other. They said awful and hurtful things to each other.

Her mom grabbed a knife and said "I hate you and the way you make me feel! I mean nothing to you Larry!! I am just your fucking punching bag when you are drunk!! I'm done with covering the bruises and the emotional turmoil I feel everyday!! Goodbye Larry, I hope you burn in hell for your sins!!"

Instead of stabbing her husband, she stabbed herself three times in the chest. Peyton screamed at the top of her lungs and fainted. Her dad had a breakdown and cried hysterically. Peyton went to live with her grandparents while her dad went to rehab. Peyton was never the same after her mother's death. She went to therapy and took anti-depressant drugs. Six years later, her dad came back for her. He was sober and got a job with a construction company. Their relationship was shaky at the beginning but it grew and now they are great friends. I was Peyton's crying shoulder all those years. I was the only one that really cared about her feelings. She vented to me about everything. She began drinking when she was thirteen to dull the pain. She experimented with drugs a few times too. She had meaningless sex with anybody that was willing.

I kissed her for the first time when we went down the shore. It was the summer of our freshman year of high school. She had ice cream on her chin and I took my napkin and wiped it off. I looked into her eyes and took the plunge. She slapped me across the face and said she hated me and never wanted to see me again. We didn't talk again until almost Halloween. By then, we were making out every chance we could. But we were never a couple. I always asked her out but she turned me down. She only wanted me when her boyfriends dumped her. We officially became a couple when we were sophomores but it only lasted a week. She dumped me for the captain of the football, Mark. They went out for five months when she found she was pregnant. He denied paternity, dumped her, and spread rumors she was a whore. She gave the baby up for adoption and we became a couple again. We had sex for the first time and it was amazing.

We lasted until the end of junior year. She dated the whole football team and they all dumped her. We got back together and went to senior prom. She got totally drunk and made a complete fool of herself. I carried her into my car and she puked everywhere. I took her home and her dad thanked me for bringing her home. I went home, cleaned my car which took an hour, and cried myself to sleep. I didn't see Heather again until the day before graduation. She thanked me for bringing her home on prom. She apologized for getting drunk and acting stupid. She told me she was going to rehab because she was sick of drinking away her problems. But the rehab she was going to is in New York City. I said that I would visit her every chance I could.

She shook her head and said "No. I love you Nathan, but not the same way you love me. We are so wrong for each other and I admire you for sticking by me all these years. You deserve to be happy but I can't make you happy. I don't want a long-distance relationship. They are too messy and complicated. I need to be free for once. I've had a different boyfriend like everyday and now it's time for me to be single for awhile. You are a wonderful guy Nathan. I never would have survived without you but it's over honey."

I said "Peyton please let me come with you! I love you and I can make you happy if you let me."

She put her hand on my face and said "let it go, Nathan. Me and you don't make any sense at all. I will never feel the same way you do and that's not fair to either one of us."

She kissed my cheek and said goodbye Nathan. She walked away and like an idiot, I didn't stop her.

The day she left for New York, I cried in my room hoping she would come back. I was very depressed and miserable for months. Nobody could help my heart feel better. My friends tried hooking me up with other girls but I only wanted Peyton. I called Peyton's dad everyday asking him if she called or not. She didn't give me the number of the rehab she was staying at. She finished the program in January and applied to fashion school. I worked everyday to keep busy but I was still sad. I rarely went out except to work and I always stayed in my room.