It was cold. The icy chill of the winter wind seeped into his bones, sending shivers coursing through his entire body. Instinctually, he shoved his hands further into the pockets of his oversized hoodie as he paced back and forth along the mundane suburban street. There was no moon lingering in the night sky, and the seemingly endless darkness enveloped the young man almost as if he had never existed at all. In that moment, he wished more than anything that he hadn't.

The freezing discomfort served as a welcome distraction for the swarm of irrational thought that was swimming through Nathan Scott's brain. He would not allow himself to make sense of it. The moment he did, he knew he would fall apart. Weakness was not something he would ever allow himself. He couldn't.

His isolated stupor was interrupted by the quiet shuffle of footsteps directly behind him. Without thinking, he tensed his shoulders. His fists were clenched so hard that the colour had faded from his knuckles and he stood firm in his stance, forcing himself to remain calm. He could not show fear.

'Nate?'

The soft tone rang out into the empty night, and the immediate familiarity of it caused Nathan to relax. He closed his eyes tightly and took a death breath. He knew the confrontation he was about to have would be hard. Just as it had countless times before, this confrontation would break his heart.

He turned around slowly, trying to mask his pain with a façade of cool indifference. He should have known better. Brooke Scott knew her twin brother more than anyone else in the world, and she knew that he was not okay. He was anything but okay.

'Oh my god, Nathan! Your eye…..it's – 'all the composure that Brooke had vowed to maintain was forgotten at the sight of her brother's face. His eye was almost swollen shut, ugly shades of purple masking the shade of his olive skin. His lip had been cut open, and a deep scratch across his cheek tainted his ordinarily handsome features.

The young brunette began to sob uncontrollably, tears streaming recklessly down her porcelain cheeks. She knew it was not what her brother needed. She knew it would hurt him to see her like this, yet she could not stop. She could not stop crying for her brother, for herself and for everything that had been taken away from them.

'I'm so sorry, this is my fault. I knew he would be angry, and I knew he would take it out on you. I should have – 'Brooke began, attempting to speak through her emotion.

'Hey, Brooke, stop that. This is not your fault, okay? I need you to know that,' Nathan pleaded desperately, cringing at his sister's genuine belief that she was at fault for what had happened to him.

Brooked nodded, though her and Nathan both realised that his attempts at convincing her were futile. His sister had been harbouring this sense of guilt and responsibility for as long as they both could remember, and as much as he knew it was wrong, he also knew that there was nothing he could do to change it.

His sister continued to cry, and Nathan averted his gaze. He should have wrapped her in his arms and held her, comforting her into a sense of security. He should have told her that everything was going to be okay. He couldn't, though. He knew it would be a lie, convincing enough to make even himself believe that this would eventually end. He had ridded himself of hope long before this incident. Hope only meant more pain, and he was hurt enough already.

'Nathan….It's getting worse,' Brooke sniffled, her eyes staring intensely at her brother, almost as if searching him for answers.

Nathan could only nod in agreement. His sister was right. The frenzied argument that had just occurred behind the closed doors of the Scott residence had been far worse than either sibling had ever known them to be. He could tell that it scared her, and he tried to desperately to pretend that it didn't scare him just as much.

Suddenly, the unrelenting shine of headlights washed over them as a black comet sped past the two figures, pulling recklessly into their driveway. A curly headed blonde came running out the car only seconds after the engine had stopped, leaving the door open in her haste to reach Brooke and Nathan.

Peyton Sawyer surveyed her two best friends, noticeably cringing at the sight of Nathan's eye. She had watched this scene countless times before, and she was usually able to remain calm. She knew they both needed that from her. This time, though, the young blonde could not prevent the surge of concern and fear that coursed through her at the sight of Nathan's injury.

'God damn it, Nathan. How hard did he hit you?' Peyton asked, her green emerald eyes glittering with fierce anger. She hated this.

Nathan shrugged, looking pointedly at Peyton. He didn't want to discuss it in front of Brooke. An explanation of what had just occurred would only heighten the blame that his sister had decided was hers.

Peyton knew Nathan almost as well as Brooke did, and she quickly understood the purpose of his gaze. She focused her attention on the brunette standing a small distance away from them, a hand over her mouth as if it would be able to block the gut-wrenching sobs that wracked her entire body. The blonde's expression immediately softened as she walked over to her friend, taking her in a warm embrace.

'Hey, buddy. It's going to be okay, you hear me? We're going to get through this. We always do,' Peyton whispered, doing what Nathan had been unable to only moments ago.

Brooke nodded, clinging tightly to Peyton's thin frame. In that moment, she believed every word her friend had said. She didn't have a choice. If she felt even the slightest doubt, she wouldn't be able to breathe.

'I'm going to take your knucklehead brother to my place for a while, but I'll see you at school, okay? Don't even think about not coming, Brooke Scott,' Peyton ordered, giving the brunette a small smile. She gave her friend one last hug before returning to her car, giving the siblings a moment to themselves.

'Look after Jessie, Brooke. Make sure she's okay,' Nathan said softly, gazing directly at his sister for the first time since she had found him outside of their home. If it could be called a home.

'You know I will, Nate. Be safe, okay?' Brooke took tentative steps toward her brother before stopping in front of him, kissing him gently on the cheek.

Nathan nodded and moved towards the comet, climbing into the passenger seat. Brooke stood at the end of the driveway until the car had faded into the endless oblivion of the night, the last of her tears falling.

Once they had driven a safe distance away from the Scott household, Nathan leaned his head against the back of his seat and sighed deeply. He turned his face toward the window, an indication to Peyton that he did not want to discuss what had happened. She needed to know though, and she knew he understood that.

'Jessie was looking for mom….she wanted to play with her. Dan got mad. He started screaming at her, really yelling…..she was crying. Brooke tried to stop him and – 'Nathan flinched, needing a few moments to convey the rest of the story.

Peyton was patient. It was hard for her to hear it, so she knew it must have been worse for Nathan to repeat it.

'He slapped her, Peyton. He slapped her so hard and I – I just snapped. I punched him as hard as I could. He punched me back. Then he just kept….punching me and punching me and – 'Nathan knew that if he continued, he would not be able to hold it together anymore. He had to stop.

'I don't like that Brooke's still there, Nate. That asshole – 'Peyton started, her voice trailing off. She knew it was no use.

'She has to be. She can't leave Jessie there alone,' Nathan stated definitively.

Nathan and Brooke's little sister meant the world to them, and Peyton knew that they would try as hard as they could to prevent her from going through what they had. No matter what.

'Where's your mom at?' Peyton asked

Nathan laughed humourlessly. 'Passed out in her bedroom. She'll hear about what happened and she'll pretend like there's a chance we'll get away. We won't,' Nathan shook his head, anger possessing every aspect of his being.

'I don't think I've ever seen Brooke cry that hard,' Peyton noted, clenching her jaw at the thought of the source of her best friend's tears.

'She'll be fine. You know her as well as I do. She's tough as hell,' Nathan smiled for the first time that night.

'And what about you?' Peyton asked, glancing at Nathan with tenderness in her eyes.

Nathan shrugged. He didn't know about him. Nobody really did.