Hey guys... here's the next chapter! Thank you for the ones who reviewed, I hope you like the way the story's going. Things will be explained a little better in this chapter, and well... the pieces will fit together soon enough! It'll take a while before Megan actually meets Peyton, I just felt it'd be better to get to know the character well first, and let some things happen in the story before the two of them actually meet. I'm already working on the latest chapters, so the updates shouldn't take too long for now. Hope you like it, thanks for reading!

Chapter 02 – People always leave

It's been a little more than two weeks since the "other daughter" fight. Right after my mom asked my dad about it, the music started on my stereo, and I couldn't hear anything else. Not that I would have, even without the music. At that moment I was in shock. I didn't know what to think, there was just too much in my head and I couldn't make sense out of anything. Then I heard a loud bang on my door that brought me back to reality, followed by my mom, yelling, telling me to turn off the music, cause it was late already. And that was it. They didn't even mention anything when I was around, but they now fought all the time, so much more than they did before. I wonder if they're totally oblivious to my presence in this house, or just plain stupid. I mean, how could they think for one second that I wouldn't listen to them screaming at each other all the time? And, from the fights, I was able to gather some information about his secret daughter. She was Elizabeth's, no big surprise there. She sent him a letter, about a year after she left him, telling him she got pregnant with a girl, and then found out he was already married, so she decided to give her up for adoption. She even told him the name of the girl's foster parents, but she probably knew he was never gonna bother to look for them. He wasn't that kind of guy. He never answered the letter, or even tried to get in touch with Elizabeth or their daughter. He though he had thrown the letter out. My mom was going through some photo albums and documents when she found it. Hence the fight.

And, six days ago, my dad left. It was late at night – their favorite time of the day to start fighting - , I heard the usual yelling but couldn't stand their same old crap anymore, so I went online and tried to get distracted. But then I heard his car. I went to the window and saw it leaving the parkway, with a bunch of his stuff inside. Then my mom opened the door to my room.

"He's gone". That was all she said, then closed the door and left. There wasn't any emotion in her voice. Sometimes I doubt she's even a human being. I kept looking at the window, and somehow I knew he was never coming back. To my own surprise, I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I let them fall for a while, but then quickly wiped them off with the back of my hand. Crying doesn't solve problems, doesn't make things better. It only makes you weaker.

So, basically, those six days have been like hell. Not cause I miss him, I honestly don't, but mom doesn't have anyone to yell at when she comes back from work, so she decided she wants us to bond now. The woman's completely crazy. She's never been there when I actually needed her, and now that she's bored and doesn't know what to do with herself she comes to me? Go to hell, mom! As much as I try not to, I keep thinking about dad's other daughter. Oh, well, my sister. Sister… Half sister, but still, it's pretty weird. I've always been an only child, and I'm good this way. I wonder of she knows about me, or that waste I have to call 'my father'. Then I decide not to think about her anymore. Enough of that. I just have to get distracted and not think of my screwed up parents, or anyone related to any of them. I mean, my dad's bad enough, but him, with some crazy drug addict? No good can possibly come from such union.

People in school have no idea of what happened. Sure, I've got friends, we hang out, we sit at the same table at lunch time, but that's as far as it goes. You let them get too close, they get too much power. The power to hurt you for real. It's not worth it. So, when I really need to talk about something, I write. I write poems, or I just put random thoughts into the paper. It always helps. It's easier than taking the risk and trusting someone. What if I trusted my father? What if I actually relyed on him? I'd be devastated by now, wondering where he is and hurting like hell, cause I'd have that hope he could come back. That's what getting attached to people does to you. Sure, it's great while it lasts. But let me tell you something: people always leave. And when they do, you can only count on yourself to pick up the pieces and try to move on.

Oh, and things get even better! My mom lost her job yesterday! Great, huh? And it's not like we need the money or anything, but she's the kind of person that has to do something, all the time. Otherwise she'll go crazy, and drive me insane too. So today she drove me to school, which she hadn't done since I was like 10, and when my classes were over, there she was, waiting for me! We went out to eat something. That's when it happened.

"Meg? Mommy needs to talk to you." She's calling me Meg? And talking to me like I'm 3 years old. Oh, that can't be good! I look at her, already annoyed, and she goes on. "You remember Karen Roe?"

"Your friend in Tree Hill? I thought you hadn't talked to her since you and dad moved out of there!"

"Well, yeah… kinda. We kept in touch from time to time. She has a café and a club there. When I told her I lost my job, well, she asked me if I was interested in working with her, help with the legal issues and management." I really don't like that smile she has on her face.

"What?" I yell, "You wanna go back to Tree Hill? I thought you hated it there!" Not to mention that my 'sister' apparently lives there too, but it's not like I can say that, she doesn't have a clue I know about the girl.

"It's not that big deal, Tree Hill is like two hours from here, honey. You'll still be able to see your friends…"

"My friends?" I have to chuckle at that. The woman certainly doesn't know the first thing about me. This is the least of my worries right now. "I grew up with you constantly saying how much that place sucked, now you wanna move back there?"

"It wasn't about the place, it was about your father. But now…" she sighs, "now I think I'm ready to face it."

"That's great, mom. What about me, huh? Do you even care if I'm ready to leave it all behind like that?"

"Megan, we are going, I've already made up my mind. We leave in a week."

"Thanks for the food, mom, it was great", I push my plate to her direction and leave the place, ignoring whatever she's complaining about now. I walk back to my house, glad to see she's not there yet. The phone's ringing, so I take a deep breath and pick it up, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Hello?" For a while no one says anything, so I say it again, already getting mad at whoever's doing this shit. "Hello?" Then I hear this hesitant voice on the other side.

"Hi, is… is Megan Turner there?"

"That's me, do I know you?"

"Well, not really. My name's Peyton Sawyer, I'm Elizabeth Harp's daughter, and…" She doesn't have time to finish it, cause I hang up on her. Great, just great!