Peyton jolted upright out of her bed as the phone rang. She groaned and rolled her eyes before collapsing down again and closing her eyes. She was relieved when it stopped ringing, but it took only a few seconds for the incessant noise to start up again. She took a deep breath and looked at the clock on her night stand. "Who the hell is calling at 1 o'clock in the damn morning" She rubbed her eyes quickly before reaching over to pick up the phone. "Hello…" she responded groggily into the receive.
"Is this the Sawyer residence" the woman on the other line asked calmly.
"Yes…what can I do for you at this lovely hour" She got up and walked over to her window, looking outside for a moment as she waited for the woman to respond.
"Is this Peyton Sawyer"
"Yes is a very tired Peyton Sawyer" her voice had an edge to it. Why was this women asking so many questions. The blonde just wanted to go back to sleep. Her dreams may not have been all that peaceful but it was better than being awake. If she could sleep all her problems away she would. Just then she heard her front door open and close.
"Peyton…are you up there" she knew the voice but it didn't make her any less confused.
"Yeah Nate I'm up here what are you doing here" She asked as the black haired boy suddenly appeared in her doorway. "Can you hold on for a just a second…thanks" Peyton didn't wait for a response from the women she slid the phone from her ear and stared at her ex quizzically.
"Peyton I know its late but I just wanted to know if I could crash here tonight" He was hoping she would say yes because he didn't have anywhere else he could really go.
"Last time I checked you had your own apartment…why can't you crash there"
"Because Haley and I are having problems and I don't wanna be at the apartment…just one night Peyton. Please" he begged and she just shook her head.
"Sure Nathan." she said as she put the phone back to her ear. She had an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach suddenly but she did her best to shake it off as she watched Nathan walk into the hall to find a blanket. "Hello…" she said into the receiver.
"Yes miss I apologize about the time but are you Larry Sawyer's daughter" Peyton's hands began to shake as her heart skipped a beat.
"Ye..yes…thi.." she took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "This is his daughter." The blonde let herself lean against her wall for support.
"Miss I am very sorry but…"
"No…" Peyton cut her off abruptly . "No you don't do that…don't you dare finish that sentence" tears burned behind her eyes as she felt her knees growing weaker.
"Miss I'm sorry…we did recover his bod.."
"Shut up!" she screamed into the phone as she tried to escape the reality that was slowly trying to set in. He screaming grabbed Nathan's attention and he made his way back to her doorway to watch her suddenly fragile figure.
"Peyton…" he said quietly as he continued to look at her. She looked into his eyes and the burning sensation got worse as the woman began speaking.
"He and his crew went out this evening and there was a sever storm…"
"No…" Peyton whispered into the darkness around her.
"We recovered pieces of the boat and the bodies of all the crew members…your father was IDed by some of his other co-workers. Once again Miss Sawyer I am very sorry for your loss."
"No…" she whispered again as she slid down the wall, her breath catching in her throat. The phone slipped from her trembling fingers, crashing to the wooden floor and she listend as the batteries bounced out and rolled under her bed. It was the only sound in the room until she heard her floor creek and Nathan's shoes suddenly came into view. She looked up at him with watery eyes.
"Peyt…" he whispered as he knelt down beside her, her eyes following him the entire time.
"He left me…" She managed to get out. "He's gone…they're both gone…" She looked into his eyes and he knew who she was talking about.
"Come here" he wrapped her tightly in his arms and for the second time that night her body violently shook as tears flowed from her eyes. They rocked back and forth on the floor for the next hour, Nathan slowly rubbing her back with one hand and the other tangled in her curls as she tucked herself into his body. His hand on her back was comforting and at the moment that's all she wanted. It felt good to be in his arms, the warmth from his arms and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest was all soothing to her. She pulled back and looked at him.
"What am I gunna do…" She whispered.
"We'll figure it out…" he gently kissed the top of her head before picking her up and getting to his feet. He gently laid her down in her bed after pulling the covers back. "Your gunna be alright Peyton… I promise you that you'll be alright." He leaned down and kissed her forehead again. He pulled back slightly and moved a stray curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear. His eyes connected with hers and they both go lost as he slowly leaned back down. Her hands found their way around his neck as he brought their lips together slowly.
He pulled away unsure of what was going on but she leaned up to capture his lips with hers. He positioned himself on top of her carefully as she leaned back into her sheets again. She tiled her head back as his lips trailed down her neck. It felt good for her to be touched that way…she missed feeling wanted. At the moment he wanted her and she thrived on that. He was getting lost in the plain comfort of being that close to someone. His heart was broken and as he lifted her shirt over her head the loneliness was slowly subsiding. He kissed her bare stomach and then found her lips again as he rolled over, placing himself on the bottom. His shirt was soon with hers at the foot of the bed as the loneliness continued to vanish for both of them. The further they went the better they both felt. They knew deep down that the feeling wouldn't last forever, but neither of them cared, as long as they could get rid of the pain for at least one night.
Peyton slowly opened her eyes to the bright light that was sneaking in from outside. She as a bit startled to feel her back pressed into something warm and as she turned she saw his faced and remembered everything. More specifically she remembered the horrible phone call she had received just hours earlier. She turned into his chest as the tears returned to her eyes. He opened his eyes and pulled her closer as he felt the moisture on his chest.
"Peyton I know it's early but I just really need someone to talk to…" The both heard the distressed voice that was quickly coming up the stairs. She pulled herself away from Nathan and turned around just as Haley walked into her room.
"Haley…" she began as it she finally realized what has happened between her and Nathan.
"Oh my God…" the brunette began as she started at the two figures laying together in bed covered only by a sheet. "How…"
"Hales….this…" Nathan began as he sat up in the bed and looked at the now crying brunette.
"Ohh I can see what this is…I know we were fighting Nathan and I know I screwed up…but still…how could you just go a sleep with the first girl willing to spread her legs." they could all hear the anger in her voice. Peyton swallowed hard at Haley's comment she wrapped the sheet around herself making sure Nathan still had the comforter. She stood from the bed and got ready to leave the room. "What you got caught and now you wanna run. I thought I could trust you Peyton but your nothing but a backstabbing whore." Haley screamed in the blondes face. Nathan could see her hands shaken along with the rest of her body.
"Haley just stop alright" Nathan said as he moved the edge of the bed. "I seem to recall the fact that it was you who fucked up yesterday." he reminded her bitterly as his own anger began to return.
"Yeah well you fucked the town slut last night…been around the basketball team so now you have to go back to the beginning. Why can't you find someone who's single? Why are you always going after people who aren't available? You give them up and then you want to take them back and that's not right. You're nothing but a two-faced little whore. I can't believe I ever trusted you. You are nothing Peyton…you deserve nothing!"
Peyton just stood them and listened as Haley screamed at her, she knew she deserved it all and more. Her words stung, and slowly everything once again began to pile up but this time she couldn't take it. She shoved past Haley without another thought and walked down the hall. "Haley will just stop it and calm down for two seconds. It just happened alright. We're both sorry" She could hear as Nathan responded to Haley. She walked into her parents room and closed the door. She sat in the center of the bed and hugged her knees close to her chest as she rocked back and forth, trying to drown everything out.
"Peyton…" she could hear Nathan's voice through the door as the front door slammed, indicating Haley's departure.
"Just leave" she said loud enough for him to hear her, but he opened the door anyway. She wanted him gone…she didn't anyone in that room…or in her house.
"Pey…"
"Get out…leave me alone" She screamed as she got off the bed. He only moved closer to her and she reached for the clock on the nightstand and threw it at him. He ducked just before he hit his head. "I said get the fuck out. I don't want you here so just leave Nathan. I don't want you anywhere near me….your not welcome here!" she screamed again. He held his hands up and she threw the picture that had been sitting next to the clock. "Leave!" she screamed again as she continued throwing things until he closed the door. She climbed back onto the bed and her eyes caught sight of the picture on the other night stand. It was the last family portrait they had taken before her mom died. She crawled to the edge of the bed and took the portrait in her hands. She didn't want to look at it…she just wanted to hold it. She laid it in her lap before pulling her knees back up to her chest. She soon found herself rocking back and forth again, trying to block the world out.
He knew she wasn't going to let him in so he did as she asked…he left. He knew he had to fix things with Haley, so that where he was headed and then he would come back for Peyton. He made a note to himself to find Lucas…he knew how to take down Peyton's walls and she would eventually let him in. He got dressed and left her house and headed to his apartment. He only hoped that Lucas would listen to him after Haley talked to him.
