Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

Author's Note: This chapter might be a little bit of a stretch, especially if you haven't read the story recently… but I think it will work.

Author's Note 2: There are mentions of drug use in this chapter, so if you don't like it, don't read.

Author's Note 3: I updated!! Yay!! Okay, sorry… but you guys must be happy. Two updates in two days. Wow. That's an all time record for this story! Let me know what you think!

Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

Chapter 11

A car came speeding around the corner and slammed into her.

"PEYTON!" Lucas screamed. He fell to his knees beside her, searching for a pulse. "No! No! NO!"

He glanced up as the car was thrown into reverse. He felt as though he had been punched the gut. The driver was Nathan.

At that moment, sirens could be heard coming from outside. Brooke instantly felt a jolt of fear shoot through her as she locked eyes with Haley across the dance floor. They both knew instinctively that the sirens somehow involved Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton.

The sound of screeching tires and shouting filled the now silent gym. The music had been shut off and people were staring in fright at the doors.

The thunder and lightning dissipated by the time the juniors and seniors were allowed out of the gym to go home. Prom had been extended for another hour while the paramedics and tow trucks cleared the scene in the parking lot.

Rain was falling steadily as Brooke and Haley made their way to the hospital. They were both still in their prom dresses, not caring how ridiculous they looked walking down the street in high heels. They needed to get to the hospital.

Lucas had left a voice mail on Brooke's phone telling her what happened and to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Haley had received a similar phone call from Nathan, which surprised her. But neither boy said who was in the hospital, though the two girls knew instantly who it was.

Lucas stood at the edge of the river court, staring out at to the rain-swollen river and thinking about the night's events. A lot had happened between the time he woke up this morning and now.

It was getting close to midnight. Though the storm had long since left, rain was still pounding the cracked cement of the court. There were pools of water at the outer edges of the court that were deepening the longer the rain fell. Soon, the entire court would be under water.

"Is Peyton okay?"

Lucas turned, surprised to see Nathan standing on the opposite side of the river court. He looked drenched, but Lucas knew it was nothing in comparison to what he looked like at that moment.

"I don't know," he admitted.

He hadn't gone to the hospital with the ambulance. He didn't want to face the fact that Peyton might die. She had been in pretty bad shape when the paramedics reached her.

"I thought you might be at the hospital with her now," Nathan said.

Lucas shrugged and turned back to the river. He didn't want to talk to his brother at that moment; he was beyond any realm of reason when it came to Nathan at that moment. The younger Scott had run Peyton down without so much as hitting the brakes and didn't even stop to apologize for it.

"I'm sorry, Lucas," Nathan said. Lucas heard him take a few steps closer. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't even notice you two standing there."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Lucas snapped. "I'm not the one you nearly killed."

Haley wished some days that she had never gotten up in the morning. Today was one of those days. It was nearing midnight, she was sitting in a silent hospital room, and there was still no word from Lucas or Nathan or about Peyton.

Brooke was sitting next to her, glaring across the room at Stephen, who was flipping through a magazine restlessly. Tyler was sitting next to him, studying Haley with an intense look in his blue eyes. Haley sighed and looked away.

The clock in the waiting room ticked by slowly as the distant sounds of thunder rumbled outside. Rain was falling steadily against the window panes. It was all that was left of the storm.

Haley shivered as someone opened up the door to the waiting room and walked in, bringing in gusts of cold air with him or her. She looked up, hoping it would be Lucas or Nathan, but was disappointed when it was a stranger.

"I'm going to go try Lucas's cell again," Haley whispered to Brooke. "Come get me if there's any news."

"Okay," Brooke said not even bothering to look up as the shorter girl stood and made her way over to the bathrooms for some privacy.

"Hey, you've reached Lucas. Leave me a message," came the generic voicemail message. Haley sighed and hung up her phone. She didn't even bother leaving him a message; she had left him three already.

"No dice?" Tyler asked walking up behind her. Haley jumped, not expecting the sudden appearance.

"No, the idiot's not answering his phone," she said taking a deep calming breath. "I should probably go out and find him."

"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked. "Stephen won't miss me. Peyton won't, either, when she wakes up."

"If," Haley muttered darkly, casting her eyes to the ground. "If you want to come with me, you can. I've got to stop by my hotel room first to grab a sweatshirt."

"When she wakes up," Tyler said firmly. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"Thank you," she said.

They looked at each other for a moment. Haley couldn't help but compare him to Nathan. She knew it wasn't fair to Tyler, he really was a decent guy, but he just wasn't Nathan. He didn't have the casual stance, the concerned protective yet loving gaze; the slightly mysterious eyes that made him look as though he were hiding a dark secret… Tyler was too open. Too honest. Everything about him from the polo shirts he loved to wear to the way he carried himself screamed earnestness. It just wasn't the same. And though Haley knew she probably didn't stand a chance with Nathan ever due to the way she rejected his proposal, she knew that she had always been and probably always would be in love with him. No one else stood a chance.

Nathan glared at the back of Lucas's head, wishing for the millionth time that evening that he had never decided to literally crash prom. He hadn't meant to hurt Peyton, but it had happened and there was no getting around it.

"You're a dick, you know that?" he asked hoping for a reaction from Lucas.

Nathan knew it was stupid and possibly suicidal to pick a fight with his brother, especially when the elder Scott was livid about what happened with Peyton and Nathan just happened to be there. But Nathan didn't care about that. He wanted the fight more then anything. He wanted his brother to get pissed off and punch him. He wanted to be able to retaliate. For some unknown reason, Nathan wanted to get into a fight.

"I may be a dick," Lucas said his voice steely. "But at least I'm not an asshole who runs down his best friend in a parking lot and then throws the car into reverse and drives away without even bothering to check to see if she was okay."

"Oh, so I'm an asshole now?" Nathan taunted. "Is that all you've got? I'm an asshole? You've got to better then that."

"You self-conceited jack ass! Do you not even care about what you did to Peyton? You could have killed her!" Lucas yelled spinning around to face Nathan. "Do you not even care? Or are you truly a heartless bastard?"

Nathan should have been scared at the look in Lucas's eyes. It was beyond any known realm of anger. But Nathan ignored it and kept on pushing.

"Do you not care? Peyton's in the hospital and you're out here at the river court!"

Nathan saw the punch coming and ducked it easily. He let out a laugh and didn't feel guilty as he watched Lucas's face turn into an emotionless mask.

"Oh, defensive there big brother! You know I'm right!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucas demanded angrily, his hands curled into loose fists at his side. "Do you not give a damn that you could have killed Peyton? That right now she might be dead and you're laughing your head off?"

"Maybe," Nathan said knowing that it would make his brother mad.

He didn't see the punch. One second he was standing up straight and the next he was flat on his ass, staring up at the dark sky as rain pelted him with a bloody nose.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is," Lucas said shaking his hand. "But whatever it is, you better snap out of it fast before you get yourself hurt."

He began to walk away. Nathan should have left it alone, but the weird funk he was in urged him to get to his feet and tackle Lucas down to the cold, wet cement.

"You think you're self-righteous and so right," he growled as he slammed his fist into Lucas's face. "But you're really not."

Fear slipped into Lucas's eyes for a brief moment before it vanished. Nathan felt proud that he had put that fear there as he landed another punch on his brother's face.

"Get the hell off me," Lucas commanded pushing at his brother's chest with his hands.

Nathan did as he was told, jumping off Lucas and waiting for his brother to stumble to his feet before landing a swift kick to Lucas's ribs. Nathan felt perverse pleasure when he heard Lucas grunt in pain.

"You think you're so strong, but you're really not," Nathan taunted as he punched Lucas again.

He was surprised by the intensity of the punch that came out of left field and slammed into his skull. Nathan blacked out for a moment and when he came to; Lucas was standing over him with a worried yet pissed off look on his face. It was enough to send Nathan over the edge again.

"Don't act like you really care about me," he spat anger taking the place of pleasure. He didn't know why, but his moods were all over the place. He was past caring as he got to his feet.

"I don't want to hurt you, Nathan," Lucas said backing away. "I don't want to fight you. Not when you're out of your mind like this."

"I'm fine!" Nathan yelled kicking out with his right leg and connecting with Lucas's bad leg. He grinned devilishly as Lucas let out a groan.

"What the hell are you on?" the elder Scott demanded stumbling as he tried to regain his balance. Nathan threw another punch at him and laughed again as Lucas fell to the ground.

"There are many names for it, but my favorite is opium," he said. "It gives you that happy feeling inside and makes the world seem less problematic then it really is."

Lucas's face was beyond shocked as he stared up at his brother. Nathan laughed evilly as Lucas struggled to get to his feet.

"How long have you been on it?" he asked. Pain marred his features and somewhere, in the deep recesses of Nathan's mind, he knew it wasn't just physical. The elder Scott brother was blaming himself for Nathan's use of an illegal drug.

"Not long," Nathan said purposely not giving a straight answer as he decided where his next best target would be. He swung his hand back but Lucas grabbed it before Nathan could do any damage.

"How. Long."

"Long enough to realize that the people who made it illegal are asshats," Nathan said elbowing Lucas in the jaw as he struggled to get free from Lucas's steely grip. "Kind of like everyone here."

Lucas let out a hiss of pain as Nathan's foot connected to his knee, dislodging it from its proper spot. Still, the arms binding the youngest Scott would not let go.

"You're the asshat," Lucas muttered. "If you think opium is going to solve your problems."

"Oh and talking to you or that little bitch… what's her name… Haley- would? You've got to be kidding me."

"What happened to you Nathan? What happened while you were in Virginia?"

"Let go of me and maybe I'll tell you."

Nathan hadn't been expecting that to actually work, but Lucas instantly released the hold he had on his younger brother.

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to tell you anything," Nathan said laughing as he raised his fist again and slammed it into Lucas's exposed stomach. The elder Scott brother doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Nathan, don't," he grit out as the younger brother turned to leave. "Don't do this to yourself. It won't fix anything."

"If you think I'm going to listen to you, then you have another think coming," Nathan said with another laugh. He turned and walked away, leaving Lucas in the pouring rain.

Lucas closed his eyes, trying to steel himself against the pain both physical and mental. How could he have missed the signs that Nathan was on opium? Was he really that horrible of a brother? Was he really that involved in his own life, that he didn't even notice the fact that his brother wasn't himself?

"Lucas!"

Lucas blinked and whipped his head around, instantly regretting the action when pain flooded through him. He barely managed to school his features and hide the agony as Haley walked on to the river court.

"Are you okay?"

Damn best friends. They always saw right through you and seemed to always know when things went wrong.

"Not really," Lucas admitted putting a hand on his chest and trying to relieve the pain. His anxiety level spiked when his chest tightened and it became harder to breathe.

"Relax," Haley was saying from far away. "You're going to be okay. Lucas? Just breathe. It's going to be okay."

He attempted to respond to what she was saying, but everything that had happened over the course of the past two hours caught up to him. He was distantly aware of Haley calling his name before everything went black.

Brooke sighed for the billionth time that night as Stephen finally put down his magazine and looked at her. He gave her what she thought was supposed to resemble a reassuring smile, but it came out more like a twisted grimace. She appreciated the gesture, though.

He stood up and stretched for a moment, before crossing the waiting room and sitting next to Brooke.

"You look like you need someone to talk to," he said.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long night."

"Everything will be okay," he said. "Peyton will be okay. Your baby will be okay. I promise."

"How do you do that?" she asked yawning hugely.

"Do what?" Stephen asked with a small smile.

"Go from being such a dick that screwed things up royally to being a really nice guy who knows exactly what to say?" she asked blinking heavily.

"It's all apart of my charm," he said with a soft smile. "I really am sorry for causing all of this. I don't think I've said that enough yet."

"You're almost there," Brooke said with a small smile of her own. "A few hundred more times and you'll get there. It wasn't your fault, though. You didn't ask for Peyton to get hit by that car."

"It was still my fault that she had to go out there in the first place," Stephen said guiltily.

"Don't do that," Brooke admonished. "Don't blame yourself for everything. It's annoying."

"Even when it's true?"

"Especially when it's not."

They both stared at each other stonily. Brooke opened her mouth to say something, but the entrance of Dr. Richardson cut her off.

"Family of Peyton Sawyer?"

Yep… double whammy of a cliffhanger. I figured I need to retake my title as Queen of Cliffhangers seeing as I haven't been around recently to protect it. That's what three cliffhangers in two days? I amaze myself sometimes.

So… the author's note should be up soon and address some things that need addressing. Until then, review and let me know what you think!!