Peyton had just had her last final of the semester and was in a floral shop just off campus, looking for the perfect proposal flowers. She was going to take Jake to the River Court, which was where they had hung out when they were in high school. And where they'd shared their first kiss in junior high. Sure, they'd been experimenting, but a first kiss was a first kiss. She had been practicing shooting baskets from the free throw line all week, and she finally thought she had it down. She was going to drag Jake out there with a basketball and stand behind the free throw line. "If this basket goes in, you marry me," she was going to say. Simple. Just like her relationship with him. It had even started off simple. One second they were friends, the next second they were making out on his living room couch and then boom! They were a couple. And just like that—boom! They'd be married. Peyton had never been more sure of anything in her entire life. She thought she'd been destined to spend it alone, but that had all changed with Jake and Jenny. She wanted Jake to be her husband, and she wanted Jenny to be her daughter. She shook herself from her thoughts, but she couldn't shake the smile that was on her face, and she didn't want to. For once, she wanted to look like a fool in love.
Peyton finally decided on red roses—simple and classic, just like her and Jake. Perfect for the occasion. She paid for the flowers and then gently placed them in the trunk of her car next to the box with the basketball in it. She knew it was childish, but she'd written Peyton Loves Jake on it and had drawn a picture of them, her with him standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled when she remembered doing it. She had smiled the whole time, knowing that he loved little romantic gestures like that.
She knew that Jakes mom had Jenny this afternoon, so she was going to go to the apartment and ask Jake to go for a ride with her. She didn't want him to see the flowers because she didn't want him to be tipped off.
Still grinning like the fool she knew she was, Peyton got into the driver's seat of her car and headed for the beach house. Once she reached her destination and was in the driveway, Peyton looked into the mirror to make sure she looked perfect. She smoothed her hair and freshened her lip gloss, and then pinched her cheeks for a little extra color, even though she was pretty sure she didn't need it. She got out of the car and practically skipped up the driveway. She felt so carefree. She knocked on the door and a minute later, Jake opened it. He was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, and he looked like he'd been up all night. The expression on his face was glum. I can change that, she thought. She smiled and walked closer to Jake, wrapping her arms around his waist. "What's the matter, baby?" she asked. When he didn't say anything and she didn't feel his arms around her, she took a step back. "Jake, what's wrong? Is everything OK?" she asked, worried now.
"Peyton—we need to talk," he said.
"Is it Jenny?" Peyton asked. "My God—is she OK?"
Jake shook his head. "Jenny's fine. Come on in," he said. Peyton followed him into the living room and had a seat on the couch. "Jake—what's going on?" she asked, desperate now to know.
Jake cleared his throat and sighed deeply. "Peyton, I don't think we should see each other anymore," he blurted out with no preamble.
Peyton slowly shook her head and her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Ok," she said quietly, standing up and feeling like a complete idiot. She had wanted to marry this man. She started for the door.
"Peyton, do you want to talk about this?" he asked.
She shook her head no. "Good-bye, Jake," she said softly, standing up. "Tell Jenny that I love her. And that I'll miss her." She closed the door gently behind her.
Peyton returned to her car, barely able to see through the onslaught of tears. Quickly wiping her eyes, she started her car and drove off. She wanted to be far, far away from Jake. She started for the apartment and stopped on the way to drop the roses and the basketball in a dumpster behind a restaurant. Any chance of Peyton being Jake's wife was gone. But Peyton the fool was still very much alive, she thought to herself. Unbelievable. People always leave, she thought. In one way or another.
This time—it was going to be her.
888
While Brooke was packing to go home for Christmas, Haley was lying on her bed to keep her company. It was only 4 days away now, and Lucas and Laney were going home with her to meet her parents. Brooke was hoping that for once, they'd follow through. She loved her parents, but unfortunately their word didn't mean a whole lot to her. They'd promised to be there multiple times in the past but had never complied. She was hoping that this year it would be different. She was hoping that this year—they'd be there. She was going through her closet and drawers trying to decide what she was going to bring home with her. Haley looked on in amazement at Brooke's packing skills. She'd never seen anyone that was able to fit 8 outfits, shoes and accessories for each outfit included, into one suitcase. "So you're flight is leaving tomorrow morning at 8 a. m.?" Haley asked. Brooke grinned and nodded. "This is the first time we're going to be apart since we met," Haley said, sadness in her voice.
Brooke laughed. "Haley James, are you going to miss me?" she asked.
Haley nodded. "But not for long," she said, cheering up. "At least I'll be in Maine with my parents. And some of my siblings. Maine, ugh. Why did my parents have to choose to spend Christmas in Maine, of all places? My brothers and sisters are spread out all over the country. I wanted to go to Tennessee!" she said.
"To make your big debut?" Brooke joked, referring to their karaoke night on Haley's 21st birthday.
Haley laughed. "No way. That was a once in a lifetime thing for me," she said. "I have absolutely no desire to sing."
"Well, you should think about it," Brooke said. "You're an amazing singer, Hales."
"Thanks," Haley said.
"OK," Brooke said. "I think 8 outfits for 4 days is plenty, don't you?" Brooke asked.
Haley laughed. "I think that 4 outfits for 4 days is plenty," she said.
Brooke rolled her eyes. "I need to be prepared for any situation, Haley. OK," she said, closing her suitcase, "I need you to sit on this suitcase for me," she told Haley.
"What?"
"Well, it's really full," Brooke said. "And it's not going to zip itself. Come on, Hales."
Haley sighed and got up, walking over to the suitcase. She sat down on it. "Good," Brooke said. "Now try to put all of you weight on this side—ok, now the other side—ok, now in the middle—ok, now bounce a few times. Great!" Brooke exclaimed, finally getting it zipped all the way. She clapped her hands once. "Simple as that!" she exclaimed.
Haley sighed. There was nothing simple about it.
They both looked at each other as they heard the front door open and close. "She's back early," Haley said.
"Wasn't she supposed to propose to Jake today?" Brooke asked.
Haley nodded and the two hurried into the kitchen. Peyton was standing in front of the closed refrigerator taking a sip of her water. When she turned around, her eyes were red and swollen. "Peyton, what happened?" Brooke asked concern evident in her voice.
"Jake broke up with me," she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Peyton," Brooke said, her voice filled with pain at what she knew her friend was going through.
"Oh, my God," Haley said. "After you proposed?" she asked.
Peyton shook her head. "Luckily I didn't get to do that before he said he didn't want to be with me anymore."
"I'll get the ice cream," Haley said.
Peyton shook her head. "I don't want ice cream," she said, softly. No amount of ice cream was going to fix this.
"Peyton—"Brooke said.
Peyton shrugged. "It's not a big deal," she said. "Things happen."
"Peyton, this is a big deal. Don't you dare act like it's not. You just got your heart broken!" Brooke said, anger now in her voice.
"What I got was a lesson learned," Peyton said. "I should have known not to let myself get involved like that."
Haley swallowed past the lump in her throat, knowing that nothing she could say would bring her friend any comfort.
"I'm gonna go lay down," Peyton said.
"Peyton, you need to talk about this," Brooke said.
"I don't want to talk, Brooke. It's in the past now."
"It was half an hour ago!" Brooke said.
"Yeah, well, half an hour ago is in the past. And it's my past, and I said I don't want to talk about it!" Peyton reiterated, exiting the room.
Haley and Brooke looked at each other. "She's shutting down," Brooke said, rubbing her temples. "This isn't good, Hales. She's gonna run," Brooke said knowingly.