BRIEF NOTES:

Thank you again for the reviews. :D I'm glad a lot of people like the story.

The chapter is entirely Lucas and Peyton – and the apology of a lifetime. I hope it meets the expectations. If not, well… it's how I pictured it so I really can't apologize for that.

Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Tree Hill.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

He gritted his teeth and tried his hardest to walk slowly to the front door. The combination of excitement, fear, anxiety, and anticipation made him want to run in different directions.

But he wouldn't. Not now – not again.

Night had fallen by the time Lucas had gotten back to Tree Hill. It wasn't that late, but it was late enough to know that any pleasantries he might exchange with other people would have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight, he reserved for Peyton.

First things first, he thought as he rang the doorbell.

He half-expected Derek to open the door for him again; so, to see his primary intention standing in front of him and carrying a look that could only be described as bewilderment was a surprise.

It was too surprising that he almost didn't catch the door that was about to slam in his face.

"Peyton, please. I just – I just want to apologize." He pleaded as his foot stuck between the door and its frame.

The door opened again, and the woman on the other end looked at him hesitantly. He prayed that she would see his sincerity.

Thankfully, she did. "Oustide" she said. She shoved his foot out and led him to the bench on the front porch where she took a seat, not bothering to offer him the space beside her. She wasn't looking at him, her eyes were unfocused at she was biting at her lip – a sure sign that she was worried.

Peyton Sawyer had matured, that much he could see; but deep down, it gave him a sense of satisfaction to realize that he still knew her – every action and mannerism.

A moment had passed before he decided to speak. "I'll take care of him."

Confusion clouded her eyes, causing her to look up at him. "What?"

He looked at her intently. "That's what you said when you called me the first time. You said you'd take care of him – Robby. I hadn't remembered it clearly until a few weeks ago, when Derek said the exact same thing to Haley over the phone."

Lucas could tell that she wasn't catching the drift of the conversation. He decided to elaborate his point. "About two and a half weeks ago, your brother came to see me at the river court. We had a little talk, but it was interrupted by Haley's call. I didn't know what they were talking about, but the last words he said to her was 'I'll take care of him.' When he said it, everything came rushing back; only that time, everything was clearer."

She looked away again. "Took you long enough." She muttered resentfully.

Her hostility was a dagger to his heart, but he knew he deserved it. He knelt in front of her so that she would have no choice but to look him in the eye as he delivered his next statement.

"I hurt you."

Peyton closed her eyes again. A solitary tear fell. It rent his heart to see her anguish. It pierced him even more knowing that he caused it all.

"I hurt you a lot, Peyton… and I could try and proclaim a thousand 'I'm sorrys' everyday and I know that still wouldn't be enough to cover the crap I put you through. But right now, I have nothing else. I am sorry, Peyt – and I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me for hurting you like I did."

By then the tears had started to flow freely from her; just as well, he had started to shed some of his own. But he wasn't done – not by a long shot. He decided to test the waters by placing his hand on her forearm, hoping to god she wouldn't jerk it away.

He released a breath he didn't know he held when she didn't pull away.

"I was messed up… I let Dan get the best of me because I held on when everybody else was trying to move forward. Because of it, I had almost become just as hung up as he was. I went to Raleigh – to Wake Central – to visit him; it took me a while, but it was time to let it go."

He was looking down when he narrated the story, and he hadn't noticed the she was looking at him now – admiration expressed softly in her eyes.

He looked up at her, and their eyes locked.

"I don't want to keep hurting you anymore, Peyton."

He could almost see flashbacks of painful memories run through her; memories he intended to make up for.

"But I also know that running away from what's meant to be isn't going to cure that."

She was caught off-guard. Her mouth gaped.

"It may be hard for you to believe this right now, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I love you, Peyton. I do. I never wanted to hurt you, and nothing I'll every say or do is going to erase the fact that I did. But what I can do is try to make things right, for you… for Robby… for us."

Peyton had suddenly become irritated. "If you think that I can just let you waltz back into my life after --"

He interrupted her rant. "I don't. I know I have a lot of work cut out for me. But I also know that Brooke was right when she said people who are meant to be always find their way in the end. That's you and me, Peyton. No matter how this goes, I know that you and I are meant to be. But I'm not going to ask you to take me back… not right now, anyway. I have pieces of me to pick up, and I can't ask you to just stand around when I do that."

He sighed and continued, "What I am asking for, is a chance to do right by you – both of you. I know you and everyone else probably think that I don't deserve it, and maybe you're right. But if you gave me that opportunity, I'm going to commit myself to it and I will try my hardest not to let you down. I want to be the man – maybe someday the boyfriend and hopefully the husband – you deserve, Peyt. And I want to be the father our son deserves. And I can promise you that I will be, even if it takes me two lifetimes over to prove it."

Peyton Sawyer wanted to be angry. She wanted to slap him a thousand times just so he could get a tiny glimpse of how it felt when he threw back the hurtful words he said before. She wanted to kick and scream until her body lost all energy.

But one look in those sad blue eyes, and she was lost all over again.

She wasn't ready, though. She couldn't let him back in just yet. The pain of the memories that haunted her was still a little too raw, and she was still teetering on the edge of doubt.

"I can't let you in to my life yet, Lucas… and I won't promise you that I'll wait forever for you to be better."

He thought she had misunderstood him. Lucas readily defended himself. "I'm not asking you to do that for me, Peyt. I know it takes a while to heal, but I also know that I won't let myself mess things up with you again. I love you, I do. I know saying it isn't going to make things go away, but you have to hear them, Peyton. Because it's all that I have… you're all that I have."

She let go of a deep, sad sigh.

"I won't hold my breath, Luc. But I'm not stupid enough to take you away from Robby. He needs you. I am telling you though… hurt him again and --"

"I won't." He said it with great resolve even she believed it.

She pulled away from his grasp and stood up. He followed suit, looking at her with such haunting eyes.

"Just… just don't mess this up." She commanded… and half-pleaded.

His smile expressed his relief. This was a start, and he was willing to take anything he could get. He couldn't however, restrain himself as joy overwhelmed him and he pulled her in for a hug. While she stood stiff in his arms, he decided to wing it and whisper in her ear.

"I won't disappoint you."

Lucas left a very speechless Peyton in her front porch. He practically skipped his way to the car. Tomorrow was the first day of his lifetime.