Chapter 26

Peyton and I

Hilarie's POV

I still remembered that special day, the day I met Peyton.

"Hil! Eat your breakfast first before going to school." My mother's aunt shouted.

"I'm really, really late, I have to go now." I ran towards my father. "Dad, hurry. I'm late." I pulled his shirt.

"I know. But it's your fault, chicken. You got up late this morning." My father smiled. Chicken? My father had called me that since forever and I didn't remember why.

"You should eat some. Anna reminded me many times that I should force you to eat something before you left home. You know your health is not good." She scolded.

"I know, Betty. But I have a sugar box. Bye." I peck her on the cheek.

"Keep your breakfast and lunch. Take it when you get any break." She grasped me and put a bag of food into my hand.

"OK. I will." I hurriedly hopped into my dad's car.

I have a disease called hypoglycemia, which basically means I have a low blood sugar level. Although it was not serious, it prevented me to do some activities requiring a lot of energy such as sports or stress. However, I loved to play volleyball and my parents allowed me to participate in my school team. My team would compete with other schools' teams in the next week. So my friends and I had to practice every day to prepare for that competition.

"When will mom come back home, dad? I miss her so much." I asked my dad. My mom went to San Francisco for the annual Cancer Research Conference 4 days ago. And my mother's aunt, Betty Ross, came to our house to take care of me.

"Tomorrow, my dear. Hey, you have to eat something before practice. If not, you may faint due to decrease of glucose. If something happens to you, your mom will tear me into pieces." My dad seriously said. His car stopped in front of my school.

"I will, dad." I ran into my school gym. And I forgot to eat my breakfast.

"Hilarie, you look so pale. How do you feel?" My coach asked me when my team took 15 minutes of break.

I felt cold and my body trembled. I took the sugar box out of my bag and chewed several sugar cubes. It seemed to be too late. I fainted.

When I regained my consciousness, I notice that I was in the hospital. My coach brought me there. I got up and about to leave the room. A nurse smiled with me, "Do you feel any better?"

"Yes, I'm fine now. Can I walk around here?"

"Of course."

After strolling around the hospital, I felt weary in my legs. I came back my room to wait for my dad. 'How come he hasn't come here to take me home yet? Maybe he's still in surgical ward.' Suddenly, I saw my dad. His hand was wrapping around a girl's shoulder in the lounge of the hospital. 'Who is she?' I thought.

"Dad, I'm here." I shouted and wave my hand to him.

He looked at me and then looked at the girl. There was something wrong with him. I walked towards them.

"What's wrong, dad?"

The girl's head turned towards me. We gasped once seeing each other. It seemed that we looked at ourselves through a mirror, well except the hair colour, she was blonde and I was a deep brunette.

She smiled first. "Hi, are you Uncle Larry's daughter? I'm Peyton Scott."

"Hi, I'm Hilarie Burton."

We had become friends, best friends, and good sisters since that day.

I felt sorry for her. Peyton was so lonely. Her father, Uncle Keith sent her to our family to take care of her and to treat her heart disease. Although she usually smiled, I knew she missed her family very much.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters, Peyt?" I asked.

"I have two sisters and one brother."

"Why have I never seen they come here to visit you? Neither has your father."

Peyton told me about the fortune-teller's words. It was so weird. I was surprised that it was still existed in our century. She had lost her family because of the so-called fortune-teller. I knew that Peyton didn't believe in his words, but she didn't want her father to worry. Although we were 14 years old, she was very brave and mature when comparing with me. She told me everything about her family, how her brother and her oldest sister took care of her when she was home – Tree Hill. I liked to hear her stories and felt close to Lucas, Rachel, Haley, and other her family members although I had never seen them. One day, I saw she looked at her family picture, and quietly cried. I had never seen her cried before.

"What happens, Peyt?" I worriedly asked.

"My brother left our house…" Peyton answered me through her tears.

My heart skipped a few beats when hearing Lucas' bad news. I didn't know why.

"It's my fault, Hil. If my mom were still alive, my family would have been very happy. I shouldn't have been born." Peyton always thought that her mother's death was her fault.

"Don't be silly sweetie. It's not your fault okay!" I hugged her. My heart became heavy but why? Because of her, or because of Lucas?

"Who are they?" I gave her soft tissues

"This is my father, Rachel, Haley, and Lucas…"

I didn't know why he looked familiar to me. It seemed I knew him for ages. Maybe it was Peyton's stories that gave me that feeling? I spent a sleepless night because I felt worried about him. What did he do after leaving home? Would he accomplish his dream? OMG why did I think so much about him? 'You are just 14, don't think about love!' I reminded myself. But I couldn't help myself.

We hadn't had any Lucas' news since that day. Peyton worried and me too. I decided to call Peyton's father to ask about Lucas. He was so surprised when hearing a strange girl's voice. I had hated Peyton's father. But after contacting with him, I changed my mind, he really loved her. And I became a bridge between father and daughter. One day he asked me to call him 'dad' because I was like Peyton's sister and he also wanted me to be his god daughter. I felt warm and happy. I called him dad since that day.

Peyton became my beloved god sister. She dared her life for me. I remembered I had a quarrel with my parents when they discovered that I chose forensic science as my major instead of premed and medicine as they hoped. I told Peyton I had applied for some scholarships. But if my application failed, I might stop studying 1year and one find a job for my tuition fee. Peyton begged my parents to accept my decision. She had been outside in a cold temperature for several hours to wait for my parents' answer until she collapsed. Finally, my parents were so touched by her action, they accepted my decision, but Peyton spent one month in hospital because her health was in critical condition.

Besides Peyton, I had another best friend - Julian. I met him in the George Washington University. I heard my friends called him a player. But he was so sweet and nice to me. He treated me like his sister. I also loved him like my older brother. I felt very happy because I had both sister and brother whom I could share my thoughts to. I didn't know how Peyton found out about my love for Lucas. But she told me she liked to call me 'sister in law' and I could meet him soon on her birthday. I was embarrassed, but very excited. Our dream would become true, Peyton would reunite with her family and I would meet him. But everything turned down. 3 months before Peyton's birthday, my godfather died. My dad and I tried to hide his death from her. But we didn't know how she got that bad news and fainted. Her heart became worst. She had to have heart surgery 3 months earlier than her surgical schedule. Before being anaesthetized, she asked me to take care of her family especially Lucas and make her siblings forgive her fault if she died.

"Don't talk about death, Peyton. You have to live. You promised me you would be our matchmaker. I can't allow you to die." I burst into tears.

"Please, try to make him take care of our company, Hil. It's my dad and my last wish. I know you are very strong. Nothing can make you give up." She smiled.

I lost her. She didn't wake up after surgery and died after 2 days. I felt as if the sky collapsed upon me. I had been lonely and depressed for 2 months. Julian left the school after graduation and disappeared without leaving me any message. I had nobody. Without my godfather and Peyton, how could I meet Lucas? But I never gave up. I decided to come to Tree Hill to make my dream and Peyton's wishes come true. I told my father about my decision. I would disguise myself as Peyton, because I would have more opportunities to contact with Peyton's siblings if I lived in their house. He promised that he would hide Peyton's death and support me strongly.

I left Washington D.C and came to Tree Hill.