"This…it's…" Haley shook her head from her position on the floor next to Brooke. She watched as the other brunette took her tear stained gaze off the floor and looked her in the eye, waiting for her to continue. "…it's sad and pathetic…I mean that Peyton's sick, she's been sick, and she needs us, but it took cancer to make us all stop fighting."

"Wait…where do you get off...saying…anything at all to me about that." Brooke's eyes turned cold as she immediately got defensive.

"Brooke…I'm not trying to blame you for anything…I'm not trying to start anything with you…I was just saying. Peyton's been sick, and still none of us could put stupid things from high school behind us and pull together when she needed us…I'm saying all of us our at fault."

"Why should I have befriend you…it's not like you were talking to her anyway. Honestly Haley, I'm shocked you came this close to her room, that you're not sitting in the waiting room because you're too…whatever you're busy being, to talk to her. So if you want to point the finger at anyone, point it at yourself." Brooke got to her feet, wiping the tears from her face. "God how stupid am I…I was actually sitting here talking to you like we were friends…"

"I'm not pointing the finger at anyone…I said all of us Brooke…that means all of us…"

"No Haley…you are pointing the finger…you're the one that couldn't put a grudge behind you…not me. Nathan and I don't talk…but we don't argue either so to be perfectly honest…Nate and I are the same exact way we were in high school. Lucas and I…we were civil to each other…we did our best not to argue around her, but there was a lot of history there…too much just shove aside over night…but eventually we did let it go. You wanna be mad at Peyton for just dropping off Alex without saying anything…fine…go ahead, but what the hell were you pissed at me about…because I hurt your best friend…news flash Haley…he hurt me too….but either way…I never did anything to you…you were the one that bit my head off the moment you saw me."

"I'm sorry…the same need you had to be protective of Peyton that day…I had that need for Alex. I didn't know why Peyton left…I just know that she did and that she lied to me for years only to drop Alex off on my doorstep and never call again. I was pissed at you because you were on her side…"

"No one else was…she was alone in this Haley. Sure she had Amy, but when she came home…there was no one on her side…" she buried her head in her hands, tears streaking rapidly down her cheeks. "It's no wonder she's giving up…she's been fighting for all us…not her friends…just a bunch of people who feel sorry for her…" Haley opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when she saw Lucas step out of Peyton's room.

"She just went to sleep…actually she cried herself to sleep…" his accusing gaze shifted down to Brooke. "She won't talk to me…and I'm not gunna push her right now….but you, what the hell was that Brooke, because from the conversation we had early, you're the last person I thought would upset her…"

"I didn't mean to upset her Luke…it's just…" she didn't know how to explain this to him, mostly because she didn't wanna be the one to tell him that Peyton was ready to call it quits.

"What…it's just what Brooke…" he was genuinely confused, he had tried getting Peyton to talk to him, to tell him what was going on, but she just turned away from him. Now Brooke was keeping quiet too. "Will someone please tell me what's going on…"

"She's tired Luke..." it was Haley that spoke up, she hated to be the one to tell him, but she knew Brooke wasn't going to do it. "I told you that before…I told you that things could get worse…we all knew this wasn't going to be easy…but we're not the ones going through it…so if it's this hard for all of us…just imagine what it's doing to Peyton…" She forced herself to look at him and she could see the tears building behind his eyes. "She's doesn't wanna do this anymore Luke."

"But the chemo could work…it has to work…" the desperation in his voice broke both of the girls' hearts.

"After the abortion…she's not going back on the chemo…" Brooke glanced at him quickly before shifting her eyes back to the floor. "I wasn't trying to upset her in there…but I wasn't expecting her to tell me that she was done. I mean we finally get a piece of good news, we find out that she doesn't have cancer, but it doesn't matter because she's ready to die…and she wants us to be okay with it and I don't how to be."

"No…Brooke that makes no sense…she…."

"Luke stop…" Haley cut him off as she got to her feet. She slowly walked up to him and hesitantly took his hand in her…the last time they had a conversation like this he had snapped at her. "…it's not fair to her. She 's been battling this thing for a while now, and it's been unimaginably hard for her. The chemo's just been making her feel worse…I don't like it, but I can't blame her for just wanting all of this to go away…"

"Unbelievable…" Haley's face contorted in confusion as she locked eyes with her best friend. "I didn't expect his from you…I mean, I knew you were pissed off about everything that happened before…about things with Alex…but why can't you just let shit go."

"Lucas…" it was Brooke that spat out his name in shock just as Haley retracted her

hand. She knew he wasn't going to like what she said, but she never though he would say something like that…that he would even think it.

"No…Peyton fucked up and Haley's always wanted her to pay for it. You hated her Hales…you wanted her gone the minute you knew she was back in town…it took a few months but apparently you found the perfect way to get what you want…" the blonde shook his head with a disgusted scuff before turning and walking back into Peyton's room.

"I get that he's upset, but does he have to be such an ass." Haley ran a hand through her hair as Brooke stood up next to her.

"He's hurting Hales…really bad. He can't face this, he refuses to even try…"

"Well he better start trying…I don't want anything bad to happen, but he's gotta be prepared if something does go wrong."

"But I think ignoring the gravity of the situation is what helps him get through the day…" Brooke wiped the tears from under her eyes as she glanced toward the room door.

"I know that, but she's stopping the treatment…he can't make her go through chemo…so he has no choice but to deal with this. No one wants her to give up, but we can't force her to keep going. She got sick…this isn't something that she bought on herself, so we can't tell her to just suck it up and push through."

"Why not…I know how tired she is of all this…but maybe the chemo will work after the abortion. This pregnancy had to be physically demanding on her…so without all the extra stress on her body maybe things will turn around and get better…she should at least give it one more try…"

"She doesn't wanna give it one more try Brooke…she's been giving it one more try and each try just seems to make her worse…" both of their voice has been getting steadily louder with each word.

"You know what…maybe Lucas was right about you…" Haley's jaw dropped and Brooke just glared at her. "What did you and Peyton talk about yesterday…she was still willing to fight this thing and then she has some eye opening talk with you and suddenly she's calling it quits and you want everyone to accept it…what happened Haley…did you start hinting at stopping the treatments…and then you told her what a great idea it was and how she had your support on this. Is that why you chose to talk to her finally…"

The shorter brunette had a heavy flow of tears falling from her eyes. She didn't want Peyton to die…that was the last thing she wanted to happen. She wished that all of this would just go away…that they would wake up in the morning and the anemia would magically be gone and they could live happily ever after….Lucas, Peyton and Alex could be the perfect little family they always should have been…everyone would be happy for once. But the problem was that neither of them had spent the morning listening to Peyton admit to how miserable she was. Peyton had only opened up to Haley…and as much as the brunette wanted her friend to stay strong and keep fighting, she had never see anyone as heartbroken and devastated as Peyton had been this morning. Peyton had been fighting, but there comes a point when you just can't fight anymore, a point when you don't have anything left in you, when you're hanging on for dear life but you've already lost all hope…and hope's what keeps people going, what give them the courage to get out bed in the morning, what can you expect from someone who's lost it, someone whose dangerously close to being dead inside.

Haley didn't have a response for the girl standing in front of her…first Lucas and now Brooke…how could either one of them think so low of her. All she wanted right now was to be in the comfort of her husband's arms, because even if it was for only a little while, he would make it better. She spun on her heel and made her way toward the elevator, she didn't know where Nathan was, but she just needed to get away from there.

"Haley…" Brooke called out as she watched the devastated girl walk down the hall…she hadn't meant to say those things…she just didn't wanna hear any of what Haley was saying, whether it was true of not. She had no clue what to do about any of this and so she lashed out at the first person possible, even if the retreating girl didn't deserve any of it. "Haley I'm sorry…" she called out, but the apology fell on deaf ears as Haley stepped into the elevator, her eyes staying glued to the floor. Brooke watched as the steel doors shut before she fell back against the cold wall, sliding back down into her previous position, her a waterfall of tears streaming from her red eyes.