A/N: Sorry for the wait. Things have been crazy lately. But here it is as promised. A much longer chapter and we finally hear Carley's story. Hope you enjoy it!

Sidenote: I know according to the WB the cast on OTH is supposed to be about 15 or 16 and sophomores but I seriously cannot see sophomores going through what they went through on the first season. So I've put them at about 17-18 and this is their summer before senior year. Sorry if there's any confusion!

She Will Be Loved..... Chapter 3

"Making Ends with the Past"

Lucas awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. As he slowly made his way out of bed and into the kitchen, he began thinking about Carley.

'I can't believe she used to live in Tree Hill. How come I never saw her around? Oh well...I guess I'll get to know her now,' he thought.

"Lucas! Hurry up if you want any of this!" Keith yelled as he took 2 pieces of toast out of the toaster and added them to the plate sitting on the table.

"Keith? You can cook?" Lucas asked with a smile on his face, sitting down and putting 3 pieces of bacon on his plate.

"Oh shut up and just eat it. If you want to eat you're gonna have to deal with it." Together, the two finished eating their breakfast as Keith read the newspaper, passing each section along to Lucas when he was done.

"So Keith, what are your plans for today?" Lucas asked, reading over the Sports section.

"Well, I have an appointment with the principal at the high school and then I get to start preparing my lesson plan for the year," Keith replied, downing his fourth piece of toast. Lucas laughed and Keith gave him a questioning look.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just weird hearing you talk about 'school' and 'lesson plans'... something I'm gonna have to get used to I guess."

"And you?" Keith asked. "What are you planning to do here all by yourself?"

"Well actually, I was going to unpack a little...maybe read some...play some basketball....stop by the diner...nothing big," Lucas said.

"Lucas, be careful at the diner. I don't want you getting too involved with Carley," Keith said, a serious look on his face.

"When did I say I was getting involved with Carley? I just met the girl! I don't know anything about her!"

"That's the point Lucas! Did you think maybe there was a reason Carley left Tree Hill?" Keith asked.

"What do you know Keith?" Lucas asked. "What are you hiding?"

"Look...if you want to know about her, you're going to have to ask her," Keith said, standing up from the table and picking up the now empty plates.

"Okay fine... I will." Lucas got up also, and began walking towards the bathroom. Moments later, Keith heard the shower cut on and he shook his head.

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Carley's morning had begun with three angry customers waiting for their coffee.

"Carley, you're late! You better get a move on before I lose customers!" Jerry, her boss and owner of the diner, yelled from the kitchen.

"Sorry sorry sorry! I overslept!," she said, running behind the counter and tying her apron on in record speed. Within seconds, the three customers were now sipping their coffee and Carley was catching her breath. Five minutes later Jerry walked out of the kitchen.

"Carley, I can't have this being late thing. I have customers who are regulars and they're not gonna wait for some 16 year old who can't set her alarm," Jerry told her, checking to make sure the napkin holders on the counter were full.

"I know! I know.... It's just been bad lately," Carley replied, wiping off the counter.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that Carley but I have a business I'm trying to run. And if I can't count on one of my waitresses...then I guess I'll have to find a new one." Carley's eyes widened. "BUT... I can't afford to lose you. They love you here. But one more accident and I'm gonna have to let you go." And with that, Jerry walked back to the kitchen to make sure everything was running smoothly. Carley breathed a sigh of relief and went back to her wonderful job as head waitress at Jerry's Lunch-In.

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5 hours and $47 in tips later, Carley was exhausted and finished with her day at work. Just as she began walking out the door, Lucas walked up.

"Hey Carley!" he yelled from down the sidewalk, watching Carley walk in the other direction. She quietly groaned to herself when she heard his voice.

"Hey," she said, turning around and facing him as he jogged towards her. She pulled her hoodie closer to her as she slowly walked.

"You finished for the day?" Lucas asked, walking alongside her.

"Yea, I'm finished....until tomorrow when it all starts up again," she replied, looking at the ground. 'God get me out of here!' she yelled in her mind.

"Well if you're not doing anything I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go grab something to eat with me. Unless you'd like to play for it first or something.." Lucas said with a smile.

"Lucas....I don't know if that's such a good idea..." Carley said slowly. Lucas looked at her questioningly.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Let's not talk about it here okay?" Carley asked, looking around her. She spotted the car she was looking for and turned back to him. "We'll talk later. Umm... meet me at my house at around 5:30. There's something you need to know."

Lucas began to worry now. 'Maybe Keith was right. Maybe I didn't need to get involved with this.' But in his true Lucas instinct, he knew he had to go.

"Okay, 5:30," he said. Carley scribbled her address real quick on a piece of paper she found in her pocket.

"Doorbell's broken so just knock! And if I don't answer then just walk around back and come in that way!" Carley yelled at Lucas as she ran across the street to the car that was waiting for her. She got in and it drove away, leaving Lucas standing on the edge of the sidewalk alone with her address in his hand.

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Brooke finished putting her last shirt in duffel bag before grabbing her cell and attempting to call Carley one last time before she left. Again, she got Carley's voice mail.

"Hey it's Carley! You've reached my cell....you know what to do." Beep!

"Hey baby sis it's your loving adoring older sister wondering where you are. I'm coming to visit tonight and I was just warning you so you'll be there. But apparently you feel you're too good to turn your cell on so hopefully you'll get this before I magically appear at your doorstep. I should be there around 5:15 or 5:30 k? Love ya sis, muah!" Click. And with that Brooke grabbed her bag and a jacket and left her room.

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At 5:24, Lucas stood patiently at Carley's doorstep. He paused for a second and then knocked. Moments later he heard someone running down the stairs. Carley opened the door, out of breath.

"Hey," she said, breathing heavily.

"Heeey...," Lucas said, laughing at a bit at Carley's flushed face and ruffled hair.

"Umm.... come in! Just umm...sit down anywhere. Do you...want something to drink?" Carley said nervously.

"No no...I'm good," he replied, sitting down on the couch in the brightly decorated living room. "So...what's up? What do we need to talk about?" Carley sat down in the recliner across from him and took a deep breath. 'This is it.' she thought.

'Okay well...you know how I'm from Tree Hill?" she asked. Lucas nodded. "Well...my family still lives there. I left when I was 13 because my parents made me come here and live with my aunt and uncle."

"Why did they make you?" Lucas asked.

"Well...me and older sister are really close. We used to do almost everything together. So when my sister started hanging out with the high school crowd....I did too. And it got pretty ugly. Drinking, partying.....stuff 13 year olds shouldn't be thinking about. But it became a pattern for us. Our parents were never home so they never knew. But one night they came home early. My sister was lucky and decided to go to her best friend's house for the night but I wasn't so lucky. I came home drunk and my parents found their innocent baby girl throwing up in the pool. When my sister came home she tried to explain that she had gone too but they just thought she was covering for me. So they sent me to live here...to straighten up I guess. And it seemed to work. My aunt and uncle didn't take any of my crap and made me get a job. I've been here ever since." Lucas just sat there, absorbing everything Carley had just told him.

"So you were 13 when all of that happened? How old are you now?"

"16... my sister's 17. I've been here about three and a half years," replied Carley. Just then, there was a noise outside and moments later a knock on the door. Carley walked up and as soon as she opened the door she gasped. "Brooke what are you doing here?!"

"I've been trying to call you all day and if you had've turned on your phone you'd know. I decided to come down and visit and .....," Brooke stopped. "Lucas?" she said questioningly as she noticed him sitting on the couch.

"Heeey Brooke," he said, standing up and taking a step towards the two girls at the door. "Carley, what's going on?" he asked. Brooke looked at her sister.

"Yeah, what's going on?" she asked. Carley looked back and forth between the two before finally looking back at Lucas.

"Lucas, I believe you know Brooke..... my sister," Carley said. Lucas' mouth opened a little bit as his eyebrows went up and he stared at the two girls standing in front of him. Brooke looked at Lucas and then back at Carley who was now looking out the open door, hoping for a way out of the situation.

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So there you go! Chapter 3! Hopefully I'll have Chapter 4 up here soon because I'm leaving Saturday for a week for vacation. :)