A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's late, and I'm tired. I've been really tired lately. That's no excuse. Anyway, hope you enjoy this.

Chapter Four

Burning Away My Past

Miles from Tree Hill, I still wasn't sure where I was headed. Drive all the way back to California, or drive straight off a bridge? Neither idea was so appealing. Right now, I didn't want to think about Peyton, or Haley, or anything having to do with that dinky lil' town. Who needs em'? Not I. I had a perfectly good life back in California.kind of. The important thing was, I had gotten it all off my chest. The urgency to meet all of them-Peyton, Nathan- and the rest, was gone. Oh, who was I kidding?

I sighed, pulling my cell phone from the passenger seat. It rang three time before a small, tired voice answered, "Yes?". I rolled my eyes. She knew perfectly well who I was, but ofcourse, she felt the need to answer as if she hadn't just been pacing back and forth around the living room, worried as hell about me. I hesitated. How much harder could she possibly make this? "Mom?"

"This is ridiculous. You've got a lot of explaining to do. Do you understand me, young lady?" We were only miles from home when Nikki had spoken to me for the first time since arriving at the airport. With her hand propped up against her head, her elbow extending to the open window frame, mindlessly steering her silver bentley with her right hand (The Navigator was being personally driven back from North Carolina), her dark beady eyes glanced over at me questioningly. This however, I failed to notice because I was staring out my own window, my hands firmly folded over my stomach. "Aubrey?" She straightened up and glanced back-and-forth between the me and the road. "Are you hearing me?"

We pulled into the mansion's driveway and I quickly got out, threw my back-pack over my shoulder and stalked inside. Nikki groaned and followed. "Aubrey!" She yelled as I hurried up the stairs. I flew around, nearly losing my balance. "What?!"

"Do you realize what you've put me through today?"

"Do you expect me to feel guilty about it?" I wondered. I knew it seemed harsh, but I meant it.

"Yes," She snarled. "You're only fifteen. You don't even have a license! Do you realize how much trouble you could have gotten me into if you were caught?!"

Oh, so that's what this was about. Why should I care if she got in trouble with the law? Knowing Nikki, she could probably sleep her way out of it...

"You committed grand theft auto..." She continued, waving her hands in all directions.

"Grand theft auto! That was supposed to be my car!" I cried frustratedly.

"Well, it's mine. And I've got the papers to prove it." She challenged.

I narrowed my eyes. "Fine! You can have everything, all of it! But you don't own me!"

A smirk spread across her face. Uh oh. "Actually, I've got the papers to prove that too."

I gasped. Unbelievable! I could tell she regretted the words almost immediatley, but she was a master at hiding her emotions. I turned on my heel and stormed the rest of the way up the stairs, slamming my door shut.

Downstairs, Nikki was pulling the suitcase from her trunk, hoping it would give her an excuse to talk to Aubrey. She dragged it inside and laid it near the couch. A thought crossed her mind. She had known Aubrey was in Tree Hill within' ten minutes of her departure that night. After searching her room for any trace of where her daughter could posibbly be, she found the empty envelope adressed to Aubrey Keller. From Peyton Sawyer. A familiar face popped into her head. Those bright-blond ringlets. Skinny, pale figure. Emo-cheerleader? A friend of Lucas', perhaps. Definitley a friend a Haley James.

Looking down at the luggage beside her, she swallowed. But she couldn't. Could she? That would be an invasion of Aubrey's privay. But, maybe.... She leaped to the floor and unzipped it in a frenzy. Clothes. More clothes. Aha! At the bottom of the suitcase lay a black folder, creased and frayed at the edges. Pulling it out, she carefully opened it in the dim fire-light behind her, her eyes widening in anger.

Later that night, I sat in my room against the headboard of my bed, my knees pulled up against me, with my old childhood bear in hand, tears rolled one-by-one down my rosey-red cheeks. It was useless, she hadn't been able to keep her mother, or that "dinky lil' town" out of mind for a second. The worst part was, Peyton's drawings-which she so eagerly wanted to finish pondering-were stashed away in her suitcase downstairs. On top of everything, she had forgotten to grab her luggage before storming off. But she couldn't hold out til' morning. It was nearly eleve, Nikki should be out, or sleeping, by now. She slipped quietly out of the room, Peeking over the balcony, she saw darkness, except for a dim fire in the living room which Nikki usually left to die out itself each night during winter.

Creeping down the staircase, I stopped mid-way as the large cathedral room came into view. I almost choked on the revelation of what I was seeing. Nikki sat sprawled out before the fire, the folder Peyton had given me open, several drawings scattered in front of her.She tossed in another, before I had a chance to scream, "Stop! What are you doing?!"

She kept a straight face and picked up the remainder of the drawings. I raced down the stairs in a panic, just as she discarded the pictures into roaring flames. I screamed and reached out for it, but Nikki stood and grabbed me around the waist, holding me back with every bit of strength she had in her.