Author's Note: Hello, everyone. Well, all of you who are still reading this
fic. I know that's it's been almost forever since I've updated, I got
caught up in my other story. I wouldn't pimp me own story, so I'll move on
now. I just wanted to let you guys know that this fic has been nominated at
the Tangled Web Awards, for both Life In A Glass House, which is best drama
and the I Believe This Is Heaven award, which is for best point of view
fic. I think you should check it out, there are a lot of great fics there,
the address is Anyway, on with the
show...
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Peyton's POV
God, I am so tired. And I don't just mean in the 'I need sleep' kind of way. I'm so tired of feeling this way, I'm tired of hearing people crying, I'm tired of this damn hospital and I'm tired of trying to figure out what Nathan was thinking. Nathan Scott and I go way back. We have a sorted history some might say. We dated, never really cared about each other, we were both just together for the convenience of it all. But in the two years we were together, I got to know him. A lot better than I really wanted to. He is one messed up guy, you know? He complains about his half brother, who really didn't so anything to him and he complains about his father, who turns out to be a big fluffy bunny compared to him. But when Nathan started to go out with Haley, I was more than a bit worried. That night when we got stranded, the first time me and Haley ever really talked, he came up in the conversation. I told her to be careful. I knew that it wouldn't work out, it couldn't. I had also said that he wasn't a complete waste. This is the one and only time I will ever admit to being wrong. I always thought that I knew Nathan Scott better than anyone did, better than Dan, better than Deb, better than Haley. I don't even think Nathan knows who he is anymore.
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"Just asking me about Hales," she answers. I know how she can get when she talks about what happened last night. She really doesn't like to even think about it. I can't blame her either. "But then they started grilling me about that Courtney chick." Which one is Courtney? Oh, yeah. She was the one Brooke was telling me about. The one she talked to in the elevator. I wonder what she has to do with anything. Just procedure probably.
"They're probably just covering all the bases," I assure her. "Didn't you say she was outside the bedroom Nathan and Hales were in?" She doesn't say anything. I look over at her and I can tell she didn't hear a word I just said. "Brookie?"
"Huh?" she mumbles, coming out of her daze. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I asked if she was the one standing outside the door?" She looks at me blankly. "Courtney? Wasn't she the one who tipped you off?"
"Oh, yeah," Brooke said, finally tearing her eyes away from the elevator. "Yeah, she was standing outside the door with Tim. She's here with her sister."
"Then they're probably just covering all their bases," I repeat. "Just wanting to check with another witness or whatever. You know how cops can get." She looks distracted again.
"Yeah, I guess," she mumbles. I don't know what exactly she is thinking, but I know that she is making up some insane connection between this Courtney chick and the latest development in the Nathan/Haley saga.
"Brooke," I call. "Whatever is going on in that way too busy brain of yours you need to stop right now." She turns back t me and starts to deny it, but I cut her off. "I don't wanna hear it. I don't know what you're thinking, but it's wrong."
"How do you know?"
"Playing the odds," I tell her. She gives me a dirty look. She seems to have finally given up on staring at the elevator because she turns in her seat to fully face me. I notice a serious look come across her face. "What's up?"
"There have been a few new developments," she states. I arch my eyebrow, indicated that she needs to explain further.
"About Nathan?" She shakes her head.
"The drama that is the Brooke/Lucas/Peyton love triangle." I frown as she says this, but I glad that it doesn't involve Haley. She had far too much to deal with right now, she doesn't need to be worrying about what's going on with Nathan.
"Don't forget to throw Nikki in there, too," I comment bitterly. God, I hate that girl. I mean seriously, who the hell does she think she is? She can't just waltz into town and take one of the few descent guys left in this town. With Luke gone, the grand total of good guys left in Tree Hill is now Jake. We have one good guy in the whole damn town. How sad is that?
"Don't even get me started on her," Brooke replies back just as bitter as me about the whole thing. She looks to be lost in thought, probably thinking along the same lines as I was. Although I don't blame her, she needs to tell me what she was starting to say. I poke her with my elbow, which seems to snap her out of her thoughts. She looks at me, asking what I wanted. I roll my eyes at her.
"You were saying...?"
"Oh, right," she mumbles. "When I was in Haley's room the phone rang." I wait for her to get to the point. "It was Luke." My eyes widened in surprise. Not so much about the fact that Luke called, but about the fact that she and him actually had a civil conversation with each other. I don't know if I'd have been as mature. Then again, she did forgive me for the whole thing. It must be the Haley thing getting to her. She's forgiving people left and right lately. I see her staring at me, trying to judge my reaction to the news. Other than surprised, I don't even think I have a reaction yet.
"So," I began. "What did he have to say?" I can tell that she's surprised by the breezy tone in my voice. I guess she expected me to be angry. I don't think I'm anything at him anymore. At first I was furious that he would just leave us, me, like that, after everything that we went through to be together. Slowly, over time, what Haley kept telling me was true. He and I just weren't meant to be, he had moved on and found someone else, I should too. "I'm cool with it."
"Nothing much," she tells me. "He just apologized and stuff. Nothing new." She pauses for affect, I guess. She looks at me, like the next thing she's going to say is going to hurt me or something. She takes a deep breath. "I told him that he should call you, tell you how he feels. I wanted you both to be happy." I close my eyes, hoping that he didn't take her up on it. I'm actually kinda glad that the whole thing is over. I've learned my lesson; nothing good can come from the Peyton and Lucas coupling.
"And..."
"And he said that he's over you," she spits out in a rushed tone. "He said that he's really happy with Nikki. I'm sorry, Pey." She has an annoyingly sympathetic look on her face and I have to laugh at her. She actually thought I would be heartbroken about it? Obviously he was happy or he wouldn't have stayed with Nikki. She's looking at like I have two heads. "Okay, that's not really the reaction I was expecting."
"Come on, Brookie," I tell her, my laughter starting to subside. "It's not like it's any surprise. I've excepted that he's happy with someone else."
"Are you sure?" I nod my head and she smiles at me. "Good, cause I really didn't want to have to deal with a heartbroken Peyton. That's the worst kind."
"Oh, please," I sigh. "There is no worst Peyton. I'm all lovely." She rolls her eyes at me. She's about to saw something, but stops when she hears the elevator doors open. I turn to see Karen stepping out. We both stand up, our conversation about Lucas totally forgotten. Haley was much more important.
"Hi, girls," she greets us whens he finally reaches us. I give her a wave as I assume Brooke is going to say something.
"Hey," Brooke replies. "Are the cops in with Haley or something?" I'm surprised that she's down so early. I figured she'd be up there for a while still. Karen shakes her head.
"Not yet," she answers. "I have to get back to the Café. Deb's all alone right now and I really don't think she's dealing with this all that well." We both nod. She turns to Brooke. "She said she wanted to talk to you," she tells her. Brooke looks pleased as she turns to me.
"You okay down here?"
"Oh, yeah," I tell her. "You go on up." She smiles and gives Karen a quick hug before running to the elevator. I sit back down in my chair. Just as Karen leaves, the cops I saw Brooke with early come walking up from out of nowhere. They seem to ignore the fact that Karen just left and face me.
"Are you a friend of Haley James?" one of them asks me. I nod my head.
"Yeah, best friend," I tell them. "What's up?"
"We were wondering if you were at the party at Rachel Dunn's house last night?" The second one starts to flip through his folder. I give him a weird look, but answer.
"No," I answer. "I was at diner with my father. Brooke called me to tell me before she came here." The first one nods. The second one was done with his folder searching and looked up at me.
"Did you talk to Haley at all yesterday?"
"Uh, yeah, I think so," I told him. We always talk to each other, everyday I think. "I called her yesterday afternoon, wondering what she was doing later." I thought suddenly came to me. "Oh yeah, she called my cell right before it happened." I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and hand it to him.
"You didn't answer it?" Gee, way to make me feel better about it. I shake my head.
"It's in my voice mail," I inform him. He nods and holds it up, asking if he could go outside and use it. I nod and he leaves. The second guy takes his place in front of me.
"I just wanted to tell you that we're doing everything we can to make sure that Mr. Scott stays locked up for a very long time." I smile at him in thanks.
"Thank you," I say sincerely. The only thing that I could think of that would make me happier right now is to beat his ass into a bloody pulp. My eyes light up. "Hey, um, what's your name?"
"Jim."
"Jim," I repeat. "I was just wondering if it were possible to talk to Nathan?" He gives me a strange look. "It's just my friend, Brooke, I think she really needs closure for the whole thing. I think it would really make her feel better if she could bitch at him."
"I think we can arrange that," he says, with a smile. I guess, he would like to see Nathan get what's coming to him as well. "What's your name Miss?
"Peyton Sawyer," I tell him. He nods and writes it down.
"Well, Peyton Sawyer," he teases me. "I think we're done here for now..."
"You aren't gonna talk to Haley?"
"I think we're gonna leave that till later," he explain. Right, that would make sense. That wouldn't be very nice if they just barged in and asked Hales what Nathan did to her. "Give her a little more time to heal." I nod my head. The first cop comes back in and his face is pure white, he looks like he's going to throw up. Yep, that's what that message does to you. "Steve, you okay?" He nods absently and hands me my phone.
"Yeah," he mumbles. "I think we're done here." Jim nods and smiles at me before walking to the doors. Steve stays behind for a moment. "I'm truly sorry about what happened to your friend," he tells me before following Jim out the door.
"Me, too," I whisper to myself as I sit here in the waiting room all alone. So much has happened in the last twenty four hours, most of it bad, it's a lot to take in. The only thing that I can be happy about is knowing that Nathan's gonna get his ass kicked. I hope Brooke gets a few good hits in for me too.
OTH
I know it totally sucks. You probably were expected something way better since I made you wait for so long. I had this done a while ago, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, please tell me what you think. Peace.
OTH
Peyton's POV
God, I am so tired. And I don't just mean in the 'I need sleep' kind of way. I'm so tired of feeling this way, I'm tired of hearing people crying, I'm tired of this damn hospital and I'm tired of trying to figure out what Nathan was thinking. Nathan Scott and I go way back. We have a sorted history some might say. We dated, never really cared about each other, we were both just together for the convenience of it all. But in the two years we were together, I got to know him. A lot better than I really wanted to. He is one messed up guy, you know? He complains about his half brother, who really didn't so anything to him and he complains about his father, who turns out to be a big fluffy bunny compared to him. But when Nathan started to go out with Haley, I was more than a bit worried. That night when we got stranded, the first time me and Haley ever really talked, he came up in the conversation. I told her to be careful. I knew that it wouldn't work out, it couldn't. I had also said that he wasn't a complete waste. This is the one and only time I will ever admit to being wrong. I always thought that I knew Nathan Scott better than anyone did, better than Dan, better than Deb, better than Haley. I don't even think Nathan knows who he is anymore.
OTH
"Just asking me about Hales," she answers. I know how she can get when she talks about what happened last night. She really doesn't like to even think about it. I can't blame her either. "But then they started grilling me about that Courtney chick." Which one is Courtney? Oh, yeah. She was the one Brooke was telling me about. The one she talked to in the elevator. I wonder what she has to do with anything. Just procedure probably.
"They're probably just covering all the bases," I assure her. "Didn't you say she was outside the bedroom Nathan and Hales were in?" She doesn't say anything. I look over at her and I can tell she didn't hear a word I just said. "Brookie?"
"Huh?" she mumbles, coming out of her daze. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I asked if she was the one standing outside the door?" She looks at me blankly. "Courtney? Wasn't she the one who tipped you off?"
"Oh, yeah," Brooke said, finally tearing her eyes away from the elevator. "Yeah, she was standing outside the door with Tim. She's here with her sister."
"Then they're probably just covering all their bases," I repeat. "Just wanting to check with another witness or whatever. You know how cops can get." She looks distracted again.
"Yeah, I guess," she mumbles. I don't know what exactly she is thinking, but I know that she is making up some insane connection between this Courtney chick and the latest development in the Nathan/Haley saga.
"Brooke," I call. "Whatever is going on in that way too busy brain of yours you need to stop right now." She turns back t me and starts to deny it, but I cut her off. "I don't wanna hear it. I don't know what you're thinking, but it's wrong."
"How do you know?"
"Playing the odds," I tell her. She gives me a dirty look. She seems to have finally given up on staring at the elevator because she turns in her seat to fully face me. I notice a serious look come across her face. "What's up?"
"There have been a few new developments," she states. I arch my eyebrow, indicated that she needs to explain further.
"About Nathan?" She shakes her head.
"The drama that is the Brooke/Lucas/Peyton love triangle." I frown as she says this, but I glad that it doesn't involve Haley. She had far too much to deal with right now, she doesn't need to be worrying about what's going on with Nathan.
"Don't forget to throw Nikki in there, too," I comment bitterly. God, I hate that girl. I mean seriously, who the hell does she think she is? She can't just waltz into town and take one of the few descent guys left in this town. With Luke gone, the grand total of good guys left in Tree Hill is now Jake. We have one good guy in the whole damn town. How sad is that?
"Don't even get me started on her," Brooke replies back just as bitter as me about the whole thing. She looks to be lost in thought, probably thinking along the same lines as I was. Although I don't blame her, she needs to tell me what she was starting to say. I poke her with my elbow, which seems to snap her out of her thoughts. She looks at me, asking what I wanted. I roll my eyes at her.
"You were saying...?"
"Oh, right," she mumbles. "When I was in Haley's room the phone rang." I wait for her to get to the point. "It was Luke." My eyes widened in surprise. Not so much about the fact that Luke called, but about the fact that she and him actually had a civil conversation with each other. I don't know if I'd have been as mature. Then again, she did forgive me for the whole thing. It must be the Haley thing getting to her. She's forgiving people left and right lately. I see her staring at me, trying to judge my reaction to the news. Other than surprised, I don't even think I have a reaction yet.
"So," I began. "What did he have to say?" I can tell that she's surprised by the breezy tone in my voice. I guess she expected me to be angry. I don't think I'm anything at him anymore. At first I was furious that he would just leave us, me, like that, after everything that we went through to be together. Slowly, over time, what Haley kept telling me was true. He and I just weren't meant to be, he had moved on and found someone else, I should too. "I'm cool with it."
"Nothing much," she tells me. "He just apologized and stuff. Nothing new." She pauses for affect, I guess. She looks at me, like the next thing she's going to say is going to hurt me or something. She takes a deep breath. "I told him that he should call you, tell you how he feels. I wanted you both to be happy." I close my eyes, hoping that he didn't take her up on it. I'm actually kinda glad that the whole thing is over. I've learned my lesson; nothing good can come from the Peyton and Lucas coupling.
"And..."
"And he said that he's over you," she spits out in a rushed tone. "He said that he's really happy with Nikki. I'm sorry, Pey." She has an annoyingly sympathetic look on her face and I have to laugh at her. She actually thought I would be heartbroken about it? Obviously he was happy or he wouldn't have stayed with Nikki. She's looking at like I have two heads. "Okay, that's not really the reaction I was expecting."
"Come on, Brookie," I tell her, my laughter starting to subside. "It's not like it's any surprise. I've excepted that he's happy with someone else."
"Are you sure?" I nod my head and she smiles at me. "Good, cause I really didn't want to have to deal with a heartbroken Peyton. That's the worst kind."
"Oh, please," I sigh. "There is no worst Peyton. I'm all lovely." She rolls her eyes at me. She's about to saw something, but stops when she hears the elevator doors open. I turn to see Karen stepping out. We both stand up, our conversation about Lucas totally forgotten. Haley was much more important.
"Hi, girls," she greets us whens he finally reaches us. I give her a wave as I assume Brooke is going to say something.
"Hey," Brooke replies. "Are the cops in with Haley or something?" I'm surprised that she's down so early. I figured she'd be up there for a while still. Karen shakes her head.
"Not yet," she answers. "I have to get back to the Café. Deb's all alone right now and I really don't think she's dealing with this all that well." We both nod. She turns to Brooke. "She said she wanted to talk to you," she tells her. Brooke looks pleased as she turns to me.
"You okay down here?"
"Oh, yeah," I tell her. "You go on up." She smiles and gives Karen a quick hug before running to the elevator. I sit back down in my chair. Just as Karen leaves, the cops I saw Brooke with early come walking up from out of nowhere. They seem to ignore the fact that Karen just left and face me.
"Are you a friend of Haley James?" one of them asks me. I nod my head.
"Yeah, best friend," I tell them. "What's up?"
"We were wondering if you were at the party at Rachel Dunn's house last night?" The second one starts to flip through his folder. I give him a weird look, but answer.
"No," I answer. "I was at diner with my father. Brooke called me to tell me before she came here." The first one nods. The second one was done with his folder searching and looked up at me.
"Did you talk to Haley at all yesterday?"
"Uh, yeah, I think so," I told him. We always talk to each other, everyday I think. "I called her yesterday afternoon, wondering what she was doing later." I thought suddenly came to me. "Oh yeah, she called my cell right before it happened." I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and hand it to him.
"You didn't answer it?" Gee, way to make me feel better about it. I shake my head.
"It's in my voice mail," I inform him. He nods and holds it up, asking if he could go outside and use it. I nod and he leaves. The second guy takes his place in front of me.
"I just wanted to tell you that we're doing everything we can to make sure that Mr. Scott stays locked up for a very long time." I smile at him in thanks.
"Thank you," I say sincerely. The only thing that I could think of that would make me happier right now is to beat his ass into a bloody pulp. My eyes light up. "Hey, um, what's your name?"
"Jim."
"Jim," I repeat. "I was just wondering if it were possible to talk to Nathan?" He gives me a strange look. "It's just my friend, Brooke, I think she really needs closure for the whole thing. I think it would really make her feel better if she could bitch at him."
"I think we can arrange that," he says, with a smile. I guess, he would like to see Nathan get what's coming to him as well. "What's your name Miss?
"Peyton Sawyer," I tell him. He nods and writes it down.
"Well, Peyton Sawyer," he teases me. "I think we're done here for now..."
"You aren't gonna talk to Haley?"
"I think we're gonna leave that till later," he explain. Right, that would make sense. That wouldn't be very nice if they just barged in and asked Hales what Nathan did to her. "Give her a little more time to heal." I nod my head. The first cop comes back in and his face is pure white, he looks like he's going to throw up. Yep, that's what that message does to you. "Steve, you okay?" He nods absently and hands me my phone.
"Yeah," he mumbles. "I think we're done here." Jim nods and smiles at me before walking to the doors. Steve stays behind for a moment. "I'm truly sorry about what happened to your friend," he tells me before following Jim out the door.
"Me, too," I whisper to myself as I sit here in the waiting room all alone. So much has happened in the last twenty four hours, most of it bad, it's a lot to take in. The only thing that I can be happy about is knowing that Nathan's gonna get his ass kicked. I hope Brooke gets a few good hits in for me too.
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I know it totally sucks. You probably were expected something way better since I made you wait for so long. I had this done a while ago, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, please tell me what you think. Peace.