Author's Note: Hello, everybody! I know, I know, it's been FOREVER and I'm so sorry for that. It's just that I started these other stories and they get so many reviews, so I kind of devoted most of my writing to those ones. But I think this one is still one of my favorites. Having just said that, I think I'm going to bring this to a close in the next few chapters. I have way too many on the go right now, and this is the only one that is in the position to be finished. All my other stories aren't even close to the end. So, I think there will be three more chapters, one from each POV, and that's it. I hope that's okay with all of you. Anyway, with that said, here's the next chapter.

OTH

Peyton's POV

If this whole disaster taught me anything, it was that things could change in the blink of an eye. Granted, like I said before, I already knew that. When my mom ran that one red light that was it for her. She was gone just like that. Sure, she made it until they got her to the hospital, but it didn't matter – even if she had survived, that crash would have changed her life anyway. What I didn't realize, was that things can change so slowly, that you don't even realize they do. Take last night for example, that was something that was obviously going to change all our lives, but not everything is that obvious. When my dad came to the hospital, he didn't even know who Haley was. My father didn't know one of the two most important people in my life. Then it hit me; I've only been really good friends with Haley for a month now. I can't believe I never thought about it before now, I guess it just felt like I've known her my entire life. When I think about what my life was like two months ago, I don't even think Haley would be in the description and that just feels weird to me now. If someone had told me at the beginning of the school year that I would be best friends with Haley James, do you know what I would say? Who's Haley James? It's really freaky, but I just can't imagine what my life was like without Haley in it. How did I pass any of my tests? What did I do every weekend? Who did I go thrift store shopping with? It's crazy how things can change so quickly, but what's even crazier is how things can change right in front of your eyes, so slowly and you don't even notice.

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"Do you feel better now?" she asks me. I can't seem to find my voice no matter how hard I try so I just nod my head. I highly doubt that she believes me; she'd have to be stupid if she did, but I knew her well enough to know that she's not going to push me on this. She knows how hard it was for me to say, so she'll give me a little time to think it over.

We stay like this for some time, just lying in her bed together, both completely lost in our own thoughts. I'm not sure what she's thinking about, but I'm sure I can guess. All I can think about is the things she said to me and the things she forced me to say. It was almost as if she didn't think that I hurt over this, like it was merely an unimportant event in my life that I'd forget come Monday.

"Hales?" I ask, surprised to hear my voice as much as she is. I didn't think that I was going to say something. I hate when that happens, when you're thinking something and then all of a sudden you're thinking it out load. That can usually only lead to trouble.

"Yeah?"

"You know this is hurting us too, right?" I lift my head off her shoulder and look up at her face to see her reaction. I'm expecting to see either a guilty look because she thinks it's her fault we're hurting or an anger look for accusing her of not caring about our feelings. So, to find the completely blank look that's on her face was surprising.

"Is it?" she replies, as if it were the most surprising thing in the world. The sound of awe in her voice bothers me a little bit. Does she really think that little of our friendship? I look at her like she's crazy for a moment before snuggling back into her arms. I can't stand to see that look on her face any longer.

"Of course it is," I scold her, poking her lightly in the stomach to let her know I think she's being stupid. She lets out an automatic groan and rubs her stomach where I just poked her. "Wouldn't you be hurting if this happened to either of us?" I know I've already said it, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with it. I like to avoid saying it at all costs if it's possible.

"Definitely," she answers quickly as if I was accusing her of something. She takes a deep breath, gathering all her thoughts I'd assume. "I know I'd be hurting, broken probably if this happened to either you or Brooke, but I guess†I just, I don't know."

"What?" I take a hold of the hand that she still has resting on her stomach and give it a big squeeze. "What is it, Hales?" After she still doesn't say anything, I bring the hand to my lips and kiss it. With it so close to my face, it's just now that I notice all the scars on it from past run ins with Nathan no doubt.

"I don't know," she sighs again. "I guess, I just didn't think you guys cared that much about me, that's all." I can't see my face, but I'm almost a hundred percent positive that it's hysterical because my eyes are bulging out of my sockets and my mouth is hanging open like I'm trying to catch flies.

"Why would you think that?"

"I just figured that I was like a replacement best friend or something." It takes all my will power not to deny it, to assure her that that's the furthest thing from the truth, but I think she needs to get the off her chest. She needs to say all the things she's afraid of so I can promise her how wrong and off base she's feeling. "Like, you guys were just hanging out with me until you made up. I kind of always assumed that once you guys became friends again, you'd just forget about me."

"If that's the way you felt, then why'd you work so hard at getting us back together?" I don't know why I'm asking this when I should be denying it all, but I'm really confused. I also want to know if I ever gave her any indication that I was going to just dump her like that. My head is jolted a little as she shrugs her shoulders.

"You both just seemed so out of it," she explains. I can hear the sadness start to slip into her voice again and I give her hand another squeeze. "I don't know, like you weren't the same without each other. I tried to fill the void, but I guess I just wasn't good enough."

"Hales"

"The only thing that would make you happy was Brooke's forgiveness," she continues, completely cutting me off. "And the only thing that would make Brooke happy was forgiving you." Okay, I thought she was supposed to be this genius girl that knew and saw everything. If she is, then how is she getting all of this so wrong? She shrugs her shoulders again. "I just wanted you both to be happy so badly. You guys deserved it."

"Even if that meant you would be unhappy?"

"Yeah," she sighs. God, this girl has got to be the sweetest thing in the entire world, ever. And that fact just made this whole situation worse. How Nathan could ever hurt Haley is beyond me. I take a deep breath, trying to think of something to say to her that will convince her that what she said isn't true.

"Haley," I began, moving my head a little to look up at her. She reluctantly looks down at me. "Please tell me that you honestly don't believe all that crap that you just tried to feed me." She looks taken aback at what I just said to her. I think she was expecting me to confirm her feelings.

"I don't understand."

"Didn't you learn anything over the past month?" I question her. Again, she looks at me completely confused. "For people like Brooke and I, friends are all we've got. You know what our track records with guys are like, our friendship is pretty much the only thing that's lasted in our lives."

"Exactly," Haley exclaims, in a calm but sure voice. "That's what I'm talking about. You're friendship is the most important thing in both your lives. Like you said, it's the only thing, and I just assumed that their was no room for me."

"There will always be room for my Haley shaped friend," I promise her, looking up at her to make sure she believes me. "I'll admit, I never thought you'd be this important to me, but you are. Just the thought of you not being in my life, it kind of scares me a little."

"So, you guys are gonna bail on me?" She's trying to keep the hurt out of her voice, but I can still hear it. I didn't expect anything less though. She's the kind of girl that's insecure and nothing anyone says is going to change that. It must be from all those years for only having Lucas as a friend, but I'm going to make it my mission to boast her confidence and I'm sure Brooke will be more than willing to help.

"Not a chance," I state so there's no room for arguing. "You couldn't ditch us if you tried." She actually cracks a smile and for that I am entirely grateful. Nothing can make me feel better than seeing her smile.

"Thanks, Pey." I can tell that she feels better now. Not about everything of course, that's something that I can't make better with a few sweet words, but I think she's feeling less worried now that she knows we're here for her no matter what.

"Besides," I smirk. "You're way too cute to get rid of. We'll definitely have to keep you around for a while." This actually gets a laugh out of her.

"You're a sweetie," she laughs. I flash her a bright smile and lay my head back down on her shoulder. She ruffles my hair before smacking me lightly in the back of the head. Just as I'm about to say something, there's a knock at the door. "Come in." Neither of us moves from our spots, completely comfortable in our current positions.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," came the voice behind the door. I immediately know it's my father, but before I can answer him, he sticks his head in the room.

"Nothing at all," Haley assures him. She says it in that nice, sweet way she talks to people she doesn't know, but I can tell she's a little uncomfortable. My dad smiles at her for a second before looking at me strangely. It takes me a moment to realize why he's looking at me like that, but then it finally hits me. He's probably surprise to see all snuggled up with Haley. I've never really been the cuddling kind of girl.

"Hey, dad," I greeted him with a smile. I still didn't move from my spot, latching onto Haley's side. I don't want her to think that I'm embarrassed to be with her or anything.

"Dad?" Haley repeats. I've told her a lot about my father over the last month, but she's never even seen a picture of him. Since he's gone so often, I haven't really gotten a chance to introduce them. I nod, but don't say anything. She laughs again and looks up at my father. "I was beginning to think she was making you up."

"Larry Sawyer," he says walking over to the bed and extending his hand. She smiles up at him and shakes his head. Once their done, he bends down and kisses me on the cheek. "You must be Haley, right?"

"As if Peyton has any other friends," Haley says, not being able to resist getting another dig in at me. Hey, if it made her feel better, she could make fun of me until the cows come home. I mock glare at her before laughing.

"Yes, this is the infamous Haley," I tell him. I give him a look to make sure he isn't thinking about making any kind of comment about what happened to her. He nodded slightly, letting me know that he would act as normal as possible.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Sawyer." Haley; always the polite one. My dad laughs a little and shakes his head. He hated it when people called him that, especially my friends. He was such a laid back guy, when people called him that, it made him feel old. He is, but I choose never to mention that.

"Please, call me Larry."

"Or you can call him Papa Sawyer."

"Brooke?"

"You know it," I joke. Brooke was certainly a predictable one. "What are you doing here, anyway?" I remember him saying he might stop by sometime today, but I didn't really think he was going to. He's not exactly the most dependable guy when it comes to showing up.

"I just came by to meet your new best friend," he answered with a teasing tone, obviously referring to the way we were cuddling again.

"Okay, we're cuddling!" I exclaim in a fake annoyed tone. Just cause I'm this tough rocker chick, doesn't mean I can't get upset. "Sometimes I like to cuddle. It's not a big deal." My dad raises an eyebrow at me before sharing a look with Haley.

"So, clearly my daughter's gone insane while I was gone." I groan and try to bury my head in Haley's shoulders. She kisses my hair and I can hear her and my dad laughing at me.

"Thanks guys," I grumble.

"Aw, Pey," Haley sighs, running her hand up and down my arm in a fake attempt to make me feel better. "You're just a big softy at heart, aren't you?" I don't dignify that question with a response; instead I playfully hit her in the stomach again. This feels nice, really nice. To think that just last night I thought I'd never smile again and here I am, laughing and joking with Haley. I guess she's stronger than I thought. We all are.

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Okay, start booing. I know that you've waited all that time and that's all I can give you. I'm sorry if you aren't digging this chapter, it was just hard to get into the feel and mood of this story again after such a long time. Anyway, if you want my to update faster, get those reviews in. Peace.