The Ghost of A Good Thing

Chapter 5

The bright sunlight of the early morning hour filtered in through the partially opened blinds and painted sun-colored stripes across Peyton's body. She stretched out across the large bed, and the feel of the cool sheet across her bare skin snapped her back to reality. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and she had mixed feelings about the impending morning after.

She rolled over to face his side of the bed and found it empty. She called his name and watched him appear in the doorway minutes later buttoning a flannel work shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed, tying the laces on his work boots and Peyton leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the spot behind his ear.

"Don't do that Peyton." He stood from the bed and walked away from her.

"Do what?" she asked as she stared after him and pulled the sheet up under her arms.

"Don't kiss me like that and try and make last night more than what it was."

"And what was it Lucas?"

He shook his head and refused to answer her question. "I've got to be at a job site in fifteen minutes and I'm already running late. So why don't you lock up when you leave?"

"I want to know what you meant about last night."

"Fine you want to know so bad Peyton, here it is. Last night was nothing more than sex, it was good sex, but that's it. Things between us have not changed, and I don't want you back. Now it's time for us both to go our separate ways."

Peyton had suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable wrapped only in a thin sheet as Lucas spat bitter words at her. She couldn't find the right words or thoughts to comprehend what had happened; Lucas noticed her expressionless face as it stared back at him.

"What Peyton? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's like I don't even know who you are anymore, when did you become this person Lucas?"

"The day I realized you weren't coming back." There was a softness in his voice that for a moment reminded her of the old Lucas, and then it vanished when he grabbed his keys from the nightstand and stared back at her, all emotion gone from his eyes.

"You know Peyton, instead of worrying about the kind of person I am, you'd probably be better off worrying about the kind of person your boyfriend is. Most guys don't like it when their girlfriends screw around on them."

The sting of his words hit her hard, like a vicious slap to the face. "You're a fucking bastard."

"Yeah well, I've been called a lot worse. I'll see you around Peyton." He left the room without another word to her.

She fought back angry tears until the front door slammed shut, and then she let go and allowed large sobs to rack her body.

As she crawled out of bed minutes later, tears still blurring her vision, she had to endure the humiliation of searching for her underwear that had been discarded in the hallway along with the rest of hr clothes. She dressed quickly and checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror.

Her eyes were red and swollen from the crying, and when Peyton looked in the mirror she didn't like the pathetic girl staring back at her. So she wiped the tears from her eyes and refused to allow herself to cry anymore over Lucas. She picked up her purse, slammed the door behind her and made the two block walk of shame back to her car still parked at the bar.

It was still early when she arrived back at her dad's house, the time allowed her to sneak in unnoticed and able to avoid any questions about where she had spent the night.

Tiptoeing quietly through the house, she snuck into her old bedroom and locked the door behind her. It was only then that she noticed that she had left her cell phone behind and the screen indicated that she had plenty of messages waiting for her. They had all been from Kyle, his voice had become increasingly concerned with each message. She had told him she'd be at home all night and when he couldn't get a hold of her he had gotten worried.

His last message had urged her to call him as soon as she got his messages, no matter how late the time. So she called him, having no idea what she would say when he answered.

"Peyton?" his voice was groggy on the other end.

"Yeah, it's me. I got your messages. I left my phone behind."

"Where were you? I was worried, you said you'd be at your dad's house all night and I couldn't get in touch with you." The worry and stress had been evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." She felt a tremble begin in her voice and it eventually became too much for her to hide and she started to cry.

"Peyton, don't cry. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you, I'm not mad."

"No it's not your fault, I'm sorry for acting like this."

"What's going on Peyton, did something happen?"

"I'm fine really, I just don't know what's happening right now." She tried her best to hold back her sobs.

"You're scaring me, maybe I should come out there and fly home with you."

"No, Kyle. I'll be okay. I have Thanksgiving to get through tomorrow and then I'll be home. I just wanted to let you know that I was fine."

"Promise me you're okay Peyton." His genuine concern for her made the guilt she carried all the more overwhelming.

"Everything is okay Kyle. I have to go, I'll talk to you later." She quickly ended the call before he could reply.

After her call to Kyle had ended in disaster Peyton gathered some clean clothes from her still packed suitcase and headed quietly towards the bathroom.

Under the steaming hot water that cascaded from the showerhead, Peyton scrubbed viciously at her bare skin as she tried to erase the memory of his fingers, his mouth on her flesh. By the time she had finished her skin was a bright red and had been scrubbed raw.

As she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her, she caught a glimpse of herself in the fogged over mirror. For the second time in the short day she was staring back at herself wondering why things had happened like they did. No matter how much she wanted to blame Lucas for everything that had happened, she knew it wouldn't be the truth. She knew that she had come back to Tree Hill hoping to see him and she hadn't pushed him away when he had kissed her in that bar or when he had taken her back to his apartment. She knew what would happen if she saw him again. She had been just as much to blame and not having anyone else to blame made the situation even more difficult to bear.

The next day she sat down for Thanksgiving dinner with her father and stepmother like nothing had ever happened. They talked about her job and her friends back home, but when the subject veered towards Kyle and marriage Peyton quickly changed the subject. Her father drove her to the airport hours after dinner and they shared a warm goodbye before Peyton walked away from Tree Hill without another look back, just as she had done six years before.