Lucas held a disheveled, crying Peyton on his lap, rocking her back and forth. His shirt was soaked through with her tears. He continued searching for the right words but it was once again to no avail. He knew deep down, that healing went beyond his words. He also knew that by tomorrow all her fortifications would be up and stronger then ever. Lucas knew that whatever caused Peyton to break, would destroy everything he managed to form with her. The trust would be gone and she would return to being ice cold. All the thoughts running through his head brought the tears to his eyes again. 'She doesn't deserve this' he thought to himself.
He rested his chin in her damp hair. His head jolted up as realization hit him. 'She shouldn't be sweating and freezing.' He stared down at the girl on his lap, her skin was pale and her lips were turning blue. "Peyton, come on I'm taking you to the hospital." He moved his hands under the arc formed by her curled knees.
"Lucas no, please" she picked her head up and stared in his eyes.
"But…" He could see her eyes pleading with him. He took a deep breath and looked at her. "Okay, but if things don't get better in an hour we're going" he said quietly. He was hoping desperately that in an hour things would be fine. He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He carefully maneuvered her legs so that he could pull down the covers. He got ready to pull the covers over her and then stopped. He looked at her limp body. She looked uncomfortable with the jeans cutting into her sides. He leaned over her and unbuttoned her jeans. "Peyt… it's just that you look kind of uncomf…"
"It's okay, I understand" she said simply. She tried to smile, to give him his smile, but she felt so weak. He unzipped the jeans and then vigilantly slid them off and laid them at the end of the bed. He pulled the covers up to her shoulders and tucked it securely around her.
"Everything's going to be okay" he said tucking a piece of hair behind her ears. He kissed her forehead gently as her eye started to close. "I'm going to go make you some soup. Stay awake for me, alright?" He watched her struggle to nod her head and then he walked out the room and towards the kitchen. He searched through the cabinets until he found a can of chicken soup. He poured into the pot, added the water and waited for it to cook. All he could think about was what would make Peyton so stressed and sick.
Peyton laid in the bed shaking. She didn't know whether it was from cold or nerves. Everything was so jumbled in her mind. The fear, the pain, the guilt, all of it matted together to make her one huge mess. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She just wanted to sleep. Sleep would block everything, it would make it all go away, and she wanted the more then anything. But she was scared that if she fell asleep she wouldn't wake back up. She wanted Lucas to come back, he would make sure she stayed awake, that she stayed alive. Her eyelids felt suddenly grew exceptionally heavy. Her head slowly fell to the side as everything faded to black.
Lucas hurriedly placed the bowl of soup on a tray and poured some ginger ale into a glass. He carried the tray to Peyton's room upstairs as quickly as he could. He wanted to get back to her, he wanted to make sure she was safe and okay. He took the steps tow at a time, careful not to let anything spill. He walked into her room and placed that tray down on the night stand. "Okay we have soup and gin…" It was then that he noticed Peyton's eyes shut and her hand draped off the edge of the bed. He jumped onto the bed and straddled her. "Peyton, come on wake up" he tapped the side of her face. Her skin was clammy and hot under his touch. He ran to the bathroom and ran a face towel under cold water. He rushed back to Peyton's side and dabbed her skin with the cloth. "Come on Peyt. Open your eyes" The tears started to flow freely from his eyes. He continued to dab her head until he noticed her eyes flutter open. At that moment he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Are you alright" he asked cupping her face with his hands.
"Yea, I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore" he watched her hazel eyes wander around the room. Her whole face seemed ghostly. The circles under her eyes were continually getting darker. "She died today you know" He watched as the tears welled up in her eyes. "She promised me that she would stay home and read with me, but she had to go to a meeting. And I got mad at her, I told her I hated her. I went to sleep angry, and when my dad woke me up I was still angry. And when he told me what happened I was angrier because she left and she wasn't coming back." Lucas watched as the tears flooded from her eyes. He watched the pain the flowed with the tears.
"Peyton it's not…"
"Lucas I can't eat" her voice could barley be heard as she looked at the tray of food. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. It hurt too bad. She couldn't stand anymore pain. Lucas looked down on her, knowing what was going through her mind. He decided not to push her. He wanted to be within the fortress she built as long as she could. If he pushed her she would shut him out, and he knew she couldn't do this by herself. But if she didn't trust him she wouldn't let him help and that would only lead to problems. Lucas merely followed her as she led he conversation away from her mother's death.
"Well at least try to drink something. The ginger ale should help settle you stomach a little." She nodded her head in agreement as he reached over her tainted body and grabbed the glass. He lifted her head gently in her hand and put the glass to her parched lips. She swallowed about half the liquid before turning her head away. Lucas set the glass down on the night stand and pulled the covers away from Peyton's figure. She looked at him confused by his actions. He pushed his hand under her back and brought her to an upright position.
"Luke…" she mumbled questionably. He didn't respond, he only crawled onto her bed and positioned himself behind her so that she was sitting between his legs. He slid his body further down on the bed bringing her with him. His hands found her forehead and gently laid her back onto his chest.
"Go to sleep Peyt." He said cradling her in his arms. "You need it." She nestled her head into his chest and made herself as comfortable as possible. She was glad he was there, she needed him. His warm embrace was extremely comforting to her. She felt her body start to calm as sleep began to overcome her.
Lucas felt her breathing even out although it remained short and raspy. He closed his eyes and rested his chin in her still damp hair. He wanted her to be okay so badly. There were so many thoughts rushing through his head. He couldn't stop thinking about what would cause her to breakdown like this. He thought about how long it took for her to trust him and how quickly it would all be destroyed. Nathan crossed his mind. Nathan had always put her down. She was never able to trust his. His mind quickly switched to Brooke. Brooke was or used to be Peyton's best friend. But he couldn't help wondering how Brooke really felt underneath her plastered smile. Brooke was constantly thinking about herself. She loved to play the self pity card. Peyton had remained loyal to Brooke no matter how bad she was treated. In fact that was the reason they never got together, Peyton refused to hurt Brooke anymore then she had. Then there was the anniversary of her mother's death. She had made it apparent that she blamed herself in way, but he couldn't understand why or how. His whole body began to shake as started to lose all concentration. 'Calm down Luke' he told himself.
He absentmindedly started humming to calm his nerves. "Sing to me" came a tranquil voice form beneath him.
"I thought you were sleeping" Lucas said looking down at the body onto of him.
"No, I started to but then you started humming" she moved slightly under the covers.
"I'm sorry" he kissed the top of her head.
"It's alright" her voice barley above a whisper "but I want you to sing to me, sing what you were humming"
"Alright, but I'm warning you, you might not like it" He felt her body shudder above him. He hoped that it was laughter and not nerves. "I'm changing a few words, but here goes" he mumbled. Her bare legs wrapped around his covered ones. "Peyton…" no answer. "Peyton are you still awake?" Still no response. Lucas looked down at her closed eyes and smiled as a lone tear slipped from his own eyes. He took a breath and began to sing to the sleeping figure.
The angry girl a bit too insane, icing over a secret pain
You know you don't belong
You're the first to fight, you're way to loud
You're the flash of light on a burial shroud
I know something's wrong
Everyone I know has got a reason to say, put the past away
I wish you would step back form that ledge my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again I would understand
He watched as Peyton shifted her body. She moaned as she flipped her body so that her stomach was on his. He moved the estranged blond curls from her face and tucked then behind her ear. He cradled her body once more as he picked began the second verse.
Well she's on the table and she's gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows what they are doing here
And you're friends have left you, you've been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this, an I want you to know
Everyone's got to face down their demons
Maybe today, we can put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand…
Lucas's voice gradually faded until he was softly humming. His eyes slowly shut as his drawn out breaths began to harmonize with Peyton's shot one. In a matter of minutes the two were sound asleep. Anyone looking in on the scene would have seen Lucas Scott holding a disheveled Peyton Sawyer, protecting her from whatever he could.
Okay that's it for this chapter. Let me know what you think! The song is 'Jumper' by Third Eye Blind. I wasn't sure about the song at first but I threw it in there anyway. I just think it really fit what Peyton was going through. Don't forget to review please!