1Hey guys! This is the last chapter of the story. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 3

"Peyton? Peyton!" Lucas yelled into the phone as it disconnected the call. "Oh, crap!" Lucas stared at the phone, not sure what to do. He sickly dialed Haley's number. "Haley! I was on the phone with Peyton and she was in an accident. I don't know what to do!" Lucas knew that he was becoming hysterical, but didn't know how to stop it.

"What?" Haley was shocked. "Peyton was in an accident?"

"Yes, but I don't know where she was at." His eyes filled with tears. "Haley, I don't know what to do." The sound of sirens in the distance filled the air. "I hear sirens." He jumped into his car and began to head towards the sound. "I'm going to head towards them. I'll call you back."

"Me and Nathan will head to the hospital. And I'll call Brooke. We'll meet you there."

"Okay. Thanks, Haley." Lucas quickly ended the call and tossed the phone onto the seat. He turned a corner and saw that the road was blocked. There were fire tucks, ambulances and police cars all over and in the midst of them he say the mangled form of Peyton's car. "No!" He quickly pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out of the car.

A police officer stopped him as he raced towards Peyton's car. "Sir, you can't go over there."

Lucas tried to shake off the office. "That's my girlfriend's car. I have to see if she;s okay."

The officer shook his head. "I'm sorry, son, but you'll have to wait. We're trying to get her out now. Once she's out you can ride in the ambulance with her, okay?"

Lucas nodded as he watched the men trying to get Peyton out of her car. She had to be okay. She was too young to die. But looking at the car he knew that she had to be badly injured. He continued to watch, anxiously awaiting for them to pull her from the car.

Finally they extracted her and placed her on a stretcher. He turned to the officer. "Okay, can I go now?"

With a nod, the officer led him over to the awaiting ambulance. "This is the girl's boyfriend. He wants to ride i with her and I'm sure that he can answer any questions that you have."

The paramedics turned to him, but he'd fallen into a state of shock at the sight of Peyton. Her blonde hair was red and matted with blood. There was a huge gash across her forehead and she appeared to be bleeding from her stomach. One of her legs was bent at an odd angle and she appeared to be bruised all over.

"Sir!" One of the paramedics shook him. "I'm sorry, but I need to know her name please."

"Peyton Sawyer." He climbed into the back of the ambulance and numbly answered their questions. He didn't remember any of the trip to the hospital and once there they wouldn't give him any information.

He found Haley, Nathan and Brooke waiting for him. "How is she?" Brooke looked anxious.

"Is she okay?" Haley's eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

Lucas shook his head. "She was unconscious. It looks really bad." He sank into a chair as tears began to fall from his eyes. "She didn't even look like Peyton anymore." He put his face into his hands and cried. Haley and Brooke sat on either side of him, trying to comfort him.

They waited for hours and finally a doctor came out. "Anyone here for Peyton Sawyer?"

Lucas quickly stood and headed for the doctor. "I am. I'm her boyfriend."

"Is there any family?"

Lucas shook his head. "Only her dad and he's out of town. I tried calling, but haven't heard back."

With a sigh the doctor led him to someplace a little more private. "By, the way, I'm Dr. Denson."

"Lucas Scott."

"Okay, Mr. Scott. I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Miss Sawyer is awake. The bad news is that we weren't able to stop the internal bleeding. There was too much damage internally and we weren't able to get it all. She's not going to make it much longer."

Lucas's anger flared. "Well, then go back in and fix the rest of it! She can't die! Fix it!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott. There's nothing more we can do. I'm very sorry." With an unhappy sigh Dr. Denson walked away.

Lucas stood there, seething until his friends came hurrying over. "So, what did he say?"

Lucas looked at their expectant faces and tears began to fall once again. "She's going to die, They couldn't stop the internal bleeding. But she's awake."

Brook's face fell and she began to sob. Haley turned, burying her face in Nathan's chest.

Nathan's eyes met Lucas's, his expression one of shock. "You guys should go in and see her. I want to go last." With that Lucas headed out of the hospital.

He returned an hour later, praying that it wasn't too late. His friends had returned to the waiting room. He had wanted to get his emotions in check before going to see Peyton.

He opened the door to her room and slipped inside. He eyes fluttered open. "Luke?"

"Hey, Peyton." He sat in the chair next to her bed.

"I'm dying, Lucas. I know and accept it. You need to also." Peyton's eyes fluttered shut. "Well, at least you don't have to choose between me and Brooke again, huh?" She gave a small laugh.

"This isn't funny, Peyton." Lucas sighed as he picked up her hand. "I love you, Peyton."

"I love you, too. But my time's over here. Promise me you'll take care of her and never leave her. Please."

"Peyton, stop it. You're not going to die. Now stop!"

Peyton shook her head. "I'm dying, Lucas. So YOU stop. Just remember that people are fragile. People can be hurt." With a sigh her eyes shut again and she slipped away.

Lucas knew even before the machines began to whine, that she was gone. Nurses and doctors rushed in at the sound of the alarm. "Sire, you're going to have to leave the room." A nurse rook him bu the arm and led him to the door. He stepped out, but kept the door open so that he could see what was going on. They brought out the paddles and tried to bring her back to life.

Dr. Denson sighed as he gave the paddles back to the nurse. He glanced t his watch. "Time of death 11:32 pm."

Lucas looked on, dazed, as they turned off the machines and began taking out her IV. When Dr. Denson went to leave he caught sigh of Lucas. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Scott."

Lucas nodded and headed for the waiting room. When he saw his friends he finally lost it. "She's gone. She's dead."

Brooke and Haley broke out in sobs and tears began to fall from Nathan's eyes. Lucas fell to his knees in front of them and the girls put their arms around him. They sat there, holding one another, while they grieved.