Chapter 2: Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking
Peyton hurriedly retreated from Lucas' house. She was a little embarrassed, but mostly confused. How could this have happened? Did Brooke realize what was going on with me? Why I was there? She almost came to a complete stop, as she measured the pros and cons of returning and talking directly to Brooke (and possibly Lucas) straight off. But that style of interpersonal communication was not her strength. Or her preference. She resolved to let the issue lie for the moment, and not lose sleep over it. Well, not too much sleep anyway. She didn't want to care but it was too late for that now. The die had been cast, so to speak.
Despite the circumstances surrounding her encounter with Lucas, it had felt good to get her feelings out into the open. And it was obvious to her that Lucas still felt things for her too. What those feelings were, precisely, were the crux of the issue. But she refused to succumb to apathy, as she normally would. It was too liberating to feel. So she focused on the positives, as hard as it was.
Immediately, two things gave her hope. She had seen the confusion written all over his face as he was struggling to comprehend the situation he was in. And he hadn't chosen Brooke.
x x x x
Lucas had grabbed his jacket, hoping his keys and cell phone were present in its pockets, and tore out of his house. Crap, he exclaimed internally. He was in some serious love triangle shit, and he would find out once and for all who really cared the most for whom – including himself. Shaking his head vigorously in a feeble attempt to clear his head, Lucas jogged over to the red tow truck parked in front of his house and climbed in.
For now, he decided to keep his word and go see his brother. Never thought that seeing Nathan would get me out of a tight spot, Lucas thought, an ironic smile spreading across his face. I might as well do the right thing at least once tonight. With that thought the tense girl-boy-girl stand-off that occurred but five minutes prior came rushing back to him. "Brooke ... Peyton ..." he whispered. "Will we ever be the same?" The lament hung unanswered in the night air.
x x x x
Just as he pulled up to the hospital, Lucas had a wave of doubt wash over him. Maybe this wasn't such a fantastic idea after all. In a screwed up way, he hoped Haley was there just so he didn't have to hang out with Nathan alone. It was screwed up because he also didn't really want her to be there – it meant she was involved with Nathan more intimately than he was comfortable with. But it wasn't the time or the place to really get into that issue. He just needed to talk to her, badly. Lucas decided to go in and brave the consequences.
x x x x
Deb stood motionless, staring at her son's empty hospital bed. Where could be be? How could he take drugs? Why didn't he reach out to me for help? She took a deep breath and consoled herself. Getting angry at Nathan wasn't going to fix anything at this point. Neither would getting angry at Dan, she admitted, as her husband entered the room.
"A hospital without proper surveillance equipment, can you believe it?" Dan said.
"Surveillance equipment wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't been so focused on convincing the doctor he was wrong," Deb answered. "Where is our son?"
x x x x
Lucas heard voices coming from Nathan's room in the hospital. It suddenly occurred to him that Dan might be there. As if this night hadn't sucked enough! But he resolved to do it for himself, because it was the right thing to do ... and for Haley, to support her. He needed to do a better job of that; he knew it hurt Haley he wasn't on board the Nathan-Haley bandwagon. So he bowed his head and rounded the corner into the room.
x x x x
Dan opened his mouth to answer his wife but saw her attention shift, quite suddenly. He spun around in that direction, only to see ... his firstborn. Dan was so unprepared for the sight he couldn't find anything smug to say. I can't believe he's here ... that he would dare show his face around the family I chose to have a future with! And yet, there is a pathetic kind of nobility in it. He almost let his eyes soften, but he restrained himself. It was far easier to shut Lucas out and belittle him than it was to face mistakes of yesteryear.
x x x x
Despite her anger, Deb nearly smiled as she noticed Lucas approaching the room. She wanted to smile because Lucas was strong, and he was unintentionally sticking it to Dan just by showing up. However, she didn't actually smile for the same reason: Dan. She did her best to appear pleasant and inviting to compensate for what she was sure would be difficult behavior from her husband.
x x x x
Lucas brought his head up as he entered the room. Uh oh, he thought, this is a disaster. I'm in a hospital room, sans Nathan, with my jerk of a father. I suppose I'll have to address him, at least indirectly. He kept his eyes focused on a strange discoloration on the sterile tiled floor. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I was just checking to see how Nathan was doing. He's gone already so he must be fine. I'll just go." Lucas shifted his weight towards the door as if to leave.
"Yes, he's okay, but -- " Deb started.
Dan cut her off. "Oh, he'll be great, no thanks to you. Do you even care you're destroying Nathan's life? That Whitey is using you as a pawn? That your game is second -- "
"Enough!" Deb re-interrupted. "This won't help Nathan." She turned to Lucas, who had continued to inch his way out. "He's okay, but we don't know where he is," she said desperately. "Any ideas?"
"Like he's going to know," Dan chided. "They hardly operate within the same social spheres."
Lucas looked up, right past the sneer on Dan's face, into Deb's worried eyes. "I have one. I'll check it out for you. I'll tell him you're worried if I see him. If I find him I can give you a heads up, if you want." He moved to leave immediately. I have to get out of here. Dan is a monster and Deb reminds me too much of Mom.
"Thank you, Lucas. That would be great." Deb answered. He continued out of the room, walking with a purpose. He knew exactly where Nathan was. And he intended to give Deb peace of mind. Oh, his brain suddenly reminded him, and because you have a twisted mess of feelings that shouldn't be dealt with right now, it doesn't hurt to deal with someone else's problems for a little while. Not that I could avoid the inevitable, but it doesn't hurt to try, does it? Lucas hurried out into the parking lot, running from the pressing weight of that very inevitability. Unfortunately for him, time never take sides. It dutifully marches forward despite our best efforts to escape it.
-Note:
Chapter title from a song of the same name by Snow Patrol.
