She couldn't believe that Gavin would show his face, especially since he was the reason that Peyton was here. She needed to go be where Peyton was, she needed to keep her safe, and she needed to get Gavin out of Peyton's life. She rushed to the room the doctor had told her and she was in total shock of what she saw…it was Lucas.

"Luke?"

He turned his head when he heard his name, "I had to make sure she was okay."

"Luke, where is Brooke? Did you find Haley?"

"Brooke is waiting at her apartment hoping she will be there and Haley will walk through the door."

Karen quickly remembered why she was there; her attention was brought back to Peyton. She was sleeping; the doctor said told her that had given her some pain killers that might knock her out. But as soon as they observed her for a couple more hours she was good to go.

"Lucas, the doctor told me that her boyfriend was sitting with her. Her boyfriend? I was scared Luke, I thought Gavin was here and he was going to hurt her more."

"I am sorry, that is the only way that I could see her. And Gavin is the one that put her in here?"

"Yes, I am afraid so."

"I am sorry I did not mean to scare you like that. I just really needed to make sure that she was going to be okay. I really haven't been there for her lately, and I know that it is late to start, but better now then later."

"Lucas, I know you are, but right now she is safer then Haley, she is better off then Brooke. I think that you need to be there for them as well. I have got Peyton for now, please Lucas; you have got to find Haley, before it is too late."

"Okay Ma, I just needed to make sure Peyton was okay."

"Haley is broken Lucas, if you do not find her soon, those pieces will not be able to go back together," she was a little surprised that his best friend was missing and he was by Peyton's bedside.

"Ma, I will find her. Do not worry about it."

"I worry Lucas; I worry about all three of them. There is no parent in their lives."

"So you have decided to stand up and be one to all three of them? No one is making you do that Ma."

"I know that Lucas, but I can be there for them, like someone that never has, and I want to be that person."

"Okay, I think that is very noble of you," he went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then he headed towards the door and turned around, "Brooke?"

"She is more broken then you will ever know Luke. Go find Haley, bring her home to me, then you need to talk with Brooke, let her know how you feel, and she can do the same to you."

"Okay," with that he left the hospital heading back to the place he had just awkwardly left.

Brooke and Lucas had driven up to her apartment, "I really hope that she is in here Luke. I have never seen her like this before, I am scared."

He didn't mean to, but he let out a small laugh. Brooke had only been friends with Haley for a short year, if even that, I mean she used to make fun of her. Now she was living with her, that was one thing, and now she was beyond concerned over their missing friend.

Brooke couldn't believe it, did he really just laugh at her because she was concerned over his best friend? "What was that for Luke?"

"I am sorry, it is just I have known Haley for like a decade, and how long have you known her? Like a year. It is just really hard for me to think that you are more concerned then I am."

This pained Brooke more then Lucas would ever know. She didn't understand either, Lucas had been the one to peel back the mask and reveal that she was in fact a sensitive, caring person. Not the person that most saw on a daily basis, she did not understand how he could be sitting there making fun of her. "Well Lucas, I hate to break it to you but I think for the last two months I have seen a side of Haley that you have yet to experience. And let me tell you, it is not a good one. She is going to be mad with me for telling you this, but did you know that she wakes up every day with tears already stained to her face? She wakes up each day in the hope that it is going to be better then the last, I mean she always was the optimistic one, but that Haley is gone. I know that you are her best friend Lucas, and I am not trying to step over any boundaries or anything, I just thought that I would let you know that," with that she quickly ran out of the car into her apartment.

Lucas didn't know if he should follow, but he knew it was the right thing to do, he was wrong. He honestly could have been there more for Haley, but he could have also been there more for Peyton. He just let them slip away like they were always going to be there, always going to be okay. But they were not okay, neither of them was. He got out of the car and ran over to the door that Brooke had just almost closed all the way.

"I am surprised that you even made it in the door."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"When is the last time that you have been here Luke?"

It had not been his intention to be so distant in their lives lately, but that is just how it ended up. He had his own demons to fight, especially in the form on Dan Scott; he just hadn't been there like he should have. And Lucas and Brooke had been coming across rough spots for a while now, he still cared for her, but at the present time he was not ready to be with her. They have both mutually hurt each other; and it was going to take a little more time for both of them to recover. Lucas just never knew how much Brooke actually hurt with each day. "I know that I haven't really been around."

"No, really?" She had to laugh this time, "You haven't really been around? That is the understatement of the year, Luke. But you know what? I don't care, you have your own things to deal with, you have your own reasons," she was walking around when she was saying this, not totally wanting to face him, and at the same time looking around for signs of Haley, hoping that she was there, or had been.

Lucas did not mean to do this to her, not now, but he was angry at her, he did not feel that she had the right to say what she was saying, so uncharacteristically, he hurt her, "Yeah, I have my reasons. One being that you slept with Chris Keller, yeah that could be one of the reasons that I chose not to just hang out here. I mean I was ready to start things back up with us, and then I walk into you and Chris in bed together. That is not something that I can just forget," he looked around a little bit for Haley as well, and then changed subjects, before he could see her face, but when he did it was as if he had told her that someone had died, "I guess she isn't here. I mean we looked everywhere, I do not know what we can do right now."

No, maybe no one died, not a person in that sense, but when Lucas said that to her, it was as if something did die, and that was his love for her. It pained her, his words, pained her so much, and he would never even know this. The hope that he still loved her got her through the days. She was alone in the world, and when she was loved by Lucas, she could careless if it was just him and her, she wasn't alone when she was with him, when he loved her, she was not alone. But she could not let him get to her any further, "What are you going to do then?"

He looked around, not wanting to make eye contact with her, he knew that he hurt her, and he did not want to see that on her face. He was thinking of one thing though, and he knew that it was going to hurt her as well, but he was just trying to be the best friend that he could be right now, and he had to prioritize who needed him the most. Peyton was in a hospital bed right now, Lucas decided that she was in dire need, especially since physically Brooke was okay as she stood before him, and as much as he hated to admit it, Haley was gone, and there was nothing that he could do to help her at the present time. "I am going to go to the hospital."

"Are you giving up on Haley that easily? She is your best friend," telling him like he needed to be reminded.

"I know that Brooke, but right now she is not in a hospital bed."

"She could be if we don't find her. Lucas, please, I know that Peyton is hurt, but she is getting treated as we speak, and your mom is there for her right now. Haley is alone in the dark, in the rain, she is alone, Lucas. And that is what she believes."

"I will be back as soon as possible, call me if she comes back."

"You have got to be kidding me, Lucas." She thought he was until he turned around and actually left her apartment leaving her standing there bewildered. Did he really just leave to be with Peyton Sawyer when his best friend was out in the dark of night alone in the rain? Lucas at least knew where Peyton was, he had no clue where Haley was. Brooke did not know why, but she was really concerned for her. She didn't care what Lucas said either, no matter the duration of their friendship, Brooke really cared for Haley, and in these past two months, she was able to be who she was, without the mask. And Haley allowed that. She also saw a side of Haley that she had never saw in a person before, and she learned who the really Haley James was. And she was sad.

So unlike Luke who just walked out the door not helping Haley out at all, she walked out the door with the full intention of bringing Haley home…safe. Lucas was wrong about something else though, they had not looked everywhere. Brooke thought that maybe before leaving Tree Hill, Haley would tell Nathan how she really felt. So Brooke got into her Bug, and she drove as fast as she could to the Scott residence. She got out of the car and ran over to the front door, trying to avoid getting wetter then she already was. She knocked on the door, and to her disgust Mr. Scott answered the door. "Is Nathan here?" she asked him hoping that he would not give her a hard time and that Nathan would in fact be there.

"Oh, so you are who he is doing nowadays?"

Brooke really could not believe that he just said that to her, he was a vulgar man, "Honestly, I have barely talked to Nathan in the past two months, there is no way that he would be 'doing' me, so you need to just keep those words in your mouth."

"A feisty one we got here ladies and gentlemen," he said to the invisible crowd that was watching the conversation between the two of them.

"It is an easy question, is he here or is he not?"

"Nathan must be a very popular guy today; you are the second person to come to the door asking for him."

"Wait, has Haley been here?"

"What is it to you?"

"She is missing, I need to find her. Wait, I do not have to tell you anything, is Nathan here? If he isn't you are just wasting my and Haley's time."

"Well I hate to break it to you Mrs. President, but Haley is leaving Tree Hill, I think you just missed her."

"She told you that, you?"

"Yes, that anorexic told me that, now finally my son will be happy, and can move on with his life. That weakling had been dragging him down for the past four months, I take that back, for the last year, he is finally letting go of the mistake that he made."

"Don't you say that. Don't you dare say that about Haley. Nathan and Haley were in love, they still are, I know that it is harder for them to show it right now, but the love is still there. Don't you dare say that their marriage was a mistake. And you know what, it takes two to get married, Nathan, you know the one that you think is all mighty and powerful, yeah, he asked Haley to marry him. He asked her because he loved her. Haley was not a mistake, you need to leave her alone, she is going through enough pain right now," Brooke did not know where all of that came from, but she let it all out.

"Whoa. You are a big fan of Haley's then, because from what I have heard, she does not have that many fans."

"You have no say in this Mr. Scott."

"Hello, that slut married my son, I think I have a lot of say."

This enraged Brooke, so without thought she went to slap Mr. Scott, yes, her intention was to slap her friend's father in the face, but she did not succeed, her arm was held back, and she was not able to slap him. She turned around to see who it was, and it was none other then the infamous Nathan Scott. "I am surprised that you even showed your face," she said pulling her arm back from him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know what it means, Nathan. Haley, your wife, yeah, you remember her? She is pain, unbearable pain; she lives with it each day, because she believes that you do not love her anymore."

"I still love her," telling her as though that fact was commonly known.

"Oh you do Nathan? You have a really funny way of showing it, 'cause if I knew that the person that I loved the most was suffering pain that I caused them, I would do everything in my power to erase it. I would let that person know that I loved them with all my heart, and the love I have for them, yeah it does not just go away."

"Oh, is that your personal advice?"

"Yeah it is Nathan, what do you have to say about it?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you heeded your own advice. Is that what you tell yourself about Lucas?"

That cut her like a knife, "This has nothing to do with me and Lucas. I know that I hurt him, but he does not live in pain each day because of something I caused him. It is actually quite the opposite. But we are not here to talk about me; this is about Haley right now. Do you know the same news as your dad?"

"Oh, it is good news son, the best news in awhile."

"I am not your son?" he asked sarcastically, giving his father a quick smile.

"Very funny Nathan, that Chris Keller sleeping, wannabe, is out of our lives."

Nathan did not listen to his dad; he turned his attention to Brooke, "What is he talking about? Where is Haley?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Nate. She is missing, I have no idea where she is, or whether or not she is coming back."

"Oh, she is not. She told me to say goodbye to Nathan for her. I thought it was very noble of her to actually tell you this time."

"Gone for good?"

Brooke could see that Nathan did not want that to be the truth, but maybe it was too late for Nathan to show feelings again for Haley. It was not fair for him to suddenly show affection for her when she is no longer in his reach, "What if she is Nathan? I mean you had two months, 60 days, 60 days that she has dreaded getting up. But she did, every time, hoping that today would be the day that you loved her again. You had two months to let her know, and you didn't. You let her live each day regretting that she followed her dreams, and now she is gone and there is nothing that you can do now. It is too late Nathan. You lose this time."

"She is not gone Brooke, where did she go then?"

"Haley left Karen's café a couple of hours ago, telling us that Tree Hill was a heartbreak town and her heart could not afford to break anymore. She left, and she hasn't returned home since. It is raining, it is cold, and Haley is missing. And Nathan, as much as you do not want to take any credit for this, you could have prevented this. This is your fault. Haley is gone because of you, because you were the one who caused her heart to break a little more with each day."

"She walked out on him for crying out loud. How can you really side with the girl? She had one obligation and that was to be a wife to Nathan, one obligation and she failed that. Let her leave Tree Hill, she doesn't belong here anyway."

"What do you have to say in all of this Nathan?"

"If she is gone, then there is nothing I can do," he looked directly into Brooke's eyes when he said this, and he caught her disbelief. "You are right, Brooke. I lost. Game over. Let's move on with something called the real world."

"You know what Nathan? I thought you were better then this, I saw beyond your cockiness, I saw beyond your anger and cruelty, but I never, I never thought that you would abandon Haley in her time in need. But you know what else?"

"What Brooke? Enlighten me please."

"I was wrong about you. You are no better then your father, you are just a bastard like the rest of them. Go to hell Nathan," she yelled at him, stared him down, and then she left, left them standing there in disbelief, disbelief that she really just said that to him. But she did. And now it was her against the world. Her against the world until she found Haley, so that she could protect her from its cruelty. Until then, they were both alone.