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Peyton quickly followed Lucas out of the restaurant. She found him, sitting on a bench, his head buried in his hands.
"Lucas?" She asked, sitting down beside him. Peyton wanted to pull him to her, to kiss his hair and to tell him that it was alright now, but she couldn't.
"I'm sorry Peyton. I'm sorry for the way I've acted tonight, and for the way I've acted since you've been back. I shouldn't have asked you to dinner tonight." Lucas said, his eyes betraying message that he was trying to send. Peyton leaned in, wanting to comfort him, somehow. Lucas turned, his lips meeting Peyton's. Peyton melted into Lucas, as the kiss turned fiery.
"I can't do this to Lindsey." He said softly, pulling away from Peyton. He gave her a long look before he pushed himself off the bench and away from her. Peyton sat back, stunned at the decision that Lucas had just made. Once again, Peyton had held Lucas in the palm of her hand, and once again, she had let him slip right through. Defeated, Peyton pulled out her cell phone and called Brooke for a ride home. As she waited for Brooke to arrive, she strolled down the sidewalk, feeling worse than ever. She had to stop. She couldn't keep compromising herself, her morals and her values for a man. She couldn't keep asking Lucas to do it either.
The beeping of Brooke's car horn startled her. She turned and quickly climbed into the car. Brooke was showing her concern, but Peyton just shook her head, hoping to avoid Brooke's prying questions, at least for tonight.
"Peyton, what happened?" Brooke finally asked, as they were about to pull into the driveway.
"I did what I do best. I screwed up." Peyton answered her voice hard. Brooke cocked an eyebrow in Peyton's direction, but remained silent.
"That's what you want to hear, isn't it? That I manipulated the situation, that I took advantage of Lucas's feelings towards me. That's right, that whore, Peyton, kissed Lindsey's Lucas." Peyton lashed out, angrily, as she got out of Brooke's car and slammed the door.
She stalked up to the house, threw open the door and stomped up the stairs to her room. Peytonthrew herself across the bed and muffled a scream with her pillow. She was so very angry. She was angry at herself, for not showing more self-restraint. She was angry at Lucas, first for tempting her and second, for being so loyal to Lindsey. She was angry at Brooke for being nosy, angry at Haley for not being a better friend two years ago, and pleading Peyton's case to Lucas. She was just plain angry.
Peyton ignored Brooke's timid knock at her door. She knew that Brooke just wanted to help, but Peyton was too angry to be considerate of other's feelings.
"Peyton, please open the door." Brooke pleaded from the hallway. Peyton answered her by turning on the stereo at full blast. She was well aware that she was behaving like a child, but she was too angry to care.
"Fine Peyton, be a bitch!" She heard Brooke, screaming over Peyton's music, from the other side of the door. Peyton shook her head ruefully. She was the one who'd lost the boy that she loved, failed at her dream, came home to try to set things right again, only to find out that the only boy she'd ever wanted to marry, was dating a perfect, plastic Barbie doll, and yet Peyton was the one being accused of being a bitch? She quickly got off of her bed, grabbed a duffel bag from her closet and began to slam some clothes into it. She had to get away. She needed some time and space to clear her head. She was considerate enough to write a short note, explaining her disappearance, for anyone who still cared, before she threw open the window and climbed down to the ground.
Once she had walked a few block away, she called for a cab. When the cabbie pulled up, she threw her duffel in the back and climbed in.
"The Hole, please." She told the cabbie, when he asked where to. He gave her a curious glance, in the rearview window, when she named the place that she wanted to be taken to. She smiled and nodded, and the cabbie slowly pulled away from the curb. She might not look the type, she knew who frequented the Hole, but that was just the place for her tonight.