"Good
morning birthday boy," Haley said, kissing Nathan's ear while
placing a plate of pancakes next to his bed. She propped herself next
to him, cross-legged.
Nathan was feeling bittersweet, "this is
great, but it sucks that you leaving Hales. Can't you stay any
longer, I mean come on my birthday is today, and you're leaving
tomorrow morning.
She bent over and kissed him softly, "I'm
sorry but this weekend was all I could get off. I'm going to cook
you dinner. Lucas should be home this afternoon, and i'm going to
invite Brooke and Karen as well."
"Do you think Peyton will
come too? I mean after what you told me last night, i'm pretty sure
she'll be here." Nathan asked, between bites.
"Yeah. How did
you know Peyton was here, i've been meaning to ask you" Haley
said looking a little perturbed.
"Well, I saw her the night
after she got here." Nathan said, thinking nothing of the
statement.
"You what?!" Haley was infuriated. "After what
she did to us, what the hell is wrong with you." She sprung off the
bed and looked him dead in the eye.
"Well Haley," Nathan began
setting down his fork, and sitting up. "She called me, so I we met
up at the Rivercourt. She was kind of upset, and she wanted to talk,
what was I suppose to do?" Nathan was offended.
"Tell her to
shove it down her throat." Haley looked away.
"Hales come on,
it's your last night here, please don't be mad at me about this,
come on." Nathan flipped the covers off his body.
"I'm
sorry, I can't be around you right now." She grabbed her coat,
and walked out the door.
"Wait! Haley!" Nathan shouted as she
slammed it.
He got out of bed, rubbed his head, and stomped off
to the master bathroom.
"Hello?" Lucas answered his phone
while outside Peyton's studio apartment.
"Lucas are you home
yet?" Haley asked, without a greet.
"Yeah, about that. Peyton
is taking a little longer than we thought to get her things together.
She's out meeting with her boss about quitting her position right
now, and i'm loading up the stuff. We probably won't be back for
a few more days,"
Haley moaned, and smashed her feet onto the
floor squirming, "Did you know Nathan saw Peyton?"
"Yeah,
she may have mentioned it."
"God, what is her problem. She
just waltzes back here and starts up a bunch of crap, and Nathan and
I are having this huge fight and-"
"Oh so you know about him
and Brooke?" Lucas asked, sympathetically, "Look Haley, he made a
mistake, and i'm here to talk if you want too." Lucas went
on.
"Him and Brooke…?" Haley spoke slow. "What do you mean
by that?"
"Wait, what? You don't know? Oh God, Hales…"
Before he could fathom a lie, Haley hung up.
She was situated a
few blocks from the apartment, and began to run back. She reached the
door, and Nathan was looking through the fridge. She held her arms
across her chest, her eyes flaring up. She burst in.
"Haley i'm
sorry" Nathan said.
"You and Brooke…" Haley began,
beginning to sob.
"What are you talking about…Haley?" Nathan
noticed her tears, and went over to comfort her.
"Do not touch
me," she said full-on balling, "what did you do with Brooke?"
Nathan was silent, and looked away. "Oh my God, the sheets, that's
why they were off. You went to see Peyton because you were upset
about Brooke…you son of [Censored."
Haley yelled, pointing and screaming. "Howcould you do that, and
with my best friend behind my back. You lying, cheating son of a
[Censored,"
Haley yelled as she hammered her hands into his chest.
Nathan
stood there, taking the blows. "Haley, I-" he was
speechless.
Haley could barely breathe between sobs, "How could
you…" She stormed to the front entrance, turning around only
once, "you better damn well believe i'm leaving town tonight, and
hell will freeze over before I get back." Before she slammed the
door she spoke calmer, "I have my music and my friends, but you
have nothing you bitter, scummy, bastard." She slammed the door,
almost busting the hinges.
Nathan kicked the stool next to him
into the wall, puncturing a hole, and a tear ran down his
face.
Beep! Beep!
Peyton got into the passenger side of
her car. "Hey you," she smiled, "well everything's final, I
officially quit. My landlord is going to send over the release papers
and the last of my rent and utilities, all my stuff is being flown to
the airport next week. All set?"
"Yeah." Lucas looked
uneasy.
"What's wrong?" Peyton asked, turning her attention
towards him.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Wait a
minute…your not? Lucas what's wrong? Talk to me." She said
pulling on his hands.
He held them back, and closed his eyes. "We
never really thought this through, I mean."
"Luke, what's
changed? We were so happy yesterday, what happened?" Peyton's
eyes watered.
"I guess the excitement wore off, and I just
realized what were doing."
"Were moving in together…to be
happy." Peyton sounded heart-breakingly sad.
"Peyton, be
realistic. I hadn't seen you for 5 years since you broke my heart
and left Tree Hill, for good, or so I thought. Than you come back,
and two days later were on a road trip to get your things from New
York so you can move in with me?" Lucas said, looking away from her
shattered eyes.
"Lucas…"
"I mean maybe i'm being
skeptical here but you left me in the first place. Your explanation
had nothing to do with anything, and Haley's right, this isn't
right. It doesn't feel right. I mean, I really loved you Peyton, I
did, and maybe I mistook missing you for loving you. I don't love
you Peyton, I don't know you." He explained, trying to be
cautious.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to here someone
tell you they don't love you anymore, when you think the world of
them," Peyton asked, looking straight at him, with tears in both
eyes.
"Yeah actually, I do." Lucas said coldly. He opened the
door, and stood up.
Peyton dragged herself from her seat to right
infront of him. "I guess I know what Brooke meant by getting so
close, than having everything ripped from beneath her. You know,
happiness never really does last long with you," she started to
come up with the words to hurt him, "you couldn't be happy with
Brooke, and you can't be happy with me. I guess misery really does
love you Lucas," she said bitterly, as she shoved him from her
path, and got into her car. She rotated the wheel, looked back at
Lucas, and than spun off.
Lucas opened up his cell phone and
dialed Haley's number.
"Hello?" Haley said sobbing.
"Hales…"
Lucas said sadly, walking down the street.
"What do you want?"
Her nose was stuffy.
"I want my best friend to come to New York
so she can take me home" he said half-smiling.
"Why? What
happened?"
"I told Peyton that I didn't love her, I just
missed her. Than she drove off and left me on some random street in
New York city, and I just realized I have no way home"
Haley
smiled widely, wiping her eyes. "Yeah well I just told my husband I
was leaving town and never coming back."
"You win." He
laughed. "So what do you say? Do you think you could make a special
trip on your last night away?"
"I would love too," she said
agreeably. "I'm going to pay a little visit to our sweetheart
Brooke, and then i'll call the tour manager to set me up a flight
to New York, and than one back to Tree Hill with an extra seat."
"You
can do that?" Lucas asked, scratching his chin.
"Sure I can."
She giggled.
"Hey Haley, if I asked you not to be hard on Brooke
would you listen?" Lucas went out on a limb.
"Not a chance."
She snickered, finally seizing her crying.
"Alright, well i'm
going to take a cab to the airport, and I guess i'll read a book
until you get here."
"I'll call you when I do." Haley
reassured Lucas.
"Okay, see you then." Lucas hung up his
phone.
