Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I have any affiliation with One Tree Hill

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"Vodka on the rocks please." Lucas threw his glass at the bartender, his head laying on the bar. He wasn't sure how many drinks he had had, but he was sure that he was way past the point of no return. He had been here for hours, drowning his pain. Part of him, the part that Karen had raised knew this was a bad idea, knew he should be home with Anna. But, he was in too much pain and just didn't give a damn.

"Lucas, man, don't you think you ought to go home?" Mac said, giving him one of those pity looks Lucas hated. "Don't you have a new baby to take care of?"

He groaned, making a face. "Just give me the damn drink, Mac. I don't need any heart-to-hearts. I'm just fine."

"You just lost the love of your life. You are not fine. Go home and take care of that new baby girl." Mac took his cup and put it the sink.

Lucas glared at him and stood up. "Fine. If you won't give me a drink, I'll find it somewhere else."

"Lucas, you don't need another drink. You need to go home."

--

"Ssssh, pretty baby don't say a word, Aunt Haley's gonna buy you a mockingbird." Haley sung quietly to Anna, rocking her back and forth. This was the tenth time She had sung to her, but Anna would not stop crying, or go to sleep. Sighing, Haley stopped singing. "What do I have to do to get you to go to sleep, pretty baby?"

Suddenly, a light went off in Haley's head. Perfect. "Ignorance is bliss, you'd always hear me say.." She started singing one of Mia's songs. Instantly, Anna was asleep. Haley quickly put the baby in her crib and walked out. As she was closing the door to the baby's bedroom, the front door opened and closed, loudly. There was Lucas standing in the entryway, drowning himself in an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels.

"Lucas?" She whispered, walking over to him. "Lucas, what the hell are you doing? You called me over, telling me to watch Anna because you had to make plans for the funeral and you come home drunk?"

Lucas was swaying back and forth, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He wasn't listening to her. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Of course, there was no alcohol. "Dammit." He muttered slamming the fridge closed.

"Jesus, Lucas." Haley exclaimed, sitting him down at the table while pouring him a cup of coffee. "You have a daughter, you know that."

"Who cares? What does it matter?" He took a sip of the coffee. "She's gone, Hales. What am I supposed to do without her?"

"You're supposed to raise your daughter the way she wanted you to." She answered, swallowing back tears of her own.

"How?!" He yelled. "How?! I can't raise her all by myself! I don't know what to do!"

"You're not by yourself, remember? You have me, and Nathan, and Jamie and Karen, and Brooke. You are not alone."

"And yet, that's the only thing I am."

---

"Brooke?" Julian opened the door, slightly, peeking in. "Brooke? Are you here?"

"She's gone." A voice said. Julian turned, seeing Sam round the corner.

Stepping in, he closed the door behind himself. "Where'd she go?"

Sam shrugged, sitting down on the couch. "Who knows. Probably to the bar, maybe back to New York. She just left. She didn't tell me where she was going."

Julian sat down next to her, sighing. "How long has she been gone?"

"Since two days ago." Sam pulled out a bottle of water, taking a drink.

"Two days ago?!" Julian exclaimed. "Has she called? Shouldn't you have reported her missing?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Groaning, he stood up. "I'm going to find her. You can come with if you need to, but otherwise stay here."

Sam watched him as he left.

---

"Yeah, okay. I'll see ya tomorrow…Love you too babe." He clicked the phone off, putting it back on its base. Sighing, he sat down at the kitchen table, putting his head in his hands. All he could think about was Peyton. All he saw was her face, smiling, laughing. The picture just kept running around in his mind. He could not, for the life of him, wrap his mind around the idea of Peyton being dead. She was just so alive, so happy, how could she have died? His first love, his first girlfriend, his best friend, gone. He couldn't imagine how Lucas felt, which was why he was glad Haley was staying over at Lucas's. She had said he was in no shape to take care of Anna. He did not doubt that for a second.

"Dad?"

Nathan turned to see Jamie in his pajamas standing by the fridge. "Yeah, Jamie?"

Jamie walked over and stood next to his father. "Dad, what happened to Aunt Peyton?"

Nathan took a deep breath, pulling Jamie up onto his lap. He expected this. He just wished Haley was here to answer him, she would know how to break the news to him. "Well, son, Peyton was sick. And sometimes when people are sick…"

"Did Aunt Peyton die?"

Nathan stopped. "Yeah, son. Peyton died. I'm so sorry."

Jamie nodded and leaned against his dad, a tear falling from his eye. "But, why? Did she do something wrong?"

"No son," Nathan answered, resting his chin on Jamie's head as he tried not to start bawling in front of his son. "She did nothing wrong. Sometimes it is just somebody's time to go."

---

The bell rang as Millie opened the door to the store. She stepped in, spotting Brooke behind her desk, working. She took a deep breath before walking over. She had seen the light on in the store when she walked past it and decided to check it out. She hadn't expected to see Brooke here. In all honesty, she thought Brooke would be at some bar getting drunk.

"Brooke?" Millie said, as she stood next to her boss. "Brooke, what are you doing?"

"I'm finishing up the line," Brooke said, her voice cracking. She had obviously been crying. Her red eyes and tear streaked face added with the sound of her voice and the wet spots on her drawing told Millie she had been sobbing for quite some time. "Victoria needs this as soon as possible."

"Brooke," Millie took a seat next to her. "Brooke it's okay. Victoria will understand, you don't have to work on this now."

"Yes, I do." Brooke said in a firm voice. "I need to get this done."

Wrapping her arms around Brooke, Millie pulled her in for a hug. "Brooke, it's okay."

Brooke resisted at first, shaking her head but soon gave in, sobbing on Millie's shoulder. "It's not okay! It's not okay! She's dead! How the hell can she have died! She's my Peyton! She's my best friend! She wasn't supposed to die!"

Millie nodded, rubbing Brooke's back. "I know. It'll be okay."

They sat there like that for a while, Brooke sobbing on Millie's shoulder.

--

Time continued to click on, but their pain never stopped, beating within their hearts as they tried endlessly to make the pain go away.